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The application of pulsed electric fields (PEF) in food processing is a novel technique that requires careful study. In addition, improved understanding of the effect of PEF parameters on both physical and qualitative attributes of agrifood products is a requirement for the application and control of this emerging technology. PEF parameters investigated were pulse widths of 100, 200, and 300 mus, with electric field strengths of 0.75 and 1.5 kV/cm. The amount of pulses used for apples was up to 60, whereas up to 120 pulses were used for potatoes. Initially, apple and potato slices were exposed to various combinations of PEF parameters in order to evaluate the change in their electrical conductivities as an indicator of the disruption of the cell membrane. Subsequently, the impact of PEF on color and texture attributes was studied. In the final set of experiments, PEF was applied as a pre-treatment in order to accelerate the diffusion of moisture in a convective air-drying process at 70°C. / Results regarding the electrical conductivity and the changes in color revealed the similar effect of applying pulses with 100, 200 and 300 mus of duration. Increasing the number of pulses and/or the electric field strength resulted in increased electrical conductivity and discoloration rates of samples. PEF reduced the compressive strength of apple tissues between 21 to 47%. However, the compressive strength of potato tissues did not seem to be affected by the application of PEF. When PEF was applied as a pre-treatment, it caused an increase of up to 30% in the moisture diffusion coefficients of potatoes. In the case of apples, PEF pre-treated samples did not show any increase in drying rates.

Soon after the discovery of radioactivity it was shown that radionuclides can be used both for diagnostic and therapeutic studies, depending on the characteristic radiations emitted by them. By 1960’s the radionuclide production technology using nuclear reactors was well established. In early 1970’s a renaissance of the cyclotrons occurred because many of the neutron deficient radionuclides could only be produced using irradiations with charged particles, like protons, deuterons, α-particles, etc. Initially, interest was directed towards radioactive gases for inhalation studies and other radionuclides for scintigraphy. Later, with the advent of emission tomography, i.e. Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET), the emphasis shifted to 123I and positron emitters [cf. 1–3], and tremendous progress ensued. In order to keep abreast of the fast developments, a Symposium was organized at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), USA, in 1976, with the title “Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry”. This became a biennial event, with alternate meetings in North America and Europe. It included all aspects of radionuclide and radiopharmaceutical research. About a decade later, however, it was realized that for discussion of technical aspects, a separate forum would be more appropriate. A group of experts therefore convened the first Targetry Workshop in Heidelberg in 1985. Thereafter it was established as a recurring Workshop, with its scope enlargened to include also nuclear and radiochemical problems. Today, the major conference on Radiopharmaceutical Sciences and the specialist International Workshop on Target-ry and Target Chemistry are held in alternate years. The present Workshop is No. 15 in the series and it is being jointly held by the research groups in Dresden and Prague, both of which have a long tradition of cyclotron production of radionuclides. In this talk, some personal reminiscences and impressions of the historical de-velopments in the field over the last 40 years will be briefly described.

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El crecimiento tecnológico va de la mano con el crecimiento y evolución de las aplicaciones. Con el correr del tiempo las redes de datos requieren más disponibilidad tornándose crítico para una red académica o privada. Pequeños cambios en el uso de la red pueden causar alto impacto en la misma, cuando nos referimos a impacto en general hablamos que es un impacto negativo, por ejemplo saturando un enlace o utilizando recursos asignados para otra aplicación mas prioritaria, esto aumenta el costo de operación de la red y como consecuencia una degradación de servicio. Se pretende lograr una completa visión de la “salud” de la red, observando en puntos clave para lograr una buena administración y la calidad de servicio de la misma. Se dará alcance a los siguientes ítems: • Medir y clasificar el tráfico en una red. • Detectar las aplicaciones, funcionamiento normal, congestión, fallas, cambios en el tiempo y evolución de una red. • Rastreo y análisis en la red para identificar actividad no autorizada o actividad que provoque degradación. • Herramientas para el planeamiento y control.

In this thesis, we have considered two important problems, Boolean satisfiability (SAT) and derivative free optimization in the context of large scale quantum computers. In the first part, we survey well known classical techniques for solving satisfiability. We compute the approximate time it would take to solve SAT instances using quantum techniques and compare it with state-of-the heart classical heuristics employed annually in SAT competitions. In the second part of the thesis, we consider a few classically well known algorithms for derivative free optimization which are ubiquitously employed in engineering problems. We propose a quantum speedup to this classical algorithm by using techniques of the quantum minimum finding algorithm. In the third part of the thesis, we consider practical applications in the fields of bio-informatics, petroleum refineries and civil engineering which involve solving either satisfiability or derivative free optimization. We investigate if using known quantum techniques to speedup these algorithms directly translate to the benefit of industries which invest in technology to solve these problems. In the last section, we propose a few open problems which we feel are immediate hurdles, either from an algorithmic or architecture perspective to getting a convincing speedup for the practical problems considered.

Planners and decision-makers recognize that non-motorized transportation provides environmental, economic, and public health benefits. Recent technology advances, such as the widespread use of mobile devices and geographic information systems, enable the collection of disaggregate built environment and travel behavior data. To integrate pedestrian planning into transport operations at local and regional scales, it is necessary to develop systems to rank and prioritize zones and corridors for pedestrian infrastructure investment. Best practices for pedestrian planning suggest that jurisdictions prioritize pedestrian projects based on a variety of concerns, such as high pedestrian activity, pedestrian safety, accessibility to transit and mobility for persons with disabilities, children and older adults. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology developed and piloted an automated system to assess the quality of sidewalks, utilizing an Android™ App that collects GPS-enabled video, accelerometer, and gyroscope data. Researchers collected pilot sidewalk data within the City of Atlanta to evaluate the accessibility and walkability of pedestrian facilities. This research proposes a weighted ranking system to prioritize pedestrian projects using App-collected pedestrian facility data collected in the field using a mobile Android application, pedestrian safety indicators, pedestrian activity data and demographic data. The ranking system uses a set of block-level pedestrian potential and deficiency indicators to prioritize planning investments within a subarea of Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia, combining available data sources with app-collected sidewalk width data. The results of these rank-order prioritization analyses indicate that blocks near rail stations and Georgia Institute of Technology/Technology Square should be prioritized for pedestrian investments. However, further refinements are needed to extend the application of this methodology to larger geographic scales. Additionally, this research did not consider the cost constraints of pedestrian project alternatives within the study area. Future availability of comprehensive pedestrian activity and pedestrian network data will enable planners and engineers to prioritize corridors and intersections for pedestrian project implementation.

The study investigated the preparedness of University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) libraries to implement and use mobile phone technology in the provision of library and information services. This investigation included the factors which could influence and impact technology adoption. It is imperative that libraries respond to changes in technology in terms of the provision of their services. A recent development has been the emergence and proliferation of mobile phone technology and it is the adoption and implementation of this technology by academic libraries in the provision of services that concerned this study. The significance of this study lies in its adding value to the little knowledge out there by improving our understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with mobile technology in an academic library context. In terms of the methodology, the study used a quantitative approach and survey design. Data was collected from a total of 30 staff members working in libraries on the UKZN Pietermaritzburg and Howard College campuses. A self-administered questionnaire that consisted of both open and closed questions was used to collect the data. The research questions which underpinned the study can be summarised as follows: what mobile phone technology is and what it comprised of in this research context, what skills the staff required to be able to provide library and information through mobile phone technology, and finally, what technological, organizational and environmental factors could influence the implementation of this technology in the libraries concerned. The Technology Organisation and Environment Framework (TOE) was used as the framework to guide the study. The data collected was analysed using SPSS and the findings were presented in the form of tables, bar graphs, pie charts and text. Interpretation of the findings revealed that the staff of the libraries were in the main positively predisposed to mobile technology, with many of them having Internet enabled mobile phones and the skills to do some of the tasks associated with the provision of library and information services via the technology. The technological, organizational and environmental factors identified and investigated were such that the libraries could be regarded as sufficiently prepared for the introduction of mobile phone technology in the provision of services. Funding or budgetary constraints, however, were identified as the main constraint. Recommendations were made based on the finding of the survey and the literature review and these relate to funding concerns and the implementation and usage of mobile phone technology to the advantage of the libraries. / Thesis (M.I.S.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

Motion planning is an increasingly important field of research. Factory automation is becoming more prevalent and at the same time, production runs are shortening in the name of customisation. With computer controlled equipment becoming cheaper and more modular, setting up near-fully automated production lines is becoming fast and easy. This means that the actual programming of the robots and assembly system is becoming the rate determining step. Automated motion planning is a possible solution to this—but only if it can run fast enough. Many heuristic planners have been created in an attempt to achieve the necessary speeds in off-line (or more ambitiously, on-line) processing. This thesis aims to show that different types of heuristic planners can be designed to take advantage of specialised environments or robot characteristics. To show this, three distinct classes of heuristic planners are put forward for discussion. The first of these classes, addressed in Chapter 2, is of very generic planners which will work in virtually all situations (ie. almost any combination of robot and environment). This generality is obviously useful when lacking more specific domain knowledge. However these methods do suffer performance-wise in comparison with more specialised planners when there are characteristics of the problem which can be targeted. Chapter 3 moves to planners which are designed to specifically address certain peculiarities of the environment. Particular focus is given to environments whose corresponding configuration-spaces contain narrow gaps and passages. Finally Chapter 4 addresses a third class of planners: those which are designed for specific types of robots and movements. The particular focus is on locomotion for legged vehicles. For each of these three classes, some discussion is made of existing planners which can be so characterised. In addition, a novel algorithm is introduced in each as an example for particular consideration.