Numerical estimates of the ability of a green roof to reduce energy consumption in buildings are plagued by a lack of accuracy in thermal properties that are input to the model. An experimental study into the thermal conductivity at different temperatures and moisture contents was performed using four different commercially available substrates for green roofs. In the unfrozen state, as moisture content increased, thermal conductivity increased linearly. In the phase transition zone between +5 ºC and -10ºC, as temperature decreased, thermal conductivity increased sharply during the transition from water to ice. When the substrate was frozen, thermal conductivity varied exponentially with substrate moisture content prior to freezing. Power functions were found between thermal conductivity and temperature (when shifted up by +10.001ºC). Two equally sized, green roof test cells were constructed and tested to compare various roof configurations including a bare roof, varying media thickness for a green roof, and vegetation. The results show that compared with the bare roof, there is a 75% reduction in the interior temperature amplitude for the green roof with 150mm thick substrate. When a sedum mat was added, there’s a 20% reduction in the amplitude of the inner temperature as compared with the cell without sedum mat. / Graduate

La alimentación saludable es un concepto que ha ido creciendo con el paso de los años. Nuevos estudios e investigaciones resaltan que los productos procesados y altos en grasa, son perjudiciales para la salud y traen consigo efectos negativos en el organismo a largo plazo. De igual manera, el rápido deterioro del planeta aumenta las posibilidades de contraer enfermedades ocasionadas por la contaminación ambiental. Estos factores combinados, han tenido como efecto que en la última década se haya incrementado el consumo de productos saludables. El objetivo de este proyecto es ingresar al mercado saludable desarrollando hamburguesas congeladas de alto valor nutricional. El consumidor saludable suele ser sofisticado, pues está más informado sobre los beneficios que aportan los alimentos para su salud, y según su ritmo de vida, no cuenta con el tiempo suficiente para elaborar todas sus comidas, por lo que le ofrecemos la posibilidad de adquirir comida de fácil y rápida preparación con una amplia variedad. Partiendo de esto, nuestro trabajo busca responder la siguiente pregunta: ¿Qué tan relevante es para un consumidor saludable, la posibilidad de tener una oferta variada y enfocada en sus objetivos físicos? ¿Estarían dispuestos comprar estos productos por internet? / Healthy eating is a concept that has been growing over the years. New studies and research highlight the fact that processed and high-fat products are harmful to health and bring with them long-term negative effects on the body. Similarly, the rapid deterioration of the planet increases the chances of contracting diseases caused by environmental pollution. The combination of these factors have had the effect of increasing the consumption of healthy products in the last decade. The goal of this project is to enter to the healthy market by developing frozen burgers of high nutritional value. Healthy consumers are usually sophisticated, since they are more informed about the benefits that food brings to their health, and according to their lifestyle, they do not have enough time to prepare all their meals, so we offer them the possibility of purchasing quick and easy food to prepare with a wide variety. Based on this, our work seeks to answer the following question: How relevant is the possibility of having a varied offer focused on their physical objectives for healthy consumers? Would you be willing to purchase this offer online? / Trabajo de investigación

This thesis has for major aim to present the de facto state through another approach, by placing their intrinsic frozen conflict situation as a rational choice rather than a symptom of the lack of recognition. To do so, the case studies of Transnistria and Somaliland have been chosen since, the de facto state's academic field had, so far, focus more on the Caucasus' cases - therefore lack of similar comparisons. It appears indeed that, both these cases possess numerous similarities - such as not basing their identity on ethnicity or religion. Thus, through an empirical research, it has been possible to approach the establishment of these two de facto states and the reason behind the lack of international recognition; but also the role and influence of the frozen conflict within their internal evolution as well as their role in its perpetuation; and finally, the place of their parent state and the international community in the continuation of the status quo. It seems thus that, if it remains unlikely to find out if Somaliland and Transnistria do use the frozen conflict as a political tool to reach their political goals - namely international recognition but also identity building -, it appears that all actors involved in these conflicts do benefit from the perpetuation of such status quo.

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental process that changes magnetic field configuration and converts a magnetic energy to flow energy and plasma heating. It can be found in a plasma with frozen magnetic field lines at boundaries where different magnetic field topologies encounter each other and thin current sheets are created as it is typical in the solar wind. In the thesis, we have used spacecraft measurements of solar wind plasma and magnetic field to found magnetic reconnection exhausts. We analyze and compare them with theoretical predictions. The results of the statistical analysis oriented on re-distribution of the magnetic energy in reconnection showed that both a portion of the energy deposited into heat as well as the energy spent on an acceleration of the exhaust plasma increase with the magnetic shear angle in accord with the increase of the magnetic flux available for reconnection. Moreover, we identify unusual events in the solar wind; we found magnetic reconnection exhausts accompanied by one or two side jets and explained their possible causes.

The aim of the current study was to determine if frozen-thawed bull semen can be treated with the acidic buffer MES (2-[N- morpholino] ethanesulfonic acid) without any detrimental effect on the motility, plasma membrane, acrosomal membrane and longevity of sperm. Frozen bull semen was obtained from a local co-operative. The semen was frozen in 0.25 mL French straws at a concentration of 80 x 106 sperm cells per millilitre. Semen of two different batches from ten bulls of four different breeds was used in this study. Three frozen semen straws of each batch were thawed at 38° C for 25 seconds. The thawed semen was pooled and then split into two aliquots. The one aliquot was used as control, whilst the other was exposed to MES treatment. The motility, plasma membrane integrity, acrosomal membrane integrity and longevity of sperm were evaluated. The effect of MES on motility was minimal as only the percentage of aberrantly motile sperm increased two hours after treatment. Although no effect on the plasma membranes were observed, it can be assumed that some damage did occur due to the fact that the acrosomal membranes were affected significantly. No significant effect was found for longevity of sperm between the control and treated samples, but a significant effect was found for both the control and treated samples over time. Although the detrimental effects caused by MES treatment would render some sperm unable to fertilise an oocyte, it is likely that a sufficient portion of sperm would survive the treatment. It is probable that this treatment would also be effective in frozen-thawed buffalo semen. The following step would be to treat semen of footand-mouth disease positive bulls with MES to establish if treatment with MES will be effective in inactivating foot-and-mouth disease virus in semen of infected bulls. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc (Veterinary Science))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Production Animal Studies / unrestricted

Tjällossning är ett stort problem för våra vägar idag och det är något som återkommer varje år. Tjällossning för med sig följder som i sin tur kräver mycket tid och resurser för att kunna återställa dessa vägar till att återigen kunna användas för trafik. Varje år förekommer stora skador på bl.a. vägar, gånggator, parkeringar samt övriga trafikytor, vilket kräver enorma summor av pengar för att åtgärda problemet. Byggnader får sättningsskador och VA-ledningar täpps till av stora isklumpar eller så fryser de sönder, och bara detta visar vad för stora problem tjällossning kan åstadkomma. Det innebär att vägarna måste vara underhållna och skötta ganska ofta av entreprenörföretag, vilket i sin tur leder till oönskade ekonomiska konsekvenser. I värsta fall stängs den tjäldrabbade vägen av under en viss tid, som är nödvändig för många att transportera sig genom till sina destinationer. I Sverige räknar man med att ca 15 - 20.000km väg berörs av just sådana tjälproblem varje år och dessa avstängningar på den skadade delen av vägnätet leder varje år till stora kostnader för samhället till följd av dålig framkomlighet. Idag används olika metoder för att lösa problemet med tjällossning på vägar och därmed måste olika ekonomiska summor betalas. Och frågan blir vilken/vilka metoder är mest effektivast och användbara i dagsläget, samt med bäst ekonomiskt vinst? / Soil frost thawing is a big problem for our roads today, and its something that comes over again every year on different type of roads.  Soil frost thawing brings consequences, which in turn requires much time and resources to restore these roads to once again be used for traffic.Every year, big damages on the roads, streets, parking area, and ''traffic area'' usually occur and a great deal of money is spent to remedy these problems. Buildings are given damage-recompense 'and water and sewage pipes are closed off by big lumps of ice or they freeze until they break; this alone shows the extent of the problem that soil frost thawing can cause. This means that the roads must be maintained and managed quite frequently by entrepreneurial companies which in turn leads to great economic consequences and in worst case maybe the road has to shut down, that is very necessary for many people to transport themselves to their destinations during a period of time. In Sweden it is estimated that approximately 15 - 20.000km route affected by precisely such soil frost thawing every year, and these shutdowns on the damaged part of the road network leads every year to considerable costs for society due to poor accessibility.Today, they use different methods to solve the problem with the soil frost thawing on roads and thus have different economic sums paid. The question then becomes, which method is most effective and useful today as well as yields most economic profit?

En el presente sustentamos nuestra idea de negocio, Frootic, un congelado de frutas exóticas que busca llevar a los hogares limeños una nueva forma de consumir frutas que no se encuentran con facilidad en la capital. Nuestra propuesta promete practicidad, ahorro en tiempo y dinero, así como un sabor delicioso que conserva las propiedades nutricionales naturales que contiene esta fruta aún no muy reconocida, el lulo. Planteamos la venta de la pulpa de este delicioso fruto lista para ser consumida directamente por nuestro público objetivo. Así como también ser proveedores socios claves de restaurantes, bares, cafés y hoteles que busquen añadir a su carta una propuesta de sabor distinto y que al mismo tiempo puedan ahorrar tiempo, dinero (descarte) y mermas. / In the present we present our business idea, Frootic, a frozen presentation of an exotic fruit that seeks to bring to Lima's people a new way of consuming fruits that are not easily found in the capital. Our proposal promises practicality, time and money savings, as well as a delicious flavor that preserves the natural nutritional properties of this not yet well-recognized fruit, lulo. We propose that the sale of the pulp of this delicious fruit ready to be consumed directly by our target audience. As well as being key partner providers of restaurants, bars, cafes and hotels that seek to add a different flavor proposal to their menu and in the same time they can be saving time, money and residues non safe usable of the same fruit. / Trabajo de investigación

Objective: Background: Rare disease An epithelial inclusion cyst within a lymph node denotes a heterotopic phenomenon. Nodal epithelial inclusion cysts have been reported in a variety of anatomical locations including pelvic, abdominal, mediastinal, and axillary regions. While nodal melanocytic nevus (also known as nevus cell aggregates) is the most common heterotopic phenomena involving the axillary lymph nodes, the presence of benign epithelial inclusion cysts in axillary lymph nodes is a rare but well-reported finding. Such documentation is in part due to assessment of sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer becoming standard of care. These epithelial inclusion cysts offer a diagnostic pitfall in evaluation of sentinel lymph node in the setting of breast carcinoma. They also complicate assessment of sentinel lymph node during intraoperative frozen sections analysis. Case Report: We report a case of co-existent of benign squamous-type and glandular-type epithelial inclusions cysts in 2 sentinel lymph nodes in a patient with grade III invasive ductal carcinoma involving the left breast. There have been at least 4 cases reported in literature in which benign epithelial inclusion cysts in sentinel lymph nodes were first mistakenly diagnosed as metastatic carcinoma both during intraoperative frozen section analysis and during review of permanent sections. The missed diagnosis could potentially occur intraoperatively during frozen section sentinel lymph node analysis secondarily due to lack of availability of the primary tumor for comparison and inability to use immunohistochemical stains. Conclusions: Pathologists should be aware of this pitfall especially in frozen section analysis of sentinel lymph node to avoid misdiagnosis and its associated potential grave consequences.

Soil is the most widely used material in the construction of various civil infrastructure. Various types of soils are extensively used in its natural or compacted form in the construction of dams, canals, road and railway subgrades, and waste containment structures such as soil covers and liners. These infrastructure and foundation soils are exposed to the influence of environmental factors. In the permafrost and seasonally frozen regions, soils can be in different states (e.g., saturated or unsaturated, frozen or thawed, or combinations of them) due to the variations in moisture content and temperature. The soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC), which is the relationship between soil water content and suction, is used in the interpretation and prediction of unsaturated soils behavior. Similarly, the soil-freezing characteristic curve (SFCC), which is the relationship between unfrozen water content and subzero temperature, is used in the prediction and interpretation of frozen soils behavior. In this thesis, the SWCC and SFCC of two Canadian soils (i.e. Toronto silty clay (TSC) and Toronto lean clay (TLC)) were extensively investigated for better understanding the fundamental relationship between SWCC and SFCC. The soil resilient modulus (MR) is a key material property used in the rational design of pavements. Experimental investigations were undertaken to determine the MR of five Canadian soils (i.e., TSC, TLC, Kincardine lean clay (KLC), Ottawa Leda clay (OLC), and Indian Head till (IHT)), considering the influence of moisture and temperature, with the aid of an advanced triaxial testing equipment. Two simple models were proposed for estimating the MR of frozen soils, in this thesis. In addition, an artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed for estimating the MR of the five Canadian soils considering various influencing factors. The conclusions from the various studies in this thesis are succinctly summarized below. (1) Four expressions (i.e. power relationship, exponential relationship, van Genuchten equation, and Fredlund and Xing equation) that are widely used for representing the SFCC were selected for providing comparisons between the measured and fitted SFCCs for different soils. The results suggest that the exponential relationship and van Genuchten equation are suitable for sandy soils. The power relationship reasonably fits the SFCC for soils with different particle sizes, but not for saline silts. The Fredlund and Xing equation is flexible and provides good fits for all the soils. (2) The SFCC and SWCC of TSC and TLC were experimentally determined, analyzed, and compared. Many factors influence the reliable measurement of SFCC, which include sensors’ resolution and stability, sensor calibration for each soil, and thermodynamic equilibrium condition. The hysteresis of SFCC for the two soils is mainly attributed to the supercooling of pore water. The quantitative dissimilarity in the measured SFCC and SWCC may be attributed to specimen structure variations during compaction and saturation, and during freezing / thawing processes, and cracks formation due to sensors insertion. In addition, some fundamental differences may exist between the drying / wetting and freezing / thawing processes, resulting in dissimilarity. (3) Two novel models were proposed for the estimation of MR of frozen soils. The semi-empirical model extends the mechanics of unsaturated soils and employs SFCC for prediction. Several coarse- and fine-grained saturated soils were used to validate this model. The empirical hyperbolic model was proposed considering that the frozen MR versus subzero temperature relationship resembles hyperbola. This model was validated on coarse- and fine-grained soils under saturated / unsaturated conditions. The hyperbolic model has wider application since it can be used for both saturated and unsaturated frozen soils. Both the models are simple and promising. (4) The MR of five Canadian soils subjected to wetting and freezing was determined by using the GDS ELDyn triaxial testing system. A freezing system was established for controlling the desired testing temperatures within the soil specimens. The results suggest: (i) The effect of subzero temperature on the MR is significant. (ii) For TLC, KLC, OLC, and IHT, the frozen MR versus subzero temperature relationship of the saturated specimen typically has steeper slope than specimen at the optimum water content, for the temperature range from 0 to -5 °C. (iii) The effect of stress levels on the frozen MR depends on soil type, water content, and subzero temperature. Lastly, (iv) Loading frequency does not show a significant influence on the frozen MR. (5) The MR of the five Canadian soils was determined considering wetting and freeze-thaw (F-T) conditions. The results suggest: (i) The F-T cycles result in weak soil structure due to reduction in suction, particles movement, loss of cohesion, and formation of cracks / channels. (ii) The critical numbers of F-T cycles were determined as 1, 1, 2, and 1 for TLC, KLC, OLC, and IHT at the optimum water content, respectively. (iii) The percentage of reduction in MR after the critical number of F-T cycles was strongly related to the plasticity index for specimens tested at the optimum water content. (iv) The wetting process results in the decrease in suction and enlargement of soil pores. Consequently, relatively low MR values were measured at high water contents, and the effect of F-T cycles becomes insignificant. Finally, (v) The effect of stress levels on the MR was dependent on the initial water content of the specimen and soil type.

Scholars in the peace and conflict field oftentimes argue that peace is somewhat underconceptualised. The Varieties of Peace network has made a substantial effort in furthering the conceptualisation of peace by creating a comprehensive framework, theorising peace as three different approaches: situational, relational and ideational. In this thesis, I explored how this framework can be applied in an empirical context and how the approaches relate to each other; testing the internal validity and assumptions of the framework. By shifting the common focus of peace from stability to a dynamic process of change, I studied how peace changes in an empirical context that is typically understood as static: frozen conflicts. In a case study on Abkhazia from 1994-2008, I used process-tracing to study how the three approaches relate to each other, either harmoniously or with dissonance, and to describe the changes of peace in a frozen conflict. I conclude that the Varieties of Peace framework has proven to be useful when studying the dynamics of peace and how it changes in a post-conflict setting. It has been especially useful in capturing the cyclical dynamic of change in a frozen conflict. The framework has comparative and comprehensive advantages in studying the peace as a complex, dynamic process, but inhibits some issues regarding the trade-off between complexity and parsimony and concerning the internal validity. Further research is needed in order to utilise its full potential as a framework that can be used to systematically study the varieties of peace in the world.