The nano/micro particles have been widely used as a carrier of therapeutic and contrast imaging agents. The nano/micro particles have many advantages, such as, specificity, controlled release, multifunctionality and engineerability. By tuning the chemical, physical and geometrical properties, the efficacy of delivery of nano/micro particle can be improved. In this study, by analyzing the effect of physical and geometrical properties of particle, such as, size, shape, material property and flow condition, the optimal condition for particle delivery will be explored. The objectives of this study are (1) to develop predictive mathematical models and (2) experimental models for particle margination and adhesion, and (3) to find optimal particle geometry in terms of size and shape to enhance the efficiency of its delivery. The effect of particle size expressed in terms of Stokes number and shape, namely, spherical, ellipsoidal, hemispherical, discoidal and cylindrical particle on the particle trajectory is investigated. For discoidal and cylindrical particles, the effect of aspect ratio is also considered. To calculate particle trajectory in the linear shear flow near the substrate, Newton's law of motion is decomposed into hydrodynamic drag and resistance induced by particle motion. The drag and resistance is estimated through finite volume formulation using Fluent v6.3. Particle behavior in the linear shear flow does strongly depend on Stokes number. Spherical particle is transported following the streamline in the absence of external body force. However, non-spherical particles could across the streamline and marginate to the substrate. For non-spherical particles, the optimal [Stokes number] in terms of particle margination is observed; [Stokes number almost equal to] 20 for ellipsoidal, hemispherical and discoidal particle; [Stokes number almost equal to] 10 for cylindrical particle. For discoidal particle with [gamma subscript d]=0.2 shows fastest margination to the substrate. The effect of gravitational force is also considered with respect to the fluid direction. When the gravitational force is applied, mostly, gravitational force plays a dominant role for particle margination. However, using small particle aspect ratio ([gamma subscript d]=0.2 and 0.33), spontaneous drift induced by particle-fluid-substrate interaction could overcome gravitational effect in some cases ([Stokes number]=10, G=0.1). In addition the adhesion characteristic of spherical particle has been studied using in vitro micro fluidic chamber system with different particle size and flow condition. The experimental results are compared to the mathematical model developed by Decuzzi and Ferrari (Decuzzi and Ferrari, 2006) and in vivo test (Decuzzi et al., 2010). The optimal particle size for S=75 and 90 is found to be 4-5 [micrometer] through the in vitro non-specific interaction of spherical particle on the biological substrate. The suggested mathematical model has proven to be valid for current experimental condition. At the end, the mathematical model, in vitro flow chamber results and in vivo test have been compared and the scaling law for particle adhesion on the vessel wall has been confirmed. / text

Although forest properties are known to influence snowpack accumulation and spring runoff, the processes underlying the impacts of forest canopy cover on the input of snowmelt to the catchment remain poorly characterized. In this study I show that throughfall and canopy shading can combine to result in maximal snowpacks in forests of moderate canopy density. Snow depth and density data taken shortly before spring melt in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico show strong correlation between forest canopy density and snow water equivalent, with maximal snow accumulation in forests with density between 25 and 45%. Forest edges are also shown to be highly influential on local snow depth variability, with shaded open areas holding significantly deeper snow than either unshaded open or deep forest areas. These results are broadly applicable in improving estimates of water resource availability, predicting the ecohydrological implications of vegetation change, and informing integrated water resources management.

Magistro baigiamajame darbe teoriniu ir praktiniu aspektu analizuojama pensijų fondų raida, vertinimo metodika, rezultatai ir pagrindiniai rodikliai apibūdinantys pensijų fondų veiklos efektyvumą, prognozuojami duomenys kurie gauti atlikus modeliavimus kompiuterinėmis programomis. Sukurtas ekonominės ir investicinės veiklos scenarijai kiekvienoje pensijų fondų grupėje pagal rizikos laipsnį. Darbe panaudota mokslinė ir publicistinė literatūra, Pensijų fondų metinės finansinės ataskaitos/ prospektai. Gauti atliktų tyrimų duomenys patvirtino iškeltas hipotezes, kad dalyvavimas II pakopos pensijų fonduose suteikia galimybę gauti didesnę pensiją senatvėje, vyresniems nei 50 metų gyventojams dalyvauti II pakopos pensijų fonduose yra neefektyvu, 20–30 metų asmenims naudingiausia sudaryti pensijų kaupimo sutartis su tik į akcijas investuojančius pensijų fondus, o 30–40 metų dirbančiajam-pasirinkti mišrius pensijų fondus. Fondų administravimo mokesčio dydis tiesiogiai įtakoja fondo grynąją grąžą. Sukauptos pensijos dydis senatvėje labiausiai priklausys nuo darbo užmokesčio, dalyvio amžiaus ir fondo valdytojo sugebėjimo efektyviai investuoti turimus aktyvus. / The master paper analyses evolution of pension funds, evaluation methodology, results and key indicators which defines pension funds effectiveness, the portfolios composed from the investment units of all Lithuanian pension funds. Pension system, present pension provision models, analyze working mechanism of the second stage pension funds and estimate achieve and future results. In 3 and a half year period the private pension funds starting operation in Lithuania, the same tame their performances effectiveness have been detected. Absence of traditions of the investments and low level of knowledge in the society involved the process of the investments of pension funds. Research data confirm hypothesis, that participation in 2nd stage pension funds gives possibility to receive more earning in the senility, for older people then 50 years old is not economically useful to prohibit in private pension fund and 20 - 30 years old workers should make pension fund contract with pension fund who invest in stocks, in comparison 30 – 40 years old workers should choose miscellaneous pension funds. Funds administration fees is the key figure influencing actual fund result. Total accumulative amount will depend on participant age, the salary and how pension fund will act on their strategy while investing actives.

Most clonal plants exhibit a modular structure at multiple levels. At the level of the organs, they are characterized by functional modules, such as, internodes, leaves, branches. At the level of the genetic individual (clone or genet), they possess independent evolutionary and physiological units (ramets). These evolutionary units arise through the widespread phenomenon of clonal reproduction, achieved in a variety of ways including rhizomes, stolons, bulbils, or lateral roots. The focus of this study was Populus tremuloides, trembling aspen, a dioecious tree that reproduces sexually by seed and asexually through lateral roots. Local forest patches in western populations of Populus tremuloides consisted largely of multiple genotypes. Multi-clonal patches were dominated by a single genotype, and in one population (Riske Creek) we found several patches (five out of 17) consisting of a single genotype. A second consequence of modularity is that during the repeated cycle of ramet birth, development and death, somatic mutations have the opportunity to occur. Eventually, the clone becomes a mosaic of mutant and non-mutant cell lineages. We found that neutral somatic mutations accumulated across 14 microsatellite loci at a rate of between 10^-6 and 10^-5 per locus per year. We suggest that neutral genetic divergence, under a star phylogeny model of clonal growth, is an alternative way to estimate clone age. Previous estimates of clone age couple the mean growth rate per year of shoots with the area covered by the clone. This assumes a positive linear relationship between clone age and clone size. We found, however, no repeatable pattern across our populations in terms of the relationship of either shape or size to the number of somatic changes. A final consequence of modularity is that during clonal growth, natural selection is relaxed for traits involving sexual function. This means that mutations deleterious to sexual function can accumulate, reducing the overall sexual fitness of a clone. We coupled neutral genetic divergence within clones with pollen fitness data to infer the rate and effect of mildly deleterious mutations. Mutations reduced relative sexual fitness in clonal aspen populations by about 0.12x10^-3 to 1.01x10^-3 per year. Furthermore, the decline in sexual function with clone age is evidence that clonal organisms are vulnerable to the effects of senescence.

Pagrindinis šio darbo tikslas - eksperimentiškai ir teoriškai išnagrinėti fundamentinius bei technologinius veiksnius, apribojančius dielektrinių dangų optinį atsparumą pasikartojantiems femtosekundinės trukmės lazerio impulsams. Specialiai šiems tyrimams atlikti buvo sukurta automatizuota eksperimentinė įranga, kuri pagreitino pažeidimo slenksčio matavimus ir minimizavo žmogiškąjį faktorių. Darbo metu eksperimentiškai buvo tiriamos tiek vienasluoksnės TiO2, tiek ir didelio atspindžio koeficiento daugiasluoksnės ZrO2/SiO2, HfO2/SiO2, Ta2O5/SiO2 bei TiO2/SiO2 dangos, padengtos skirtingais būdais. Pirmą kartą eksperimentiškai pademonstruota, kad dėl daugiafotonės sugerties įtakos dielektrinių dangų pažeidimo slenkstis, tolydžiai keičiant femtosekundinių impulsų bangos ilgį, kinta šuoliškai. Kartu pademonstruotos ir teorinės šio rezultato prielaidos. Eksperimentiškai pademonstruota, kad didelio atspindžio koeficiento dangose stovinčiosios elektromagnetinės bangos pūpsnius „perstūmus“ į žemesnio lūžio rodiklio sluoksnius padidėja optinis atsparumas ir femtosekundinei lazerinei spinduliuotei. Taip pat eksperimentiškai buvo nustatyti įvairių dangų, dengtų jonapluoščio dulkinimo, elektronpluoščio nusodinimo su papildomu jonų tankinimu ir be jo technologijomis, pažeidimo slenksčiai įvairios trukmės ir įvairių bangos ilgių femtosekundiniams impulsams. Teoriškai išnagrinėtas vadinamojo S-į-1 pažeidimo tikimybės matavimo atvejis, kai lazerinės spinduliuotės erdviniai ir energetiniai... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The present Ph.D. thesis is the experimental and theoretical analysis of the femtosecond laser pulse induced damage processes in thin film dielectric coatings. Experimental investigations were performed by automated metrological facility designed for S-on-1 laser-induced damage threshold measurements. Femtosecond repetitive pulses (1 kHz) either at fixed 800 nm and 400 nm wavelengths or continuously tunable in 590 nm to 750 nm spectral range were used. The sensitivity of assembled metrological facility was sufficient to determine the influence of various deposition factors (process parameters and coating materials) on LIDT of optical coatings. Our experimental investigations on multi-layer ZrO2/SiO2, HfO2/SiO2, Ta2O5/SiO2, TiO2/SiO2 high reflection coatings and single-layer TiO2 have yielded several important results. To summarize: stepwise change of LIDT values was experimentally observed at the wavelength where two-photon absorption changes to three-photon absorption. This confirms that multiphoton absorption is one of the main damage mechanisms in femtosecond range. The multilayer coatings deposited by IAD and e-beam techniques on substrates having roughness of 0.64 nm or smaller showed similar LIDT values. Moreover, it was also confirmed that suppressing of standing wave electric field intensity at the outer layers of high refractive index improves the optical resistance of high reflectivity coatings also for femtosecond pulses. Furthermore, the model of the... [to full text]

The present Ph.D. thesis is the experimental and theoretical analysis of the femtosecond laser pulse induced damage processes in thin film dielectric coatings. Experimental investigations were performed by automated metrological facility designed for S-on-1 laser-induced damage threshold measurements. Femtosecond repetitive pulses (1 kHz) either at fixed 800 nm and 400 nm wavelengths or continuously tunable in 590 nm to 750 nm spectral range were used. The sensitivity of assembled metrological facility was sufficient to determine the influence of various deposition factors (process parameters and coating materials) on LIDT of optical coatings. Our experimental investigations on multi-layer ZrO2/SiO2, HfO2/SiO2, Ta2O5/SiO2, TiO2/SiO2 high reflection coatings and single-layer TiO2 have yielded several important results. To summarize: stepwise change of LIDT values was experimentally observed at the wavelength where two-photon absorption changes to three-photon absorption. This confirms that multiphoton absorption is one of the main damage mechanisms in femtosecond range. The multilayer coatings deposited by IAD and e-beam techniques on substrates having roughness of 0.64 nm or smaller showed similar LIDT values. Moreover, it was also confirmed that suppressing of standing wave electric field intensity at the outer layers of high refractive index improves the optical resistance of high reflectivity coatings also for femtosecond pulses. Furthermore, the model of the... [to full text] / Pagrindinis šio darbo tikslas - eksperimentiškai ir teoriškai išnagrinėti fundamentinius bei technologinius veiksnius, apribojančius dielektrinių dangų optinį atsparumą pasikartojantiems femtosekundinės trukmės lazerio impulsams. Specialiai šiems tyrimams atlikti buvo sukurta automatizuota eksperimentinė įranga, kuri pagreitino pažeidimo slenksčio matavimus ir minimizavo žmogiškąjį faktorių. Darbo metu eksperimentiškai buvo tiriamos tiek vienasluoksnės TiO2, tiek ir didelio atspindžio koeficiento daugiasluoksnės ZrO2/SiO2, HfO2/SiO2, Ta2O5/SiO2 bei TiO2/SiO2 dangos, padengtos skirtingais būdais. Pirmą kartą eksperimentiškai pademonstruota, kad dėl daugiafotonės sugerties įtakos dielektrinių dangų pažeidimo slenkstis, tolydžiai keičiant femtosekundinių impulsų bangos ilgį, kinta šuoliškai. Kartu pademonstruotos ir teorinės šio rezultato prielaidos. Eksperimentiškai pademonstruota, kad didelio atspindžio koeficiento dangose stovinčiosios elektromagnetinės bangos pūpsnius „perstūmus“ į žemesnio lūžio rodiklio sluoksnius padidėja optinis atsparumas ir femtosekundinei lazerinei spinduliuotei. Taip pat eksperimentiškai buvo nustatyti įvairių dangų, dengtų jonapluoščio dulkinimo, elektronpluoščio nusodinimo su papildomu jonų tankinimu ir be jo technologijomis, pažeidimo slenksčiai įvairios trukmės ir įvairių bangos ilgių femtosekundiniams impulsams. Teoriškai išnagrinėtas vadinamojo S-į-1 pažeidimo tikimybės matavimo atvejis, kai lazerinės spinduliuotės erdviniai ir energetiniai... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

The inwardly-rectifying K+ current (IK1) is important for heart cell function because it sets the resting potential, influences cell excitability, and promotes repolarization of the action potential. My objective was to investigate the modulation of IK1 by extracellular K+ (K+o) and intracellular K+ (K+i). IK1 was recorded from whole-cell-configured guinea-pig ventricular myocytes that were dialyzed with Na+-free EGTA-buffered pipette-filling solution and bathed with Na+ or NMDG+ solution that contained agents that inhibit non-IK1 currents. Lowering K+o from standard 5.4 to 2 and 1 mM shifted the reversal potential (Erev) of IK1 in accord with calculated K+ equilibrium potential (EK), and altered IK1 amplitude in accord with conductance (GK1)? ?K+o. Surprisingly, myocytes bathed with 0-mM K+ solution had a small outward IK1 at holding potential (Vhold) ?85 mV. This IK1 was attributed to channel-activation by T-tubular K+ (K+T) whose concentration is sensitive to the flow of T-tubular IK1. K+T in myocytes bathed with 0-mM K+ solution was ? 3.2 mM at Vhold ?85 mV, but ? 0.3 mM following large K+T-depleting flows of inward IK1 at ?160 mV. Results consistent with interplay of IK1 and K+T were also obtained in experiments on myocytes bathed with 2-, 5.4-, and 15-mM K+ solution. Myocytes were dialyzed with pipette solutions that contained 0-140 mM K+ to investigate modulation by K+i. When IK1 at Vhold was kept small, Erev varied with pipette K+ in a near-Nernstian manner (i.e., Erev ? EK); however, when IK1 (Vhold) was large and inward, Erev was markedly negative to nominal EK. Findings in experiments that involved shifting Vhold, changing K+o, and application of Ba2+ and Cs+ suggest that the magnitude/direction of IK1 strongly affects the concentration of K+ in submembrane cytoplasm. Classical GK1-voltage parameters GK1max and V0.5 (but not slope factor) were affected by decreases in K+i: GK1max declined by ? 25% per decade decrease in K+i, and V0.5 shifted approximately as 0.5 ? EK-shift. The latter findings are discussed and compared with those of earlier studies on the dependence of inwardly-rectifying K+ conductance on K+i.

This thesis is the first report linking differential distribution of cadmium (Cd) among tissues of hydroponically-grown soybean with Cd amendments – lower seed Cd-accumulating OAC Champion and higher seed Cd-accumulating OAC Bayfield – and the mechanisms responsible for these differences. OAC Champion retains 94% (64% for OAC Bayfield) of accumulated Cd in the root stock and Cd in its xylem sap is eleven-fold less concentrated than OAC Bayfield by seed fill. Though the movement of Cd to shoots is more restricted in OAC Champion, the concentration in some seed still approximates or exceeds 0.1 mg Cd • kg-1, indicating that in soils with elevated available Cd, there is potential for many cultivars of soybean to exceed the new suggested maximum for soybean, under an amendment to regulation (EC) No 1881/2006. Phytic acid was also assayed in seed tissue and OAC Bayfield was found to contain the highest concentrations.

Sludge accumulation, treatment and disposal can represent a high percentage of the operating cost for a wastewater system. This is especially important for small-scale and onsite wastewater treatment systems, where sludge removal can be one of the few operating costs of the system. In 2000, as a result of a large number of septic system failures, the community of Wardsville installed a Clearford Industries Inc. Small Bore Sewer™ (SBS™) system which included two-chamber 3600 L tanks located on the properties of individual homes. The tanks were collectively attached to a small bore piping system to deliver the effluent from the tanks to a small community wastewater treatment system. During the summer of 2007, a field study was initiated with a community survey, followed by a review of candidate sites, leading to the selection of 29 sites for site investigation and sampling. Sampling involved the collection of samples for sludge characterization along with the measurements of the height of solids (scum and sludge) within the tank. The data were analyzed to determine the factors having a statistically significant impact on solids accumulation rates within each of the two chambers of the tank. Household water usage was found to be the variable having the strongest association with sludge and scum accumulation, and models were estimated relating solids accumulation to water usage in order predict pump out frequency. A second field sampling program was conducted in Wardsville during April 2008, involving only the first chamber of 13 primary clarifier tanks. Overall contributions have been made in understanding and quantifying solids accumulation rates and sludge characterization in onsite primary clarifier tanks. As well, the information gained from the analysis of the data collected provides a meaningful insight into the factors influencing solids accumulation within individual residential primary clarifier tanks, and points to future research directions for understanding the factors influencing solids accumulation. / Thesis (Master, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2009-04-25 15:34:46.243

Sludge accumulation, treatment and disposal can represent a high percentage of the operating cost for a wastewater system. This is especially important for small-scale and onsite wastewater treatment systems, where sludge removal can be one of the few operating costs of the system. In 2000, as a result of a large number of septic system failures, the community of Wardsville installed a Clearford Industries Inc. Small Bore Sewer™ (SBS™) system which included two-chamber 3600 L tanks located on the properties of individual homes. The tanks were collectively attached to a small bore piping system to deliver the effluent from the tanks to a small community wastewater treatment system. During the summer of 2007, a field study was initiated with a community survey, followed by a review of candidate sites, leading to the selection of 29 sites for site investigation and sampling. Sampling involved the collection of samples for sludge characterization along with the measurements of the height of solids (scum and sludge) within the tank. The data were analyzed to determine the factors having a statistically significant impact on solids accumulation rates within each of the two chambers of the tank. Household water usage was found to be the variable having the strongest association with sludge and scum accumulation, and models were estimated relating solids accumulation to water usage in order predict pump out frequency. A second field sampling program was conducted in Wardsville during April 2008, involving only the first chamber of 13 primary clarifier tanks. Overall contributions have been made in understanding and quantifying solids accumulation rates and sludge characterization in onsite primary clarifier tanks. As well, the information gained from the analysis of the data collected provides a meaningful insight into the factors influencing solids accumulation within individual residential primary clarifier tanks, and points to future research directions for understanding the factors influencing solids accumulation. / Thesis (Master, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2009-04-25 15:34:46.243