The objective of this dissertation is to demonstrate different applications of ssNMR, with particular emphasis on uses in polymeric and biosciences. First, dynamics investigations on two polymers will be discussed: (1) disulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone)s /poly(ethylene glycol) blends (BPS-20_PEG), which are under development as chlorine-resistant reverse osmosis (RO) membrane alternatives to aromatic polyamide (PA) technology, and (2) poly(arylene ether sulfone)s modified with 1,4-cyclohexyl ring units to improve processability. Simple cross-polarization magic-angle-spinning (CPMAS) experiments compared the chlorine tolerance of BPS-20_PEG and PA. Techniques capable of detecting motional geometries and rates on timescales from nanoseconds to seconds, including relaxation time measurements, were applied. Correlations were established between relaxation time and water permeability for the RO membranes, and between relaxation time and polydispersity in the 1,4- cyclohexyl ring modified polymer. Next, 31P and 2H static ssNMR experiments evidencing the formation of toroidal pores and thinned bilayers in oriented zwitterionic and anionic phospholipid bilayers, (biomembrane mimetic systems), by the antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) magainin-2 and aurein-3.3, will be mentioned. The toroidal pore geometries induced by magainin-2 were different than those produced by aurien-3.3. The most prominent features were observed in 2H spectra, implying greater interaction of the peptides with hydrophobic lipid acyl chains. Following this, a new two-dimensional homonuclear dipolar recoupling MAS experiment, capable of correlating long range 13C-13C spin pairs in a uniformly/ extensively 13C-labeled biomolecule, will be introduced. This technique was demonstrated on 13C-labeled versions of Glutamine and Glycine-Alanine-Leucine. Experiments involving the recoupling of all 13C-13C spin pairs, and experiments with selective recoupling using Gaussian or cosine-modulated Gaussian pulses, were demonstrated. Finally, work using static 1H- 13C CP ssNMR to selectively detect interfacial water around hydrophobic C60 will be recounted. This project exploited the distance limitation of CP, and 1H spin-lattice relaxation times, to separate the influence of bulk and interfacial water on the spectra. Results indicated that the tumbling of interfacial water is slowed by a factor of 105 compared to bulk water, providing it with a solid-like character, and allowing the hydration shell to be stable at temperatures above the freezing point of water. / Ph. D.

Due to a recent number of undesired rollovers in the field for the studied vehicle, rollover mitigation strategies have been investigated and developed. This research begins with the study of the tire, as it is the single component on the vehicle responsible for generating all of the non-inertial forces to direct the motion of the vehicle. Tire force and moment behavior has been researched extensively and several accurate tire models exist. However, not much research has been performed on off-road tire models. This research develops an off-road tire model for the studied vehicle by first using data from rolling road testing to develop a Pacejka Magic Formula tire model and then extending it to off-road surfaces through the use of scaling factors. The scaling factors are multipliers in the Magic Formula that describe how different aspects of the force and moment curves scale when the tire is driven on different surfaces. Scaling factors for dirt and gravel driving surfaces were obtained by using an existing portable tire test rig to perform force and moment tests on a passenger tire driven on these surfaces. The off-road tire model was then used as a basis for developing control algorithms to prevent vehicle rollover on off-road terrain. Specifically, a direct yaw control (DYC) algorithm based on Lyapunov direct method and an emergency roll control (ERC) algorithm based on a rollover coefficient were developed. Emergency evasive maneuvers were performed in a simulation environment on the studied vehicle driven on dry asphalt, dirt, and gravel for the controlled and uncontrolled cases. Results show that the proposed control algorithms significantly improve vehicle stability and prevent rollover on a variety of driving surfaces. / Master of Science

Lucas' Gift is a traditionally animated short film focusing on themes of selflessness and self-care. In an alternate world where magic exists, lives a young boy from a small community experiencing a drought. After being gifted a magical plant growing necklace from the Good Witch, Lucas works diligently to feed his community. After working himself to exhaustion, he learns the importance of self-care. The artistic direction is influenced by works such as Steven Universe and Craig of the Creek.

Despite the complexity of the video game, interest is growing by leaps and bounds due to its increasing relevance in entertainment history, but understanding of the medium is still up in the air. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate the knowledge and skill acquisition of people with little or no gaming experience (non-gamers) about the digital 3D puzzle game Portal within the framework of the Hermeneutic Spiral. Using qualitative interviews, supported by gameplay recordings and think-aloud protocols, eight non-gamers aged 21-69 reveal seven categories that determine the complexity of video game understanding and skill acquisition. Results show that skill acquisition is highly individual and depends on previous gaming experiences in terms of game literacy, the language understanding of games. As they form the basis, general expectations determine the next gaming experience which adds to the catalogue of video game understanding and influence the process of skill acquisition. / Trotz der Komplexität des Videospiels wächst das Interesse aufgrund seiner zunehmenden Relevanz in der Unterhaltungsgeschichte sprunghaft an, das Verständnis für das Medium ist jedoch noch nicht gefestigt. Ziel dieser Studie ist es daher, im Rahmen der Hermeneutischen Spirale das Wissen und den Kompetenzerwerb von Menschen mit wenig oder keiner Spielerfahrung (Nicht-Spieler) über das digitale 3D-Puzzlespiel Portal zu untersuchen. Mittels qualitativer Interviews, unterstützt durch Gameplay-Aufnahmen und Think-Aloud-Protokolle, decken acht Nicht-Spieler im Alter von 21-69 Jahren sieben Kategorien auf, die die Komplexität des Videospielverständnisses und des Kompetenzerwerbs bestimmen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass der Kompetenzerwerb sehr individuell ist und von früheren Spielerfahrungen im Sinne von Game Literacy, dem Sprachverständnis von Spielen, abhängt. Die allgemeine Erwartungshaltung bildet die Grundlage für das nächste Spielerlebnis, das den Katalog des Videospielverständnisses ergänzt und den Prozess des Kompetenzerwerbs beeinflusst.

Online gaming has over the years become very popular and during the global pandemic of 2019, gained an even larger amount of people indulging in the activity. All this online activity has led to a decline in in-person social interactions which have been researched to have negative effects on young adults. This thesis aims to find ways to promote more in-person social interaction with the help of games. An artifact in the form of a video game was created with active video game principles and pervasive game characteristics in mind, with the goal of achieving social interaction between players and spectators. Nintendo Joy-Con controllers are the main controller used and an external microphone to capture sounds is used to fulfill the prerequisites of pervasive games. A collection of five different minigames was created, all with different ways that noise can affect the gameplay. The results of the experiments showed that the artifact promotes in-person social interactions between players and spectators by making the spectators able to interact with the games.

No description available.

In der hier vorgestellten Arbeit werden neuartige Festkörper-NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) Experimente vorgestellt, die eine direkte Detektion von Protonen einbeziehen. Die Technik basiert auf einer weitgehenden Verdünnung der Protonen durch Deuteronen in vollständig isotopenmarkierten, rekombinant exprimierten Proteinen und ermöglicht Festkörper-NMR mit sehr schmalen Linienbreiten aller standardmäßig erfassbaren Kerne (Protonen, Stickstoff, Kohlenstoff) ohne Hochleistungsentkopplung. Zusätzlich werden Methoden für ein besonders hohes Signal-zu-Rausch durch Paramagnetic Relaxation Enhancement (PRE) entwickelt. Die so präparierten Proteine erweisen sich tauglich für eine stark verbesserte NMR-Charakterisierung durch eine Vielzahl neuer Struktur- und Zuordnungsexperimente, in denen Techniken aus Festkörper- und Lösungs-NMR vereint werden. Dabei können hier erstmals auch Bereiche im Protein mit einbezogen werden, die langsame Dynamik vollziehen. Die Experimente finden Anwendung auf die SH3-Domäne von alpha-Spektrin, das Alzheimer-Peptid Abeta1-40 und das Membranprotein Omp G. / In this work, novel solid-state NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) experiments are presented that imply direct detection of protons. The technique is based on extensive dilution of protons with deuterons in uniformly labelled, recombinantly expressed proteins and allows for solid-state NMR providing very narrow lines of all commonly accessible nuclei (protons, nitrogen, carbon) without high-power decoupling. In addition, methods are developed that yield a particularly high signal-to-noise through Paramagnetic Relaxation Enhancement (PRE). The accordingly prepared proteins are shown to be applicable for a significantly improved NMR-characterization by manifold new experiments for assignment and structure elucidation, in which techniques from solid-state and solution NMR are united. For the first time, also those regions in a protein can be accessed that undergo slow dynamics. The experiments are employed on the SH3-domain of alpha-spectrin, Alzheimer’s peptide Abeta1‑40, and the membrane protein Omp G.

A radioterapia de intensidade modulada (IMRT) é uma das mais modernas técnicas radioterapêuticas que permite a entrega de elevadas e complexas distribuição de doses ao volume tumoral, que necessita de novos métodos para o controle de qualidade dos procedimentos efetuados. Nos serviços de radioterapia costuma-se usar para o controle de qualidade do sistema de planejamento, a câmara de ionização para verificação pontual da dose e um dispositivo com diodos semicondutores (MapCHECK2) para a verificação bidimensional em um plano da fluência planejada, entretanto, para a verificação tridimensional dessas distribuições de doses ainda não há um dosímetro consolidado na rotina clínica. Nesse contexto, para a dosimetria tridimensional se destacam os géis poliméricos. Neste trabalho foram feitas a dosimetria convencional, pontual e bidimensional como se faz na rotina clínica e a dosimetria tridimensional utilizando o gel polimérico Magic-f, que apresenta a distribuição de dose volumétrica. Para este trabalho foi escolhido o tratamento de câncer de próstata, pois na atualidade é um dos tipos de cânceres mais comuns entre os homens. No contexto da dosimetria gel, para se obter a informação volumétrica é necessária uma técnica de imagem, no presente caso foram utilizadas imagens por ressonância magnética (magnetic resonance imaging, MRI). A partir dessas imagens é possível determinar as distribuições de doses processando-as em um software desenvolvido pelo grupo que determina as taxas de relaxação R2 associada à dose absorvida e posteriormente comparar as imagens obtidas com as imagens do sistema de planejamento. Para isso, se obteve dez cortes ao longo de cada simulador físico ou fantom em que sua comparação foi feita com a respectiva fatia do sistema de planejamento, na posição correspondente. Para uma avaliação quantitativa foi utilizado o conceito de índice gama, no critério padrão da radioterapia, 3% da dose e 3mm de distância de concordância. Os resultados obtidos com a dosimetria gel se mostram de acordo com os controles de qualidade convencionais e oferecem uma visão global da distribuição de dose no volume alvo. / The intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is one of the most modern radiotherapeutic technique that enables the delivery of high and complexes conformational doses to the tumor volume, that requires new methods for the quality assurance of the procedures performed. Radiotherapy services usually perform quality assurance of the planning system with the ionization chamber for spot-checking and an array of semiconductor diodes (MapCHECK2) to check on a two-dimensional plane, however for tridimensional dose verification does not exist an established dosimeter in the clinical routine. In this context, for three-dimensional dosimetry the polymeric gels were used. In This work the conventional one and two-dimensional dosimetry as employed in the clinical routine, and the three-dimensional dosimetry using polymer gel MAGIC- f, which provide the volumetric dose distribution. Prostate cancer clinical cases were chosen for this work because this kind of tumor is one of the most common cases in male individuals. In the context of dosimetry gel to obtain volumetric information an imaging technique is necessary, in this case the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), was used to measure the dose. From these images it is possible to determine the distributions of doses processing them in a software developed by our research group that determines R2 relaxation rates associated with the absorbed dose and subsequently compare the images obtained with the images of the planning system. For this, ten slices were obtained along each phantom, and comparisons were made with the respective slice of the treatment planning system, in the corresponding position. For a quantitative evaluation of the gamma index , in the standard criterion in radiotherapy, 3 % dose and 3 mm distance to agreement was used. The results obtained shown that gel dosimetry agrees with the conventional quality controls and provide an overview of dose distribution in the target volume.

Author's name: Magdalena Hošková School: Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Arts Department: Institute of Linguistics and Finno-Ugric Studies Title: Spells as a Part of Finnish Folklore Supervisor: Mgr. Jan Dlask, Ph.D. Number of pages: 77 Key words: spell, Finnish spells, Finnish folklore, Kalevala, Finnish mythology, tietäjä, shaman, prayer, healing magic, homoeopathic magic, John Abercromby, James Frazer, neoshamanism, neopaganism This thesis deals with spells as a part of Finnish folklore. It depicts the circumstances of the spells' genesis, as well as their structural features and different purposes of their use. It is considered that most spells were created during the era of late paganism and early Christianity. This is true not only of Finland but also of Europe in general. The thesis also analyses the role of the shaman as the spiritual leader of Finnish people living in the era before the spells' creation and thereafter analyses the role of the shaman's successor: the tietäjä, the charmer who created spells and used them to help people in his community. So the tietäjä used his spells for the same purpose as his predecessor, the shaman, used trance states, which he entered via drumming, chanting and dancing. In the trance state, he talked to animal spirits and ancestors' spirits and...

This thesis is a cultural study of the Magical Revival that occurred in Britain, 1880-1929. Magical Revival denotes a period in the history of occultism, and the cultural history of Britain, during which an upsurge in interest in occult and magical ideas is marked by the emergence of newly-formed societies dedicated to the exploration of the occult, and into its bearing on life. Organisations discussed are the Theosophical Society, the Golden Dawn, and the less well known Astrum Argentum. ‘Magical Revival’ has further significance as the principal, but overlooked, aim of those societies and individuals was regeneration. Scholarship on late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century occultism is influenced by a longstanding preference for the esoteric over the exoteric aspects of occultism. It has tended to emphasise themes of abstraction, the psychological, and the esoteric, and has promulgated a view of occultism as static and impervious. From the outset, however, this thesis argues that approaching the Magical Revival from the purview of the esoteric is limiting, and that it screens its own significant themes and affinities with mainstream culture. It suggests that what needs to be prepared is a study which reads occultism with a close attention to its own terms of engagement and description. This is the aim of this thesis. The thesis offers a way of reading the occult activity of the period that privileges its exotericism. It seeks to pursue the links between an identifiable culture of occultism and conventional cultural discourses and activities towards an understanding of the movement as one actively constituting itself and producing, rather than obscuring, knowledge in relation to the social and cultural moment from which it arose. The occult topics and tendencies identified include evolution; ceremonial magic and astral travel; the body in occultism; and the nature of the occult experience. Others include the life and medical sciences; the philosophy of religion; and physical culture. The following questions underpin the thesis: In what ways did the Magical Revival connect with contemporary concerns? What does its activities, written records, literary and other material productions reveal about the nature of those connections? What does a closer attention to the textual and lived culture of the Magical Revival contribute to existing understanding of its place in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century culture? In answering those questions the thesis proposes that, in its systematic identification and addressing of cultural and social needs, general and specific, the Magical Revival should be viewed as closer to the social mainstream than is presently appreciated. Moreover, that the occultists’ efforts towards individual and cultural regeneration, take place within a broader cultural movement away from social thought dominated by degeneration, towards thinking directed towards regeneration.