Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Experimentation culture'

Thesis (MScMedSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Introduction: Primary culture of isolated adult rat cardiomyocytes (ARCMs) is an important model for cardiovascular research, but successful maintenance of these cells in culture for their use in experiments remains challenging (Xu et al, 2009; Louch et al, 2011). Most studies are done on acutely isolated cardiomyocytes immediately after isolation, which is due to low survival of these cells in culture. Obstacles in culture are due to the type of medium and attachment factors (tissue culture adhesives) used to culture and grow these cells. Although we previously identified an optimum medium and adhesive for culture, an adhesive that permits cells to remain attached to the culture surface until after an ischemia/reperfusion insult was elusive. Aims: We therefore aimed to identify the best attachment factor and concentration that will allow adult rat cardiomyocytes to remain attached to the culture surfaces after ischemia/reperfusion experiments. Methods: Cardiomyocytes were isolated from adult Wistar rat hearts and cultured overnight on different concentrations (25 -200 μg/ml) of collagen 1, collagen 4, extracellular matrix (ECM), laminin/entactin (L/E) and laminin. Following overnight cultures, experiments were done in PBS and in PBS versus MMXCB to compare ARCM attachment and viability. Cardiomyocytes cultured on ECM, L/E and L (25−200μg/ml) were subjected to 1 hour of simulated ischemia using MMXCB that contained 3mM SDT and 10mM 2DG, followed by 15 minutes reperfusion. Cell viability was determined by staining cells with JC-1 and images of cells in a field view of 1.17μm/mm2 were captured using fluorescence microscopy. The cells were analysed according to morphology and fluorescence intensity. Results: Total and rod-shaped ARCMs attachment was improved when MMXCB was used as an experimental buffer instead of PBS. Regardless of the buffer used, morphological viability was poor on substrates of Col 1 and Col 4. In contrast to collagens, ARCMs attached efficiently and morphological viability was high on substrates of ECM, L/E and L in MMXCB, but this was greatly reduced in PBS. Mitochondrial viability was high in MMXCB compared to PBS on Col 1 and Col 4 at 75−175μg/ml and on ECM, L/E and L at all concentrations, except at 50 and 150μg/ml ECM, 175μg/ml L/E and 25μg/ml L. When cardiomyocytes cultured on ECM, L/E and L were subjected to simulated ischemia, total ARCMs, rod-shaped and R/G fluorescence (mitochondrial viability) was reduced at all concentrations compared to the control group. Hypercontracted cells were higher in the ischemic treated cells compared to the controls on ECM at 75−150μg/ml and 200μg/ml, L/E at 50,100μg/ml and 175μg/ml and on L at 125μg/ml. Total numbers of ARCMs attached on ECM, L/E and L in the ischemic group consisted of similar numbers of non-viable hypercontracted and viable rod-shaped cells. Conclusion: Cardiomyocytes should be cultured on ECM or L/E or L at concentrations from 25−200μg/ml in MMXCB. PBS is harmful to cultured ARCMs and should thus not be used as an experimental buffer. Ischemia/reperfusion can be simulated on ARCMs cultured on ECM, L/E or L from 25−200μg/ml, provided that a modified culture buffer is used as experimental buffer.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Inleiding: Primêre selkulture van geïsoleerde volwasse rot kardiomiosiete (VRKMe) is ‘n belangrike model vir kardiovaskulêre navorsing, maar om hierdie selle suksesvol in kultuur te onderhou is ‘n groot uitdaging (Xu et al, 2009; Louch et al, 2011). Die meeste navorsingstudies maak gebruik van akuut geïsoleerde kardiomiosiete onmiddelik na isolasie omdat oorlewing van hierdie selle in kultuur baie laag is. Die struikelblokke in kultuur is as gevolg van die tipe medium en weefselkultuurgom wat gebruik word. Ons het voorheen 'n optimale medium en weefselkultuurgom geïdentifiseer vir VRKM kultuur oorlewing, maar die weefselkultuurgom was nie effektief genoeg om die selle aan die kultuuroppervlak te laat bly vaskleef, tot na die einde van 'n isgemie/herperfusie eksperiment nie. Doel: Die doel was dus om die beste weefselkultuurgom en konsentrasie te identifiseer, wat sal toelaat dat VRKMe verbonde bly aan die kultuuroppervlaktes tot na die einde van isgemie/herperfusie eksperimente. Metodes: Kardiomiosiete was geïsoleer vanaf volwasse Wistar rotharte en oornag in kultuur op verskillende konsentrasies (25 -200 μg/ml) van kollageen 1, kollageen 4, ekstrasellulêre matriks (ESM), laminin/entactin (L/E) en laminin onderhou. Die volgende dag was die VRKMe vir eksperimentasie in PBS en in PBS teenoor MMXCB gebruik, om selbehoud en oorlewing te vergelyk. Kardiomiosiete op ESM, L/E en L (25−200μg/ml) was aan 1 uur van gesimuleerde isgemie blootgestel, in MMXCB wat 3mM SDT en 10mM 2DG bevat het, gevolg deur 15 minute herperfusie. Sel oorlewing was bepaal deur selle te kleur met JC-1 en daarna was fluoressensiebeelde van die selle in ‘n veldgebied van 1.17μm/mm2 geneem. Die selle was volgens selmorfologie en fluoressensie intensiteit ontleed. Resultate: Met die gebruik van MMXCB as eksperimentele buffer in plaas van PBS, het die aantal totale en staafvormige VRKMe verbinding verbeter. Morfologiese onderhoud was sleg op kollageen 1 en 4, ongeag van watter buffer gebruik was. In kontras met die kollagene was die VRKM verbinding en morfologiese onderhoud op ESM, L/E en L in MMXCB effektief verbeter, maar in PBS aansienlik verminder. Mitochondriale lewensvatbaarheid in MMXCB teenoor PBS op kollageen 1 en 4 by 75−175μg/ml, sowel as op ECM, L/E en L by alle konsentrasies, was hoog, behalwe by 50 en 150μg/ml ESM, 175μg/ml L/E en 25μg/ml L. Isgemie blootstelling van kardiomiosiete gekultuur op alle konsentrasies van ESM, L/E en L, het ‘n afname in die totale, staafvormige en R/G fluoressensie (mitochondriale lewensvatbaarheid) teweeggebring. Meer hiperkontrakteerde kardiomiosiete was in die isgemie behandelde groepe as in die kontrole groepe teenwoordig, spesifiek op ESM by 75−150μg/ml en 200μg/ml, op L/E by 50,100μg/ml en 175μg/ml asook op L by 125μg/ml. In die isgemie groepe het die totale aantal VRKMe op ESM, L/E en L meestal uit ‘n gelyke hoeveelheid hiperkontrakteerde en staafvormige selle bestaan. Gevolgtrekking: Kardiomiosiete moet op ESM of L/E of L by konsentrasises van 25−200μg/ml in MMXCB gekultuur word. PBS is nadelig vir VRKMe in kultuur en moet dus nie gebruik word as eksperimentele buffer nie. Isgemie/herperfusie eksperimente kan gesimuleer word op VRKMe wat op 25−200μg/ml ESM, L/E of L gekultuur is, mits ‘n gemodifiseerde kultuur buffer gebruik word as eksperimentele buffer.

This thesis investigates the relationship between the expressions of spiritu'ality in the poetry of Emily Dickinson and the representations of spirituality associated with the hymn culture she encountered. Drawing upon contemporary women hymnists and the influence of the hymns of Isaac Watts, the thesis traces the dissent and challenge to the hierarchical 'I-Thou' model ofrelation in traditional hymn address and shows how Dickinson engaged with it. Watts's Dissenting position has been overlooked in previous discussions of Dickinson's use of the' hymn form. Women hymnists contemporary with Dickinson, who also sought to redefine God in ways more compatible with their own experience, have similarly been ignored when considering the impact of hymn culture on Dickinson's poetry. This cultural context is further illuminated by the debates concerning alternative versions of the divine found in recent feminist theology. Like the redefinitions of the expectations surrounding hymns, these feminist debates centre around ideas of community and relation and so are used as a basis for the exploration ofthe emphasis on multiple and diverse relation in Dickinson's poetics. The thesis is divided into three sections that are preceded by an Introduction which describes the overall scope of the project. The first section (Chapters One and Two) describes the history ofhymn culture and analyses current debates about hymns and hymn space. The second section (Chapters Three and Four) examines the literary contexts and influences surrounding Dickinson's writing and engagement with hymn culture, as exemplified by the work ofIsaac Watts, Phoebe Hinsdale Brown and Eliza Lee Follen. The third section (Chapters Five and Six) offer detailed analysis of a selection ofDickinson' s hymnic poems, focussing on her use ofbee imagery. The conclusion the thesis reaches is that Dickinson's relation to hymnody is more wide-reaching, complex and subtle than criticism on this area has allowed. Far from being contextless and siteless, the radical re-visioning of the divine to be found in Dickinson's 'alternative hymns' can be situated within an engagement with a community of hymn writers. The 'I-Thou' relation to be found in traditional hymn address IS something that Dickinson's poetics negotiate through the various alternatives they forge in the imagery of flight and relation which serve as mobile and fluid metaphors for the divine. Moreover, such metaphors display similarities not only with the ideas of 'relation' and 'community' ofrecent feminist theology, but also with the qualities of mystical discourse as understood by Michel de Certeau, both in their ability to voice the other, and also in their radical mode of relation to the'discourses that produced them.

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A pesquisa aborda processos artísticos contemporâneos que articulam arte e tecnologia, capazes de potencializar a produção de conhecimento sob uma perspectiva crítica e criativa. Para tanto, parte da análise de propostas/ações desenvolvidas pelos artistas Zaven Paré e Jorge Crowe, assinalando principalmente questões relacionadas ao trabalho colaborativo, à precariedade/desmitificação de meios, à performance e ao uso de tecnologias livres. A abordagem enfatiza termos e conceitos referentes à cultura digital, à cultura livre, ao artista como hacker e à pesquisa em arte e tecnologia como experiência crítica, tomando como referência autores como Pierre Levy, Manuel Castells, Lawrence Lessig, Arlindo Machado, Vilém Flusser entre outros. O estudo aponta para um melhor entendimento de produções artísticas que perpassam a prática interdisciplinar; a apropriação de modelos de pesquisas; e a formação de redes colaborativas.
The research addresses contemporary artistic processes that articulate art and technology, which are able to enhance the production of knowledge in a critical and creative perspective. Therefore, part of the analysis of proposals/actions developed by the artists Zaven Paré and Jorge Crowe, are mainly pointing out issues related to collaborative work such as precariousness/demystification of media performance and the use of free technologies. The approach emphasizes terms and concepts related to digital culture, free culture, the artist hacking and research in art and technology as a critical experience; taking into consideration reference authors Pierre Levy, Manuel Castells, Lawrence Lessig, Arlindo Machado, Flusser and others. The study points to a better understanding of artistic productions that run through interdisciplinary practice, the appropriation of research models and the formation of collaborative networks.

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Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
From the explanation of human behavior by Skinner in 1981, based on the model of variation and selection by consequence. And the concept of metacontingencie proposed by Glenn in 1986. Four experimental studies were conducted with objectives to promote the selection and extinction of metacontingencie. The experiment 1 demonstrated metacontingencies selection, and the data indicating the extinction with the removal of cultural consequence selector, but had differential consequences during the extinction. Two other experiments were performed in order to compare the data with a phase of extinction without differential consequence. In experiment 2 was not obtained selection and the experiment 3 there was selection and extinction of interlock behavioral contingencies. The fourth experiment was conducted in order to serve as a control group and gave support to the data of other experiments
A partir da explicação do comportamento humano apresentada por Skinner em 1981, baseada no modelo de variação e seleção por conseqüência. E do conceito de metacontingências proposto por Glenn, em 1986. Foram conduzidos 4 estudos experimentais, com objetivos de promover a seleção e a extinção de metacontingências. O experimento 1 conseguiu demonstrar seleção de metacontingências e dados que indicavam a extinção com a retirada da conseqüência cultural selecionadora, mas ainda havia conseqüências diferenciais durante a fase de extinção. Outros dois experimentos foram realizados no intuito de comparar os dados com uma fase de extinção sem qualquer conseqüência diferencial. No experimento 2 não foi obtido seleção e no experimento 3 houve seleção e extinção de contingências comportamentais entrelaçadas. O quarto experimento foi conduzido com objetivo de servir de grupo controle e deu sustentação aos dados dos outros experimentos

The observations that substance P (SP) is localized in the anterior pituitary gland (AP) and is regulated by the hormonal status of the animal, as well as the demonstration of SP binding sites in the AP, have led to the idea that SP may participate in the regulation of AP function. Numerous and sometimes contradictory reports of SP effects on AP hormone secretion, particularly on luteinizing hormone (LH), left the question of whether SP acts directly at the level of the AP to regulate LH secretion still unanswered. To investigate a possible physiological function of SP in the AP, the effects of exogenous SP on LH secretion from AP cells from adult and prepubertal male and female rats in short term culture were studied. It was found that SP (100nM-1μM) significantly stimulates LH release in cultured AP cells and that this effect varies as a function of age and sex. SP has no significant effect on LH release from AP cells of male and female prepubertal rats. After day 30 a sharp increase in the response to SP occurs in both sexes. This level of responsiveness continues through adulthood in AP cells from the female rat. In contrast, AP cells from male rats failed to respond during adulthood (over 50 days of age) but were highly responsive during the peripubertal period (30-35 days). The possibility that the responsiveness to SP is influenced by the endocrine status of the animal was investigated by exposing AP cells from responding animals to androgens in vivo and in vitro. It was found that AP cells from female rats treated with androgen were less responsive to 100nM SP but did respond at higher doses of SP. SP effects on AP function were further analyzed in experiments using radioligand binding assays to assess possible changes in SP receptor number or affinity as related to age and sex. In AP membranes from female rats, maximum binding is 8-fold higher (Bmax=4.2 pmo1/mg membrane protein) than in AP membranes from male rats (Bmax=560fmo1/ mg membrane protein). These studies suggest a role for SP as a secondary regulator of LH secretion with possible physiological significance for reproductive function.

La culture de sécurité s'impose à l'agenda des entreprises. Cette notion n'est pas nouvelle puisque le terme est apparu dès la fin des années 80 suite à l'accident de Tchernobyl. L'existence d'une culture de sûreté défaillante a été la principale cause expliquant la catastrophe.L'usage du terme s'est très largement répandu et les définitions sont nombreuses. En croisant différents travaux, trois grands facteurs explicatifs se révèlent prédominants dans la culture de sécurité : les facteurs « organisationnel », « comportemental » et « psychologique ».L'objectif de ce travail de thèse est de concevoir un « système » de modèles permettant de décrire et d'évaluer sur le terrain chacun des trois facteurs. Pour ce faire, des « raccourcis » (ou « réductions » théorique et méthodologique), qui seront discutées et justifiées, ont été explorés.Ainsi, le facteur « organisationnel » est traduit selon le processus de l'analyse des conformités légales (le rapport au prescrit). ». Le facteur « comportemental » quant à lui assimilé au processus de maîtrise des risques (le rapport au réel). Enfin, le facteur « psychologique » est directement relié au processus d'évaluation du « climat de sécurité ».Chaque processus a fait l'objet d'un effort de modélisation. Chacun des modèles a permis de repérer des variables descriptives et explicatives. Certaines ont été reliées dans le but de traduire la relation entre les trois facteurs.Le « système » de modèles ainsi constitué a fait l'objet d'une expérimentation à grande échelle conduite en partenariat avec une entreprise française de rang mondial. Deux sites ont été impliqués. La thèse détaille le cadre théorique et méthodologique. Elle présente la démarche de modélisation mise en œuvre et discute amplement des résultats de l'expérimentation. Elle propose enfin des pistes de généralisation du dispositif constitué
Safety culture is increasingly important to the corporate agenda. The SafetyCulture concept is not new, but gained popularity in the late 80s following the Chernobyl accident. The main cause of the disaster was said to be a deficient Safety culture.The term is now used widely and definitions are numerous. The Safety culture literature contains three major explanatory factors shaping the formation of a safety culture: "organizational", "behavioural" and "psychological".The objective of this thesis is to develop a "system" of models which will enable description and evaluation of these three factors in applied settings. To achieve this goal, theoretical and methodological "shortcuts", or mappings, were developed and explored. The "organizational" factor is mapped with the process of compliance management. Similarly, the "behavioural" factor is likened to the process of risk management. Finally, the "psychological" factor is directly related to the assessment process of the "safety climate". The implications of these translations are discussed in this thesis.Each of these processes has been modelled. Every model has allowed the identification of descriptive and explanatory variables. Some have been linked to each other in order to translate the relationship between the three factors. The "system" of models was tested on a large sample in partnership with a global French company. Two locations were involved.This thesis describes the theoretical and methodological framework. It describes the modelling process that has been implemented and discusses the results of the experimentation. Finally it proposes possibilities for the enhancement of the models that have been developed

The primary goal of my thesis research was to characterize the basis for the hypersensitive response of glycogen phosphorylase to catecholamine stimulation in primary culture diabetic cardiomyocytes. Toward this goal, I have investigated several key regulatory sites in this signaling pathway which could promote the hypersensitive activation of phosphorylase. Specifically, I investigated (1) which adrenergic receptors are involved in mediating the hypersensitive response of glycogen phosphorylase to epinephrine stimulation; (2) whether the presence of fatty acid metabolites affects phosphorylase activation; (3) whether the hypersensitive response of phosphorylase results from altered signal transduction through the β-adrenergic receptor system or from a post-receptor defect; and (4) the potential role for phosphorylase kinase in mediating the hypersensitive response of phosphorylase to catecholamine stimulation. The basis for adrenergic receptor mediation of the catecholamine-induced activation of glycogen phosphorylase was investigated in adult rat cardiomyocytes isolated from normal and alloxan-diabetic animals. Cells derived from diabetic animals exhibited a hypersensitive response to epinephrine stimulation which was apparent 3 hours after cell isolation and was further enhanced upon maintenance of the myocytes in culture for 24 hours. Normal cells initially lacked the hypersensitive response to epinephrine stimulation although upon maintenance of these cells in culture for 24 hours, the hypersensitive response was acquired in vitro. To assess alpha- and beta- adrenergic mediation of the response, normal and diabetic cardiomyocytes were incubated with propranolol, a β-receptor antagonist, prior to direct α1receptor stimulation with phenylephrine. Both normal and diabetic myocytes failed to undergo activation of phosphorylase in 3 or 24 hour cell cultures. In addition, the effects of epinephrine on phosphorylase activation were completely inhibited by propranolol whereas prazosin, an α-receptor antagonist, was unsuccessful. This data suggests that the hypersensitive response of glycogen phosphorylase in normal and diabetic cardiomyocytes is solely mediated through β-adrenergic receptor activation. Since the accumulation of various fatty acid metabolites can affect certain enzymes and signal transduction pathways within the cell, the potential effect of various fatty acid metabolites on phosphorylase activation was investigated. To determine the potential effects of fatty acid metabolites on phosphorylase activation in cultured cardiomyocytes, normal and alloxan-diabetic cells were incubated with either carnitine or palmitoylcarnitine prior to stimulation with epinephrine. Pretreatment of cardiomyocytes with or without carnitine or palmitoylcarnitine for 3 or 24 hours before epinephrine stimulation failed to alter phosphorylase activation. The addition of exogenous carnitine in the absence and presence of insulin was also unsuccessful in attenuating the hypersensitive phosphorylase activation response in 3 and 24 hour, normal and alloxan-diabetic derived cardiomyocytes. To determine if carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT-1) activity was responsible for the hypersensitive response of phosphorylase in the diabetic myocytes, both normal and diabetic myocytes were maintained for 3 and 24 hours in the absence and presence of etomoxir, a CPT-1 inhibitor. Subsequent activation of phosphorylase by epinephrine in normal and diabetic myocytes was unaltered in the presence of etomoxir. Collectively, these data fail to support a critical role for fatty acid metabolite involvement in the hypersensitive activation of glycogen phosphorylase in acute, alloxan-diabetic cardiomyocytes. To assess potential G-protein involvement in the response, normal and diabetic-derived myocytes were incubated with either cholera or pertussis toxin prior to hormonal stimulation. Pretreatment of cardiomyocytes with cholera toxin resulted in a potentiated response to epinephrine stimulation whereas pertussis toxin did not affect the activation of this signaling pathway. To determine if the enhanced response of phosphorylase activation resulted from an alteration in adenylyl cyclase activation, the cells were challenged with forskolin. After 3 hours in primary culture, diabetic cardiomyocytes exhibited a hypersensitive response to forskolin stimulation relative to normal cells. However, after 24 hours in culture, both normal and diabetic myocytes responded identically to forskolin challenge. The present data suggest that a cholera toxin sensitive G-protein mediates the hypersensitive response of glycogen phosphorylase to catecholamine stimulation in diabetic cardiomyocytes. This response, which is present in alloxan-diabetic cells, and is induced in vitroin normal cardiomyocytes, is primarily due to a defect at a post-receptor site. To assess the role of phosphorylase kinase in the hypersensitive activation of glycogen phosphorylase in the diabetic heart, phosphorylase kinase activity was measured initially in perfused hearts (to optimize the assay parameters) and subsequently in primary culture cardiomyocytes. Results from these experiments demonstrate that the present method for measuring phosphorylase kinase activity is a reliable indicator of the enzyme's activity in the heart, although the assay conditions must be further optimized before this system can be applied to the measurement of phosphorylase kinase activity in primary cultured cardiomyocytes.

La lésion de nerfs périphériques peut engendrer des déficits moteurs et/ou sensoriels permanents. En dépit des progrès techniques réalisés au cours de ces 25 dernières années, une récupération complète suite à ces lésions n’est pas encore possible aujourd'hui. L’autogreffe nerveuse, toujours considérée comme le standard clinique, est la seule technique capable d’offrir les meilleurs résultats en termes de récupération fonctionnelle. Cependant, la survenue de complications post-opératoires lors d’autogreffes d’un nerf et la quantité limitée de nerfs disponibles conduisent à mettre au point d’autres stratégies alternatives. Dans ce contexte, la mise au point de biomatériaux pour substituts nerveux devient une nécessité clinique. Malgré les efforts de la recherche, ces prothèses ne permettent toujours pas une régénération du nerf à la hauteur de l’autogreffe. Le biomatériau utilisé doit notamment présenter des propriétés physiques et chimiques proches de celui du nerf natif. La soie, aux propriétés mécaniques uniques, représente une bonne alternative pour mettre au point ce type de prothèses. En effet, la protéine de soie déjà utilisée dans le domaine biomédical est biocompatible. Les modifications chimiques de cette protéine améliore et favorise l’adhérence et la croissance cellulaires par l’incorporation de facteurs de croissance ou d’autres molécules d'intérêt. Ce travail de thèse propose de développer un nouveau type de biomatériau à base de soie fonctionnalisée par deux facteurs de croissance : le Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) et le Ciliary NeuroTrophic Factor (CNTF). Étant donné l’architecture complexe qui compose la structure nerveuse, une matrice supportant la repousse des tissus de façon orientée semble primordiale. Nous démontrons, dans un premier temps, le pouvoir de ces nanofibres alignées (produites par electrospinning) à orienter la régénération tissulaire de différents organes par culture d’explants. Les nanofibres de soie alignées, biocompatibles sont bio-activées par ajout de NGF spécifique de la régénération nerveuse. Cette matrice créée présente un gradient de concentration en NGF qui permet d’orienter la repousse axonale en stimulant la croissance axonale dans une seule direction. Afin d’optimiser la croissance de deux populations cellulaires, nous avons incorporé du CNTF pour produire des nanofibres bifonctionnalisées. Ces nanofibres bifonctionnalisées ont conduit à une longueur des neurites 3 fois plus grande à leurs contacts, stimulant la croissance des cellules gliales. Ainsi, nous avons produit des conduits nerveux à base de soie biofonctionnalisée pour implantation chez le rat. Les analyses physico-chimiques et les propriétés mécaniques démontrent le caractère biomimétique de nos tubes de guidage. Les premières études de la locomotion et l’observation de coupes du nerf sciatique de rat, suite à l’implantation de nos conduits donnent des résultats très prometteurs. L’ensemble de ces travaux démontre l’efficacité de nos guides nerveux à base de soie et les présente comme une alternative prometteuse à l’autogreffe nerveuse pratiquée en clinique
Peripheral nerve injury causes sensory and/or motor functions deficits. Despite technological advances over the past 25 years, a complete recovery from these injuries remains unsatisfactory today. The autograft still considered the "gold standard" in clinical practice. This is the only technique able to offer complete functional recovery. However, the occurrence of postoperative complications in autologous nerve and the limited amount of available nerves lead to develop alternatives strategy.In this context, development of nerve graft substitutes becomes by far a clinical necessity. Despite research efforts, these artificial prostheses design based on biomaterial doesn’t allow nerve regeneration as found in autograft nerve procedures. The biomaterial used must have the physical and chemical properties similar to that of the native nerve. Silk, well known for its unique mechanical properties, proposes a good alternative to develop these prostheses. Indeed, the silk protein is commonly used in the biomedical field and regenerative medicine. This protein biocompatibility may be improved through chemical modifications to promote adhesion and cell growth by the incorporation of growth factors or other molecules of interest. Therefore, this thesis proposes to develop a new type of functionalized silk biomaterial based on two growth factors : Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) and Ciliary NeuroTrophic Factor (CNTF). Given the complex architecture that consists of nerve structure, a matrix which is able to support and manage the outgrowth of tissue becomes essential. We demonstrate the power of these aligned nanofibers (produced by electrospinning) to guide and manage tissue regeneration from different organ explants culture. Aligned silk nanofibers, were biocompatible and bio-activated by adding NGF involved for nerve regeneration. This matrix has been created with a concentration gradient of NGF to guide neuritis outgrowth in only one direction. The presence of this gradient demonstrated a better axonal growth in one direction versus the uniform concentration conditions. Nerve cells consist essentially of two cell populations which are neurons and Schwann cells. To optimize the culture and growth of these two populations, in addition to NGF, we incorporated CNTF to produce bifunctionalized nanofibers. These biofunctionalised nanofibers led to a length 3 times larger on contact with neurites. The glial cells growth, alignment and migration were stimulated by CNTF. Thus, we produced bi-functionalized nerve guidance conduits for rat implantation. The physico-chemical analyzes demonstrate the biomimetic of our guide tubes. Early studies of locomotion and observing histological sections of rat sciatic nerve, following the implementation of our conduits gave very promising results.These studies demonstrate the relevance of our nervous guides’ silk-based developed as an effective alternative to nerve autograft performed in the clinic

Au cours de la dernière décennie, l'improvisation organisationnelle a suscité une attention croissante de la part des universitaires et des praticiens. Bien que certaines études en Systèmes d’Information (SI) abordent l’improvisation dans la gestion de projet, peu de recherches ont pris en compte la phase de pré-implémentation d’un projet SI et ont examiné pourquoi et comment les membres d’une équipe hétérogène sélectionnent un SI sans suivre les standards classiques de gestion de projet. D’un point de vue théorique, cette recherche met en lumière les liens entre l’improvisation organisationnelle, l’apprentissage organisationnel et la gestion de projet en SI. Notre partie empirique repose sur une Recherche-Action Canonique (RAC) qui s’est déroulée en trois cycles dans le « Groupe Alpha ». Notre rôle de chercheur/manager projet a duré douze mois.Nos observations révèlent que l’improvisation dans l’action conduit les membres de l’équipe projet à générer des comportements ou démarches inattendus, qui permettent d’acquérir de nouvelles connaissances nécessaires à l’avancement du projet. Malgré le paradigme dominant de la gestion de projet « planifier, puis mettre en œuvre » ainsi que mode de gestion agile des projets, notre étude montre que les pratiques d'improvisation sont adoptées avec enthousiasme et utilisées de manière extensive, quels que soient les rôles joués par les membres de l’équipe. Ces pratiques bénéficient du soutien de la direction générale, qui cherche à favoriser les meilleures pratiques émergentes dans la gestion de tous les projets du Groupe en soutenant la culture d’expérimentation.Finalement, nous discutons notre questionnement sur la capacité d’improvisation en équipe, en nous appuyant sur une triangulation entre l’apprentissage organisationnel, l’improvisation organisationnelle et la gestion de projet SI
During the last decade, organisational improvisation has received growing attention from academics and practitioners. Although some studies in Information Systems (IS) focus on improvisation in project management, few research have considered the pre-implementation phase of an IS project and examined why and how heterogeneous team members select an IS without following classical project management standards. From a theoretical point of view, this research highlights the links between organisational improvisation, organisational learning and IS project management. Our empirical part is based on a Canonical Action Research (CAR) that was conducted in three cycles in the "Alpha Group". Our function as researcher/project manager involved twelve months.Our observations reveal that improvisation in action allows the project team members to generate unexpected behaviours or actions, which allow for the acquisition of new knowledge necessary for the progress of the project. Despite the dominant project management paradigm of "plan, then implement" and agile project management, our study demonstrates that improvisational practices are enthusiastically adopted and used widely, regardless of the roles played by team members. These practices are supported by the general management, which aims to encourage emerging best practice in the management of all the Group's projects by supporting a culture of experimentation.Finally, we discuss our questioning about the team improvisation capacity, based on a triangulation between organisational learning, improvisation and IS project management

Objet d’un intérêt tardif dans la recherche universitaire, la musique noise représente pourtant une forme d’art emblématique de l’underground sonore. Elle porte et cristallise une approche radicale en faisant du bruit sa matière, en se jouant de la forme et du développement, en hybridant ses territoires stylistiques. Les pratiques de jeu ne signent plus la suprématie de l’instrument ni de la composition, mais se placent sous le régime d’une expérimentation ludique et bricoleuse. On n’évalue plus la qualité musicale selon le niveau de compétence technique de l’artiste, tandis que les modalités d’écoute sollicitent de manière spécifique le corps et l’environnement. Les pratiques de production, d’organisation et de diffusion de la musique, empruntes de l’éthos du Do it Yourself (DIY) placent l’autonomie, la polyvalence et l’amateurisme au cœur de ce monde de l’art. A partir d’une approche interdisciplinaire marquée par la musicologie, l’esthétique et les sciences sociales, cette thèse entend questionner, à partir d’analyses musicales, d’archives de presse, d’enquêtes, de cartographies et d’une ethnographie menée au sein de la scène parisienne, comment la musique noise et les pratiques sociales qui l’accompagnent nous interrogent sur nos manières conventionnelles d’appréhender ce qu’est la musique et même une « bonne » musique, la figure du musicien, les intermédiaires artistiques ou la scène du concert, au regard de ce qui semble sans doute constituer un nouveau paradigme contemporain de l’expérimentation
Although noise music has only recently become an object of interest for academic research, it still represents a form of art emblematic of the underground music scene. It is characterized by a radical approach which implies using noise as work material, playing with form and development, and hybridizing its stylistic territories. This approach is reflected by playing practices in which the emphasis is no longer laid on the supremacy of instruments and composition, but rather on playful and makeshift experimentation. Musical quality is not assessed on the artist’s technical skills anymore, while the listening conditions call for a specific implication of both body and environment. The practices of production, organization, and diffusion of music, borrowing from the éthos of DIY, place autonomy, versatility, and amateurism at the heart of this art world. This PhD research, based on musical analyses, press archives, field surveys, topographies, and an ethnographic study of the Parisian scene, proposes an interdisciplinary approach marked by musicology, aesthetics, and social sciences. Its aim is to question the way noise music and its specific social practices challenge the manner in which we conventionally apprehend what we consider as music, and even “good” music, the image of the musician, the artistic intermediaries or the stage, in light of what seems to constitute a new contemporary paradigm of experimentation

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Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
Behavior Analysis has yet to establish a productive research program about culture, cultural practices and their evolution. Although conceptual problems (about the appropriate units of analysis and the complexity of cultures) and methodological issues (there aren t well tested procedures to explore cultural phenomena within a behavior analytic perspective) are at the root of this absence, the conceptual issues have been tackled by some (S. Glenn and M. Harris, for instance). These efforts have not been followed, until now, by validating empirically based studies. We suggest that quasiexperimental studies may be a productive alternative to this problem. Quasiexperimental studies should allow the description of functional relations among events: The experimental manipulation, and therefore, control, is limited in such cases, but there are empirically based measurements of dependent variables when independent variables are present and absent. J. Diamond s scientific position seems to be compatible with philosophical and methodological tenets of Behavior Analysis and Diamond has repeatedly argued for quasi-experimentation as a method to study culture and cultural evolution. The present work focuses were: to explore the possibilities opened by quasi experimental procedures on the study of culture and to further explore Glenn s and Harris interpretations of culture. In order to do it Diamond s book Colapse was analyzed. Diamond s interpretation of the Viking colonies fate was taken as the exemplar. Exerts interpreted as elements of Diamond s construction of quasiexperiments about the Viking colonies were selected and their procedural elements and main results were evaluated. The present results suggest that quasi-experimentation may be a valuable methodological alternative to the empirically based study of culture. Possible relationships between Diamond s results and Glenn s proposition of metacontingencies and macrocontingencies as units of analysis at the cultural level of selection and Harris principle of infra-structural determinism of cultures are discussed. Diamond s distinction between proximate and ultimate causes indicates a relevant separation between variables for the analysis of present and past cultures. The present work also points out methodological aspects pertinent to the implementation of quasiexperimental studies on culture
A dificuldade em se estabelecer um programa de pesquisa sobre práticas culturais, cultura e evolução cultural na Análise do Comportamento deve-se em parte a questões conceituais (sobre as unidades de análise pertinentes e a complexidade inerente às culturas) e metodológicas (ausência de procedimentos experimentais adequados e timidez na exploração de alternativas metodológicas pertinentes). As propostas de S. Glenn e M. Harris têm contribuído para a elucidação das questões conceituais, mas ainda não dispomos de estudos empíricos que validem suas proposições. Um modo de lidar com as questões metodológicas pode ser o uso criterioso da quase-experimentação, uma busca sistemática pelo estabelecimento empírico de relações funcionais entre eventos com limites ao controle de variáveis, mas com dados sobre condições nas quais a variável independente está presente e condições em que ela está ausente. Com os objetivos de explorar as possibilidades da quase-experimentação no estudo específico da cultura e de discutir as propostas de Glenn e Harris a partir de dados empíricos, nos voltamos para a obra do geógrafo Jared Diamond, que tem advogado o uso de quaseexperimentos no estudo da cultura e compartilha pressupostos metodológicos e filosóficos com a Análise do Comportamento. O foco da análise foi a interpretação de Diamond sobre os destinos das colônias vikings, para o que foram tomados como centrais os capítulos do livro Colapso que tratam das colônias vikings medievais no Atlântico Norte. Trechos dos capítulos foram categorizados e fontes de informação adicionais (textos citados em Colapso) foram consultadas. Buscou-se (1) identificar aspectos do texto que caracterizariam metodologicamente o trabalho de Diamond como a construção de quase-experimentos sobre os vikings e (2) indicar o que tais quaseexperimentos sugerem a respeito (2.1) da unidade de análise de práticas culturais, (2.2) da pertinência dos conceitos de metacontingência e macrocontingência e (2.3) da posição de Diamond sobre a complexidade das culturas e sua relação com o princípio do determinismo infra-estrutural de Harris. Os resultados da análise de Colapso indicam que quase-experimentos sobre a cultura são possíveis e podem gerar resultados produtivos já que permitiriam inclusive afirmar relações funcionais entre eventos que seriam relevantes para a compreensão do fenômeno cultural como indica a sugestão de Diamond de que cinco conjuntos de fatores (dano ambiental, mudança climática, sociedades vizinhas hostis, diminuição do apoio de parceiros comerciais e a resposta da sociedade aos seus problemas ) são relevantes para o destino das sociedades. A distinção entre causas mediatas e imediatas também indica uma separação entre variáveis relevante para o estudo de culturas passadas ou presentes. Nossa análise ainda aponta aspectos metodológicos pertinentes à condução de estudos quase-experimentais sobre a cultura

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD
The questions concerning how creativity can enhance the culture of learning in schools, especially amongst the previously marginalized groups, are not simple and straightforward. In South Africa, the general questions often posed are: “What form of creative activities exists in schools?” and “How do learners’ develop creativity that improves life skills?” This study provides empirical findings that suggest answers to these questions. It focuses on how creativity can enhance the culture of learning and why it is significant in nation building. In particular, the results of the study show, through experimental exercises with learners and observational data, that the arts may be regarded as a mechanism to enhance creativity in spaces of learning for the vast majority of people in South Africa. The analysis revealed that in-school-time participation in the arts transformed the conditions for and structure of participation in different phases during schooling. The experimentation showed the learners making choices and participating in all forms of activities. As the in-school-time learners developed experience, self-esteem, and competence in the arts, their life and labour skills developed. The results also revealed that primary experiences provide learners with a head start in learning – from commitment (motivation) to enhancement (learning how to learn) to competency (skills). Thus, the basis for the enhancement of creativity is how learners participate as this affects the intensity with which they learn how to learn. The study concludes with suggestions for the implementation of various educational endeavors in the application of creativity as an enhancement for a substantial education that can play a major part in social, political, and economic development and prosperity in South Africa.

La reconstitution historique est une activité de loisir qui consiste à re-créer et mettre en vie un environnement matériel correspondant à un contexte passé. Depuis sa naissance à la fin des années 1960, cette pratique s’est considérablement développée en Europe. Elle est aujourd’hui très présente dans le paysage touristique et culturel français, à travers des événements mêlant animations et démonstrations. L’intérêt particulier porté par les reconstituteurs au Moyen Âge s’inscrit dans le cadre du second renouveau médiéval, qui peut être défini comme une recrudescence de cette thématique dans notre quotidien. En dépit des nombreuses questions pratiques et mémorielles que suscite cette représentation du passé, la reconstitution historique a été relativement ignorée par les professionnels de l’histoire. Certains la confondent encore avec d’autres mises en vie festives du passé, d’autres la regardent comme un objet de curiosité, voire de méfiance.Cette thèse propose d’étudier la visée historiciste des reconstituteurs de la période médiévale. L’étude dresse d’abord un nécessaire état des lieux de la pratique en France et établit un cadre de définition destiné à faciliter sa compréhension. À partir de trois études de cas portant sur des corpus d’objets de reconstitution, elle interroge ensuite la dimension matérielle de cette activité à travers l’identité de l’objet et les dynamiques intervenant dans sa re-création. Elle aborde pour finir les dimensions mémorielles de cette activité à travers son objectif de médiation du savoir et sa place comme discours sur le passé.La réflexion historique et archéologique de ce travail est appuyée par une méthodologie interdisciplinaire. Les entretiens réalisés auprès de 48 reconstituteurs permettent de placer les conceptions des pratiquants au centre de l’étude pour mieux interroger cette pratique vivante et présente du Moyen Âge
Historical reenactment is a leisure practice which consists to re-create and bring to life a material environment related to a past situation. Since its beginning in the late 1960s, this activity has widely spread throughout Europe. Nowadays, historical reenactment plays an important part in the cultural and touristic activities in France, mixing animation and demonstration. Reenactors’ specific interest for the Middle Ages fits in with the second medieval revival, which translates as an increase of the medieval references in daily life. Despite the numerous questions about its practical and memorial aspects, this particular way to represent the past has been relatively ignored by academics. Some confuse reenactment with more festive forms of activity based on the past, others consider this practice as a subject of curiosity or distrust.This thesis proposes to study the medieval reenactors’ claim for historicity. In order to do so, it establishes a picture of the activity in France and explores its definition to help along its comprehension. It relies on three different case studies based on reconstructed artefacts used by reenactors. It then questions the material aspect of the activity through the reconstruction identity and the dynamics of re-creation. Finally, this work deals with the link between historical reenactment and memory, both as a transmission activity and as a discourse about the past.The historical and archaeological considerations of this thesis rely on an interdisciplinary methodology. The interviews conducted with 48 reenactors put their own conception at the very center of the study and allow us to question this living and present practice of the Middle Ages

In mainstream literary histories, Aloysius Bertrand (1807-1841) is still remembered as the canonical inventor of the prose poem in France. The established classification of Gaspard de la Nuit (1842) within the realm of the prose poem inevitably involves a retrospective appreciation of Bertrand’s work in light of the better-known authors that succeeded him in the history of this genre, such as Baudelaire and Mallarmé. The result is that Bertrand is often viewed as the inventor and/or the precursor of this genre; an important but, ultimately, minor contributor to its development. This hindsight brings with it a risk of critical anachronism against which Bertrand's contribution is often downplayed, especially because his thematic choices are seen to be outmoded, when compared to works by poets writing decades later. This thesis is a re-examination of Bertrand's Gaspard de la Nuit, incorporating an analysis of the cultural context that contributed to its production. The central argument is that in order to fairly assess Bertrand’s work, it is crucial to consider the poet’s contribution to, as well as his position in, the wider cultural exchange typical of his time. Using this contextual and historical approach, this thesis examines and challenges some of the main traditional considerations of Bertrand, such as his being a petit romantique, his provincialism, his unoriginality, and his role as the precursor and/or inventor of the prose poem. The overall aim is to assess fairly Bertrand’s unique synthesis of contemporary cultural and literary material with his own original work. By emphasising the crucial role of cultural exchange at the time of Gaspard de la Nuit’s production, we are thus able to begin to understand Bertrand in his own terms, rather than those of his successors, ourselves included, challenging commonly-held views and opening up new avenues for research.

Les années 1970 sont une période de changement pour le monde de l’art américain qui se tourne vers une vision pluraliste de l’art où triomphent l’installation, la performance, l’art vidéo, les écrits d’artistes et la photographie. Dans plusieurs grandes villes, des lieux d’exposition d’un nouveau genre apparaissent simultanément sous le nom d’espaces alternatifs. À New York et Buffalo, le 112 Greene Street, Artists Space (à NY) et Hallwalls (à Buffalo) sont trois espaces où règne un esprit d’expérimentation et de contestation, opposé aux normes esthétiques et aux logiques institutionnelles et marchandes qui dominent le monde de l’art. Comment se construit dès lors l’identité alternative de ces trois espaces et quelle place occupent-ils sur la scène artistique des années 1970 ?Lieux d’exposition marginaux situés dans des quartiers industriels en déclin, le 112 Greene Street, Artists Space et Hallwalls sont des structures avant-gardistes qui produisent des œuvres expérimentales (installations, performance, vidéo) et développent des systèmes de fonctionnement renforçant le pouvoir des artistes. Mais ce modèle alternatif se trouve immédiatement menacé par la précarité artistique qui caractérise ces structures. Le 112, Artists Space et Hallwalls s’institutionnalisent alors peu à peu pour survivre et acquièrent un nouveau statut au sein du monde de l’art : reconnus à la fin de la décennie comme des lieux indispensables à la valorisation de l’art contemporain, l’alternative qu’ils proposent est désormais moins fonctionnelle qu’esthétique
The 1970s was a decade when important changes took place in the American art world, with a pluralistic approach to art, in which installations, performances, video art, artists books and photography represented new and innovative art forms. Amidst this diversity of practices, new exhibition venues were created in former industrial loft buildings, under the generic name of alternative spaces. In New York City and Buffalo, 112 Greene Street (NYC), Artists Space (NYC) and Hallwalls (Buffalo) were three spaces in which a spirit of protest and a desire for artistic experimentation prevailed, questioning the aesthetic norms of a mainstream art world dominated by institutional and commercial paradigms. Facing a powerful normative art world, how do these three spaces defined their alternative identities and their roles regarding the development of new art forms?From the moment of their births in the early 1970s, 112 Greene Street, Artists Space and Hallwalls represented marginal artistic venues. As avant-gardist exhibition spaces, they were geared towards experimental art and the development of new organizational systems in which artists had more power. However, their alternative status was rapidly threatened by the problem of their economic survival. During the decade, 112 Greene Street, Artists Space and Hallwalls thus progressively became more institutionalized, gaining in artistic maturity and developing a new recognition within the art world. By the late 1970s, as they grew more legitimate in their exhibition of experimental art, the alternative they offered, however, had become less functional and more aesthetic

La diffusion et l’évolution du Néolithique au cours du VIème millénaire en Méditerranée nord-occidentale ont été particulièrement étudiées à partir de la décoration des céramiques, perçue comme un des principaux « fossiles directeurs » utilisés pour définir les cadres chrono-culturels. Ornées majoritairement par impression, les poteries illustrent un fort polymorphisme qui relève de l’interaction de groupes aux traditions techniques différentes. Les approches stylistiques et technologiques de la décoration mises en œuvre jusqu’à présent ont permis de définir les diverses entités à l’œuvre à l’échelle de l’aire culturelle, mais peinent à établir une phylogénie fine des modes décoratifs à l’échelle régionale et locale.Cette thèse s’est attachée à renouveler la méthode d’analyse des décors à l’échelle du site. Chaque maillon de la chaîne opératoire décorative a été décomposé et décrit afin de restituer la dynamique générale du décor. La démarche, fondée sur l’imagerie tridimensionnelle et l’expérimentation, offre des démonstrations pertinentes et quantifiées, de l’échelle de l’empreinte à la celle du vase. Les analyses ont été entreprises systématiquement sur chaque individu céramique. L’ensemble des données sur le sous-système des décors a ensuite été replacé dans le système de production céramique afin d’avoir une vision intégrée.Mise en œuvre sur le site de Castellar-Pendimoun, la méthode a livré des résultats multiples. Des outils jusqu’alors indéterminés ont été identifiés, des procédés d’ornementation ont été détaillés, mais surtout, les schémas opératoires de réalisation des décors ont été mis en évidence. Ce dernier aspect, totalement inédit dans l’étude des décors Impresso-Cardial de Méditerranée du nord-ouest, a permis de mieux comprendre les règles de construction de l’ornementation et les modes de manipulation des vases au cours de leur décoration. Les méthodes métriques mises en œuvre pour identifier les genres et gabarits des coquilles utilisées comme outil de décor ont été révisées. Des méthodes développées, entre autre en médecine légale, sur les empreintes digito-unguéales ont été adaptées aux empreintes décoratives afin de discuter l’identité des potiers : d’une part leur âge, grâce aux négatifs des ongles, et d’autre part leur genre, grâce aux empreintes digitales. Les analyses multivariées combinant les types d’outils et les gestes décoratifs ont permis d’identifier sur des bases qualitatives et quantitatives robustes les tendances distinctives et évolutives pour une des rares séquence d’assemblages décorés du premier Néolithique d’Europe occidentale, entre 5720 et 5020 BCE. Les résultats ont été mis en perspective à l’échelle de l’aire liguro-provençale notamment en les confrontant aux données des Arene Candide et, plus largement, dans le contexte de la céramique imprimée occidentale, depuis l’Italie du sud jusqu’aux rivages languedociens. Cette nouvelle méthode d’étude contribue ainsi à une meilleure perception des dynamiques à l’œuvre au cours du VIème millénaire BCE dans cette aire culturelle
The diffusion and evolution of the Neolithic during the 6th millennium BCE in the north-western Mediterranean has been particularly studied from the pottery decoration, which is one of the main fossiles directeurs used to define chrono-cultural frameworks. Decorated mostly by impression, ceramics illustrate a strong polymorphism due to the presence and interaction of groups bearing different technical traditions. The stylistic and technological approaches to decoration implemented so far have allowed defining the various entities acting at the scale of the cultural area; however these approaches are struggling to establish a fine phylogeny of decorative modes at the regional and local scale.This thesis focused on renewing the methods for analyzing decors at the site level. Each link of the decorative chaîne opératoire has been broken down and described in order to restore the general dynamic of the decor. The approach, based on three-dimensional imaging and experimentation, offers relevant and quantified demonstrations, from the scale of the imprint to that of the vase. Analyses were systematically undertaken on each individual ceramic. All the data on the decoration subsystem was then placed back into the ceramic production system to have an integrated view.Implemented on the Castellar-Pendimoun site, the method delivered multiple results. Previously undetermined tools were identified, ornamentation processes were specified, but above all, the operating pattern for the realization of the decorations were highlighted. The latter aspect, which is a brand new one within the study of Impresso-Cardial decors of north-western Mediterranean, has allowed a better understanding of the rules of construction of ornamentation, as well as the methods of handling the pots during their decoration. The metric methods used to identify the types and sizes of shells used as decoration tools were revised. Methods developed in Forensics and other fields have been adapted to digito-nail imprints in order to discuss the identity of the potters: on the one hand their age, through nail negatives, and on the other hand their gender, through fingerprints. Multivariate analyses combining types of tools and decorative gestures allowed to identify on robust qualitative and quantitative bases the distinctive and evolutionary trends for one of the rare decorated pottery series of the first Neolithic period in Western Europe, between 5720 and 5020 BCE. The results were put into perspective at the scale of Liguria and Provence, notably by comparing them with data from Arene Candide and, more broadly, in the context of the Impressed Ware complex, from southern Italy to the shores of Languedoc. This new study thus contributes to a better perception of the dynamics at work during the 6th millennium BCE in this cultural area

Este trabalho tem como objetivo principal analisar as atividades experimentais como recurso de ensino-aprendizagem, com base na Teoria da atividade. As atividades experimentais têm sido apontadas por muitos professores e pesquisadores como responsável por diminuir as dificuldades e proporcionar uma aprendizagem mais prazerosa. Porém, pesquisas ainda não mostraram de maneira clara qual a relação entre a realização de atividades deste tipo e a aprendizagem. Diante da diversidade de sentidos atribuídos à atividade experimental buscamos entender como este tipo de atividade tem sido concebida. Este panorama geral nos permite entender o grande número de abordagens que se pode conseguir com este recurso. Com isso, evidenciamos problemas que têm sido associados a realização de atividades experimentais, os quais exploramos, sob a perspectiva cultural-histórica, suas origens. Nesta perspectiva, entendemos que a Física é uma manifestação da atividade do homem no mundo, isto é, não pode ser compreendida de maneira descontextualizada, fora das práticas humanas. Dessa forma, a educação deve proporcionar aos sujeitos a imersão nas práticas culturais já estabelecidas e fornecer a ele instrumentos de mediação, inclusive os da ciência, para que atue no mundo de maneira consciente. A atividade experimental, como parte dessa produção cultural, só adquire sentidos quando mergulhada em uma práxis, onde sujeitos compreendem seu papel na atividade, quando compartilham certos instrumentos mediadores comuns que os farão ter acesso ao mesmo objeto, ou seja, participar de uma mesma atividade. Como fruto desta atividade, após um processo de significação e ressignificação, de reconhecimento dos contextos de validade dos instrumentos mediadores, os sujeitos, de posse destes instrumentos, tem chance de atuar em outros contextos dando novos significados a sua vivência.
The main objective of this work is to analyze the experimental activities as tools for teaching and learning based on Activity Theory. The experimental activities have been pointed out by many teachers and researchers as responsible for reducing the difficulties and provide a more enjoyable learning. However, researches do not show clearly what is the relationship between perform such activities and learning. Facing the diversity of meanings attributed to the experimental activity we initially review the literature about the ways this type of activity has been designed. This overview allows us to understand the numerous approaches that can be achieved with this resource. Then, we highlight problems that have been associated with the use of experiments and we explore them from the cultural-historical perspective. From this point of view, we understand that physics is a manifestation of human activity in the world, i.e. cannot be understood decontextualized from the human practices. Thus, education should provide subjects\' immersion in the cultural practices already established and providing mediation tools, including science, to act consciously in the world. The experimental activity, as part of cultural production, only acquires meaning when imbibed into a practice where subjects understand their role in the activity, they share common mediating tools that will provide access to the same object, or part of the same activity. As a result of this activity, after a process of meaning and reinterpretation, the recognition of the contexts of validity of the mediators\' instruments, the subjects in possession of these instruments have a chance to perform in other contexts, giving new meaning to their living situation.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Tufts University, 2004.
Adviser: Andrew C. Hess. Submitted to the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Includes bibliographical references. Access restricted to members of the Tufts University community. Also available via the World Wide Web;

"Topographical and mechanical properties of adhesive substrates provide important biological cues that affect cell spreading, migration, growth, and differentiation. The phenomenon has led to the increased use of topographically patterned and flexible substrates in studying cultured cells. However, these studies may be complicated by various limitations. For example, the effects of ligand distribution and porosity are affected by topographical features of 3D biological constructs. Similarly, many studies of mechanical cues are compounded with cellular deformation from external forces, or limited by comparative studies of separate cells on different substrates. Furthermore, understanding cell responses to mechanical input is dependent upon reliable measurements of mechanical properties. This work addresses each of these issues. To determine how substrate topography and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) affect cell shape and movement, I studied FAK-null (FAK -/-) and wild type mouse 3T3 fibroblasts on chemically identical polystyrene substrates with either flat surfaces or micron-sized pillars, I found that, compared to cells on flat surfaces, those on pillar substrates showed a more branched shape, an increased linear speed, and a decreased directional stability, which were dependent on both myosin-II and FAK. To study the dynamic responses to changes in substrate stiffness without other confounding effects, I developed a UV-modulatable substrate that softens upon UV irradiation. As atomic force microscopy (AFM) proved inadequate to detect microscale changes in stiffness, I first developed and validated a microsphere indentation method that is compatible with fluorescence microscopy. The results obtained with this method were comparable to those obtained with AFM. The UV-modulatable substrates softened by ~20-30% with an intensity of irradiation that has no detectable effect on 3T3 cells on control surfaces. Cells responded to global softening of the substrate with an initial retraction followed by a gradual reduction in spread area. Precise spatial control of softening is also possible - while there was little response to posterior softening, anterior softening elicited a pronounced retraction and either a reversal of cell polarity or a significant decrease in spread area if the cells move into the softened region. In conclusion, these techniques provide advances in gaining mechanistic insight into cellular responses to topographical and mechanical cues. Additionally, there are various other potential applications of the novel UV-softening substrate, particularly in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. "

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This work looks for to supply a perspective about the body and its relations to the process of subjectivity and culture. From the definition of the body as a device, it is possible to visualize its historical inscriptions and its possibilities to resist. Beyond the contemporary understanding of the body, this research seeks to understand its deeper potentiality and effects. Thus, some ways of existence, which are referred to distinct periods of occidental history, are discussed in this work. The focus searches the body s experimentations, and its strength to create, by drawing a path that shows to us its potentiality and its losses. It also searches for the body s captures and lines of escape, reaching the corporality of the 1980-90 generation. For this generation, the body s experimentation seamed to be reduced, during an increasing omnipresence of an image-body. This research tries to give a perspective about the contemporaneity, without denying the perception of certain emptiness that affected the public life (our desert). It is still pointing out to possibilities of a present s affirmation (and its political dimension) that takes place through the body s experimentations. And, even if it recognizes the contemporary image-body, with all its spectacularly, it focuses on the multiplicity in which the body opens up, by some expression qualities and, particularly, though movement, especially the contemporary dance. From the every-days life body to those lines of escape, there is an important passage, in which many characters, which compose the desert, introduce themselves as attempts of their model image. By these characters, the show of contemporary life is build, in its way of living, its inheritance, its comfort and its unsatisfactoriness. Finally, there is the desertion, played by a specific character: the Deserter. He is the one who guides us through the dance territory, within his pain, his muteness and his stammering, and it is inside of it that we are presented to the procedures of desertion and affirmation. The dance is as a field of possibilities to a body that, beyond its evidence, can find itself a devenir: corporar
Este trabalho procura fornecer uma perspectiva sobre o corpo em suas relações com os processos de subjetivação e a cultura. Partindo da definição de corpo como dispositivo, torna-se possível visualizar tanto suas inscrições históricas, quanto suas possibilidades de resistência. Para além da evidência que o corpo assumiu em nossa contemporaneidade, buscam-se suas condições de possibilidade e seus desdobramentos. Neste sentido, são abordados alguns modos de existência referentes a distintos períodos da nossa história ocidental. O foco recai sobre as experimentações do corpo, na sua força de criação, traçando um percurso que nos mostra potências e despotencializações, capturas e linhas de fuga, e que culmina com as corporeidades referentes à geração dos anos 1980-90, para a qual o corpo como experimentação parece ter sido reduzido, na mesma medida em que ascendia a onipresença de um corpo-imagem, que se faz presente até hoje. De um modo geral, procura-se oferecer uma perspectiva da contemporaneidade que não nega a percepção de um certo vazio que tomou conta da vida pública (nosso deserto), mas que aponta para possibilidades de afirmação do presente (e de uma dimensão política deste), através das experimentações corporais. E mesmo que se parta do corpo-imagem, reconhecendo toda a espetacularização que dele é feita, procura-se ressaltar a multiplicidade para a qual os corpos se abrem, através de determinadas qualidades de expressão, principalmente no movimento corporal (em especial a dança contemporânea). Do corpo cotidiano às linhas de fuga, há aí um importante percurso, no qual muitos personagens, que compõem o deserto, apresentam-se como tentativas de encarnar as imagens que lhes servem de modelo. Com estes personagens assiste-se à configuração do espetáculo da contemporaneidade, seus modos de vida, sua herança, seu conforto e suas insatisfações. Chega-se, afinal, à deserção, encarnada por um personagem específico: o Desertor. É ele que nos guia pelo território da dança, com sua dor, sua mudez e sua gagueira, no interior deste deserto, apresentando- nos procedimentos de deserção e de afirmação. Descobre-se a dança como campo de possibilidades a um corpo que, para além da sua evidência, encontra um devir-corpo, um corporar

Primary chick embryo liver cells were used to explore the regulation of δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase and heme oxygenase, the enzymes that catalyze the rate-limiting reactions of heme anabolism and catabolism, respectively. The general focus of the work was the exploration of the novel observation in which glutethimide and iron synergistically induced both δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase and heme oxygenase, a phenomenon that would not be predicted a priori. The course of events appeared to be: first, that heme synthesis was increased after addition of the glutethimide and that iron potentiated heme synthesis; second, the heme induced heme oxygenase five to ten fold; and third, that heme oxygenase degraded the heme permitting an uncontrolled induction of δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase. This induction of δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase could be prevented by the addition of a metalloporphyrin inhibitor of heme oxygenase. Induced δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase activity could be dramatically reduced by the addition of nanomolar concentrations of a metalloporphyrin, inhibitory for heme oxygenase, and heme. Specific observations related to the synergistic induction of heme oxygenase by glutethimide and iron was that the induction of heme oxygenase activity by glutethimide and iron occurred rapidly, with maximal increases occurring four to six hours after original treatment. Induction of heme oxygenase by glutethimide and iron was shown to be dependent on de novoheme synthesis since 4,6-dioxoheptanoic acid, a potent and specific inhibitor of heme biosynthesis, prevented the activity of heme oxygenase from increasing in the presence of glutethimide and iron. Induction of activity was associated with increases in heme oxygenase mRNA and protein; and, when induction was prevented by 4,6-dioxoheptanoic acid, no increase in either mRNA or immunoreactive protein was observed. δ-Aminolevulinic acid synthase activity was also synergistically increased by glutethimide and iron; this increase occurred 4-6 hours after maximal heme oxygenase activity had been attained. The temporal relationship between the induction of δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase and heme oxygenase suggested that the oxygenase depleted a regulatory heme pool that would normally prevent uncontrolled induction of the synthase. When cultures were exposed to tin-mesoporphyrin, a potent inhibitor of heme oxygenase, induction of δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase, normally produced by glutethimide and iron, was prevented. Addition of tin-mesoporphyrin after δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase induction had already been established promptly halted any further induction. When heme or a combination of heme and tin-mesoporphyrin was added after induction of δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase was established, activity of the synthase was rapidly reduced. Finally, experiments in primary chick embryo liver cells with tin-, zinc- and copper- chelated porphyrins were done to assess their effects on activities of δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase, induced by prior treatment of cells with glutethimide and iron. Nanomolar concentrations of zinc- or tin porphyrins reduced δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase activities, while copper-chelated porphyrins did not. When nanomolar concentrations of heme were added with zinc- or tin-porphyrins, δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase activity was further reduced. Effects of the non-heme metalloporphyrins on δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase were closely correlated with their abilities to inhibit heme oxygenase (r=0.78). The largest decrease of δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase (67%) was obtained with zinc-mesoporphyrin and heme. There was a rapid appearance of the cytosolic, precursor form of δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase in the presence of both 10 μM heme or 50 nM zinc-mesoporphyrin and 200 nM heme. Reduction of the half-life of the mRNA from 5.2 hours to 2.2-2.5 hours was observed in the presence of both 10 μM heme or 50 nM zinc-mesoporphyrin and 200 nM heme. In summary, the chick embryo liver cell culture model treated with glutethimide and iron may serve as one experimental model for patients suffering from acute porphyrias, in whom uncontrolled induction of hepatic δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase plays a key role in pathogenesis of disease. The synergistic induction of δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase in the presence of glutethimide and iron may serve as an experimental paradigm for this disease. The reduction of δ-aminolevulinic acid synthase by low doses of zinc-mesoporphyrin and heme may help form the experimental foundation for eventual studies in patients suffering from acute porphyrias.

Ce travail de recherche s’appuie sur l’analyse ex post de la conception d’un dispositif de formation. Il est destiné à des conseillers agricoles, confrontés aux bouleversements de leur métier. Les exigences de l’agriculture performante économiquement et écologiquement, modifient l’exercice du métier de conseil agricole. Les pratiques de conseil sont perturbées par la mobilisation de l’agronomie pour inciter à réduire les intrants. Il s’agit de se doter d’un cadre théorique qui permette d’analyser les situations de conseil de conseillers, conjointement avec une méthode pour accompagner la réflexion, dans l’interaction conseillers/formateur. La didactique professionnelle et la sociologie de l’action sont convoquées pour appréhender la situation sociale de développement et la situation de formation comme moyen de la formation. Dans les dialectiques connaissances pour l’action, connaissances théoriques, le cadre de l’expérimentation a permis de saisir la faisabilité du conseil, l’accès aux possibles de l’activité de conseil, la coordination des actants pour construire l’action. Il en résulte, un dispositif didactique et coordonné qui garantit un cadre de travail construisant chemin faisant ce que les protagonistes cherchent à faire ensemble, une approche qui ouvre la voie à l’appréhension du social par la didactique professionnelle, l’émergence du métier
This research work is based on the ex post analysis of the design of a training approach. It is targeted at agricultural advisors facing major changes in their job. The requirements induced by an economically and environmentally performing agriculture modify the job of advisor. The established practices of counselling are disrupted by the agronomy’s engagement to encourage the reduction of inputs. The objective is to design a theoretical frame, allowing to analyze the advisors’ counselling situations, supported by a methodology to back up the reflection and with interactions advisors / trainers. Professional didactic and sociology of action are summoned to appreciate the social situation of development and the training situation as means of training. In the relationships between knowledge for action, theoretical knowledge, the experimentation framework allowed to seize the feasibility of counselling, the access to the potential of the counselling activity and the coordination of the stakeholders to build the action. This leads to a coordinated learning approach with a framework creating along the way what the protagonists are seeking to do together; an approach opening the path to understanding the social component by professional learning; the job emergence

From 1914 to 1940 Russia lived through a series of traumatic events: World War I, the Bolshevik revolution, the Civil War, famine, and the Bolshevik and subsequently Stalinist terror. These events precipitated and facilitated a complete breakdown of the status quo associated with the tsarist regime and led to the emergence and eventual pervasive presence of a culture of violence propagated by the Bolshevik regime. This dissertation explores how the ongoing exposure to trauma impaired ordinary perception and everyday language use, which, in turn, informed literary language use in the writings of Viktor Shklovsky, the prominent Formalist theoretician, and of the avant-garde writer, Daniil Kharms. While trauma studies usually focus on the reconstructive and redeeming features of trauma narratives, I invite readers to explore the structural features of literary language and how these features parallel mechanisms of cognitive processing, established by medical research, that take place in the mind affected by traumatic encounters. Central to my analysis are Shklovsky's memoir A Sentimental Journey and his early articles on the theory of prose "Art as Device" and "The Relationship between Devices of Plot Construction and General Devices of Style" and Daniil Karms's theoretical writings on the concepts of "nothingness," "circle," and "zero," and his prose work written in the 1930s. My analysis probes into various modes in which trauma can present itself in a text, in forms other than semantic content, and points to what distinguishes a modernist text from one written under the impairing conditions of trauma, despite their structural similarities.

Relatório de estágio de mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar
O presente documento constitui o relatório de estágio no âmbito da Prática de Ensino Supervisionada do Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar, realizado no Instituto de Educação da Universidade do Minho no ano letivo 2014-2015. Este documento assenta no estágio realizado nas valências de creche e educação pré-escolar, em uma Instituição Particular de Solidariedade Social. O projeto de intervenção foca-se essencialmente na importância da multiculturalidade na educação sendo fundamental para a sociedade de hoje e de amanhã. Neste documento é apresentado os referenciais teóricos que suportaram o projeto, como também o respetivo desenvolvimento. Esta abordagem surgiu na sequência de observações e interações com o grupo de crianças e com o contexto educativo da instituição. Ambos os processos permitiram identificar os interesses e necessidades das crianças, de ambas as valências, de modo a desenvolver uma intervenção pedagógica intencional e acima de tudo centrada na criança. Na educação pré-escolar, foram utilizadas estratégias ligadas às artes, à música, à experiência real, à leitura, à abordagem, à escrita e à lógica. Além do mais, as crianças tiveram oportunidade de explorar materiais variados de forma livre que foram incluídos nas várias áreas da sala. A intervenção foi essencial para valorizar as mais diversas culturas e aprender com elas. Na creche, as intervenções foram adaptadas à faixa etária relacionando-se com os sentidos através da exploração de materiais e objetos, situação que permitiu o contato com novos materiais e texturas, relacionados com os diferentes países (multiculturalidade).
The following document is a report of an internship based on the following unit: Supervised Teaching Practice in Preschool Education Master Level, at the Institute of Education University of Minho, year of 2014-2015. The internship took place at nursery and pre-school classes of a private social solidarity institution. The intervention project is essentially focused on the importance of multiculturalism on education, which is central on today's and tomorrow's society. In this document it is presented the theoretical frame that supports the project as well as the development. The project’s approach was the result of observations as well as with interactions that took place with the group of children within an educational context. Both processes allow the identification of interests and needs of children of both valences in order to develop an intentional pedagogical intervention, and most of all centered on the child. At pre-school level, strategies were used relating to arts, music, direct experimentation, reading, approach to writing and logic. Moreover, children also had the opportunities to explore varied materials freely that were included in the various areas of the room. Such interventions were essential to the appreciation of many diverse cultures and learn from them. In nursery, the interventions were tailored to the age group and related to the exploration of materials and objects. This permitted contact with new textures and also new materials consonant to different countries (multiculturalism).

AIDS has had a negative impact on developing countries. Because most developing countries cannot afford the new antiretroviral drug therapies, it has been suggested that preventive vaccines might reduce the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic (Bloom, 1998). The clinical trials of AIDS vaccines do, however, present with complex ethical issues such as informed consent. Informed consent is primarily grounded on the Western principle of respect for individuals as autonomous agents. This may be at variance, however, with African societies' emphasis on the social embeddedness of the individual. The current study forms part of the HIVNET vaccine trials to be conducted in Hlabisa, in Northern Zululand, under the auspices of the South African Medical Research Council. The main aim of the study was to explore key informants' cultural conceptions of research and informed consent in order to facilitate community consultation and cultural sensitivity. Maximum variation sampling was used to select twenty-three key informants, who are in leadership positions within Hlabisa. An interview guide was used to facilitate narrative disclosure of cultural conceptions of research and informed consent. Perceptions of research, conceptions of the informed consent process, and projected motivations for why individuals agree to participate in studies were explored during interviews. Results suggest that members of the Hlabisa community have a limited understanding of the Western research process. Community education about research is therefore warranted. Informants indicated that community members would value the establishment of a relationship characterised by mutual respect for cultural differences between researchers and participants. This was perceived as likely to facilitate shared decision-making, and the reduction of the power differentials that exist between researchers and participants. While the involvement of key community leaders and family members was recommended by most informants, a few informants felt that participants could also make individual decisions about participation. The theoretical implications of the study are considered last.
Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.