The Utah Water Research Laboratory, in conjunction with the State of Utah, initiated a study to determine the accuracy of a wide variety of flow measurement devices in Utah. The project selected 70 sites with flow measurement devices throughout the state. During the assessment each device had its physical condition and flow measurement accuracy documented. Although a wide variety of flow measurement devices were tested, the majority were Parshall flumes. Many of the assessed Parshall flumes were not measuring flow to the specified ±5 percent design accuracy. Problems in flow measurement were due to issues with the staff gauge location and incorrect entrance geometry. Laboratory tests were conducted at the Utah Water Research Laboratory in an attempt to provide accurate flow measurement from flumes with these issues. The tests simulated incorrect locations for measuring upstream head with different entrance geometries on a 2-ft-wide Parshall flume. The flume was tested with three different entrance wingwall configurations, eighteen stilling wells, and two point gauges, allowing water surface profiles to be collected throughout the flume. Corrections for incorrect head measurement locations and entrance geometries were created. The objective of this thesis is to provide water users and regulators with the information necessary to help improve open-channel flow measurement accuracies. An overview of design accuracies and flow measurement devices is given. In addition, a method to correct for incorrect head readings in Parshall flumes, a widely used flow measurement device in Utah, is presented. It is expected that this information will help water users and regulators monitor their water with the understanding necessary to ensure that water is more accurately measured.

Contexte. Les protéines transmembranaires ont une importance considérable tant au niveau de la survie d'une cellule qu'au niveau de ces interactions avec les autres cellules. En raison de contraintes techniques, la cristallisation de ce type de protéine demeure très complexe, ce qui limite grandement l’exploration de leur structure. Pour contourner ces difficultés, différents outils de prédiction ont été développés,en se fondant originellement sur l'hydrophobicité des régions enfouies dans la membrane. Méthode. L'outil développé repose sur une dérivation de la moyenne d'hydrophobicité calculée sur deux ensembles de taille de fenêtres. Le premier ensemble (G1) contient des petites tailles de fenêtres ce qui correspond à des événements locaux, tandis que le second (G2) correspond à des tailles de fenêtres plus larges, adaptées à la taille des hélices formant certaines protéines transmembranaires. La variation d'hydrophobicité est obtenue en dérivant les moyennes d'hydrophobicité. Un consensus est établi pour chaque groupe, et les résultats sont comparés à un ensemble de protéines transmembranaires cristallisées. Résultats. Les variations d'hydrophobicité G2 sont liées aux extrémités des hélices transmembranaires,tandis que les variations G1 sont en relation avec la limites des structures et certaines irrégularités structurelles.Ces résultats nous ont amené à introduire une nouvelle notion : les unités transmembranaires(TMU). Les TMU consistent en un ensemble de sous-structures qui composent les structures transmembranaires. / Background. Few high-resolution structures of integral membranes proteins are available, as crystallization of such proteins needs yet to overcome too many technical limitations. Nevertheless, prediction oftheir transmembrane (TM) structure by bioinformatics tools provides interesting insights on the topology of these proteins.Method. We describe here how to extract new information from the analysis of hydrophobicity variations or hydrophobic pulses (HPulses) in the sequence of integral membrane proteins using the Hydrophobic Pulse Predictor, a new tool we developed for this purpose. To analyze the primary sequence of 70 integralmembrane proteins we defined two levels of analysis : G1-HPulses for sliding windows of n=2 to 6 andG2-HPulses for sliding windows of n=12 to 16.Results. The G2-HPulse analysis of 541 transmembrane helices allowed the definition of the new conceptof transmembrane unit (TMU) that groups together transmembrane helices and segments with potentialadjacent structures. In addition, the G1-HPulse analysis identified helix irregularities that correspondedto kinks, partial helices or unannotated structural events. These irregularities could represent key dynamicelements that are alternatively activated depending on the channel status as illustrated by the crystalstructures of the lactose permease in different conformations. Our results open a new way in the understanding of transmembrane secondary structures : hydrophobicity through hydrophobic pulses stronglyimpacts on such embedded structures and is not confined to define the transmembrane status of aminoacids.

Neuronal, cardiac, and skeletal muscle electrical signaling is achieved through the highly regulated activity of several types of voltage-gated ion channels to produce an action potential (AP). Voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channels are responsible for repolarization of the AP. Kv channels are uniquely and heavily glycosylated proteins. Previous reports indicate glycosylation modulates gating of some Kv channel isoforms; often, terminal sialic acid residues alter Kv channel gating. Here, we questioned whether alterations in glycosylation impact Kv channel gating, thus altering APs and cardiac excitability. ST3Gal-IV, a sialyltransferase expressed at uniform levels throughout the heart, adds sialic acids to N- and O-glycans through alpha 2-3 linkages. Electrocardiograms (ECGs) suggest that cardiac conduction/rhythm are altered in ST3Gal-IV(-/-) animals, which show an increased incidence of arrhythmic beats. AP waveform parameters and two components of IK, the transient outward, Ito, and the slowly inactivating, IK,slow, were compared in neonatal control versus ST3Gal-IV(-/-) and glycosidase treated atrial and ventricular myocytes. Action potential durations (APDs) measured from ST3Gal-IV(-/-) and glycosidase treated atrial myocytes were lengthened significantly (~25-150%) compared to control; however, ventricular APDs were unaffected by changes in glycosylation. Consistently, atrial Ito and IK,slow activation were shifted to more depolarized potentials (by ~9-17 mV) in ST3Gal-IV(-/-) and glycosidase treated myocytes, while ventricular K+ currents were unaltered. Those channels responsible for producing Ito and IK,slow were examined under conditions of full and reduced glycosylation. Sialylation and N-glycosylation uniquely and differently impact gating of two mammalian Shaker family Kv channel isoforms, Kv1.4 and Kv1.5; Kv1.4 gating was unaffected by changes in channel glycosylation, while N-linked sialic acids, acting through electrostatic mechanisms, fully account for glycan effects on Kv1.5 gating. In addition, sialic acids modulate the gating of three Kv channel isoforms that are not N-glycosylated, Kv2.1, Kv4.2, and Kv4.3, through apparent electrostatic mechanisms. Click chemistry was utilized to confirm that these three isoforms are O-glycosylated and sialylated; thus, O-linked sialylation modulates gating of Kv2.1, Kv4.2, and Kv4.3. This study suggests that regulated or aberrant glycosylation alters the gating of channels producing IK in a chamber-specific manner, thus altering the rate of cardiac repolarization and potentially leading to arrhythmias.

This thesis investigates reliable data communication techniques for wireless channels. The problem of data detection at the receiver is considered and several novel detectors and parameter estimators are presented.¶ It is shown that by using a noise-limiting prefilter, with a spectral support at least equal to the signal part of the received signal, and sampling its output at the Nyquist rate, a set of sufficient statistics for maximum likelihood sequence detection (MLSD) is obtained.¶ Observing that the time-variations of the multipaths in a wireless channel are bandlimited, channel taps are closely approximated as polynomials in time. Using this representation, detection techniques for frequency-flat and frequency-selective channels are obtained. The proposed polynomial predictor based sequence detector (PPSD) for frequency-flat channels is similar in structure to the MLSD that employs channel prediction. However, the PPSD uses {\em a priori} known polynomial based predictor taps. It is observed that the PPSD, without any explicit knowledge of the channel autocovariance, performs close to the Innovations based MLSD.¶ New techniques for frequency-selective channel estimation are presented. They are based on a rectangular windowed least squares algorithm, and they employ a polynomial model of the channel taps. A recursive form of the least squares algorithm with orthonormal polynomial basis vectors is developed. Given the appropriate window size and polynomial model order, the proposed method outperforms the conventional least mean squares (LMS) and the exponentially weighted recursive least squares (EW-RLS) algorithms. Novel algorithms are proposed to obtain near optimal window size and polynomial model order.¶ The improved channel estimation techniques developed for frequency-selective channels are incorporated into sliding window and fixed block channel estimators. The sliding window estimator uses received samples over a time window to calculate the channel taps. Every symbol period, the window is moved along another symbol period and a new estimate is calculated. A fixed block estimator uses all received samples to estimate the channel taps throughout a data packet, all at once. In fast fading and at a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), both techniques outperform the MLSD receivers which employ the LMS algorithm for channel estimation.¶ An adaptive multiuser detector, optimal in the weighted least squares (WLS) sense, is derived for direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) systems. In a multicellular configuration, this detector jointly detects the users within the cell of interest, while suppressing the intercell interferers in a WLS sense. In the absence of intercell interferers, the detector reduces to the well-known multiuser MLSD structure that employs a bank of matched filters. The relationship between the proposed detector and a centralized decision feedback detector is derived. The effects of narrowband interference are investigated and compared with the multiuser MLSD.¶ Since in a fast time-varying channel, the LMS or the EW-RLS algorithms cannot track the channel variations effectively, the receiver structures proposed for single user communications are extended to multiuser DS-CDMA systems. The fractionally-chip-spaced channel taps of the convolution of the chip waveform with the multipath channel are estimated. Linear equalizer, decision feedback equalizer and MLSDs are studied, and under fast fading, as the SNR increases, they are found to outperform the LMS based adaptive minimum mean squared error (MMSE) linear receivers.

中小企業相對國際企業缺乏資金、人才與經銷通路管理經驗，當進軍國際市場時，絕大部分依賴當地的中間商，因此，選擇合適的中間商是關鍵成功因素之一。 本研究以某台灣電腦機殼公司在北美洲為研究個案，該公司強調「以誠信為基礎的通路策略」與成為「通路掛帥」的公司為目標。本研究探討其進軍國際市場時的通路決策制定過程，其中企業目標與通路策略，對通路設計決策與通路管理有深度的影響力。 另通路結構的長度、寬度及密度是關鍵的策略意圖，足以影響未來通路運作的效率。在通路管理上，提供通路成員訓練、行銷宣傳支援、激勵方案、績效評估等來協助通路成員達成預期的目標。 此外，面對外在經營環境變化與內在營運模式的調整，個案公司採用選擇性通路，以降低通路衝突的機率並提升通路效力。公司在調整通路結構時，改變通路成員的質與量，以達到地理區域的涵蓋度與深耕特定目標市場的目的。同時並採用「與巨人共舞，以小博大」的通路策略，對於選定的少數且極其重要的通路成員採取「深耕、做大」策略。研究中發現大型經銷通路商對於「以誠信為基礎的通路策略」比較認同，且對於個案公司建立通路管理制度的要求全力配合，其通路績效更佳。 最後提出對個案公司的建議: 1.高階主管需參與執行並貫徹「以誠信為基礎的行銷通路策略」。 2.面對快速變遷的外在環境與市場競爭情境，策略的生命週期變短，公司必需隨時檢視、修正或調整國際通路策略。 3.透過企業內部教育訓練，培養高階主管與資深團隊的通路管理能力。 4.台灣總公司OEM/ODM業務與北美全球性經銷商的衝突，亟需建立溝通協調與管控機制。 / Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in contrast to large multinational corporations, often lack the financial resources, exposure, and expertise in product distribution channel management. When entering a foreign market, SMEs often have to rely heavily on channel partners. Consequently, selecting the appropriate channel partners is one of the key success factors in channel management. This study examined a medium-sized Taiwanese PC enclosure company as it sought to expand in the North American market. To this end, the company adopted an integrity-based channel management strategy and strived to become a channel champion. The internal decision-making processes for channel partner selection were outlined and the influences of the company objectives on its channel design were analyzed. Furthermore, considerations on the length, width, and density – three important factors to an efficient channel strategy – were introduced. Lastly, methods to support channel partners in the form of product training, marketing and promotional support, incentive programs, and an appropriate performance appraisal system were discussed. To maximize channel efficiency and reduce potential conflicts between channel partners, the company employed a tiered channel strategy. Extending the geographic coverage and penetrating key select markets was achieved by carefully selecting channel partners after weighing in the quality of their downstream distribution channels and their sales volume. Revenue growth in select markets was achieved by leveraging the strengths of a few competent channel partners. These channel partners have subsequently recognized the benefits of the integrity-based channel management strategy and are more committed to fulfilling their roles within the overall auspices of the channel distribution system. Recommendations to the company based on the research findings are the following: 1.The management should be involved and be committed to the implementation of the integrity-based channel management strategy. 2.In the face of constant changes in the business environment, channel strategy should be reviewed and revised anytime. 3.Internal training to senior management to raise their capability of channel stewardship. 4.Establish a mechanism to resolve potential conflicts between Taiwanese OEM/ODM sales team and channel partners in North America.

ClC proteins are chloride channels and transporters that are found in a wide variety of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell-types. The mammalian chloride channel ClC-1 is an important modulator of the electrical excitability of skeletal muscle. The Torpedo electric-organ chloride channel, ClC-0 is structurally and functionally similar to ClC- 1. These proteins are referred to as the muscle-type ClC channels. The present work identifies several functional differences between the muscle type channels, and explores the structural basis of these and other previously reported differences. First the temperature dependence of ClC-1 channels was quantified. These calculations revealed distinct contrasts to previously published measurements of ClC-0 temperature sensitivity, indicating differences between the channels in the structural rearrangements associated with channel gating. Next the effect of extracellular ion substitution on ClC-0 function was examined. These measurements suggested that occupancy of an anion binding-site on the extracellular side of the selectivity-filter stabilises the open state of the channel, and that the diameter of the channel pore increases during channel opening. Three-dimensional models of the muscle-type channels were constructed based on the atomic coordinates of prokaryotic homologues. Differences in selectivity between ClC-0 and ClC-1 could be rationalised, in part, by differences in the chemistry of the narrow constriction of the channel pore. The major structural divergence between the muscle-type channels occurs in the expansive intracellular carboxy terminus. Replacing this region of ClC-1 with the corresponding region from ClC-0 resulted in distinct changes in common gating of the channel. These experiments rigorously characterise the dependence of ClC-1 function on temperature and the effect of foreign anionic-substrates on ClC-0 function. The results identify important residues involved in ionic selectivity of the channels, and validate the use of high-resolution prokaryotic channel structures as a predictive tool for studying the muscle-type channels. They also demonstrate that the carboxy-terminal of the channels is an important determinant of common gating. / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Molecular and Biomedical Science, 2008

Tailings (mining waste) disposal is a significant consideration for the mining industry, with the majority of the ore processed in most mining operations ending up as tailings. This creates large volumes of tailings, which must be handled and stored responsibly to avoid potential environmental catastrophes. The most common form of tailings storage facility is the impoundment, where tailings are contained within a basin, with beaches forming around the perimeter of the impoundment and a pond standing in the middle. A relatively new method of tailings storage is to create a 'stack', whereby the tailings solids form a large heap, with the discharge of tailings slurry from the apex of the heap. It is of significant value for mine operators and tailings engineers to be able to predict the shape of the beach that forms in either of these disposal scenarios. The key to being able to do this relies on a method of prediction of the beach slope. The aim of this work is to develop a method of tailings beach slope prediction for tailings slurries that are sub-aerially discharged from a pipe. In this thesis a literature review is undertaken, investigating existing methods for the prediction of tailings beach slopes. These methods are validated against relevant industrial and experimental data. Two separate phases of experimental work have taken place in an effort to investigate tailings deposition behaviour, one at mine sites and the other in a laboratory on a small scale. Three new tailings beach slope prediction models are presented; a simple empirical model enabling quick approximate predictions; an a priori tailings beach slope prediction model based on existing theories of open channel flow, sediment transport and rheology, which is more powerful due to the greater degree of theory in its foundation; and a new semi-empirical model that shares some of the theoretical aspects of the a priori model but offers better predictions due to its empirical calibration to the experimental data. The experimental results, along with 3 other independently collected sets of relevant industrial and experimental data, are used to validate the beach slope prediction models found in the literature, as well as the new beach slope models presented in this thesis. Statistical evaluation of the performance of all of these models is presented to enable comparison. Finally, a new beach shape model is presented for the three dimensional geometric forecasting of the beach surface of a tailings stack. Historic tailings discharge data is run through the beach shape model, and the shapes predicted by the model are compared with aerial survey data of a real tailings stack for validation of the shape model. This work not only presents a new method of tailings stack shape prediction, but also a plausible theory for explaining the concavity of tailings beaches. The stack shape model also has the potential to be developed further for the three dimensional modelling of tailings beaches formed in other types of storage facilities, such as impoundments or valleys.

歯科基礎医学会, 日下部 豊寿 = Toyohisa Kusakabe, 実験的歯の移動時における圧迫側歯槽骨に生じる背部骨吸収と血管分布 = Rear resorption at the pressure side incident in orthodontic tooth movement, 歯科基礎医学会雑誌, 39(6), DEC 1997, pp.623-640 / Hokkaido University (北海道大学) / 博士 / 歯学

<p>Chloride ion channels are macromolecular pores providing for passage of chloride ions (and certain other inorganic and organic anions) through the cell membrane, down their electrochemical gradients. Chloride channels are differentially expressed in various cells, to best suit specific cellular activities. They are present in practically all living cells, and regardless of cell specialization they play an important role in vital housekeeping functions of cell-volume and pH regulation and in membrane potential stabilization. Regulation of cell volume underlies the structural integrity and constancy of the intracellular milieu. A variety of metabolic pathways have been shown to be sensitive to cell volume, and alterations of cell volume and osmoregulation processes can influence various intracellular signaling and organizing factors.</p><p>Volume-regulated anion channels (VRACs) are believed to play a pivotal role in cell-volume regulating processes. In this report I present data from macroscopic patch-clamp studies of VRACs performed in a fibroblast cell line and from single channel studies of chloride channels (tentatively related to VRACs) in mouse brown adipocytes in primary culture.</p><p>One of the characteristic features of the VRACs is their dependence on the presence of cytoplasmic ATP. In whole-cell experiments, removal of ATP from the pipette solution almost completely prevented activation of VRACs, whereas substitution of ATP with the nonhydrolyzable analog ATPγS did not alter the activation of VRACs. The inhibitors of protein tyrosine kinases (PTK) tyrphostin A25 and B46 depressed VRAC currents in both cases (ATP and ATPγS), but a PTK ineffective analog (tyrphostin A1) did not affect VRAC currents. We infer that in the cell preparation we used, ATP has a dual role in VRAC regulation: it is required for channel-protein phosphorylation and it can influence channel activity through non-hydrolytic binding in a ligand-receptor manner. It can additionally be suggested that tyrosine-specific protein kinases can be involved in the regulation of VRACs, independently of the effects of ATP. We also studied cell cycle-related changes in activation of VRACs by osmotic swelling of cells chemically arrested at different phases of the cell cycle. We found no significant changes during most of the cell cycle, except short periods before and after mitosis and in the quiescent G0 state.</p><p>The single Cl^-channels of brown adipocytes resemble in their electrophysiological phenotype outwardly rectifying Cl^- channels (ORCCs). We investigated the sensitivity of these channels to intracellular Ca²⁺. It appeared that the commonly used Ca²⁺-chelators EGTA and BAPTA could influence the ORCCs currents by themselves, independently of their calcium chelating effects. In some channels, these chelators induced classical flickery-type block of activity, whereas in others there was quasi-blockage, i.e. a peculiar combination of flickery blockage and overall channel activation. The chloride channel blocking agents DIDS and SITS mimicked the true/quasi blockage of EGTA and BAPTA. These phenomena add to the structure-function characteristics of the ORCC molecule. Moderate inhibitory effect of Ca²⁺ within a physiological range of intracellular concentrations (sub-µM) was also detected; however, the biological relevance of this observation, as well as of these Cl^- channels in general, remains to be clarified.</p>

<p>This thesis work carries out a study of IEEE 802.16 standards and mainly concentrates on the 802.16a OFDM PHY layer. A Simulink model based on 802.16a OFDM PHY baseband is built for simulation and performance evaluation. All mandatory blocks in the 802.16a OFDM-PHY specification are included: Randomization, FEC,adaptive modulation, and IFFT/FFT. A multipath Rayleigh fading channel is implemented and frequency domain channel estimation is selected for this model. Perfect synchronization is assumed.</p>