Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2004. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains x, 77 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 74-77).

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2005. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 53 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 45-46).

No autorizada por el autor para ser publicada a texto completo / El objetivo general del presente trabajo de título es estudiar teóricamente la factibilidad de remover el filtro Osprey QS24 (Offline) del proceso de producción de pañales para las instalaciones especificas de Planta Santiago Procter and Gamble Chile Ltda., redireccionando los flujos tratados por éste al filtro Osprey Phoenix de mayor capacidad. Se espera proveer información suficiente, de modo que la compañía esté en condiciones de definir la implementación de la propuesta.nSe procedió a describir las condiciones actuales de la planta referentes al sistema en estudio, para luego recalcular las mejoras propuestas en base a las recomendaciones recibidas de otras plantas que ya las implementaron. Para el desarrollo y análisis del estudio se utilizo como principal herramienta la función Cota de AutoCad sobre los planos a escala proporcionados por la empresa para la caracterización del piping del sistema de alimentación de celulosanEl resultado final corresponde al diseño estándar de la compañía con una pérdida de carga 7,386 [psi]. Lo que, a pesar de los supuestos realizados, permite su implementación sin necesidad de alterar los equipos auxiliares y/o ventiladores ya instalados.nSe concluye que es factible realizar un proyecto de inversión que elimina un equipo de alto consumo energético del sistema de transporte neumático para la alimentación de fibra de celulosa en la producción de pañales. Contribuyendo con un ahorro al presupuesto anual de la Planta, ya que el aumento en la frecuencia de mantención de los equipos del sistema producto del aumento de flujo se compensa con la mantención que deja de realizarse al equipo, ahora, obsoleto.

<p>RNA, or ribonucleic acid, is one of the three biological macromolecule types essential for all known life forms, and is a critical part of a variety of cellular processes. The well known functions of RNA molecules include acting as carriers of genetic information in the form of mRNAs, and then assisting in translation of that information to protein molecules as tRNAs and rRNAs. In recent years, many other kinds of non-coding RNAs have been found, like miRNAs and siRNAs, that are important for gene regulation. Some RNA molecules, called ribozymes, are also known to catalyze biochemical reactions. Functions carried out by these recently discovered RNAs, coupled with the traditionally known functions of tRNAs, mRNAs, and rRNAs make RNA molecules even more crucial and essential components in biology.</p><p>Most of the functions mentioned above are carried out by RNA molecules associ- ating themselves with proteins to form Ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes, e.g. the ribosome or the splicesosome. RNA molecules also bind a variety of small molecules, such as metabolites, and their binding can turn on or off gene expression. These RNP complexes and small molecule binding RNAs are increasingly being recognized as potential therapeutic targets for drug design. The technique of computational structure-based rational design has been successfully used for designing drugs and inhibitors for protein function, but its potential has not been tapped for design of RNA or RNP complexes. For the success of computational structure-based design, it is important to both understand the features of RNA three-dimensional structure and develop new and improved algorithms for protein and RNA design.</p><p>This document details my thesis work that covers both the above mentioned areas. The first part of my thesis work characterizes and analyzes RNA three-dimensional structure, in order to develop new methods for RNA validation and refinement, and new tools for correction of modeling errors in already solved RNA structures. I collaborated to assemble non-redundant and quality-conscious datasets of RNA crystal structures (RNA09 and RNA11), and I analyzed the range of values occupied by the RNA backbone and base dihedral angles to improve methods for RNA structure correction, validation, and refinement in MolProbity and PHENIX. I rebuilt and corrected the pre-cleaved structure of the HDV ribozyme and parts of the 50S ribosomal subunit to demonstrate the potential of new tools and techniques to improve RNA structures and help crystallographers to make correct biological interpretations. I also extended the previous work of characterizing RNA backbone conformers by the RNA Ontology Consortium (ROC) to define new conformers using the data from the larger RNA11 dataset, supplemented by ERRASER runs that optimize data points to add new conformers or improve cluster separation.</p><p>The second part of my thesis work develops novel algorithms for structure-based</p><p>protein redesign when interactions between distant residue pairs are neglected and the design problem is represented by a sparse residue interaction graph. I analyzed the sequence and energy differences caused by using sparse residue interaction graphs (using the protein redesign package OSPREY), and proposed a novel use of ensemble-based provable design algorithms to mitigate the effects caused by sparse residue interaction graphs. I collaborated to develop a novel branch-decomposition based dynamic programming algorithm, called BWM*, that returns the Global Minimum Energy Conformation (GMEC) for sparse residue interaction graphs much faster than the traditional A* search algorithm. As the final step, I used the results of my analysis of the RNA base dihedral angle and implemented the capability of RNA design and RNA structural flexibility in osprey. My work enables OSPREY to design not only RNA, but also simultaneously design both the RNA and the protein chains in a RNA-protein interface.</p> / Dissertation

Influence of historic landscapes and contemporary species management on Chesapeake Bay Bald Eagles and Osprey Catherine B. Viverette Co-distributed species with well documented demographic histories can provide good models for testing alternative hypotheses about the impact of evolutionary history, contemporary landscapes, and species management on current distribution and population structure. The Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) and Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) have been extensively studied, managed and monitored across their North American breeding range, particularly in the Chesapeake Bay. We used a combination of ecological niche modelling, diet reconstruction, and population genetic modeling to understand the role of historic events--both shallow and deep time--on contemporary species distribution. The first objective of this study was to develop contemporary and paleo-distributional models for North American Bald Eagles and Osprey in order to explore the geographic histories of the two species, including the identity of possible Pleistocene refugia. Potential distribution during past (e.g. Last Glacial Maximum, LGM) and possible future climate scenarios were developed with species occurrence records for Osprey (n = 3034) and Bald Eagles (n = 8859) combined with 19 bioclimatic variables representing current conditions using the maximum entropy model (MaxEnt). Paleoclimatic models predict multiple putative refugia that may explain differences in migratory behavior between the two currently co-distributed species, as well as geographically defined sub-populations within each species. We conducted bulk stable isotope analysis of feathers collected from museum specimens and contemporary nests to investigate the influence of historic declines in critical prey species on distribution of Bald Eagles (n = 41 ) and Osprey (n = 45) in the Chesapeake Bay over the past 140 y. Stable Isotope Analysis in R (SIAR) was used to estimate the relative contribution of potential prey items in order to test the hypothesis that migration of estuarine-dependent and anadromous clupeid fishes represents an historically important seasonal subsidy in the form of marine-derived organic matter (MDOM). SIAR results demonstrate that MDOM contributed approximately 50% of the carbon and nutrients to Bald Eagle and Osprey occupying the upper estuary historically but declined to less than 5% of contemporary diets. Declines in anadromous prey in the diet correspond with historic spatial shifts in distribution and population growth of avian predators over the same period. Finally, we tested the hypothesis that conservation efforts, specifically translocation or “hacking” programs, rather than biogeographical history, best explains the current pattern of genetic variation exhibited by Osprey across their North American breeding range. We genotyped 11 microsatellite loci and a 513 base pair sequence of the cyt b region from 433 Osprey samples in order to investigate current population substructure, the genetic consequences of historic demographic bottlenecks, and the influence of hacking programs on contemporary gene flow. We calculated genetic differentiation (Dest) and Isolation-By-Distance (IBD) among regional populations and spatially cohesive genetic clusters identified using the program STRUCTURE. Our results indicate that although Osprey nesting in North America are subdivided into multiple cohesive genetic clusters, genetic differentiation among groups is low and unrelated to geographic variation. The findings of this study are discussed in light of past and present management practices and broader issues salient to species management and conservation of genetic diversity and adaptive response to future environmental change.

This study employed satellite telemetry to document dispersal and migratory behaviour of nine juvenile Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and two adult and five hatch-year Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) from central Labrador between 15 Aug 2002--31 Dec 2003. Autumn average departure dates were 20 October 2002 and 13 November 2003 for the eagles and 13 October for both 2002/2003 Osprey, siblings migrating independently. Juvenile Osprey travelled at an average rate of 200 km/d during fall migration; one adult travelled at a rate of 188 km/d enroute to the Dominican Republic. Eagles travelled an average distance of 1200 km over 40 days at a rate of 81 km/d, wintering as far south as Virginia. Eagles departed wintering areas by 25 March 2003, travelling at an average rate of 76 km/d using similar waterways, river valleys and corridors as taken in the fall. Eagles and Osprey were not documented travelling overnight or crossing large bodies of water.

A drill tool body operates under tough cutting conditions where it is subjected to severe rubbing at the drill flute margin by the sliding chips. The tool wear caused by the contact stresses of the high-speed sliding chips is one of the common damage mechanisms observed in drill tool bodies. The present investigation is aimed at evaluating the wear properties, mechanical properties and tribological characteristics of the selective laser melting (SLM) produced drill bodies of Co-alloyed tool steels. Two different maraging steel powders, Modified 18Ni300 and Osprey MAR were the materials of interest in this work. A ranking was obtained after a detailed examination to select the most suitable cutting tool body material for drilling application. The microstructures of SLM-produced materials after aging were carefully characterized and analyzed. The result shows that both the materials are composed of fine dendritic cellular structures and even exhibit melt pool boundaries. The microhardness values taken on the as-polished samples indicate that Modified 18Ni300 is marginally harder than Osprey MAR. The material pick-up tendency, friction characteristics and wear properties of the two material samples at room temperature were also evaluated using a scratch tester and a pin-on-disc tribometer. The wear volume for the scratch test and the pin-on-disc test was quantified by a 3D optical profilometer. The overall coefficient of friction (COF) and the wear volume was considerably higher for Osprey MAR than Modified 18Ni300 in scratch testing. The increase in COF for Osprey MAR can be attributed to the build-up edge adhered to the moving stylus. Wear characterization of the scratched surface shows secondary plowing which validates the adhesion tendency of Osprey MAR. The results from the pin-on-disc test conform to the scratch results displaying marginally lower COF and wear volume for the Modified 18Ni300 disc specimen. The higher volume loss of pin manufactured from workpiece material SS2541 used against Modified 18Ni300 disc substantiates the better wear characteristics of this material. Characterization of wear on the surface and cross-section of disc samples suggests that the total wear is the result of adhesion by delamination and build-up edge, abrasion, and cellular fracture at the interacting interface. Machining application tests were also conducted to study the chip wear characteristics and facilitate the ranking of the materials concerning wear resistance. Chip breaker wear test was performed with chip breakers of two different surface topography, milled and ground, to evaluate the effect of surface texture and roughness on the wear behavior. The result shows adhesion on the chip breaker surface for both the materials of interest. The wear is higher in Osprey MAR than Modified 18Ni300 in both milled and ground conditions. A series of actual drill tests from SLM-produced drill bodies indicates wear at the drill flute margin. The drill body material at the chip flute margin is abraded by the sliding chips for Osprey MAR exhibiting greater wear than Modified 18Ni300 in which case the flute margin is intact. Adhesion is also seen at the flute surface for both materials. EDS analysis undertaken at the site of wear confirms the adhered material is of the workpiece SS2541. The results from all the aforementioned tests suggest that Modified 18Ni300 has better wear resistance than Osprey MAR. It also indicates that the cellular microstructure of SLM-produced maraging steels is not suitable for sliding wear resistance.

Raptor nests on human-built structures represent a significant source of conflict as they can result in bird mortality, fires, structure damage, service distribution, or power outages when falling nest materials or animals connect with energized conductors. Power companies, such as the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), wish to mitigate these conflicts to avoid service disruptions. In this dissertation, I present my work towards understanding and mitigating the interactions between Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) and human-made structures. To achieve this, I explored multiple elements of conflict identification, monitoring, and basic ecology of the target species to better inform conflict mitigation. In Chapter I, I modelled the influence of suitable habitat and transmission infrastructure distribution on the potential risk of nest-infrastructure conflict within the TVA power service area. My integrative model would be most useful to utilities when adjacent (i.e., within 10 km) areas to ‘risky’ zones are also considered when looking at mitigation efforts and pre-development planning. Going forward, similar models for other species and for distribution structures may benefit utilities such as TVA. In Chapter II, I aimed to identify the most suitable nest monitoring technique for Ospreys, as nest information is required to make informed decisions for conflict mitigation (e.g., nest removal). I found that unoccupied aircraft systems, or drones, are less disturbing and more time-efficient than other methods tested. In the last two chapters, I focused on obtaining detailed information on the basic ecology of Ospreys in the southeastern United States, which represent an understudied population. My findings in Chapter III contribute to general migration ecology theory, identify key stopover areas for Ospreys in Florida, provide valuable comparisons for further investigations, highlight areas for future research, and identify possible metrics relevant to conservation and management action. Lastly, I quantified the genetic diversity and structure of southeastern Ospreys to generate hypotheses for future testing and provide valuable comparisons for further investigations. While gene flow appears to be high and sampled regions show little genetic differentiation, more research is required to elucidate patterns of cryptic population structure and provide concrete implications for management decisions (e.g., source population for translocation programs).

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on October 9, 2007) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.