No description available.

The behavior of using oxygen carriers as bed material in a fluidized bed combustion was investigated in this work when methane, air and carbon monoxide, air are used as fluidizing gases. More specifically, conversion rate, unsteadiness and gas composition was investigated and it was found that the conversion rate of carbon monoxide and methane are higher when oxygen carriers are used as bed material compared to silica sand and that the highest conversion rate was for oxygen carriers with high oxygen transport capacity and high reactivity towards the gaseous fuel. And it was also found that unsteady concentration profiles were present for all oxygen carries when methane was used but only for manganese when carbon monoxide was used which indicates that low reactivity towards a gaseous fuel triggers unsteadiness. In addition to this ilmenite and F6MZ1100 was defluidized when carbon monoxide was used and no decrease in reactivity between oxygen carrier and oxygen was observed. The experiment was performed in a laboratory scale fluidized bed reactor were 4 different bed materials was used, manganese ore, ilmenite, F6MZ1100, silica sand and each batch used 15g of particles, a particle size of 125-180µm, a total flowrate of 900ml/min and a changing Air-fuel equivalence ratio to simulate a fuel lean and a fuel rich mixture. And in addition to this the particles were exposed to an alternating reducing and oxidizing condition to test reactivity between oxygen carrier and the used gaseous fuels. / Beteendet av syrebärare som bäddmaterial i en fluidiserad bäddförbränning har undersökts när en blandning av kolmonoxid,luft och metan,luft har använts som fluidiseringsgaser genom att utvärdera bränsle omvandlingsgraden, ostadigheter i rökgassammansättningen, rökgassammansättningen och arbetet visar att omvandlingsgraden av kolmonoxid och metan är högre när syrebärare används som bäddmaterial jämfört med när kiselsand används. Och högsta omvandlingsgraden var för syrebärare med hög syretransport kapacitet och hög reaktivitet med det gasformiga bränslet och det observerades även att ostadighet i rökgassammansättning är beroende av bränsletyp. När metangas användes fanns ostadigheter för samtliga bäddmaterial men endast för Mangan när kolmonoxid användes vilket indikerar att låg reaktivitet mellan flyktgaser och syrebärare utlöser ostadighet i rökgassammansättningen. Utöver detta uppstod fluidiseringsproblem för Ilmenit och F6MZ1100 när kolmonoxid användes vilket resulterade i partiell passering av fluidiseringsgaser genom reaktorn och utöver detta observerades inte någon minskad reaktivitet mellan syrebärarna och syre under experimentet. Experimentet utfördes i en fluidiserad bädd reaktor i laboratorieskala där 4 olika bäddmaterial testades, Manganmalm, Ilmenit, F6MZ1100 och Kiselsand och i varje experiment användes 15g partiklar med partikelstorleken 125-180μm och med ett total flödet på 900 ml/min. Och för att testa effekten vid olika blandningar av bränsle och luft ändrades luft-bränsle förhållandet så att bäddmaterialet exponerades för syreöverskott och syreunderskott och utöver detta exponerades även syrebärarna för omväxlande oxidation och reduktion för att utvärdera reaktiviteten mellan syrebärare och det gasformiga bränslet.

Changes to the marketing environment occur in numerous ways and with a wide range of characteristics. This research examines the effects of - and responses to - surprise, which is defined as disruptive, discontinuous events that result in unexpected changes to the environment. Some authors have suggested that organizations have tended to overestimate their ability both to predict and to control calamitous environmental events, resulting in relatively little attention being paid to environmental surprise in the marketing literature (Cunha et al, 2006). Indeed, much of the research in this domain has focused on improving organizations' ability to recognize - or even anticipate - such events, thus rendering them not surprises (Ansoff, 1975; Lampel & Shapira, 2001). But, as Cunha and associates respond, "... researchers should investigate how organizations might deal with unanticipated events," not just how to avoid them (2006, p. 320, emphasis added). This research addresses a portion of the identified gap. Just as there is a range of possible changes and change types, organizations' responses also vary. Depending on the nature of the environmental event(s), the appropriate form of strategic response can be quite different. Therefore, how organizations respond to environmental change is a critical element of their marketing strategies. Remaining properly aligned with their external surroundings has repeatedly been shown to produce significant benefits in terms of marketing performance and financial success (Venkatraman & Prescott, 1990). Barney and associates state that "... to the extent some firms in a rapidly changing environment are more nimble, more able to change quickly, and more alert to changes in their competitive environment, they will be able to adapt to changing market conditions more rapidly than competitors, and thus gain competitive advantage" (2001, p. 631). Study 1 What happens when firms are confronted by a strategic surprise - defined as "sudden, urgent, unfamiliar change" (Ansoff 1975, p. 22) - such as the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001? Numerous studies have examined how strategic change, in the aftermath of a significant environmental event, contributes to organizational survival and success. But, is strategic change the appropriate response to unexpected and disruptive environmental change? And is there a preferred trajectory for change, such that certain strategies are better suited than others to the post-surprise environment? This exploratory research examines whether or not strategic change is an appropriate response to strategic surprise by considering the actions of motor carriers in the aftermath of 9/11. The data evidences significant disruption to the trucking industry following the event; for example, among the sample, mean operating ratios declined by more than 50%. But while nearly 40% of the carriers studied changed their strategies in the post-9/11 environment, this did not guarantee better performance. In fact, all carriers fared worse following the attacks, but those carriers that changed strategies actually performed significantly worse than those that persisted with their pre-9/11 strategies. Study 2 In Study 2, a scoring model of strategic resilience is developed that enables motor carriers to assess their likelihood of withstanding disruptive environmental change. Supply chain resilience is an emergent research stream that considers the ability of a supply chain network to anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to significant environmental risks in the form of disruptions and unanticipated events (Ponomarov & Holcomb, 2009). This study examines the ability of motor carriers - a critical and essential component of most supply chains - to survive such events. Using variables identified in Study 1, together with those from numerous previous studies in the prediction-model research domain, the second study considers which factors are significant and contribute the most utility to an overall resilience score. In addition, this study approaches the model-building process using a proven methodology (conjoint analysis) which previously has not been applied to this type of research, while examining an especially broad range of possible alternatives. The resultant model provides firms in the motor-carrier industry with a "resilience score" that suggests their likelihood of survival in the post-event marketing environment. The resilience model enables motor carriers to self-assess their ability to withstand disruptive events in the marketing environment, including strategic surprises such as 9/11. Motor carriers with weaker scores (i.e., less than 600, on a scale from 300 to 900) are more likely to exit - though clearly are not guaranteed to do so. This model correctly identified nearly 70% of carriers that ultimately exited from the industry. In addition, the model provided evidence of where motor carriers should focus their attention in a post-disruption marketing environment. Six factors emerged as most significant to carriers' resilience as evidenced by the model. These elements are recommended as the metrics to which carriers themselves - and dependent supply chain network members - pay most attention following an environmental disruption. / Business Administration/Marketing

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Bacillus sphaericus 2362 is a mosquito pathogenic bacterium. Its greatest industrial potential may be in developing countries where mosquitos are often vectors for diseases. This strain is typical of the species in that it is unable to grow using carbohydrates as a sole source of carbon. The goal of this research was to determine the metabolic deficiency(s) responsible for the inability of this organism to grow on carbohydrates. Compounds that supported light growth of this organism on an agar-solidified, defined medium included acetate, glycerol, and gluconate. Growth in a defined liquid medium with acetate as the source of carbon was much slower than growth in a complex, protein-based broth. B. sphaericus grew poorly in a defined, liquid medium with glycerol or gluconate as the carbon source. Activity of enzymes responsible for the initiation of metabolism of some substrates was not detected in cell extracts. These enzymes were: glucokinase, hexokinase, beta-galactosidase, and amylase. Growth of this bacterium on glycerol as a sole source of carbon implies the presence of the enzymes from the lower half of the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas (EMP) pathway. Two enzymes of the upper half of the EMF pathway, phosphofructokinase and fructose diphosphate aldolase, were undetected in cell extracts. In addition, glucose dehydrogenase activity was not detected. The inability to form glucose-6-phosphate from glucose prevents the catabolism of this and related substrates via the Entner-Doudoroff (ED), hexose monophosphate (HMP), and EMF pathways. Oxygen uptake studies indicated that B. sphaericus oxidized gluconate slightly but only when the cells were grown in a complex, protein-based medium supplemented with gluconate. Although gluconokinase activity was detected in cell extracts, no activity was detected for the key enzymes of the ED (phosphogluconate dehydratase/KDPG aldolase), or HMP (6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase) pathway. It is unclear how B. sphaericus grows on a defined medium with gluconate as the sole source of carbon. In addition to enzymatic deficiencies, whole cells were unable to accumulate [¹⁴C]glucose or [¹⁴C]sucrose. / Master of Science

The possibilities of transmission of infectious synovitis were explored. Two types of tests, using mosquitoes as vectors, were employed. One type involved the feedings of mosquitoes on previously inoculated birds, then after a period of from zero to ninety-six hours refeeding the mosquitoes on assay birds. The second type of insect test comprised the feeding of mosquitoes on inoculated birds, then macerating and inoculating them into check birds at intervals of one to twenty-one days following feeding. Other experiments were conducted in which uninoculated birds were brought into close contact with inoculated chickens and their excrement. The observation of all tests indicated the absence of transmission of an infective titer of the infectious synovitis agent. These conclusions are drawn from tests using Aedes aegypti (Linn.) and Culex fatigans Wied., with methods and materials described. / Master of Science

No description available.

No description available.

In response to an epidemic of rabies in the mid-Atlantic region, the Virginia Department of Health and the Consolidated Laboratory Services in 1982, redesigned their submission forms for animals being tested for rabies in an effort to elicit detailed information about the epidemiology of rabies in Virginia. The information collected from those submission forms was used in a mathematical model analysis of the epidemiology of raccoon rabies in Virginia for the years 1984 through 1987. Eleven explanatory variables and one response variable (positivity for rabies) were examined. The objective of this study was to develop a model, through logistic regression, that would explain the epidemiology of rabies in raccoons in Virginia, and determine the risk factors for prediction for positivity for rabies in raccoons in Virginia. This information would aid further surveillance efforts, preventive education programs, and in formulating future oral vaccination programs in raccoons. Multiway contingency tables were constructed (involving 2,3,4,5,and 6 way interactions), and log-linear models were fitted using an iterative fitting process to generate maximum likelihood estimates. The goodness of fit of each model was judged using the likelihood-ratio-chi-square p value (0.01). The backward stepwise model selection process was performed on logit models to find the best fitting model (0.01). The final model consisted of a combination of 17 four variable term models. Eight of the eleven explanatory variables remained important risk factors in the prediction of positivity for rabies in raccoons. To validate the model, it was applied to data collected in the years 1988 through July 1989. The model fit at the 0.01 level. Parameter estimates were calculated for each term in the model. All eight variables had main order effects (direct) on the response variable (positivity for rabies). Three second order effects were evident: age and season, behavior and season, and year and season. Future studies will involve applications of this model to other species to further explore the epidemiology of rabies, and to refine the model for practical applications. / Ph. D.

Yes / This mini-review highlights the latest advances in the chemistry and biology of Pluronic® triblock copolymers. We focus on their applications in medicine, as drug delivery carriers, biological response modifiers, and pharmaceutical ingredients. Examples of drug delivery systems and formulations currently in clinical use, clinical trials or preclinical development are highlighted. We also discuss the role that Pluronic® copolymers may play in the innovative design of new nanomedicines in the near future. / We thank the Leverhulme Trust (Early Career Fellowship no. ECF-2013-414 to NPEB), the University of Warwick (Grant no. RDF 2013-14 to NPEB) and EPSRC (EP/G004897/1 to APB) for support.