<p> This thesis contains an introduction to the surface chemistry of minerals in aqueous environment, and a summary of five manuscripts concerning adsorption reactions at the surfaces of nano-sized gibbsite (α-Al(OH)3), amorphous silica and kaolinite.</p><p> Nano-sized gibbsite was synthesized and thoroughly characterized using X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The adsorption of protons and the development of charge at the surfaces were studied using high precision potentiometry and zeta potential measurements. The results showed that singly coordinated surface sites at the particle edges protonate/deprotonate, while ion pairs with the medium ions are formed at doubly coordinated surface sites at the basal planes. This ion pair formation is a slow reaction, requiring long equilibrium times.</p><p> The adsorption of o-phthalate, maleate, fumarate, malonate and oxalate onto gibbsite surfaces was studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, zeta potential measurements, adsorption measurements and theoretical frequency calculations. All ligands were found to form outer-sphere complexes at the basal planes. Significant amounts of inner-sphere complexes at the particle edges were found for malonate and oxalate only. The observed adsorption was described using surface complexation models.</p><p> The proton reactions at the surface of amorphous silica were described using a two-site model. XPS indicated that Na+ is accumulated in the vicinity of the surface. Proton reactions at kaolinite surfaces were explained using a nonelectrostatic model, assuming that only the aluminol and silanol sites at the particle edges are reactive. Extensive modeling provided support for this assumption. </p>

The protection of aircraft against shoulder fired heat seeking missiles is of growing concern in the aviation community. This thesis presents a simple method for shielding the infrared signature of a jet engine from heat seeking missiles. The research efforts investigated two approaches to shield the thermal signature of the Noel Penny Type 401 turbojet at the Texas A&M University Propulsion Lab Test Cell. First, liquid nitrogen was injected through a manifold at a flow rate equivalent to the flow rate of exhaust gases, producing a small temperature reduction in the exhaust but no infrared shielding. Second, water was injected at a flow rate of 13% of the flow of exhaust gases, producing a greater temperature reduction and some shielding. Water was then injected through a manifold at a flow rate of 118% of the flow rate of exhaust gases, producing a substantial reduction in temperature and complete shielding of the infrared signature. Additionally, numerical simulations were performed using FLUENT to support these experiments. Results are presented in the form of thermocouple data and thermal images from the experiments, and in the form of temperature contours and streamtraces from the simulations.

This dissertation focuses on bridging the pressure and complexity gap between heterogeneous catalysis and surface science by introducing new instrumental tools that can operate under catalytically relevant conditions (i.e. atmospheric pressures and temperatures higher than room temperature). Thus, some of the few detailed examples of the polarization modulation infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRAS) as an in situ vibrational spectroscopic tool for the elevated-pressure investigation of gas/solid interfaces on planar single crystal model catalyst systems were presented in this work. Furthermore, for the first time in the literature, PM-IRAS technique was applied to study complex multi-component model catalyst structures exhibiting three dimensional morphologies such as metal nanoparticles deposited on a metal-oxide thin film. In order to achieve a molecular understanding of the properties of CO+NO catalytic reaction at elevated temperatures and pressures on Pd based catalysts, adsorption trends of each of the reactant molecules were studied separately on Pd (111). The adsorption properties of CO/Pd (111) and NO/Pd (111) systems both under UHV conditions and at elevated pressures were discussed in a comparative manner to highlight the pressure dependent behavioral differences between these two probe molecules by emphasizing the risks of extrapolating UHV trends to elevated pressure regimes. CO+NO reaction mechanism and kinetics was also studied on Pd (111) by in situ PM-IRAS. Factors affecting the conversion and the selectivity of the Pd (111) model catalyst towards CO+NO reaction at elevated pressures were discussed. Formation of isocyanate containing species?? was also observed and the catalytic implications of this observation was elaborated. Finally, design and characterization of a complex model catalyst composed of supported Pd nano-particles was investigated using CO adsorption at elevated pressures. Catalytic activity of the defect sites on the supported Pd nano-particles towards CO dissociation was demonstrated and compared with Pd (111) to elucidate the significance of the surface morphology of the active sites in a catalytic reaction.

This article compares two theoretical concepts of international relations: the Soft-Powermodel by Joseph S. Nye and the Turbulence-model by James N. Rosenau. They are both trying to study the impact of the revolution in information- and communication-techniques. Although both concepts are far-reaching in their explanations there are questions in both concepts that remain unanswered. The author tries to cover these gaps by turning to the other model, respectively.

The prospect of rapid changes to the climate due to global warming is subject of public concern. The need to reduce the emissions of atmospheric green house gases and in particular carbon dioxide is greater than ever. Extensive research is performed to find new solutions and new materials, which tackles this problem in economically benign way. This thesis dealt with two potential adsorbents for post combustion  carbon capture, namely, amine modified silica and calcium carbonates. We modified porous silica with large surface area by propyl-amine groups to enhance the carbon dioxide adsorption capacity and selectivity. Experimental parameters, such as reaction time, temperature, water content, acid and heat treatment of silica substrate were optimized using a fractional factorial design. Adsorption properties and the nature of formed species upon reaction of CO2 and amine-modified silica were studied by sorption and infrared spectroscopy. Physisorbed and chemisorbed amount of adsorbed CO2 were, for the first time, estimated directly in an accurate way. The effects of temperature and moisture on the CO2 adsorption properties were also studied. Crystallization of calcium carbonate as a precursor to calcium oxide, which can be used as carbon dioxide absorbent, was studied in the second part of this thesis. Structure of different amorphous phases of calcium carbonate was studied in detail. Crystallization of calcium carbonate with and without additives was studied. Parameters like stirring rate, temperature, pH and polymer concentration showed to be important in selection of phase and morphology. An aggregation mediated crystallization was postulated to explain the observed morphologies. / At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Accepted.

Syfte: Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att beskriva IR-funktionens viktigaste målgrupper och kommunikationskanaler, samt undersöka om utformningen på budskapet som kommuniceras ut varierar beroende på vilken målgrupp de riktar sig mot. Vi vill även undersöka relationernas betydelse i detta sammanhang och vad som kan skada denna relation. Metod: Vi har valt att använda oss av både den kvalitativa och kvantitativa metoden då de kompletterar varandra, ifråga om bredd och djup. Vidare så ökar validiteten på undersökning när olika tillvägagångssätt kommer fram till samma resultat. Slutsatser: De viktigaste målgrupperna anses vara privata och institutionella investerare, analytiker och media. De viktigaste kommunikationskanalerna är de formella kanalerna, följd av enskilda möten och Internet. När det gäller budskapets innehåll, har vi kommit fram till att samma information kommuniceras ut till alla aktörer, det är enbart utformningen som skiljer sig åt. Vidare är det viktigt för företag att etablera nära och långvariga relationer för att skapa och upprätthålla investerarnas förtroende. Att kommunicera ut felaktig information eller frånvaro av kommunikation är ett effektivt sätt att rasera detta förtroende.

This thesis contains an introduction to the surface chemistry of minerals in aqueous environment, and a summary of five manuscripts concerning adsorption reactions at the surfaces of nano-sized gibbsite (α-Al(OH)3), amorphous silica and kaolinite. Nano-sized gibbsite was synthesized and thoroughly characterized using X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The adsorption of protons and the development of charge at the surfaces were studied using high precision potentiometry and zeta potential measurements. The results showed that singly coordinated surface sites at the particle edges protonate/deprotonate, while ion pairs with the medium ions are formed at doubly coordinated surface sites at the basal planes. This ion pair formation is a slow reaction, requiring long equilibrium times. The adsorption of o-phthalate, maleate, fumarate, malonate and oxalate onto gibbsite surfaces was studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, zeta potential measurements, adsorption measurements and theoretical frequency calculations. All ligands were found to form outer-sphere complexes at the basal planes. Significant amounts of inner-sphere complexes at the particle edges were found for malonate and oxalate only. The observed adsorption was described using surface complexation models. The proton reactions at the surface of amorphous silica were described using a two-site model. XPS indicated that Na+ is accumulated in the vicinity of the surface. Proton reactions at kaolinite surfaces were explained using a nonelectrostatic model, assuming that only the aluminol and silanol sites at the particle edges are reactive. Extensive modeling provided support for this assumption.

<p>Insulin resistance has shown to be a precursor to a number of lifestylerelated chronic diseases and abnormalities in adults and is affected by a number of factors including genetics, age, physical activity and acute exercise, diet, obesity, body fat distribution and medication. Physical activity has shown to have marked effects on improving sensitivity to insulin though various physiological mechanisms, and numerous correlation studies have identified a relationship between these two variables, suggesting the beneficial role of exercise on insulin resistance.&nbsp / This study aimed to identify a relationship between current levels of physical activity, physical fitness and insulin resistance in adults between the ages of 35 and 65 years of age residing in a northern suburb community in Cape Town. A total of 186 volunteers participated in this study ranging from healthy individuals to those with diagnosed chronic conditions. Insulin resistance (determined by the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance), physical activity (measured by the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire) and five health-related physical fitness tests were measured. The five components included body composition, determined by body mass index and waist circumference, the 3-minute cardiorespiratory step test, the handgrip&nbsp / muscle strength test, one-minute crunches for muscle endurance and the sit-and-reach flexibility test. Spearman correlation was used to identify the relationships between the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, age, body composition and physical activity and fitness.Results showed that body mass index and waist circumference were the only two variables which produced significant correlations with the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (p &lt / 0.019). No physical activity or fitness data produced significant scores with the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance. Body mass index in men was the only significant predictor of HOMA-IR and explained 37% of the variance in insulin resistance, whereas in women, only waist circumference was related to HOMA-IR, but explained less than 16% of the variance. Associations between reported MET-minutes from the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire and the four fitness tests indicated significance with handgrip strength (&rho / = 0.17 / p =0.039), one-minute crunches (&rho / = 0.18 / p = 0.024) and sit-and-reach flexibility (&rho / = 0.17 / 0.034). This study has shown that body composition is an important component in influencing insulin resistance therefore physical activity interventions should be targeted at increasing physical activity levels and reducing body weight.</p>

Detta examensarbete har utförts på Pan Nordic Logistics (PNL) i Bromma, Stockholm. PNL är ett konceptföretag som erbjuder sina kunder att skicka paket från, till och inom Norden och dessa transporter köper företaget av leverantörer. Ordet koncept- kommer ifrån engelskans concept, alltså begrepp, idé. I PNL:s fall innebär detta att företaget inte har någon egen fysisk distribution utan distributionen sker efter avtal med dess parter. Företaget ser idag ett problem i att det inte har full kontroll på hur leverantörerna sköter sina transportuppdrag gentemot PNL. Problemet är främst att PNL inte har kontroll på när leverantörernas lastbilar avgår och ankommer vid terminalerna i PNL:s standardflöde. Idag ska terminalpersonalen ange om lastbilarna har ankommit och avgått i tid i terminalrapporter, men eftersom personalen inte har full kontroll på alla lastbilar brister säkerheten. Uppgiften består i att ta fram ett antal förslag på system för fordonskontroll, beskriva dessa och diskutera systemens för- och nackdelar. För att lättare kunna ta fram lämpliga förslag har en nulägesanalys utförts på hur företaget fungerar och hur dess spårningssystem ser ut idag. En kravspecifikation på systemet har tagits fram. Lösningsförslag har analyserats enligt Gunnar Stefanssons klassifikation (1999) kompletterad med ett antal attribut som jag har tagit fram. De system som jag anser vara bäst lämpade att fungera som kontrollsystem i detta syfte är i rangordning följande förslag: 1. IR-teknik 2. Läsare på mobiltelefon 3. Nordic VLSI 4. Smarta kort IR-tekniken fungerar så att en mobiltelefon med IR-port riktas mot en enhet, placerad på en terminal, som via IR genererar ett SMS-meddelande från mobiltelefonen till en server där informationen lagras. Jag anser att IR-tekniken är det bästa förslaget för PNL:s syfte, främst för att tekniken är lättanvänd, säker och förhållandevis billig. Läsare på mobiltelefon innebär att en liten streckkodsläsare kan sättas fast på en mobiltelefon, få ström från denna och då läsa en streckkod som anger vilken transport det rör sig om etc. Streckkodsläsare av denna typ är än så länge bara på prototypstadiet. Nordic VLSI innebär att då en knapptryckning sker får en radiosändare och en radiomottagare kontakt då de är i närheten av varandra. Informationen skickas vidare med en s k microcontroller med särskilda protokoll för ändamålet. Smarta kort består av ett plastkort med en transponder på som bär på ett unikt nummer. Det smarta kortet hålls upp fram framför en läsare och registreras då. Tekniken är säkrare än t ex kortteknik med magnetremsa. För samtliga förslag finns risken att chauffören glömmer att registrera ankomst och avgång. För att vara elt säker på att en registrering sker ska systemet vara automatiskt. Exempel på sådana system är RFID-system. Problemet med automatiska system är dock att de är relativt dyra.

This thesis is a part of the SIREOS project at Swedish Defence Research Agency which aims at developing a sensor system consisting of infrared and video sensors and an integrated navigation system. The sensor system is placed in a camera gimbal and will be used on moving platforms, e.g. UAVs, for surveillance and reconnaissance. The gimbal is a device that makes it possible for the sensors to point in a desired direction. In this thesis the sensor pointing problem is studied. The problem is analyzed and a system design is proposed. The major blocks in the system design are gimbal trajectory planning and gimbal motion control. In order to develop these blocks, kinematic and dynamic models are derived using techniques from robotics. The trajectory planner is based on the kinematic model and can handle problems with mechanical constraints, kinematic singularity, sensor placement offset and reference signal transformation. The gimbal motion controller is tested with two different control strategies, PID and LQ. The challenge is to perform control that responds quickly, but do not excite the damping flexibility too much. The LQ-controller uses a linearization of the dynamic model to fulfil these requirements.