Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma (ADC) are the most common histological types of cervical cancer (CC). The worse prognosis of ADC cases highlights the need for better molecular characterization regarding differences between these CC types. RNA-Seq analysis of seven SCC and three ADC human papillomavirus 16-positive samples and the comparison with public data from non-tumoral human papillomavirus-negative cervical tissue samples revealed pathways exclusive to each histological type, such as the epithelial maintenance in SCC and the maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) pathway in ADC. The transcriptional regulatory network analysis of cervical SCC samples unveiled a set of six transcription factor (TF) genes with the potential to positively regulate long non-coding RNA genes DSG1-AS1, CALML3-AS1, IGFL2-AS1, and TINCR. Additional analysis revealed a set of MODY TFs regulated in the sequence predicted to be repressed bymiR-96-5p ormiR-28-3p in ADC. These microRNAs were previously described to target LINC02381, which was predicted to be positively regulated by two MODY TFs upregulated in cervical ADC. Therefore, we hypothesize LINC02381might act by decreasing the levels ofmiR-96-5p andmiR-28-3p, promoting the MODY activation in cervical ADC. The novel TF networks here described should be explored for the development of more efficient diagnostic tools.

Förekomsten av vattenrelaterade problem som extrem nederbörd, översvämningar, torka och vattenbrist kommer att öka i urbana områden till följd av de globala klimatförändringarna. Sponge city-konceptet är ett urbant dagvattenhanteringssystem som lanserades i Kina och syftar till att förbättra vattenhanteringen i städer genom att återställa stadens kapacitet att absorbera, infiltrera, lagra och rena vatten. Den här studien syftade till att undersöka om sponge city-konceptet hade kunnat implementeras i Malmö genom att besvara frågeställningen ” Vilka möjligheter respektive hinder finns det för Malmö att implementera sponge city-konceptet?”. Genom en systematisk litteraturstudie och innehållsanalys i kombination med det teoretiska ramverket som baserades på konceptet sårbarhet för klimatförändringar visade resultatet på att det både finns en del möjligheter men också hinder. Det huvudsakliga hindret som identifierades är att en stor del av marken i Malmö består av täta moränleror vilket utgör ett hinder för de infiltrationsåtgärder som ingår i sponge city-konceptet. Några möjligheter som identifierades är att sponge city-konceptet kan minska känsligheten för skada som uppstår i förhållande till exponeringsnivån, samt att Malmös anpassningskapacitet är relativt hög. På grund av att den här studien enbart undersökte specifika fysiska/miljömässiga aspekter inom sponge city-konceptet krävs däremot fler studier som tar hänsyn till fler aspekter om en implementering av konceptet skulle bli aktuell. / The occurrence of water related problems such as extreme precipitation, floods, drought and water scarcity will increase in urban areas as a result of global climate change. The sponge city-concept is an urban stormwater system launched in China and aims to improve the water management in cities by restoring the city’s capacity to absorb, infiltrate, store and purify water. This study aimed to investigate if the sponge city-concept could be implemented in Malmö by answering the question “What possibilities and obstacles exist for Malmö to implement the sponge city-concept?”. Through a systematic literature review and content analysis in combination with the theoretical framework, which was based on the concept climate change vulnerability, the results showed that there are some possibilities but also obstacles. The main obstacle that was identified is that the ground in Malmö largely consists of dense moraines which forms an obstacle for the infiltration measures that are included in the sponge city-concept. Some possibilities that were identified is that the sponge city-concept can decrease the sensitivity to harm that occurs in relation to the exposure level but also that Malmö’s adaptation capacity is relatively high. However, because this study only investigated specific physical/environmental aspects within the sponge city-concept, more studies that consider more aspects are required if an implementation of the concept would become prevailing.

Die Schwammskelette der Ordnung Verongida zeichnen sich durch das Fehlen mineralischer Komponenten aus. Stattdessen bestehen sie aus Spongin, einem kollagenartigen Protein, und Chitin. Im Rahmen der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden die aus solch einem Chitin-Protein-Komplex bestehenden Skelette der Schwammspezies Aplysina cavernicola und Ianthella basta aus der Ordnung Verongida untersucht. Aufgrund ihrer morphologischen Unterschiede wurde für jede Schwammart eine eigene Methode zur Isolierung der Schwammskelette entwickelt. Die isolierten Skelette konnten anschließend mit verschiedenen Methoden wie REM, ATR-FTIR-Spektroskopie und NMR-Spektroskopie charakterisiert werden. Weiterhin wurde eine Methode zur Extraktion und Analyse der in den Skeletten befindlichen Aminosäuren mittels GC-MS entwickelt. Die Untersuchungen zeigten deutlich, dass es sich bei Spongin um ein kollagenartiges und halogeniertes Protein handelt, welches je nach Schwammart Unterschiede in der Aminosäurezusammensetzung aufweist. Darüber hinaus gelang es zum ersten Mal das Chitin aus dem Chitin-Protein-Komplex mittels Phosphorsäure zu entfernen. Aus den gewonnenen Erkenntnissen konnte abschließend ein Modell zum Aufbau des Chitin-Protein-Komplexes in der Schwammspezies Aplysina cavernicola entwickelt werden.

Large amplitude internal solitary waves in the coastal ocean are commonly modelled with the Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation or a closely related evolution equation. The characteristic feature of these models is the solitary wave solution, and it is well documented that these provide the basic paradigm for the interpretation of oceanic observations. However, often internal waves in the ocean survive for several inertial periods, and in that case, the KdV equation is supplemented with a linear non-local term representing the effects of background rotation, commonly called the Ostrovsky equation. This equation does not support solitary wave solutions, and instead a solitary-like initial condition collapses due to radiation of inertia-gravity waves, with instead the long-time outcome typically being an unsteady nonlinear wave packet. The KdV equation and the Ostrovsky equation are formulated on the assumption that only a single vertical mode is used. In this thesis we consider the situation when two vertical modes are used, due to a near-resonance between their respective linear long wave phase speeds. This phenomenon can be described by a pair of coupled Ostrovsky equations, which is derived asymptotically from the full set of Euler equations and solved numerically using a pseudo-spectral method. The derivation of a system of coupled Ostrovsky equations is an important extension of coupled KdV equations on the one hand, and a single Ostrovsky equation on the other hand. The analytic structure and dynamical behaviour of the system have been elucidated in two main cases. The first case is when there is no background shear flow, while the second case is when the background state contains current shear, and both cases lead to new solution types with rich dynamical behaviour. We demonstrate that solitary-like initial conditions typically collapse into two unsteady nonlinear wave packets, propagating with distinct speeds corresponding to the extremum value in the group velocities. However, a background shear flow allows for several types of dynamical behaviour, supporting both unsteady and steady nonlinear wave packets, propagating with the speeds which can be predicted from the linear dispersion relation. In addition, in some cases secondary wave packets are formed associated with certain resonances which also can be identified from the linear dispersion relation. Finally, as a by-product of this study it was shown that a background shear flow can lead to the anomalous version of the single Ostrovsky equation, which supports a steady wave packet.

Le travail présenté dans cette thèse porte sur l’isolement de métabolites secondaires de trois invertébrés marins, ainsi que sur la synthèse de molécules hybrides, notamment à visée antifouling et inhibiteurs de kinases, inspirées des motifs naturels issus des familles dispacamides et 3-alkylpyridines. Les techniques spectroscopiques et les transformations chimiques ont été largement utilisées pour les déterminations structurales. Les nouveaux composés ont été évalués biologiquement.Le travail d’isolement sur le corail mou Sinularia vanderlandi a permis de mettre en évidence trois nouveaux composés de la famille de diterpènes norcembranoïdes, dont les configurations relatives ont été déterminées. Un lien chimique a également été établi entre les nouveaux composés isolés ainsi que ceux de la même famille décrits dans la litérature.Neuf nouvelles molécules ont été obtenues de l’éponge Pipestela candelabra, quatre phopholipides et cinq composés de la famille du jaspamide, les pipestelides A-C ainsi que les 5-hydropéroxy-jasplakinolides Ca et Cb. Des travaux d’hémisynthèse ont été réalisés à partir du jaspamide pour confirmer les structures des dérivés hydropéroxydés. Cette thèse contient également une étude partielle de l’éponge Stylissa carteri qui a mis a jour deux nouvelles benzosceptrines.Les travaux de synthèses ont eu pour but d’établir les voies d’accès à des dérivés l’obtention dispacamide / 3-alkylpyridine. Trois dérivés ont ainsi été synthétisés et les évaluations biologiques sont en cours, notamment pour les activités antifouling. Des aspects structuraux de ce type de dérivés ont été abordés par la synthèse d’autres dérivés. / The work described in this thesis deals with the isolation of new metabolites from marine invertebrates in one hand, and with the synthesis of antifouling and kinase inhibitors hybrid molecules inspired from dispacamide and 3-alkylpyridine scaffolds. Spectroscopic methods and chemical modifications were used for structural determination. The new compounds were biologically evaluated.Three new compounds of the norcembranoid diterpenes were isolated from the Soft Coral Sinularia vanderlandi. The relative configurations of these metabolites were determined and a chemical link was established between these diterpenes.The investigation of the marine Sponge Pipestela candelabra has conducted to the isolation of nine new metabolites, four phospholipids and five new jaspamide congeners including pipestelides A-C and 5-hydroperoxy-jasplakinolides Ca et Cb. Hemisynthesis were conducted from the jaspamide, together with spectroscopic analysis to confirm the structures of the peroxidated compounds.Two new derivatives of benzosceptrine were isolated from a partial study of the marine Sponge Stylissa carteri.The synthesis part of this work described the access to dispacamide / 3-alkylpyridine derivatives. Three hybrids were synthetized and biological evaluation are in progress, particularly for antifouling activities. Structural aspects were also studied by the synthesis of other derivatives

A taxonomia vegetal atualmente exige um grande esforço dos botânicos, desde o processo de aquisição do espécime até a morosa comparação com as amostras já catalogadas em um herbário. Nesse contexto, o projeto TreeVis surge como uma ferramenta para a identificação de vegetais por meio da análise de atributos foliares. Este trabalho é uma ramificação do projeto TreeVis e tem o objetivo de identificar vegetais por meio da análise do corte transversal de uma folha ampliado por um microscópio. Para tanto, foram extraídas assinaturas da cutícula, epiderme superior, parênquima paliçádico e parênquima lacunoso. Cada assinatura foi avaliada isoladamente por uma rede neural pelo método leave-one-out para verificar a sua capacidade de discriminar as amostras. Uma vez selecionados os vetores de características mais importantes, os mesmos foram combinados de duas maneiras. A primeira abordagem foi a simples concatenação dos vetores selecionados; a segunda, mais elaborada, reduziu a dimensionalidade (três atributos apenas) de algumas das assinaturas componentes antes de fazer a concatenação. Os vetores finais obtidos pelas duas abordagens foram testados com rede neural via leave-one-out para medir a taxa de acertos alcançada pelo sinergismo das assinaturas das diferentes partes da folha. Os experimentos consitiram na identificação de oito espécies diferentes e na identificação da espécie Gochnatia polymorpha nos ambientes Cerrado e Mata Ciliar, nas estações Chuvosa e Seca, e sob condições de Sol e Sombra / Currently, taxonomy demands a great effort from the botanists, ranging from the process of acquisition of the sample to the comparison with the species already classified in the herbarium. For this reason, the TreeVis is a project created to identify vegetal species using leaf attributes. This work is a part of the TreeVis project and aims at identifying vegetal species by analysing cross-sections of leaves amplified by a microscope. Signatures were extract from cuticle, adaxial epiderm, palisade parenchyma and sponge parenchyma. Each signature was analysed by a neural network with the leave-one-out method to verify its ability to identify species. Once the most important feature vectors were selected, two different approachs were adopted. The first was a simple concatenation of the selected feature vectors. The second, and more elaborated approach, consisted of reducing the dimensionality (three attributes only) of some component signatures before the feature vector concatenation. The final vectors obtained by these two approaches were tested by a neural network with leave-one-out to measure the correctness rate reached by the synergism of the signatures of different leaf regions. The experiments resulted in the identification of eight different species and the identification of the Gochnatia polymorpha species in Cerradão and Gallery Forest environments, Wet and Dry seasons, and under Sun and Shadow constraints

Le défi majeur de la thérapie génique à base de siARN est sa délivrance sûre et efficace. Récemment, notre groupe a mis au point des dendrimères amphiphiles comme vecteurs robustes et efficaces de délivrance non-virale de siARN, qui combinent les avantages de délivrance des vecteurs lipidiques et polymèriques. J’ai effectué au cours de ma thèse de doctorat une analyse de la relation structure/activité (SAR) d'une série de dendrimères comportant des queues hydrophobes de différentes longueurs. Nos résultats démontrent qu’un équilibre optimal entre la longueur de la chaîne alkyle hydrophobe et la partie hydrophile dendritique joue un rôle crucial sur leur capacité d’auto-assemblage, ainsi que sur leur activité de transport des siRNA. En outre, en combinant bola-amphiphiles et nos dendrimères amphiphiles, nous avons développé un nouveau dendrimère bola-amphiphile dont nous avons étudié les propriétés d’auto-assemblage et l'efficacité de transport du siARN correspondant. Ce dendrimère bola-amphiphile particulier a été en mesure de réagir à des espèces réactives de l'oxygène pour la délivrance spécifique, ouvrant ainsi de nouvelles perspectives pour la conception de vecteurs stimuli-déclencheurs pour siARN ciblés. Enfin, nous avons étudié l’«effet d'éponge à protons» des vecteurs dendritiques amphiphiles à l'aide de la technique du film Langmuir en monocouche. Nos résultats ont prouvé le gonflement des vecteurs dendritiques amphiphiles par protonation, offrant ainsi des données expérimentales permettant de soutenir sans ambiguïté l’hypothèse de l'«effet d'éponge à protons». / A key challenge in RNAi-based gene therapy is the safe and effective siRNA delivery. Recently, our group has established amphiphilic dendrimers as robust and effective nonviral delivery vectors for siRNA, which combine the beneficial delivery features of both lipid and dendritic polymer vectors while overcoming their shortcomings.With the desire to understand the underlying mechanism of amphiphilic dendrimers for efficient delivery, I performed a structure/activity relationship (SAR) analysis of a series of dendrimers featuring hydrophobic tails of different lengths during my PhD thesis. We systematically investigated these dendrimers for their self-assembling characters and their capacities for both binding and delivery of siRNA. Our results demonstrate that an optimal balance between the hydrophobic alkyl chain length and the hydrophilic dendritic portion plays a crucial role in the self-assembly and the delivery activity towards siRNA.Furthermore, we developed a novel bola-amphiphilic dendrimer by combining bola-amphiphiles and our amphiphilic dendrimers and studied their self-assembly properties and the corresponding siRNA delivery efficiency. This peculiar bola-amphiphilic vector was able to respond to reactive oxygen species for specific delivery, opening a new perspective for the design of stimuli-trigged vectors for targeted siRNA delivery.Finally, I studied the “proton sponge effect” of the amphiphilic dendrimer vectors using the Langmuir monolayer film technique. Our results gave direct evidence of swelling of the amphiphilic dendrimers upon protonation, offering unambiguous experimental data to support the “proton sponge effect”.

SILVA, André Leandro. Nanobiocompósitos superparamagnéticos para aplicação como antenas ressoadoras dielétricas. 2014. 126 f. : Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Ceará, Departamento de Quimica Orgânica e Inorgânica, Programa de Pós-Graduação e Biotecnologia, Renorbio - Rede Nordeste de Biotecnologia, Fortaleza-CE, 2014. / Submitted by demia Maia (demiamlm@gmail.com) on 2016-05-20T13:09:52Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_tese_alsilva.pdf: 6480806 bytes, checksum: 946e32810e24c5137dfbba52bfd30bb8 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by demia Maia (demiamlm@gmail.com) on 2016-05-20T13:10:43Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_tese_alsilva.pdf: 6480806 bytes, checksum: 946e32810e24c5137dfbba52bfd30bb8 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-20T13:10:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_tese_alsilva.pdf: 6480806 bytes, checksum: 946e32810e24c5137dfbba52bfd30bb8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / There is a growing global interest for the development of green technologies that allow the use of products with less damage to environment, as well as for maximum and sustainable use of natural resources. The main aim of this study was to develop superparamagnetic nanobiocomposites for application as dielectric resonator antennas. For this purpose, a biobased thermoset plastic was prepared by using cardanol as an alternative to petrochemical phenol. This thermoset plastic was used as a polymer matrix and biocomposites were prepared by using 15 wt% of untreated and modified sponge gourd fibers by chemical treatment (NaOH 5, 10, and 15 wt% and NaClO 1 wt%) as dispersed phase. For the nanobiocomposites preparation, besides the sponge gourd fibers insertion, the thermoset plastic were also impregnated with magnetite nanoparticles in different contents (1, 5, and 10 wt%). Techniques of Thermogravimetry (TG), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Optical Microscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Mössbauer Spectroscopy, Tensile testing, Dielectric measurements, Vibrating Sample Magnetometry (VSM) and Biodegradation in simulated soil were performed for characterization. The results showed that alkaline treatment improved the thermal stability and the crystallinity index of the sponge gourd fiber. The crosslinking agent used (Diethylenetriamine) was efficient and enabled complete cure for all materials. The biocomposites reinforced by treated fiber showed better thermal stability, superior performance in Tensile testing and greater biodegradation rates, when compared to the biocomposite reinforced by raw fiber. The magnetite particles exhibited nanometric size, high purity and crystallinity, and superparamagnetic character. All nanobiocomposites showed superparamagnetic behavior, excellent thermal stability, good biodegradation rates, and better mechanical strength for the material with magnetite 10 wt%. All dielectric resonators antennas exhibited satisfactory return loss and suitability for commercial and technological applications, especially for performance in broadband. / É crescente o interesse mundial pelo desenvolvimento de tecnologias chamadas “verdes” que possibilitem o uso de produtos com menor impacto ao meio ambiente, assim como também se fortalecem as políticas de incentivo ao aproveitamento máximo e sustentável dos recursos naturais. O principal objetivo desse estudo foi desenvolver nanobiocompósitos superparamagnéticos para aplicação como antenas ressoadoras dielétricas. Para tal, um plástico termorrígido biobaseado foi preparado utilizando o cardanol em alternativa aos fenóis petroquímicos. Esse plástico termorrígido foi utilizado como matriz para o preparo de biocompósitos, utilizando 15% em massa de fibra de bucha bruta e também modificada por tratamento químico (NaOH 5, 10 e 15% e NaClO 1%) como fase dispersa. Para o preparo dos nanobiocompósitos, além da fibra de bucha, nanopartículas de magnetita, sintetizadas pelo método da coprecipitação, foram impregnadas no plástico termorrígido em diferentes teores de 1, 5 e 10% em massa. Técnicas de Termogravimetria (TG), Calorimetria exploratória diferencial (DSC), Análise dinâmico-mecânica (DMA), Microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV), Microscopia óptica, Microscopia eletrônica de transmissão (MET), Difração de raios X (DRX), Espectroscopia no infravermelho com transformada de Fourier (FTIR), Espectroscopia Mössbauer, Ensaios de resistência à tração, Medidas dielétricas, Magnetometria de amostra vibrante (VSM) e Biodegradação em solo simulado foram utilizadas para caracterização. Os resultados mostraram que o tratamento alcalino melhorou a estabilidade térmica e o índice de cristalinidade da fibra de bucha. O agente reticulador utilizado (DETA) mostrou-se eficiente, possibilitando a cura completa dos materiais. Os biocompósitos com fibra tratada apresentaram maior estabilidade térmica, resistência à tração superior e melhor índice de biodegradação em relação ao biocompósito com fibra natural. A magnetita sintetizada exibiu tamanho nanométrico, além de alta pureza, alta cristalinidade e caráter superparamagnético. Todos os nanobiocompósitos exibiram superparamagnetismo e mostraram excelente estabilidade térmica, boas taxas de biodegradação e melhor resistência mecânica para o material com 10% de magnetita. Todas as antenas ressoadoras dielétricas preparadas apresentaram perda de retorno satisfatória e, portanto, adequação para fins comerciais e tecnológicos, com maior potencial para atuação em banda larga.

Le développement de méthodologies permettant de fonctionnaliser aisément les surfaces est un domaine en plein essor. Nous avons synthétisé et caractérisé de nouveaux complexes de cuivre(II)-carboxylates hautement fluorophiles qui ont été utilisés pour modifier des surfaces. Ces complexes possèdent à l'état solide une très grande affinité pour l'eau, l'hydratation induisant un changement radical des propriétés magnétiques du solide. Ces complexes fluorophiles s'adsorbent très fortement sur le Téflon ou sur le verre pour conduire à des surfaces hydrophiles et coordinantes. En utilisant la chimie de coordination, les surfaces ont ensuite été fonctionnalisées. Des monocouches et des couches minces de porphyrines ont été obtenues sur le verre et sur le téflon puis caractérisées, notamment grâce à leurs propriétés optiques. / The development of methodologies to easily functionalize surfaces is a fast growing field. We have synthesized and characterized new highly fluorophilic copper(II)-carboxylate complexes that have been employed to modify surfaces. In the solid state, these complexes exhibit a high affinity for water, the hydration process inducing dramatic modifications of their magnetic properties. These fluorophilic complexes are strongly adsorbed on teflon or glass to afford hydrophilic and coordinating surfaces. Using coordination chemistry, the surfaces can than be functionalized. Porphyrins monolayers and thin layers have been prepared on glass and teflon and characterized, in particular by their optical properties.

A taxonomia vegetal atualmente exige um grande esforço dos botânicos, desde o processo de aquisição do espécime até a morosa comparação com as amostras já catalogadas em um herbário. Nesse contexto, o projeto TreeVis surge como uma ferramenta para a identificação de vegetais por meio da análise de atributos foliares. Este trabalho é uma ramificação do projeto TreeVis e tem o objetivo de identificar vegetais por meio da análise do corte transversal de uma folha ampliado por um microscópio. Para tanto, foram extraídas assinaturas da cutícula, epiderme superior, parênquima paliçádico e parênquima lacunoso. Cada assinatura foi avaliada isoladamente por uma rede neural pelo método leave-one-out para verificar a sua capacidade de discriminar as amostras. Uma vez selecionados os vetores de características mais importantes, os mesmos foram combinados de duas maneiras. A primeira abordagem foi a simples concatenação dos vetores selecionados; a segunda, mais elaborada, reduziu a dimensionalidade (três atributos apenas) de algumas das assinaturas componentes antes de fazer a concatenação. Os vetores finais obtidos pelas duas abordagens foram testados com rede neural via leave-one-out para medir a taxa de acertos alcançada pelo sinergismo das assinaturas das diferentes partes da folha. Os experimentos consitiram na identificação de oito espécies diferentes e na identificação da espécie Gochnatia polymorpha nos ambientes Cerrado e Mata Ciliar, nas estações Chuvosa e Seca, e sob condições de Sol e Sombra / Currently, taxonomy demands a great effort from the botanists, ranging from the process of acquisition of the sample to the comparison with the species already classified in the herbarium. For this reason, the TreeVis is a project created to identify vegetal species using leaf attributes. This work is a part of the TreeVis project and aims at identifying vegetal species by analysing cross-sections of leaves amplified by a microscope. Signatures were extract from cuticle, adaxial epiderm, palisade parenchyma and sponge parenchyma. Each signature was analysed by a neural network with the leave-one-out method to verify its ability to identify species. Once the most important feature vectors were selected, two different approachs were adopted. The first was a simple concatenation of the selected feature vectors. The second, and more elaborated approach, consisted of reducing the dimensionality (three attributes only) of some component signatures before the feature vector concatenation. The final vectors obtained by these two approaches were tested by a neural network with leave-one-out to measure the correctness rate reached by the synergism of the signatures of different leaf regions. The experiments resulted in the identification of eight different species and the identification of the Gochnatia polymorpha species in Cerradão and Gallery Forest environments, Wet and Dry seasons, and under Sun and Shadow constraints