Through a full factorial design experiment, the effects of time between worts, wort aeration and yeast dosage in production of a pale lager beer were examined in the beer process at Spendrups Bryggeri AB. The aim was to learn how different parameters may affect the yeast fermentation performance during beer production. Response variables used were the concentrations of ethyl acetate and isoamyl acetate, free amino nitrogen (FAN) degradation and change in extract. A statistical analysis showed that the concentration of ethyl acetate is dependent on yeast dosage and the interaction between time between worts and aeration while the isoamyl acetate concentration is dependent on yeast dosage and time between worts. No parameters are statistically significant for FAN degradation while the change in extract is dependent on the yeast dosage. Due to botched runs, mostly because of aeration problems, it was not possible to verify theoretical parameter values and responses. Since the aeration was not properly performed, the management of the aeration control should be further investigated. Ester analysis and analysis of FAN were performed as worts entered and exited horizontal fermentation tanks. An additional analysis of ester content was also performed as the early stage beer was transferred into lagering tanks. Cell viability as well as extract, pH and tank temperature was measured daily to verify the state of fermentation. Statistical calculations showed that when using NucleoCounter YC-100, there is no significant difference between analysis made of samples homogenized by a magnetic stirrer and samples shaken by hand.

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) protect marine teleosts from freezing in icy seawater by binding to nascent ice crystals and preventing their growth. It has been suggested that the gene dosage for AFPs in fish reflects the degree of exposure to harsh winter climates. The starry flounder, _Platichthys stellatus_, has been chosen to examine this relationship because it inhabits a range of the Pacific coast from California to the Arctic. This flatfish is presumed to produce type I AFP, which is an alanine-rich, amphipathic alpha-helix. Genomic DNA from four starry flounder was Southern blotted and probed with a cDNA of a winter flounder liver AFP. The hybridization signal was consistent with a gene family of approximately 40 copies. Blots of DNA from other starry flounder indicate that California fish have far fewer gene copies whereas Alaska fish have far more. This analysis is complicated by the fact that there are three different type I AFP isoforms. The first is expressed in the liver and secreted into circulation, the second is a larger hyperactive dimer also thought to be expressed in the liver, and the third is expressed in peripheral tissues. To evaluate the contribution of these latter two isoforms to the overall gene signal on Southern blots, hybridization probes for the three isoforms were isolated from starry flounder DNA by genomic cloning. Two clones revealed linkage of genes for different isoforms, and this was confirmed by genomic Southern blotting, where hybridization patterns indicated that the majority of genes were present in tandem repeats. The sequence and diversity of all three isoforms was sampled in the starry flounder genome by PCR. All coding sequences derived for the skin and liver isoforms were consistent with the proposed structure-function relationships for this AFP, where the flat hydrophobic side of the helix is conserved for ice binding. There was greater sequence diversity in the skin and hyperactive isoforms than in the liver isoform, suggesting that the latter evolved recently from one of the other two. The genomic PCR primers are currently being used to sample isoform diversity in related right-eyed flounders to test this hypothesis. / Thesis (Master, Biochemistry) -- Queen's University, 2009-01-30 13:38:08.346

Adult rats produce two main types of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs), occurring at 22 and 50 kHz USVs. These calls are associated with aversive and rewarding stimuli, respectively. The neural mechanism of amphetamine-induced calling was examined in lesion and antagonist studies. We also tested whether amphetamine-induced 50 kHz USVs could predict individual differences in intravenous self-administration or conditioned place preference behavior. Further experiments examined whether 50 kHz USVs could be evoked by amphetamine-conditioned sensory stimuli and by rewarding electrical brain stimulation. Overall, our experimental findings: (1) identify certain experimental conditions that increase amphetamine-induced 50 kHz calling, (2) provide evidence that these calls may be dependent on mesolimbic dopaminergic transmission, (3) relate individual differences in 50 kHz vocalizing to other behavioural measures of drug reward, and (4) show that in some situations, 50 kHz calls reflect anticipation of expected rewards.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

The goal of conformal radiation techniques is to improve local tumour control through dose escalation to target volumes while at the same time sparing surrounding healthy tissue. Respiratory motion is known to be the largest intra-fractional organ motion and the most significant source of uncertainty in treatment planning for chest lesions. A method to account for the effects of respiratory motion is to use four-dimensional radiotherapy. While analytical models are useful, it is essential that the motion problem in radiotherapy is addressed by both modeling as well as experimentally studies so that different obstacles can be overcome before clinical implementation of a motion compensation method. Validation of techniques aimed at measuring and minimizing the effects of respiratory motion require a realistic dynamic deformable phantom for use as a gold standard. In this work we present the design, construction, performance and deformable image registration of a novel breathing, tissue equivalent phantom with a deformable lung that can reproducibly emulate 3D non-isotropic lung deformations according to any real lung-like breathing pattern. The phantom consists of a Lucite cylinder filled with water containing a latex balloon stuffed with dampened natural sponges. The balloon is attached to a piston that mimics the human diaphragm. Nylon wires and Lucite beads, emulating vascular and bronchial bifurcations, were glued at various locations, uniformly throughout the sponges. The phantom is capable of simulating programmed irregular breathing patterns with varying periods and amplitudes. A deformable, tissue equivalent tumour, suitable for holding radiochromic film for dose measurements was embedded in the sponge. Experiments for 3D motion assessment, motion reproducibility as well as deformable image registration and validation are presented using the deformable phantom.

In this thesis,we study how a meta-analysis of genetic association studies is influenced by the degree of genotype imputation uncertainty in the studies combined and the size of meta-analysis. We consider the fixed effect meta-analysis model to evaluate the accuracy and efficiency of imputation-based meta-analysis results under different levels of imputation accuracy. We also examine the impact of genotype imputation on the between-study heterogeneity and type 1 error in the random effects meta-analysis model. Simulation results reaffirm that meta-analysis boosts the power of detecting genetic associations compared to individual study results. However, the power deteriorates with increasing uncertainty in imputed genotypes. Genotype imputation affects a random effects meta-analysis in a non-obvious way as estimation of between-study heterogeneity and interpretation of association results depend heavily on the number of studies combined. We propose an adjusted fixed effect meta-analysis approach for adding imputation-based studies to a meta-analysis of existing typed studies in a controlled way to improve precision and reliability. The proposed method should help in designing an effective meta-analysis study.

Detta arbete utfördes i syfte att analysera och utvärdera effekterna av att dosera svavel till förbränningen i en biopanna. En utrustning för detta ändamål installerades till biopannan vid fjärrvärmeverket i Arvika för att få bukt med höga halter av kolmonoxid i rökgaserna. Analysen har genomförts med avseende på hur väl svaveldoseringen uppfyller sitt tilltänkta syfte men även på eventuella bieffekter. Korrosionsrisker, halter av oförbränt svavel i rökgaser, rökgaskondensat, flyg- och bottenaska samt vad som sker kemiskt i förbränningsprocessen vid tillsats av svavel har studerats. Driftrapporter från biopannan analyserades parallellt med en informationshämtning i form av en litteraturstudie och kontakt med sakkunniga personer för att svara på ställda frågor. CO-halten i rökgaser sjunker vid tillsats av svavel. Laboratorieanalyser och driftrapporter visar på en närvaro av svavel i rökgaser, rökgaskondensat samt flyg- och bottenaska. I resultatet framgår att halterna är acceptabla. Risken att svaveltillsats i förbränningen skulle ha en negativ inverkan på korrosion i biopannan anses vara låg. Kunskapsläget om vad som sker kemiskt i förbränningsprocessen vid tillsats av svavel är bristfälligt. Fullskale- samt laboratorieförsök har genomförts utan att kunna påvisa exakt hur svavlet sänker CO-halterna i rökgaser.Nyckelord / This study was performed in order to analyze and evaluate the effects of dosing sulfur to the combustion process in a bio fueled boiler. Equipment for this purpose was installed to the bio boiler at a district heating plant in Arvika in order to overcome high levels of carbon monoxide in the flue gas. The analysis has been carried out with regard to how well the sulfur dosage is fulfilling its intended purpose but also to possible side effects. Corrosion risks, levels of unburned sulfur in flue gas, flue gas condensate, air and bottom ash along with what happens chemically in the combustion process have been studied. Operational reports from the bio fueled boiler was studied and analyzed. To find out other effects of adding sulfur to the combustion a literature study was performed as well as direct contact with experts on the subject. CO content in the flue gas drops when adding sulfur to the combustion process. Laboratory analysis and operational reports indicate a presence of sulfur in the flue gas, flue gas condensate and fly ash and bottom ash. The results show that the levels are acceptable. The risk of causing corrosion in the plant by adding sulfur to the combustion is considered low. The current knowledge of what is happening chemically in the combustion process by the addition of sulfur is insufficient. Full-scale and laboratory experiments have been carried out without being able to show exactly how the sulfur lowers CO concentrations in flue gases.

Filtration is an important process in drinking water treatment to ensure the adequate removal of particle-bound pathogens (i.e. Giardia and Cryptosporidium). Filtration performance is typically monitored in terms of filtered water turbidity. However, particle counts may provide further insight into treatment efficiency, as they have a greater sensitivity for detecting small changes in filtration operation. To optimize the filtration process at the Elgin Area WTP in terms of post-filtration particle counts, artificial neural network (ANN) models were applied. Process models were successfully developed to predict settled water turbidity and particle counts. Additionally, two inverse process models were developed to predict the optimal coagulant dosage required to attain target particle counts. Upon testing each model, a high correlation was observed between the actual and predicted data sets. The ANNs were then integrated into an optimization application to allow for the transfer of real-time data between the models and the SCADA system.

Filtration is an important process in drinking water treatment to ensure the adequate removal of particle-bound pathogens (i.e. Giardia and Cryptosporidium). Filtration performance is typically monitored in terms of filtered water turbidity. However, particle counts may provide further insight into treatment efficiency, as they have a greater sensitivity for detecting small changes in filtration operation. To optimize the filtration process at the Elgin Area WTP in terms of post-filtration particle counts, artificial neural network (ANN) models were applied. Process models were successfully developed to predict settled water turbidity and particle counts. Additionally, two inverse process models were developed to predict the optimal coagulant dosage required to attain target particle counts. Upon testing each model, a high correlation was observed between the actual and predicted data sets. The ANNs were then integrated into an optimization application to allow for the transfer of real-time data between the models and the SCADA system.

The thesis presents a comparison of four techniques used for stereotactic radiosurgery, consisting of the static conformal beam, static cone-based, proton therapy, and the Gamma Knife techniques. The comparisons involved six test cases in which phantom target lesions were created in the center of the modified anthropomorphic RandoRTM head. The phantom lesions presented in the study were extreme irregular cases that ranged in shape and volume and were near a critical structure to receive minimal dose during treatment planning. The best treatment plans from each technique for all studies were selected and the extracted data was analyzed using physical and biological parameters. Correlations between integral biological effective dose (normal brain) and normal tissue complication probability were analyzed as a function of dose conformity (PITV), and correlations between tumor control probability and integral biological effective dose (tumor) as a function of dose homogeneity (MDPD) were analyzed, as well. These parameter pairings showed strong links. The static conformal beam and the proton SOBP techniques consistently provided low PITV and MDPD values for all cases, including the most irregular and complicated cases. Higher PITV and MDPD values, typically associated with static cone-based and the Gamma Knife techniques, were due to normal tissue and tumor tissue, respectively, being irradiated at higher dose levels than the prescribed dose. For these cases, as the PITV increased, the NTCP increased, as well, due to high doses created within the normal tissue found within the prescription isodose surface.