Working experience with a foundry solar furnace

Literature reveals that a low order priority has been given to foundry applications of the solar furnace for temperatures upto about 1000°C. In the present work, the performance of a solar furnace capable of melting small quantities of foundry-grade metals and alloys had been studied under various conditions. Crucibles of different materials and shapes were tried and the effect of having different heat-shield materials was also studied. Al---bronze crucible with cavity, and well-polished stainless stell heat-shield were found to be most effective in enhancing the efficiency of the furnace. Many important industrial applications of the present solar furnace, such as the recovery of metallic zinc from slags, had also been realised.

Life-history of Neurospora intermedia in a sugar cane field

The life-history of Neurospora in nature has remained largely unknown. The present study attempts to remedy this. The following conclusions are based on observation of Neurospora on fire-scorched sugar cane in agricultural fields, and reconstruction experiments using a colour mutant to inoculate sugar cane burned in the laboratory. The fungus persists in soil as heat-resistant dormant ascospores. These are activated by a chemical(s) released into soil from the burnt substrate. The chief diffusible activator of ascospores is furfural and the germinating ascospores infect the scorched substrate. An invasive mycelium grows progressively upwards inside the juicy sugar cane and produces copious macroconidia externally through fire-induced openings formed in the plant tissue, or by the mechanical rupturing of the plant epidermal tissue by the mass of mycelium. The loose conidia are dispersed by wind and/or foraged by microfauna. It is suggested that the constant production of macroconidia, and their ready dispersal, serve a physiological role: to drain the substrate of minerals and soluble sugars, thereby creating nutritional conditions which stimulate sexual reproduction by the fungus. Sexual reproduction in the sugar-depleted cellulosic substrate occurs after macroconidiation has ceased totally and is favoured by the humid conditions prevailing during the monsoon rains. Profuse microconidiophores and protoperithecia are produced simultaneously in the pockets below the loosened epidermal tissue. Presumably protoperithecia are fertilized by microconidia which are possibly transmitted by nematodes active in the dead plant tissue. Mature perithecia release ascospores in situ which are passively liberated in the soil by the disintegration of the plant material and are, apparently, distributed by rain or irrigation water.

耐热Mg-Gd基合金的研究和应用

本研究从二元Mg-Gd体系出发，研究了添加不同稀土元素对Mg-Gd基合金的组织、时效行为和力学性能的影响。优化出多种力学性能优异、加工性能良好和耐热性突出的新型Mg-Gd-RE-Zn-Zr系合金。在探讨Mg-Gd基合金强化机理的同时，提出了强化模型，并进行了定量分析。 在Mg-Gd二元体系中，通过对不同Gd含量的合金组织，时效行为和力学性能的研究，发现Gd不仅可以细化晶粒，还可以细化枝晶。合金中Gd的含量大于8 wt.%开始表现出时效硬化现象，Gd含量超过12wt.％时效硬化效果显著。在二元体系研究结果的基础上，选用Mg-8Gd基合金，研究了不同轻稀土元素LRE(La, Ce和Nd)和重稀土元素HRE (Y, Dy, Ho 和Er)对合金组织和性能的影响。结果表明，轻稀土中Nd的作用效果最好，其次为Ce和La。重稀土中Y和Dy的作用效果较好，其次为Ho和Er。将轻、重稀土综合考虑，在Mg-8Gd-3RE(Nd+Y)-Zr合金中，变化Nd和Y的添加量，发现Nd和Y的添加量分别为1 和2或2和1时，能够明显改善合金的综合力学性能。 研究了Mg-8Gd-2Y-1Nd-0.3Zn和Mg-8Gd-1Dy-0.3Zn压铸合金的组织和性能。研究表明，两种合金的铸造性能好，而且具有优异的抗拉性能和蠕变性能，可以满足在250℃~275℃环境下使用。进一步研究了挤压变形Mg-8Gd-2Y-1Nd-0.3Zn合金。合金成形性能好，抗拉强度和伸长率明显提高，而且改善了合金的高温抗蠕变性能，比压铸合金提高了近一个数量级。 发明了一种新型的分步固溶处理方法——振荡热处理方法，这种方法比传统的T6热处理方法更加有效，振荡热处理的主要作用是改变了凝固过程中析出相的尺寸和分布。 研究了Mg-Gd基合金凝固过程中的相析出和相转变。在合金的凝固过程中，容易生成块状的化学组成为Mg5RE（fcc结构）的共晶相；加入Zn后，凝固中容易出现片状的Mg3RE（14H型）沉淀；时效强化的主要原因是在过饱和固溶体时效过程中析出针状的50 nm~100 nm的Mg15RE3相，它与基体具有半共格的位相关系，能够有效阻止位错滑移。但随着时效时间的延长，针状析出相长大，共格关系被破坏，导致强化作用降低。而对于压铸和挤压变形合金，合金析出相的种类不变，主要的不同是挤压变形合金析出化合物的分布更加均匀，尺寸更小。 开发了高强度耐热Mg-12Gd-4Y-2Nd-0.4Zn-0.6Zr合金，这种合金经过热处理后，力学性能优良，热稳定性突出。在300 ℃的抗拉强度约为300 MPa，400 ℃的抗拉强度在100 MPa以上。本合金流动性能良好，适合于砂型铸造，在具有高温、高强度要求的镁合金制品方面极具潜力。 从金属材料强化原理出发，建立了Mg-Gd基合金的强化模型，并进行了定量分析。结果表明，析出强化是Mg-Gd基合金的主要强化方式，但实际试验值和理论值略有偏差，分析认为主要是由于β'相体积分数的变化区间较宽，且合金制备过程中不可避免地产生一些微观缺陷所致。 采用新型合金制备出了一些工业用品部件，探索了该类合金在机械、汽车和高技术等工业领域中的潜在应用

含钇的耐热稀土镁合金的结构和性能研究

耐热、高强和抗高温蠕变的稀土镁合金是镁合金研究与开发的重要研究课题之一。本论文主要集中于对Y和其它稀土元素复合加入镁后的镁合金结构和性能的研究。探讨了Y与其它重稀土元素如Gd、Ho复合加入镁后的镁合金的时效硬化行为和结构性能，也研究了Y与混合轻稀土金属如富铈、富镧复合加入镁后对镁合金性能的影响。还对新型Mg-Y压铸镁合金的开发为目标，探讨了这一新型合金开发的可行性。具体结果如下： 1. 研究了Y加入到Mg-10Gd-0.4Zr合金中对合金的时效硬化和性能的影响规律和Mg-10Gd-6Y-0.4Zr合金在225℃和250℃时效210h内的沉淀析出相的转变以及合金的时效硬化行为。随着Y含量的增加，合金的时效硬化反应显著增强，合金的高温拉伸强度随Y含量的增加而线性增强，其原因是合金中的β'相有好的热稳定性。 2. 研究了Y和Ho元素复合加入镁后镁合金的时效硬化反应和组织性能。研究发现，在250℃时效时，当Y和Ho元素复合加入镁后，合金固溶体的时效分解速度加快，促进了合金的时效硬化，并且，随着Y含量的增加，合金的时效硬化反应增强，力学性能也相应提高。β-Mg24Y(Ho)5和（或）β'相对合金的时效硬化起了主要的作用，而且，位错密度增加也是合金性能提高的重要原因。 3. 探讨了Y和混合轻稀土富铈（和富镧）复合加入镁后对镁合金的性能影响。富铈和富镧在镁中低的固溶度导致单独加入镁后的时效硬化反应很弱，当Y和混合轻稀土富铈（和富镧）复合加入后，合金的时效硬化反应明显增强，并随着Y含量的增加，时效硬化的反应也相应增强。富铈和富镧对Mg-Y合金固溶体的时效分解有明显的促进作用。除了基体中的沉淀强化外，仍然停留在晶界上的Mg12RE稀土相对合金的晶界也有明显的强化作用。 4. 研究开发了具有良好的力学性能和高温抗蠕变性能、低含量Y、Gd的稀土镁合金，实验结果表明该合金是一种有良好应用前景的压铸镁合金。

中国青藏高原青稞抗穗发芽资源评价与α-淀粉酶基因的克隆及表达

穗发芽（PHS，preharvest sprouting）是影响禾本科作物生产的重要的灾害之一。收获时期如遇潮湿天气容易导致穗发芽发生。发生穗发芽的种子内部水解酶（主要是α-淀粉酶）活性急剧升高，胚乳贮藏物质开始降解，造成作物产量和品质严重降低。因此，选育低穗发芽风险的品种是当前作物育种工作中面临的重要任务。 青稞(Hordeum vulgare ssp. vulgare)主要分布于青藏高原，自古以来就是青藏高原人民的主要粮食。近年来，由于青稞丰富的营养成分和特有的保健品质、在燃料工业中的潜力以及在啤酒酿造工业中的利用前景，在发达国家日趋受到重视，掀起综合研究利用的热潮。我国拥有占全世界2/3 以上的青稞资源，具有发展青稞产业的得天独厚的条件。然而，由于青稞收获期间恰逢青藏高原雨季来临，常有穗发芽灾害发生，使青稞生产损失巨大。目前对青稞穗发芽研究很少，适用于育种的穗发芽抗性材料相对缺乏，不能很好的满足青稞穗发芽抗性育种的需要。本研究以青藏高原青稞为材料，对其穗发芽抗性的评价指标和体系进行构建，同时筛选青稞抗穗发芽品种并对其抗性进行评价，还利用分子生物学手段对青稞穗发芽抗性的分子机理进行了初步探讨。主要研究结果如下： 1. 本试验以来自于我国青藏高原地区的青稞为材料，对休眠性测定的温度范围进行探讨，并对各种穗发芽抗性测定方法的对青稞的适用性进行评测。通过探讨温度对13 个不同基因型的青稞籽粒发芽和休眠性表达的影响，对筛选青稞抗穗发芽资源的温度条件进行探索，并初步分析了其休眠性表达的机理。在10，15，20，25，30℃的黑暗条件下，选用新收获的13 个青稞品种为材料进行籽粒发芽实验，以发芽指数（GI）评价其休眠性。结果发现，不同品种对温度敏感性不同，其中温度不敏感品种，在各温度条件下均表现很低的休眠性；而温度敏感品种，其休眠性表达受低温抑制，受高温诱导。15℃至25℃是进行青稞休眠性鉴定的较适宜的温度范围。通过对供试材料发芽后的α-淀粉酶活性，发现温度对青稞种子的休眠性表达的影响至少在一定程度上表现在对α-淀粉酶活性的调控上。随后，对分别在马尔康和成都进行种植的34 份青稞穗发芽指数（SI），穗发芽率（SR），籽粒发芽指数（GI）和α-淀粉酶活性（AA）进行了测定和分析，发现它们均受基因型×栽培地点的极显著影响，且四个参数之间具有一定相关性。GI 参数由于其变异系数较低，在不同栽培地点稳定性好，且操作简便，是较可靠和理想的穗发芽评价参数。SI 参数可作为辅助，区别籽粒休眠性相似的材料（基因型）或全面评价材料（基因型）的穗发芽抗性特征。AA 参数稳定性较差，并且检测方法复杂，因此不建议在育种及大量材料筛选和评价时使用。此外，青稞穗发芽抗性受环境影响较大，评价时应考虑到尽可能多的抗性影响因素及其在不同栽培条件下的变异。 2. 对来自青藏高原的青稞穗发芽抗性特征及其与其它农艺性状间的关系进行研究。通过测定穗发芽指数（SI）、籽粒发芽指数（GI）和α-淀粉酶活性（AA），表明113 份青稞材料的穗发芽抗性具有显著差异。SI、GI 和AA 参数的变幅分别为1.00~8.86、0.01~0.97 和0.00~2.76，其均值分别为4.72、0.63 和1.22。根据SI 参数，六个基因型，包括‘XQ9-5’，‘XQ33-9’，‘XQ37-5’，‘XQ42-9’，‘XQ45-7’和‘JCL’被鉴定为抗性品种。综合SI、GI 和AA 参数，可以发现青稞的穗发芽抗性机制包含颖壳等穗部结构的抗性和种子自身的抗性（即种子休眠性），且供试材料中未发现较强的胚休眠品种，除‘XQ45-7’外，所有品种在发芽第四天均能检测出α-淀粉酶活性。穗部结构和种子休眠的抗性机制因基因型不同而不同，在穗发芽抗性中可单独作用或共同作用。农家品种和西藏群体分别比栽培品种和四川群体的穗发芽抗性强，而在不同籽粒颜色的青稞中未发现明显差异。相关性检验发现，青稞的穗发芽抗性，主要是种子休眠性，与百粒重、开花期、成熟期、穗长、芒长和剑叶长呈显著负相关关系，与株高相关性不显著。农艺性状可以作为穗发芽抗性材料选育中的辅助指标。本试验为青稞穗发芽抗性育种研究提供了必要的理论基础和可供使用的亲本材料。 3. α-淀粉酶是由多基因家族编码的蛋白质，在植物种子萌发时高度表达，与植物种子的萌发能力密切相关。在大麦种子发芽时，高等电点α-淀粉酶的活性远大于低等电点的α-淀粉酶。为了研究不同穗发芽抗性青稞品种中编码高等电点α-淀粉酶Amy1 基因结构与抗性间的关系，我们以筛选得到的抗性品种‘XQ32-5’（TR1）、‘XQ37-5’（TR2）、‘XQ45-7’（TR3），易感品种‘97-15’（TS1）、‘9657’（TS2）以及强休眠大麦品种‘SAMSON’（SAM）为材料，对其Amy1 基因的编码区序列进行克隆和结构分析，并对它们推导的氨基酸序列进行比较。结果显示，青稞Amy1 基因具有三个外显子、两个内含子，编码区中有13 个核苷酸变异位点，均位于2、3 号外显子，2 个变异位点位于2 号外显子。SAM 和TS1 分别在2 号外显子相应位置有5 个相同的碱基(GAACT)的插入片段。相应α-淀粉酶氨基酸序列推导发现，所有核苷酸变异中有8 个导致相应氨基酸残基的改变，其余位点为同义突变。青稞Amy1 基因编码区序列品种间相似度高达99%以上，部分序列变异可能与其穗发芽抗性有关。随后，我们又通过SYBR Green 荧光定量技术对该基因在不同发芽时间（1d~7d）的相对表达水平进行了差异性检测。结果发现，7 天内不能检测到SAM 的Amy1 基因表达，5 个青稞品种间的Amy1 基因的相对表达量均随着发芽时间延长而上升，但上升方式有所不同。弱抗品种该基因表达更早，转录本增加速率更大，且在4~5 天可达到平台期。发芽7 天中，抗性品种总转录水平明显低于易感品种。本研究结果表明，青稞Amy1 基因的转录水平是与其穗发芽抗性高度相关。 我国青藏高原青稞，尤其是农家品种的穗发芽抗性具有丰富的变异，蕴藏着穗发芽抗性育种的宝贵资源。本研究为青稞穗发芽抗性育种建立了合理抗性评价体系，筛选出可供育种使用的特殊材料，阐明了农艺性状可辅助穗发芽抗性育种，同时还对穗发芽抗性与α-淀粉酶基因的结构和表达关系进行分析，为青稞穗发芽抗性资源筛选奠定了基础。 Preharvest sprouting (PHS) is a serious problem in crop production. It often takes place when encountering damp, cold conditions at harvest time and results in the decrease of grain quality and great loss of yield by triggering the synthesis of endosperm degrading enzymes (mostly the α-amylase). Therefore, PHS is regarded as an important criterion for crop breeding. In order to minimize the risk of PHS, resistant genotypes are highly required. Hulless barley (Hordeum vulgare ssp. vulgare) is the staple food crop in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau from of old, where is one of the origin and genetic diversity centers of hulless barley. Recently, interest in hulless barley has been sparked throughout the world due to the demonstrations of its great potential in health food industry and fuel alcohol production. Indeed, hulless barley can also be utilized to produce good quality malt if the appropriate malting conditions are used. In China, overcast and rainy conditions often occur at maturity of hulless barley and cause an adverse on its production and application. PHS resistant genotypes, therefore, are highly required for the hulless barley breeding programs. However, few investigations have been made so far on this issue. The objectives of this study were: 1) to assessment of methods used in testing preharvest sprouting resistance in hulless barley; 2) to evaluate the variability and characteristics of PHS resistance of hulless barley from Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China; 3) to select potential parents for PHS resistance breeding; 4) to primarily study on the molecular mechanism of PHS resistance of hulless barley. Our results are as followed: 1. We investigated the temperature effects on seed germination and seed dormancy expression of hulless barley, discussed appropriate temperature range for screening of PHS resistant varieties, and analyzed the mechanism of seed dormancy expression of hulless barley. The dormancy level of 13 hulless barley were evaluated by GI (germination index) values calculating by seed germination tests at temperature of 10，15，20，25，30℃ in darkness. There were great differences in temperature sensitivity among these accessions. The insensitive accessions showed low dormancy at any temperature while the dormancy expression of sensitive accessions could be restrained by low temperature and induced by high temperature. The temperature range of 15℃ to 25℃ was workable for estimating of dormancy level of hulless barley according to our data. Analysis of α-amylase activity showed that the temperature effects on seed germination and the expression of seed dormancy be achieved probable via regulating of α-amylase activity. Furthermore, we evaluated the differences in sprouting index (SI), sprouting rate (SR), germination index (GI) and α-amylase activity (AA) between Maerkang and Chengdu among 34 accessions of hulless barley from Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in China. These PHS sprouting parameters were significantly affected by accession×location, and they had correlation between each other. GI was the most reliable parameter because of its low CV value, good repeatability and simple operation. SI could assist in differentiating between accessions of similar dormancy or overall evaluation of the resistance. AA was bad in repeatability and had relatively complex testing method, therefore, not appropriate for breeding and evaluation and screening of PHS resistant materials. Besides, since PHS resistance of hulless barley was greatly influenced by its growth environment, possibly much influencing factors and variations between cultivated conditions should be considered. 2. In this study, large variation was found among 113 genotypes of hulless barley (Hordeum vulgare ssp.vulgare) from Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in China, based on the sprouting index (SI), germination index (GI) and α-amylase activity (AA) which derived from sprouting test of intact spikes, germination test of threshed seeds and determination of α-amylase activity, respectively. The range of SI, GI and AA was 1.00~8.86, 0.01~0.97 and 0.00~2.76，the mean was 4.72, 0.63 and 1.22 espectively. Six resistant genotypes, including ‘XQ9-5’, ‘XQ33-9’, ‘XQ37-5’, ‘XQ42-9’, ‘XQ45-7’ and ‘JCL’, were identified based on SI. Integrating the three parameters, it was clear that both hulls and seeds involved in PHS resistance in intact spikes of hulless barley and there was no long-existent embryo dormancy found among the test genotypes. All the genotypes, except ‘XQ45-7’, had detectable α-amylase activity on the 4th day after germination. There was PHS resistance imposed by the hull and seed per se and the two factors can act together or independent of each other. Besides, landraces or Tibet hulless barley had a wider variation and relatively more PHS resistance when compared with cultivars or Sichuan hulless barley. No significant difference was found among hulless barley of different seed colors. The correlation analysis showed PHS resistance was negatively related to hundred grain weight, days to flowering, days to maturity, spike length, awn length and flag length but not related to plant height. This study provides essential information and several donor parents for breeding of resistance to PHS. 3. Alpha-amylase isozymes are encoded by a family of multigenes. They highly express in germinating seeds and is closely related to seed germination ability. In barley germinating seeds, the activity of high pI α-amylase is much higher than low pI α-amylase. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between preharvest sprouting resistance of hulless barley and the gene structure of Amy1 gene which encodes high pI α-amylase. The coding region and cDNA of Amy1 gene of three resistant accessions, including ‘XQ32-5’ (TR1), ‘XQ37-5’ (TR2), ‘XQ45-7’ (TR3), two susceptible accessions ‘97-15’ (TS1), ‘9657’ (TS2) and one highly dormant barley accession ‘SAMSON’ (SAM) was cloned. Analysis of their DNA sequences revealed there were three exons and two introns in Amy1 gene. Thirteen variable sites were in exon2 and exon3, 2 variable sites were in intron2. SAM and TS1 had a GAACT insert segment in the same site in intron2. Only 8 variable sites caused the change of amino acid residues. There were 99% of similarity between the tested hulless barley and some of the variable sites might be related with preharvest sprouting resistance. Then, we investigated the expression level of Amy1 gene in the 7-day germination test. Results of quantitative real-time PCR indicated that the relative expression trends of Amy1 gene were the same but had significant differences in the increase fashion between hulless barleys and no detectable expression was found in SAM. Susceptible accessions had earlier expression and faster increase and reached the maximum on day 4 ~ day 5. Besides, total transcripts level was found lower in resistant accessions than susceptible accessions. This study indicated that α-amylase activity was highly related to the transcription level of Amy1 gene which not correlated to missense mutation sites. In conclusion, hulless barley, especially the landraces from Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in China possesses high degree of variation in PHS performance, which indicates the potential of Tibetan hulless barley as a good source for breeding of resistance to PHS. This study provides several donor parents for breeding of resistance to PHS. Our results also demonstrate that agronomic traits may be used as assistants for PHS resistance selection in hulless barley. Besides, analysis of high pI α-amylase coding gene Amy1 revealed the relative high expression of was Amy1 one of the mainly reason of different PHS resistance level in hulless barley.

Kinetic analysis of interaction between lipopolysaccharide and biomolecules

Lipopolysaccharide ( LPS) is a major component of the outer membrane of all gram-negative bacteria. It is a heat-resistant toxin which can cause toxic shock in animals. LPS interacts with some biomolecules and triggers its toxic reaction. In this study, the interaction between LPS from Salmonella Minnesota and some biomolecules using syrface okasnib resibabce ( SPR) biosensor. biomolecules were imobilized on CM5 sensor-chip suing amion coupling method and LPS was injected over the immobilized surfaces.

Syntheses and properties of polyimides derived from diamines containing 2,5-disubstituted pyridine group

A Series of novel homo- and copolyimides containing pyridine units were prepared from the heteroaromatic diamines, 2,5-bis (4-aminophenyl) pyridine and 2-(4aminophenyl)-5-aminopyridine, with pyromelltic dianhydride (PMDA), and 3,3',4,4'-biphenyl tertracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA) via a conventional two-step thermal imidizaton method. The poly(amic acid) precursors have inherent viscosities of 1.60-9.64 dL/g (c = 0.5 g/dL in DMAC, 30 degrees C) and all of them can be cast and thermally converted into flexible and tough polyimide films. All of the polyimides show excellent thermal stability and mechanical properties. The polyimides have 10% weight loss temperature in the range of 548-598 degrees C in air. The glass transition temperatures of the PMDA-based samples are in the range of 395-438 degrees C, while the BPDA-based polyimides show two glass transition temperatures (T(g)1 and T(g)2), ranging from 268 to 353 degrees C and from 395 to 418 degrees C, respectively. The flexible films possess tensile modulus in the range of 3.42-6.39 GPa, strength in the range of 112-363 MPa and an elongation at break in the range of 1.2-69%. The strong reflection peaks in the wide-angle X-ray diffraction patterns indicate that the polyimides have a high packing density and crystallinity.

Syntheses and properties of novel polyimides derived from 2-(4-aminophenyl)-5-aminopyrimidine

2-(4-Aminophenyl)-5-aminopyrimidine (4) is synthesized via a condensation reaction of vinamidium salts and amidine chloride salts, followed by hydrazine palladium catalyzed reduction. A series of novel homo- and copolyimides containing pyrimidine unit are prepared from the diamine and 1,4-phenylenediamine (PDA) with pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) or 3,3',4,4'-biphenyl tertracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA) via a conventional two-step thermal imidization method. The poly(amic acid) precursors had inherent viscosities of 0.97-4.38 dL/g (c = 0.5 g/dL, in DMAc, 30 degrees C) and all of them could be cast and thermally converted into flexible and tough polyimide films. All of the polyimides showed excellent thermal stability and mechanical properties. The glass transition temperatures of the resulting polyimides are in the range of 307-434 degrees C and the 10% weight loss temperature is in the range of 556-609 degrees C under air. The polyimide films possess strength at break in the range of 185-271 MPa, elongations at break in the range of 6.8-51%, and tensile modulus in the range of 3.5-6.46 GPa. The polymer films are insoluble in common organic solvents, exhibiting high chemical resistance.

STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF SEQUENTIALLY POLYMERIZED PROPYLENE-B-[ETHYLENE-CO-PROPYLENE]-B-PROPYLENE COPOLYMERS

The structure and properties of presumed block copolymers of polypropylene (PP) with ethylene-propylene random copolymers (EPR), i.e., PP-EPR and PP-EPR-PP, have been investigated by viscometry, transmission electron microscopy, dynamic mechanical analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, gel permeation chromatography, wide-angle x-ray diffraction, and other techniques testing various mechanical properties. PP-EPR and PP-EPR-PP were synthesized using delta-TiCl3-Et2AlCl as a catalyst system. The results indicate that the intrinsic viscosity of these polymers increases with each block-building step, whereas the intrinsic viscosity of those prepared by chain transfer reaction (strong chain-transfer reagent hydrogen was introduced between block-building steps during polymerization) hardly changes with the reaction time. Compared with PP / EPR blends, PP-EPR-PP block copolymers have lower PP and polyethylene crystallinity, and lower melting and crystallization temperatures of crystalline EPR. Two relaxation peaks of PP and EPR appear in the dynamic spectra of blends. They merge into a very broad relaxation peak with block sequence products of the same composition, indicating good compatibility between PP and EPR in the presence of block copolymers. Varying the PP and EPR content affects the crystallinity, density, and morphological structure of the products, which in turn affects the tensile strength and elongation at break. Because of their superior mechanical properties, sequential polymerization products containing PP-EPR and PP-EPR-PP block copolymers may have potential as compatibilizing agents for isotactic polypropylene and polyethylene blends or as potential heat-resistant thermoplastic elastomers.

The initial oxidation of transition metal surfaces

Due to their numerous novel technological applications ranging from the example of exhaust catalysts in the automotive industry to the catalytic production of hydro- gen, surface reactions on transition metal substrates have become to be one of the most essential subjects within the surface science community. Although numerous applications exist, there are many details in the different processes that, after many decades of research, remain unknown. There are perhaps as many applications for the corrosion resistant materials such as stainless steels. A thorough knowledge of the details of the simplest reactions occuring on the surfaces, such as oxidation, play a key role in the design of better catalysts, or corrosion resistant materials in the future. This thesis examines the oxidation of metal surfaces from a computational point of view mostly concentrating on copper as a model material. Oxidation is studied from the initial oxidation to the oxygen precovered surface. Important parameters for the initial sticking and dissociation are obtained. The saturation layer is thoroughly studied and the calculated results arecompared with available experimental results. On the saturated surface, some open questions still remain. The present calculations demonstrate, that the saturated part of the surface is excluded from being chemically reactive towards the oxygen molecules. The results suggest, that the reason for the chemical activity of the saturated surface is due to a strain effect occuring between the saturated areas of the surface.

On the anharmonic, multi-phonon, Debye-Waller contributions to the phonon-limited resistivity of metals : applications to Na and K

The anharmonic, multi-phonon (MP), and Oebye-Waller factor (OW) contributions to the phonon limited resistivity (;0) of metals derived by Shukla and Muller (1979) by the doubletime temperature dependent Green function method have been numerically evaluated for Na and K in the high temperature limit. The anharmonic contributions arise from the cubic and quartic shift of phonons (CS, QS), and phonon width (W) and the interference term (1). The QS, MP and OW contributions to I' are also derived by the matrix element method and the results are in agreement with those of Shukla and Muller (1979). In the high temperature limit, the contributions to;O from each of the above mentioned terms are of the type BT2 For numerical calculations suitable expressions are derived for the anharmonic contributions to ~ in terms of the third and fourth rank tensors obtained by the Ewald procedure. The numerical calculation of the contributions to;O from the OW, MP term and the QS have been done exactly and from the CS, Wand I terms only approximately in the partial and total Einstein approximations (PEA, TEA), using a first principle approach (Shukla and Taylor (1976)). The results obtained indicate that there is a strong pairwise cancellation between the: OW and MP terms, the QS and CS and the Wand I terms. The sum total of these contributions to;O for Na and K amounts to 4 to 11% and 2 to 7%, respectively, in the PEA while in the TEA they amount to 3 to 7% and 1 to 4%, respectively, in the temperature range.

Modèles cellulaires pour étudier les interactions entre Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae et le virus du syndrome reproducteur et respiratoire porcin

Durant une infection pulmonaire, les porcs sont souvent infectés par plus d’un microorganisme. Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae et le virus du syndrome reproducteur et respiratoire porcin (VSRRP) sont des pathogènes qui peuvent infecter de manière simultanée les porcs. L’objectif du présent projet est d’étudier l’interaction entre ces pathogènes. Les deux lignées cellulaires permissives au VSRRP utilisées sont les cellules « St-Jude porcine lung » (SJPL) et MARC-145. Les cellules ont été pré-infectées avec le VSRRP, puis infectées avec A. pleuropneumoniae. Un dosage de la lactate déshydrogénase a montré qu’une co-infection VSRRP-A. pleuropneumoniae comparée à une infection simple augmente significativement la cytotoxicité. Dans les mêmes conditions expérimentales, une pré-infection virale ne semble pas affecter l’adhérence d’A. pleuropneumoniae aux cellules. À l’aide de tests ELISA, il a été possible de démontrer la production d’IL-8 et d’INF-γ lorsqu’il y a infection des cellules. Pour ce qui est du TNF-α, d’IL-6 et d’IL-10, ces cytokines ne sont pas détectées en présence des pathogènes étudiés. Des expériences de pré-infection bactérienne suivie d’infection virale ont également été réalisées. Il a été démontré que la pré-infection avec A. pleuropneumoniae diminuait la réplication du VSRRP chez la lignée cellulaire SJPL, mais cela n’est pas observé avec la lignée cellulaire MARC-145. Les résultats préliminaires ont démontré que cette diminution de la réplication serait causée par une molécule de faible poids moléculaire sécrétée dans le surnageant bactérien et celle-ci serait résistante à la chaleur. Les lignées cellulaires SJPL et MARC-145 représentent de bons modèles pour l’étude des infections mixtes des voies respiratoires du porc.

Detection and quantification of staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B in food product using isotopic dilution techniques and mass spectrometry

L’entérotoxine B staphylococcique (SEB) est une toxine entérique hautement résistante à la chaleur et est responsable de plus de 50 % des cas d’intoxication d’origine alimentaire par une entérotoxine. L’objectif principal de ce projet de maîtrise est de développer et valider une méthode basée sur des nouvelles stratégies analytiques permettant la détection et la quantification de SEB dans les matrices alimentaires. Une carte de peptides tryptiques a été produite et 3 peptides tryptiques spécifiques ont été sélectionnés pour servir de peptides témoins à partir des 9 fragments protéolytiques identifiés (couverture de 35 % de la séquence). L’anhydride acétique et la forme deutérée furent utilisés afin de synthétiser des peptides standards marqués avec un isotope léger et lourd. La combinaison de mélanges des deux isotopes à des concentrations molaires différentes fut utilisée afin d’établir la linéarité et les résultats ont démontré que les mesures faites par dilution isotopique combinée au CL-SM/SM respectaient les critères généralement reconnus d’épreuves biologiques avec des valeurs de pente près de 1, des valeurs de R2 supérieure à 0,98 et des coefficients de variation (CV%) inférieurs à 8 %. La précision et l’exactitude de la méthode ont été évaluées à l’aide d’échantillons d’homogénat de viande de poulet dans lesquels SEB a été introduite. SEB a été enrichie à 0,2, 1 et 2 pmol/g. Les résultats analytiques révèlent que la méthode procure une plage d’exactitude de 84,9 à 91,1 %. Dans l’ensemble, les résultats présentés dans ce mémoire démontrent que les méthodes protéomiques peuvent être utilisées efficacement pour détecter et quantifier SEB dans les matrices alimentaires. Mots clés : spectrométrie de masse; marquage isotopique; protéomique quantitative; entérotoxines

L’entérotoxine STb d’Escherichia coli déloge la claudine-1 des jonctions serrées

Escherichia coli produit diverses entérotoxines thermolabiles et thermostables. STb est une toxine de faible poids moléculaire résistant à la chaleur chargée de la diarrhée chez les animaux de la ferme. Une étude antérieure a montré que les cellules ayant internalisé la toxine STb provoquent un dysfonctionnement de la barrière épithéliale par des changements dans les protéines des jonctions serrées (TJ). Ces modifications contribuent probablement à la diarrhée observée. Pour mieux comprendre le mécanisme de l'augmentation de la perméabilité intestinale, nous avons traité les cellules du côlon humain (T84) avec la toxine purifiée STb une fois que les cellules ont été récoltées et les protéines extraites. Après l'utilisation d'une solution contenant 1% de Nonidet P-40 (un détergent non dénaturant, non ionique), nous avons étudié la distribution de la claudine -1, une protéine majeure des TJs, responsable de l'imperméabilité de l'épithélium, entre la membrane (NP40-insoluble) et le cytoplasme (NP40-soluble). En utilisant l’immunoblot et la microscopie confocale, nous avons observé que le traitement des monocouches de cellules T84 avec STb induit la redistribution de la claudine-1. Après 24h, les cellules cultivées en milieu faible en Ca+ (5 uM) et traitées par STb, ont montré qu’environ 40 % de plus de la claudine-1 se sont délogées dans le cytoplasme par comparaison au contrôle. En passant d’un milieu faible à un milieu contenant des quantités physiologiques de Ca++ (1,8 mM) nous avons observé une augmentation du taux de claudine- 1 délogé, comme la délocalisation comparable et ce, après 6h. Un milieu supplémenté avec la même concentration de Mg++ ou Zn++ n'a pas affecté le taux de délogement comparé au milieu contenant une faible teneur en Ca++. En utilisant des anticorps anti-phosphosérine et anti-phosphothréonine, nous avons observé que la perte des claudines-1 de la membrane a été accompagnée par une déphosphorylation de cette protéine des TJs. Dans l'ensemble, nos résultats ont montré une importante redistribution de la claudine-1 dans les cellules traitées par la toxine STb. La perte de la claudine-1 phosphorylée de la membrane est susceptible d'être impliquée dans la perméabilité accrue observée. Les mécanismes par lesquels ces changements sont provoqués restent à élucider.

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae Possesses an Antiviral Activity against Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus

Pigs are often colonized by more than one bacterial and/or viral species during respiratory tract infections. This phenomenon is known as the porcine respiratory disease complex (PRDC). Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (App) and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) are pathogens that are frequently involved in PRDC. The main objective of this project was to study the in vitro interactions between these two pathogens and the host cells in the context of mixed infections. To fulfill this objective, PRRSV permissive cell lines such as MARC-145, SJPL, and porcine alveolar macrophages (PAM) were used. A pre-infection with PRRSV was performed at 0.5 multiplicity of infection (MOI) followed by an infection with App at 10 MOI. Bacterial adherence and cell death were compared. Results showed that PRRSV preinfection did not affect bacterial adherence to the cells. PRRSV and App co-infection produced an additive cytotoxicity effect. Interestingly, a pre-infection of SJPL and PAM cells with App blocked completely PRRSV infection. Incubation of SJPL and PAM cells with an App cell-free culture supernatant is also sufficient to significantly block PRRSV infection. This antiviral activity is not due to LPS but rather by small molecular weight, heat-resistant App metabolites (,1 kDa). The antiviral activity was also observed in SJPL cells infected with swine influenza virus but to a much lower extent compared to PRRSV. More importantly, the PRRSV antiviral activity of App was also seen with PAM, the cells targeted by the virus in vivo during infection in pigs. The antiviral activity might be due, at least in part, to the production of interferon c. The use of in vitro experimental models to study viral and bacterial co-infections will lead to a better understanding of the interactions between pathogens and their host cells, and could allow the development of novel prophylactic and therapeutic tools.