The bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis is the leading cause of bacterial sexually transmitted infection worldwide. When left untreated, chlamydial infections can lead to severe complications, such as infertility. Lack in current prevention and management due to its asymptomatic course of infection highlight the need for an effective vaccine against chlamydia. There is no vaccine at present to protect against chlamydia, but research is ongoing. A research group at Örebro University has developed a protein antigen candidate. This project focused on the production of the candidate, here called Protein X, for preclinical trials. This included optimising production in Escherichia coli to maximise formation of soluble protein, optimising purification, buffer exchange and removal of His-tag. It was found that formation of soluble protein was favoured in lower expression temperatures. Furthermore, purification was performed on soluble and insoluble protein fractions using immobilised metal affinity chromatography. However, issues with inefficient binding to the resin and purity could not be solved and further optimisation is needed. Buffers were tested to find a suitable buffer for preclinical experiments, but the protein precipitated in all buffers. It was however found that protein from the insoluble fraction dissolved in pure water. Lastly, removal of the His-tag was performed with a non-enzymatic method that utilises nickel ions instead of expensive proteases. Efficient removal was however not achieved and enzymatic methods may be considered instead. In conclusion, this project highlighted issues in the production of Protein X and may guide the research group towards improving this process for efficient preclinical preparations.

Master of Science / Department of Industrial & Manufacturing Systems Engineering / Todd W. Easton / Epidemics have been modeled mathematically as a way to safely understand them. For many of these mathematical models, the underlying assumptions they make provide excellent mathematical results, but are unrealistic for practical use. This research branches out from previous work by providing a model of the spread of infectious diseases and a model of quarantining this disease without the limiting assumptions of previous research. One of the main results of this thesis was the development of a core simulation that rapidly simulates the spread of an epidemic on a contact network. This simulation can be easily adapted to any disease through the adjustment of many parameters. This research provides the first definition for a quarantine cut and an ellipsoidal geographic network. This thesis uses the ellipsoidal geographic network to determine what is, and what is not, a feasible quarantine region. The quarantine cut is a new approach to partitioning quarantined and saved individuals in an optimized way. To achieve an optimal quarantine cut, an integer program was developed. Although this integer program runs in polynomial time, the preparation required to execute this algorithm is unrealistic in a disease outbreak scenario. To provide implementable results, a heuristic and some general theory are provided. In a study, the heuristic performed within 10% of the optimal quarantine cut, which shows that the theory developed in this thesis can be successfully used in a disease outbreak scenario.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 23-26, 2000 / Town & Country Hotel and Conference Center, San Diego, California / With wireless communications becoming the rule rather than the exception, satellite operators need tools to effectively monitor increasingly large and complex satellite constellations. Visual data monitoring increases the monitoring capacity of satellite operators by several orders of magnitude, enabling them to track hundreds of thousands of parameters in real-time on a single screen. With this powerful new tool, operators can proactively address potential problems before they become customer complaints.

Grâce aux progrès réalisés dans le domaine des semi-conducteurs, les plateformes matérielles embarquées sont capables de satisfaire les contraintes de performances d'applications de plus en plus complexes. Cette augmentation conduit à une explosion des coûts de conception, ce qui pousse les concepteurs de ces plateformes à utiliser des outils travaillant à des niveaux d’abstraction plus élevés. Aujourd’hui, les outils de synthèse de haut niveau opèrent sur des descriptions C/C++ pour en générer des accélérateurs matériels spécialisés. Ces outils offrent des gains en productivité significatifs par rapport à la génération précédente, qui opérait sur des descriptions structurelles de l’architecture en VHDL ou Verilog. Ces descriptions algorithmiques doivent être retravaillées pour que les outils puissent générer des circuits performants. Pour faciliter cette tâche, une solution consiste à mettre en œuvre une boite à outils pour des transformations source-à-source orientées synthèse de haut niveau. En particulier, cette thèse s’intéresse aux transformations de boucles, avec pour objectif d’améliorer les performances en exposant des boucles parallèles et en améliorant la localité des accès mémoire. En nous appuyant sur une représentation des boucles dans le modèle polyédrique, nous proposons une approche qui améliore l’applicabilité du pipeline de nids de boucles en vérifiant sa légalité de manière plus précise que les approches existantes. De plus, lorsque la vérification échoue, nous proposons une technique de correction qui insère statiquement des états d’attente pour assurer la légalité du pipeline. Enfin, ce pipeline est mis en œuvre en utilisant une technique de génération de code qui met les nids de boucles à plat. Ces contributions ont été implémentées dans l’infrastructure de compilation source-à-source Gecos, avant d’être appliquées à un ensemble de benchmarks représentatifs des noyaux de calculs cibles de la synthèse de haut niveau. Les résultats montrent un gain en performances significatif, avec un surcoût en surface modéré. / Due to the advances in semiconductor technologies, embedded hardware is capable of satisfying the performance constraints of increasingly complex applications. This leads to a design cost explosion, thus pushing the hardware designers to use tools working with higher levels of abstractions. High-Level Synthesis tools generate custom hardware accelerators out of C/C++ specifications. They offer significant productivity gains compared to the previous generation of tools that worked at the level of hardware description languages, such as VHDL or Verilog. These higher level specifications have to be reworked in order for the High-Level Synthesis tools to generate efficient hardware accelerators. To ease this task, one solution is to provide a source-to-source transformation toolbox targeting High-Level Synthesis. Specifically, this thesis explores loop transformations in order to improve performance by exposing parallel loops and improving the locality of memory accesses. Using polyhedral representation of loop nests, we propose an approach to improve the applicability of nested loop pipelining by verifying its legality in a more precise way than existing approaches. Moreover, we propose a correction mechanism that statically inserts wait states for enforcing the pipeline legality for cases when the verification fails. The resulting pipeline is implemented using a code generation technique that flattens the loop nests. These contributions have been implemented within the GeCoS source-to-source compilation infrastructure, and applied to a set of benchmarks targeted towards High-Level Synthesis. Results show significant performance improvement at the price of a moderate area overhead.

Scheduling refinery operation promises a big cut in logistics cost, maximizes efficiency, organizes allocation of material and resources, and ensures that production meets targets set by planning team. Obtaining accurate and reliable schedules for execution in refinery plants under different scenarios has been a serious challenge. This research was undertaken with the aim to develop robust methodologies and solution procedures to address refinery scheduling problems with uncertainties in process parameters. The research goal was achieved by first developing a methodology for short-term crude oil unloading and transfer, as an extension to a scheduling model reported by Lee et al. (1996). The extended model considers real life technical issues not captured in the original model and has shown to be more reliable through case studies. Uncertainties due to disruptive events and low inventory at the end of scheduling horizon were addressed. With the extended model, crude oil scheduling problem was formulated under receding horizon control framework to address demand uncertainty. This work proposed a strategy called fixed end horizon whose efficiency in terms of performance was investigated and found out to be better in comparison with an existing approach. In the main refinery production area, a novel scheduling model was developed. A large scale refinery problem was used as a case study to test the model with scheduling horizon discretized into a number of time periods of variable length. An equivalent formulation with equal interval lengths was also presented and compared with the variable length formulation. The results obtained clearly show the advantage of using variable timing. A methodology under self-optimizing control (SOC) framework was then developed to address uncertainty in problems involving mixed integer formulation. Through case study and scenarios, the approach has proven to be efficient in dealing with uncertainty in crude oil composition.

Decision of vehicle purchase consists of several aspects. One of them is also tax area. By comparison of purchase from own resources and from third parties is possible to reach tax optimal solution. Preferences about the way of purchase will differe according to who is the buyer. The next chapter compare tax incidence in different countries.

<p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Purpose</strong>: The Essay is written on behalf of a company called ”Uppdragsgivaren”. The purpose is to connect theory with the result of the survey and thereby find the critical factors for an optimal placement of the cargo holders in the company’s terminal.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Method:</strong> A qualitative case study has been carried out. The theory collection is completed with the result from the survey, which include the information “Uppdragsgivaren“ provides and the result from the survey. The survey is completed with telephone interviews. The survey is sent to seven persons working on similar company as “Uppdragsgivaren”. The study has a combination between the positivistic and hermeneutic view. The result is treated deductive. Theory and empirical are connected and among several theories one is chosen and will be tested on the company. Recommendations are given to “Uppdragsgivaren” and so are suggestions on further studies.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Result:</strong> The test shows that one part of the model is possible for “Uppdragsgivaren” to use when they want to optimize the cargo holder terminal. Part one of the tested model is independent from frequency and volume, and is therefore not applicable. Part two is applicable and the cargo holders can be arranged based on their volume. The result is thus that the most frequent cargo holder shall be placed on the most accessible area.</p><p> </p>

Thesis (M.Ing. (Development and Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Purpose: The Essay is written on behalf of a company called ”Uppdragsgivaren”. The purpose is to connect theory with the result of the survey and thereby find the critical factors for an optimal placement of the cargo holders in the company’s terminal.       Method: A qualitative case study has been carried out. The theory collection is completed with the result from the survey, which include the information “Uppdragsgivaren“ provides and the result from the survey. The survey is completed with telephone interviews. The survey is sent to seven persons working on similar company as “Uppdragsgivaren”. The study has a combination between the positivistic and hermeneutic view. The result is treated deductive. Theory and empirical are connected and among several theories one is chosen and will be tested on the company. Recommendations are given to “Uppdragsgivaren” and so are suggestions on further studies.   Result: The test shows that one part of the model is possible for “Uppdragsgivaren” to use when they want to optimize the cargo holder terminal. Part one of the tested model is independent from frequency and volume, and is therefore not applicable. Part two is applicable and the cargo holders can be arranged based on their volume. The result is thus that the most frequent cargo holder shall be placed on the most accessible area.

Syftet med denna studie har varit att, med utgångspunkt från marinens haveristatistik för grundstötningar, söka dominerande riskfaktorer för fartygens framförande, se i vilken omfattning uppföljning genomförs och hur dragna erfarenheten används och kan utvecklas inom militär sjöfart. Vi har även undersökt om det går att finna några gemensamma orsakssamband mellan olika attribut för fartyg som grundstöter.   De viktigaste iakttagelserna i studierna är att:   •    risker i samband med praktisk navigationsutbildning i skärgård bör analyseras vidare, varvid kommunicerade färdighetsnivåer, dess bibehållande och examination utgör centrala delar •    risker i samband med omorganiseringar och nya organisationer bör klarläggas •    risker vid nya fartygssystem eller metoder bör analyseras •    avvikelsesystemet i Försvarsmaktens sjösäkerhetssystem kan i sig angränsa till större avvikelse •    systemet fungerar inte fullt ut, då förmågan brister i att långsiktigt och systematiskt identifiera, analysera och förankra betydelsefull kunskap •    avvikelserapporteringssystemet, DIUS-M, har stora brister. Återrapportering, revisionsresultat och rapportering av ”närahändelser/near misses” inom nautik saknas i stort sett helt. Hanteringen av förbättringsförslag inryms inte i DIUS-M. Detta har sammantaget sannolikt givit en låg rapporteringsbenägenhet. Rapporterna är inte alltid primärdata •    sjösäkerhetssystemet saknar balans mellan korrigerande åtgärder och ”Lessons Learned” •    trender kan ej statistiskt visas i förhållande mot fartygens nyttjande och således är resultat av åtgärder svåra att överblicka •    upprepade anmärkningar i revisionsresultat för avvikelsehanteringen kvarstår •    erfarenheter ur sjösäkerhetssystemet och nautik behandlas inte i marinens erfarenhetsprocess •    klassificering av ”performance shaping factors” saknas i analyserna, vilket försvårar statistisk tolkning •    verksamheten rörande förbättringsförlag är idag otydlig och disharmoniserar helt i styrande dokument •    införandet av gemensamma regler för militär sjöfart har förbättrat fartygens nautisk-tekniska status och sannolikt minimerat olyckor.   Vi har inte funnit några beskrivna metoder för att hindra ett sluttande plan, s.k. negativ nedärvning, rörande färdigheter inom den praktiska navigationskonsten, efter att den programbundna sjöofficersutbildningen genomförts. Detta trots att högre krav på både färdighet och erfarenheter finns. Rollerna som skapar lärande behöver identifieras, beskrivas och kravsättas på ett tydligare sätt Tillräckliga resurser finns för att med små medel kunna starta en levande avvikelsehantering och erfarenhetsprocess.   Delresultatet visade att marinens fartyg grundstöter oftare då någon form av navigationsutbildning genomförs och att analyserna ofta avslutats där de ur ett evalueringsperspektiv börjar bli intressanta. Utifrån det påträffade sambanden genomfördes några försök att reda ut gångtider och exponeringstider för riskattributet utbildning. Vidare undersöktes förekomsten av utvärderingsmodeller för sjöfarten samt marinens möjlighet till att erfarenhetshantera sitt avvikelsesystem.   En ansats till förslag om erfarenhetshantering för att avvikelsesystemet skall uppfylla Försvarsmaktens manual sjösäkerhet (FMMS) redovisas. / The aim of this study has been that, starting from a marine accident statistics for the groundings, searching dominant risk factors for ships' performance, see the extent to which follow-up is carried out and how it uses and can be drawn from experience developing within military shipping. We have also examined whether it is possible to find some common causal link between the various attributes of the ship groundings/stranding.   The main findings of this study : risks associated with practical navigation practice in the archipelago should be analyzed further.   Skill levels and examination forms are the central parts risks in connection with reorganization and new organizations have to be clarified risks from new ship systems or new navigational methods should be analyzed SMS system in the armed forces may have probably major “non-conformities” the system does not work fully: capacity gaps in the long term to systematically identify, analyze and take care of important knowledge the reporting system, DIUS-M, has major shortcomings. Feedback, audit results and reporting of "near misses" within nautical missing almost completely. The handling of the suggestions for improvements is not included in DIUS-M. This has probably given a low overall reporting tendency. The reports are not always the primary data lacks balance between rules of corrections and "Lessons Learned" trends cannot statistically shown in relation to the use of the ships and are difficult to visualize repeated identical audit results for the safety management system (SMS) itself as non-confirmative lessons learned from the SMS system and are not take care of  in the Navy’s nautical lessons-learned process classification of "performance shaping factors" are missing from the analyses activity concerning improvement publishers is today unclear and gaping completely in the documents the introduction of common rules for military shipping has improved the ships ' nautical-technical status and likely minimized casualties.   We have not found any procedures to prevent a sloped plane, so-called “negative inheritance”, concerning practical navigation skills in the arts, after the sea officers training. This is despite the fact that the navy has higher demands on both skill and experience. The learning syllabus needs to be identified, described and better demanded.   The Armed Forces have resources to launch a working SMS and lessons-learned process. A part result showed that the Navy ship grounds more frequently when any form of navigation training is conducted and that analyses often terminated where they from an evaluation perspective begins to become interesting. Based on the found relations we do attempts to sort out sea going hours and exposure times for risks when training navigation onboard. It was further examined the presence of evaluation models for maritime traffic, as well as the Navy's ability to evaluate its deviation system.   A proposal for adding a Lessons Learned model to the reporting system for meet the skills of the armed forces SMS (FMMS) is shown.