Microwave scattering from sea ice ridges is poorly understood. This thesis aims to improve the current knowledge on in situ C-band microwave scattering from first-year sea ice (FYI) pressure ridges during winter, and how C-band backscatter can vary with changes to radar and target parameters. Remotely sensed data of ridged ice were collected at a sea ice mesocosm using a LiDAR laser scanner and a fully-polarimetric C-band scatterometer. Thesis results indicate that using an incidence angle between 30 and 50° and HV polarization will best enable distinguishing between smooth and ridged ice, while using an incidence angle of 40° and HV or HH polarization will best enable detecting variations in ridge height. Overall results indicate that a significant proportion of the variance in FYI snow-free ridge C-band backscatter can be explained by incidence angle, polarization, and ridge height, with almost 88% of the variability in backscatter attributed to ridge height.

Composite materials are widely used in demanding applications in aerospace and other industries. In order to understand the complex behaviour of the composite materials and their components, standardised test methods are used. One example is the double cantilever beam (DCB) test in which the test specimen is loaded in an opening, i.e., tensile mode. Failures in composite materials loaded compression are different from those in tension, for example, kink band or buckling-like failures can occur. In this project, several DCBs are designed and a new fixture which allows for compression testing of a DCB is developed for an existing Instron testing machine. The fixture overcomes a known problem of tensile peak causing the failure of the adhesive at the inner surfaces of the DBC by applying additional compressive loads along the outer surfaces of the DBC. The compressive forces can induce the desired kink band formation so that researchers can better study the failure mode. The conceptual development of the new DCBs and the new fixture are presented. Several prototypes of the specimens and the fixture are modelled using the three-dimensional (3D) computer-aided design software Creo Parametric 2.0.  One of the fixtures is selected to further study. The different DCB specimens are studied in order to obtain information about the kink band using 3D finite element analysis with the software programme Abaqus CAE. The selected fixture is analysed to determine if there are any areas of concern. Finally, the behaviour of the compression stress along the DCB using two pairs of forces is studied. Unfortunately, it is determined that the tensile peak experienced by the adhesive cannot be eliminated by the application of two pairs of compressive loads, one at the free end and the other in the vicinity of the tensile peak. Several suggestions are made for future work which might serve to reduce the tensile peak; e.g., the movable force couple is applied as a surface load instead of a point load. For this, the fixture will have to be modified with a new geometry, although the DCB could be the same. This will allow further work to focus on the combined behaviour of the tensile peak and the fixture.

The purpose of this study was to (1) examine the academic and demographic characteristics of 6th-grade instrumental music students attending selected public schools of contrasting socioeconomic backgrounds, (2) examine the retention patterns of students who were required to enroll in 6th-grade instrumental music compared to those who elected to do so, and (3) construct a predictive model of student retention in middle school instrumental music programs. Individual student data (N = 1052) were gathered from beginning instrumental 6th-grade programs at selected schools in a large, urban school district in Texas. Data included students’ 5th and 6th standardized test results, 7th-grade class schedules, and demographic information. Data were analyzed according to the 6th-grade campus the students attended (Title I/non-Title I) and the type of school (elementary school with required music programs or middle school with elective music programs) to identify demographic and academic factors associated with 6th-and 7th-grade music participation. I examined students’ schedules for retention patterns associated with individual school scheduling and academic remedial policies. I used logistic regression to develop predictive models of retention based on the following factors: gender, ethnicity, special education, at-risk, gifted, 5th and 6th-grade standardized test results, 5th-grade campus and pre-AP enrollment. Only the 6th-grade standardized tests, either math or reading, predicted retention in instrumental music in all of the school settings. Ethnicity, at-risk, and 5th-grade standardized tests did not predict retention in any school setting. Each school setting was unique in the factors that predicted instrumental music retention. For example, in the Title I setting, giftedness and 6th-grade reading test results predicted retention whereas in the non-Title I setting, gender, pre-AP enrollment and 6th-grade math results predicted retention. I also observed that 6th-grade required music programs were, by default, more inclusive than elective programs, and that the diversity in the student population of the 6th-grade required programs was maintained during the 7th-grade when music became elective. Results from this study suggest that offering only one elective choice per year may exclude access to music education for low academic achievers and reduce enrollment in music ensembles. / text

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The design and use of metamaterials have shown exciting applications in electrical engineering, physics, optics, and other science fields that are expanding our physical understanding and leading to unprecedented performance of many standard devices such as antennas, microwave circuits, and sensors. The manufacturing of metamaterials, while ingenious, has typically been exotic and depended on the inclusion of sub-wavelength particles in a host medium to tailor the effective characteristics of a material. This work verifies a much more simple approach to realizing a kind of metamaterial, the epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) metamaterial. The intriguing aspect of this metamaterial is that while it is simple to realize, it is a novel approach to many practical applications such as the tunneling energy through highly discontinuous bends and abruptions, cloaking of sensors, miniaturization of microwave components, and design of highly directive antennas. Further, the physics and mathematical formulation of these ENZ materials is both intriguing and counterintuitive. / text

A Child's life (symphony for band) is a work for concert band in three contrasting movements. It is programmatic and the movements are compositionally linked by a network of motives and a large-scale tonal plan. The piece gravitates around the pitch center C, branching out symmetrically within each movement to explore neighboring key areas. Though tonal, the piece incorporates much chromaticism and features techniques of contemporary and jazz composition. The total performance duration is approximately 22 minutes. / text

A significant challenge in the surgical resection of tumors is accurate identification of tumor margins. Current methods for margin detection are time-intensive and often result in incomplete tumor excision and recurrence of disease. The objective of this project was to develop a near-infrared narrowband imaging (NIR NBI) system to image tumor and its margins in real-time during surgery utilizing the contrast provided by gold nanoparticles (GNPs). NIR NBI images narrow wavelength bands to enhance contrast from plasmonic particles in a widefield, portable and non-contact device that is clinically compatible for real-time tumor margin demarcation. GNPs have recently gained significant traction as nanovectors for combined imaging and photothermal therapy of tumors. Delivered systemically, GNPs preferentially accumulate at the tumor site via the enhanced permeability and retention effect, and when irradiated with NIR light, produce sufficient heat to treat tumor tissue. The NIR NBI system consists of 1) two LED's: green (530 nm) and NIR (780 nm) LED for illuminating the blood vessels and GNP, respectively, 2) a filter wheel for wavelength selection, and 3) a CCD to collect reflected light from the sample. The NIR NBI system acquires and processes images at a rate of at least 6 frames per second. We have developed custom control software with a graphical user interface that handles both image acquisition and processing/display in real-time. We used mice with a subcutaneous tumor xenograft model that received intravenous administration and topical administration of gold nanoshells and gold nanorods. We determined the GNP's distribution and accumulation pattern within tumors using NIR NBI. Ex vivo NIR NBI of tumor xenografts accumulated with GNPs delivered systemically, demonstrated a highly heterogeneous distribution of GNP within the tumor with higher accumulation at the cortex. GNPs were observed in unique patterns surrounding the perivascular region. The GNPs clearly defined the tumor while surrounding normal tissue did not indicate the presence of particles. In addition, we present results from NBI of tumors that received topical delivery of conjugated GNPs. We determined that tumor labeling using topical delivery approach resulted in a more homogenous distribution of GNPs compared to the systemic delivery approach. Finally, we present results from the on-going in vivo tumor margin imaging studies using NIR NBI. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of NIR NBI in demarcating tumor margins during surgical resection and potentially guiding photo-thermal ablation of tumors. / text

Boris Kozhevnikov was a preeminent composer for the wind orchestras of the Soviet military. His Third Symphony is well known in the United States, but the rest of his compositions, and most of the Soviet wind band repertoire, remain unstudied and unperformed outside Russia. This document will explain how Soviet composers carried out their musical obligations as dictated by Communist Party mandates. Further, the functionality and prevalence of Soviet military bands will be explored. Finally, Boris Kozhevnikov will be investigated as a composer who wrote for military ensembles while adhering to Party ideals. American editions of two pieces--the Fourth Symphony and March for Ceremonial Passing--have been created as representative examples of Kozhevnikov's contribution to the genre.Socialist Realism is the term used to describe the Soviet government's mandate for "appropriate" music. Composers were expected to write music that was accessible to the masses, contained programmatic inferences, and aroused sentiments of patriotism and nationalistic pride. Rejected were any pieces displaying formalistic tendencies, including non-programmatic, overly chromatic, or atonal works.Three thousand military wind orchestras were performing in the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War. These ensembles played original Russian and Soviet music, the vast majority of which is unknown outside Russia. Composers such as Dmitri Shostakovich, Nikolai Miaskovsky, and Sergei Prokofiev wrote for the military ensembles, providing marches and programmatic works.Boris Kozhevnikov taught at the Moscow Conservatory and Institute of Military Conductors for over forty years. He was a highly respected professor, composer, and conductor, and received praise from both Miaskovsky and Shostakovich. One of the first composers to write multiple symphonies for band, Kozhevnikov composed over forty pieces for winds, all exhibiting fundamentals of Socialist Realism. Among his techniques were the incorporation of folk, worker, and revolutionary songs; compositions specifically written and titled for commemorative events; and the composition of works for functional purposes, such as marches and ceremonial music. For his efforts, Kozhevnikov was awarded as a Distinguished Artist of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the Red Star, the Red Banner, the Alexandrov Award, and the Order of the Badge of Honor.

I detta examensarbete presenteras två olika konstruktionslösningar för ett spegeldämpande filter till en heterodynmottagare för L-bandet. Båda filtren är uppbyggda av distribuerade element i mikrostripsteknik. Filtertyper som behandlas är combline med kapacitansdioder för avstämning samt filter med element av typen commensurate length transmissionsledning. Nödvändig teori om mikrostripteknik och distribuerade element behandlas. Konstruktionen av filtren beskrivs steg för steg från filterkrav till färdig mönsterlayout. Layouterna har simulerats med em™ simulatorprogram.

In this thesis, a multirate realization of an interpolation operation is explored. As one of the requirements for proper functionality of the digital pulse-width modulator, a 16-bit digital input signal is to be upsampled 32 times. To obtain the required oversampling ratio, five separate interpolator stages were designed and implemented. Each interpolator stage performed uppsampling by a factor of two followed by an image-rejection lowpass FIR filter. Since, each individual interpolator stage upsamples the input signal by a factor of two, interpolation filters were realized as a half-band FIR filters. This kind of linear-phase FIR filters have a nice property of having every other filter coefficient equal to zero except for the middle one which equals 0.5. By utilizing the half-band FIR filters for the actual realization of the interpolation filters, the overall computational complexity was substantially reduced. In addition, several multirate techniques have been utilized for deriving more efficient interpolator structures. Hence, the impulse response of individual interpolator filters was rewritten into its corresponding polyphase form. This further simplifies the interpolator realization. To eliminate multiplication by 0.5 in one of two polyphase subfilters, the filter gain was deliberately increased by a factor of two. Thus, one polyphase path only contained delay elements. In addition, for the realization of filter multipliers, a multiple constant multiplication, (MCM), algorithm was utilized. The idea behind the MCM algorithm, was to perform multiplication operations as a number of addition operations and appropriate input signal shifts. As a result, less hardware was needed for the actual interpolation chain implementation. For the correct functionality of the interpolator chain, scaling coefficients were introduced into the each interpolation stage. This is done in order to reduce the possibility of overflow. For the scaling process, a safe scaling method was used. The actual quantization noise generated by the interpolator chain was also estimated and appropriate system adjustments were performed.