Of the various dissolved species contained in the effluents from the mining and milling of uranium ores, the one which is of particular concern for environmental protection is Radium-226. The literature shows that, in recent years, considerable efforts have been made to develop treatment systems that can achieve the stricter effluent discharge standards imposed by the regulatory bodies. There has also been a concern to treat the already existent sludges from previous treatments. The main priority is to limit, as much as possible, the arising of sludge from future treatment systems. The most common treatment used is the addition of lime and limestone to raise the pH followed by barium chloride to form a very finely divided Ba(Ra)S04 precipitate which is then settled in large ponds or basins. In spite of the high decontamination factors obtained with this technique, these may not be satisfactory in terms of environmental protection. In addition, the industry is increasingly aware of the economical benefits resulting from treatment processes that allow water reuse to the process.

Electroporation (EP) is a physical non-viral technique used to deliver therapeutic molecules across the cell membrane. During electroporation an external electric field is applied across a cell membrane and it causes pores to form. These pores then allow the surrounding media containing the therapeutics to diffuse across the membrane. This technique has been specifically studied as a promising gene and drug delivery system. Colloidal particles have also proven to be promising for a variety of biological applications including molecular delivery, imaging, and tumor ablation, due to their large surface area and tunable properties. In more recent years researchers have explored the use of both electroporation and particles simultaneously. In this research, the main objective was to investigate and determine the role of sub-micron particles in the electroporation process. Presented in this dissertation are results from the synthesis and characterization of colloidal particles of various sizes and different compositions. The use of these dielectric and metallic particles during in vitro electroporation were investigated along with various other electrical parameters associated with EP such as pulse length, number of pulses, and field strength. Computationally, aspects such as particle composition and particle concentration were explored in an attempt to predict experimental outcomes.

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo estudar diferentes tecnologias na extração de óleo da semente de gergelim e de compostos fenólicos e proteínas da torta de gergelim. Este estudo está dividido em quatro partes. O objetivo da primeira parte do trabalho foi extrair compostos fenólicos de diferentes tortas de nozes e sementes nas mesmas condições e comparar o teor de tais compostos e a atividade antioxidante dos extratos. Nessa fase, foram utilizadas nos experimentos tortas das sementes de girassol, linhaça e gergelim, e das nozes amêndoa, pecã, macadâmia e avelã. O extrato da torta de noz pecã apresentou o maior teor de todos os compostos fenólicos analisados, seguido pelo extrato da torta de semente de girassol e de avelã. Essas amostras também apresentaram as maiores atividades antioxidantes. As etapas seguintes do trabalho focaram-se no gergelim. A segunda parte do trabalho teve como objetivo a otimização da extração, pela metodologia convencional, de fenólicos totais e lignanas da torta de gergelim. Inicialmente, um modelo polinomial de segunda ordem foi utilizado para predição dos resultados, mediante a variação da temperatura, concentração de etanol e razão, sólido/solvente. As variáveis de resposta foram as concentrações de fenólicos totais, de sesamina e de sesaminol triglicosídeo e a atividade antioxidante dos extratos obtidos. Entre os compostos analisados, o sesaminol triglicosídeo está presente em maior quantidade na torta de gergelim. A razão sólido/solvente e a concentração de etanol foram os fatores que mais afetaram a extração, enquanto a temperatura demonstrou uma influência reduzida. Na terceira etapa, o escopo da pesquisa foi a avaliação de metodologias alternativas na extração desses mesmos compostos e, também, de proteínas. As tecnologias usadas foram as de campo elétrico pulsado (CEP) e de descargas elétricas de alta tensão (DEAT). A análise da aplicação de CEP e de DEAT foi realizada usando essas tecnologias como pré-tratamentos ao processo de extração com solvente. Os resultados demonstraram que as técnicas foram eficazes e aumentaram os rendimentos do processo para fenólicos totais, lignanas e proteínas da torta. O uso de diferentes porcentagens de etanol também se mostrou significativo nessa etapa, entretanto, esse efeito foi reduzido quando utilizadas as tecnologias elétricas. Da mesma forma, o efeito da temperatura na etapa difusiva foi menor quando os pré-tratamento foram utilizados. Os comportamentos observados sugerem que a aplicação de CEP e DEAT aumenta a eficiência da extração de compostos de interesse. Por fim, na quarta parte do trabalho, objetivou-se melhorar a eficiência do processo de extração do óleo de gergelim aplicando as tecnologias previamente citadas. Esses experimentos demonstraram um efeito significativo dos tratamentos de CEP e DEAT e um aumento na quantidade de óleo extraído com o aumento da energia aplicada às sementes. O uso de DEAT gerou um aumento maior na quantidade de óleo extraído, se comparado à tecnologia de CEP. / The goal of the present work was to study different technologies in the extraction of oil from sesame seed and phenolic compounds and proteins from sesame cake. This study is divided in four parts. The first part aimed to extract water-soluble compounds from different seed and nut cakes under the same conditions and compare the phenolic content and antioxidant activity of the extracts. For the first portion of the study, seed cakes of sunflower, pumpkin, flaxseed and defatted sesame, and nut cakes of almond, pecan, macadamia and hazelnut were used in the experiments. The extract from pecan nut cake presented the highest amounts of all compounds analyzed, followed by sunflower seed and hazelnut cake extracts. These samples also had the highest antioxidant activities. The following steps of the work focused on sesame only. The second part of the work aimed to optimize the extraction of total phenolics and lignans from sesame seed cake. Initially, a second-order polynomial model was set up to predict the responses in different temperatures, solid/solvent ratios and ethanol concentrations. The response variables were the concentrations of total phenolics, sesamin, sesaminol triglucoside and antioxidant activity of the extracts. Among the analyzed compounds, ST is presented in the highest quantity in sesame cake. Solid to liquid ratio and ethanol concentration where the most important factors affecting extraction, whereas temperature showed reduced influence. In the third part of this work, the aim was to evaluate alternative methodologies in the extraction of phenolics and proteins. The technologies used were pulsed electric fields (PEF) and high voltage electric discharges (HVED). These methods were used as pre-treatments, prior to diffusion. Result show that PEF and HVED were efficient and increased the extraction yield for phenolic compounds, lignans and proteins from the cake. The use of different percentages of ethanol was also significant in this stage; however, the effect of this parameter was reduced when the electrical treatments were used. In the same way, temperature also showed a smaller influence on the results when the pre-treatments were used. The observed behaviors suggest that the use of PEF and HVED increases extraction efficiency. Finally, the goal of the last part of the work was to improve oil expression from sesame seeds, using the aforementioned technologies. These experiments show a significant effect of both PEF and HVED. It was observed an increase of the amount of oil extracted with the energy input applied to the seeds. When compared both technologies, HVED showed a more expressive effect then PEF.

Orientadores: José Wilson Magalhães Bassani, Rosana Almada Bassani / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Elétrica e de Computação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-18T15:44:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Viana_MarcelodeAlmeida_M.pdf: 2859747 bytes, checksum: 35c1831b1c265e9788b9dcc01dfdbd47 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: A fibrilação ventricular (FV) é um tipo de arritmia cardíaca com alto potencial letal, cujo único tratamento eficaz conhecido é a desfibrilação elétrica, ou seja, aplicação de choques de alta intensidade. Este procedimento, no entanto, pode causar sério comprometimento da função cardíaca por afetar deleteriamente as células miocárdicas, o que pode resultar em insucesso da ressuscitação. Neste trabalho foi desenvolvida e testada uma instrumentação específica para o estudo de uma nova abordagem de desfibrilação elétrica cardíaca (estimulação multidirecional), que permitiu o chaveamento de choques sequenciais temporalmente defasados durante o mesmo ciclo estimulatório cardíaco, os quais foram aplicados a três pares de eletrodos em diferentes direções. A instrumentação foi testada in vivo, na desfibrilação direta do coração de suínos. A desfibrilação multidirecional permitiu uma redução em 20% da intensidade requerida dos choques, quando comparada à convencional (monodirecional) em uma ampla faixa de probabilidade de sucesso desfibrilatório. Mesmo para uma probabilidade de sucesso de 90%, os níveis de energia requeridos para a reversão da FV foram significativamente menores com a estimulação multidirecional (4,25 ± 0,63 J) do que com a estimulação monodirecional (5,09 ± 0,43 J, respectivamente; P< 0,05). Deste modo, a estimulação multidirecional demonstra ser uma importante inovação para permitir um tratamento desfibrilatório mais eficiente e seguro / Abstract: Ventricular fibrillation (VF) is a potentially lethal cardiac arrhythmia, for which the only known effective treatment is electrical defibrillation, i.e. application of high-intensity electric shocks to the heart. Such shocks, however, may exert deleterious effects on myocardial cells, which may impair cardiac function and result in resuscitation failure. In this work, a specific instrumentation was developed for the study of a new approach of cardiac defibrillation (multidirectional stimulation), in which shocks were switched and applied to three pairs of electrodes placed in different directions. The instrumentation was tested in vivo for direct defibrillation of pig hearts. With multidirectional defibrillation, the shock intensity required for defibrillation was 20% lower compared to conventional (monodirectional) defibrillation for a wide range of successful defibrillation probability. Even for a probability as high as 90%, the energy levels required for VF reversal were significantly lower with multidirectional stimulation than with monodirectional stimulation (4.25 ± 0.63 ± J vs. 5.09 0.43 J, respectively; P < 0.05). Thus, multidirectional stimulation seems to be an important innovation toward a more efficient and safer defibrillation treatment. / Mestrado / Engenharia Biomedica / Mestre em Engenharia Elétrica

Contrôle électrique du champ magnétique dans les films ferromagnétiques minces a attiré de grandes attentions comme une caractéristique prometteuse qui pourrait conduire à des appareils électroniques rapides, ultra-bas et non volatils. La clé pour réaliser de tels dispositifs est de modifier efficacement l'anisotropie magnétique. Dans cette thèse, le contrôle de l'anisotropie magnétique et de la dynamique des parois de domaine a été étudié dans diverses structures basées sur des films minces CoFeB et Pt / Co. Les propriétés magnétiques et diélectriques des films minces CoFeB / MgO avec une couche de recouvrement différente (Ta, HfO2, Al2O3) ont d'abord été étudiées pour trouver le matériau optimal de l'effet de champ électrique. La couche de coiffage montre un effet non négligeable sur l'anisotropie magnétique du film CoFeB et une constante diélectrique élevée de 45 est obtenue dans une structure MgO / HfO2.Un liquide ionique [EMI] [TFSI] a été utilisé pour promouvoir l'effet de champ électrique dans les films magnétiques. L'effet du champ électrique a été étudié dans le liquide CoFeB / MgO / ionique et les structures liquides ioniques CoFeB / MgO / HfO2 / ioniques. L'efficacité du champ électrique sur l'anisotropie magnétique pour ces deux structures est de 60 fJ / Vm et 82 fJ / Vm, respectivement. En attendant, le liquide ionique CoFeB / MgO / HfO2 / ionique présente une plus grande stabilité contre l'environnement et la tension, ce qui permet une commutation facile à l'axe de l'avion dans un avion. En outre, l'effet de champ électrique dans la structure liquide Pt / Co / ionique a été étudié. Un effet important et non volatil peut être observé. / This thesis focused on controlling magnetic anisotropy and domain wall dynamics in magnetic thin films. Thin CoFeB/MgO Ims with different capping layers were deposited to find suitable materials to fabricate a high performing E-field effect device. The E-field effect was studied in a Ta/CoFeB/MgO stack, a Ta/CoFeB/MgO/HfO2 stack and a Pt/Co/HfO2 stack assisted by ionic liquid gating. Large E-field effects on magnetic anisotropy were obtained and E-field effect on domain wall propagation, pining and depining were observed. The major conclusions of this thesis are listed below.Magnetic and dielectric properties of CoFeB/MgO/(Ta, HfO2 and Al2O3) havebeen studied.All studied samples show PMA with different values of HK. In as grown films,samples with Ta as protecting layer show the lowest HK. Highest HK is foundwhen capping with 30 nm HfO2 in 0.8nm (746 mT) and 1nm (218 mT) thickCoFeB films. After annealing at 290 degree, there is a general increase of HK. The largest HK of 1082 mT and 524 mT are found for 10 nm Al2O3 in 0.8 nmCoFeB samples and 1 nm CoFeB samples, respectively. HK can be varied up to 100 mT for 1 nm thick CoFeB samples and up to 220 mT for 0.8 nm thick CoFeB samples indicating a non-negligible effect of the capping layer on the surface magnetic anisotropy of thin films.A high dielectric constant of 45 is obtained in a MgO (2 nm)/HfO2 (30 nm) structure. The breakdown voltage increases with annealing temperature, however, there is a large decrease in the dielectric constant after annealing at 290 degrees. By decreasing the annealing temperature to 250 degree, the high dielectric constant can be preserved with an improved breakdown voltage. Aging effect on HK and -K2/K1 of samples with different capping layers has been studied. HK is not necessary decreasing, but inhomogeneities in the magnetic properties occur in aged samples. Aging increases -K2/K1 which could help the formation of an easy-cone state. Stability of a MgO (2 nm) layer incontact with an IL and ionic film has been studied. After recording HK for months, it has been found that a MgO/IL structure can not preserve a highmagnetic anisotropy but is able to remain relatively stable in a low anisotropy state. A MgO/ionic film structure is found to be stable since no sign of degradation was found. The stability of samples with a simple MgO (2 nm)/HfO2 structure has been tested. Ms of the sample covered with an IL and the one not covered with IL have been recorded for one month. It is found that the change is within 3% indicating a stable structure against ambient conditions and the IL.The E-field effect has been studied in the low and high PMA states of aTa/CoFeB/MgO/IL sample. PMA of the device evolves from a high PMA state to a low PMA state which can be linked to a potential increase in the oxygen content of MgO due to air exposure during fabrication and operation. In the high PMA state, domain wall velocities in the creep regime can be modulated by a factor of 4.2 and the coercive field increases by a factor of 1.3 when going from -0.8 V to 0.8V. In the low PMA state, a large modulation of the anisotropy field reaches 80 mT per V/nm with a low leakage current. The applied E-fields are seen to significantly influence DWs' pinning, depinning and nucleation processes. The results presented here show that a solid/liquid device structure based on CoFeB/MgO thin films can be an interesting approach to control magnetic properties with gate voltages below 1 V over large areas, allowing for potential parallel operation of pinning/nucleation units.The E-field effect has been studied in a Ta/CoFeB/MgO/HfO2/IL sample.

We used extensive measurements made by the Jicamarca Unattended Long-Term Investigations of the Ionosphere and Atmosphere (JULIA) and Incoherent Scatter Radar (ISR) systems at Jicamarca, Peru during geomagnetic quiet conditions to determine the climatologies of lunar tidal effects on equatorial vertical plasma drifts. We use, for the first time, the expectation maximization (EM) algorithm to derive the amplitudes and phases of the semimonthly and monthly lunar tidal perturbations. Our results indicate, as expected, lunar tidal effects can significantly modulate the equatorial plasma drifts. The local time and seasonal dependent phase progression has been studied in much more detail than previously and has shown to have significant variations from the average value. The semimonthly drift amplitudes are largest during December solstice and smallest during June solstice during the day, and almost season independent at night. The monthly lunar tidal amplitudes are season independent during the day, while nighttime monthly amplitudes are largest and smallest in December solstice and autumnal equinox, respectively. The monthly and semimonthly amplitudes decrease from early morning to afternoon and evening to morning with moderate to large increases near dusk and dawn. We also examined these perturbation drifts during periods of sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs). Our results show, for the first time, the enhancements of the lunar semimonthly tidal effects associated with SSWs to occur at night, as well as during the day. Our results also indicate during SSWs, monthly tidal effects are not enhanced as strongly as the semimonthly effects.

No description available.

No description available.

<p> A review of the conducting paper analogue for plotting two-dimensional electric and magnetic fields is given. An improved capacitively-coupled conducting paper analogue is described that will map either single or multiple, uniformly-distributed-source Poissonian fields. A DEW map construction technique is detailed that uses a thin tape dielectric and silver-painted source electrodes. Equipotentials on the conducting paper surface correspond to lines of constant magnetic vector potential or flux lines. Differential voltages are analogous to flux density. The equipotential distribution is plotted using a null technique with a unique point on the map surface held at virtual ground potential. The time-varying equations governing the capacitively- coupled analogue are derived. As a result of these equations, an analogue for the skin effect phenomenon in conductors has been demonstrated.</p> / Thesis / Master of Engineering (ME)

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and lethal primary brain cancer with an average survival time of 15 months. GBM is considered incurable with even the most aggressive multimodal therapies and is characterized by near universal recurrence. Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a cellular ablation method currently being investigated as a therapy for a variety of cancers. Application of IRE involves insertion of electrodes into tissue to deliver pulsed electric fields (PEFs), which destabilize the cell membrane past the point of recovery, thereby inducing cell death. While this treatment modality has numerous advantages, the lack of selectivity for malignant cells limits its application in the brain where damage to healthy tissue is especially deleterious. In this dissertation we hypothesize that a form of IRE therapy, high-frequency IRE (H-FIRE), may be able to act as a selective targeted therapy for GBM due to its ability to create an electric field inside a cell to interact with altered inner organelles. Through a comprehensive investigation involving experimental testing combined with numerical modeling, we have attained results in strong support of this hypothesis. Using tissue engineered hydrogels as our platform for therapy testing, we demonstrate selective ablation of GBM cells. We develop mathematical models that predict the majority of the electric field produced by H-FIRE pulses reach the inside of the cell. We demonstrate that the increased nuclear to cytoplasm ratio (NCR) of malignant GBM cells compared to healthy brain—evidenced in vivo and in in vitro tissue mimics—is correlated with greater ablation volumes and thus lower electric field thresholds for cell death when treated with H-FIRE. We enhance the selectivity achieved with H-FIRE using a molecularly targeted drug that induces an increase in NCR. We tune the treatment pulse parameters to increase selective malignant cell killing. Finally, we demonstrate the ability of H-FIRE to ablate therapy-resistant GBM cells which are a focus of many next-generation GBM therapies. We believe the evidence presented in this dissertation represents the beginning stages in the development of H-FIRE as a selective therapy to be used for treatment of human brain cancer. / Ph. D.