<p>This thesis reports the results of biomarker measurements in three environmental monitoring projects. In the first project, which was part of the Swedish national environmental monitoring, biomarkers were measured annually in female perch (<i>Perca fluviatilis</i>) in two background areas in the Baltic Sea during 1988–2000, resulting in a unique 13-year series of measurements. The most important results were a strong decreasing temporal trend in the gonadosomatic index (GSI) and a strong increasing temporal trend in the hepatic ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity in the Baltic Proper. In the second project, biomarkers and concentrations of classic pollutants were measured in female perch in the Stockholm recipient 1999–2001. This was the first time a large city was investigated as a point source of pollution, and the gradient was longer and included more stations than customary. Severe pollution conditions in central Stockholm were indicated by the poor health status of the perch: retarded growth, decreased frequency of sexually mature females, low GSI, disturbed visceral fat metabolism, increased hepatic EROD activity, decreased muscle acetylcholinesterase activity, increased frequency of hepatic DNA adducts, and a high concentration of biliary 1-pyrenol. Muscle ΣDDT and ΣPCB were measured as pollution indicators and were 10–28 respectively 12–35 times higher than the background levels in perch from the Baltic Proper. In the Stockholm archipelago two superimposed gradients were found. Whereas the response of several biomarkers consistently decreased with increasing distance from central Stockholm, the response of others first decreased from Stockholm to the middle archipelago and then increased to the open Baltic Sea. The latter biomarkers included the frequency of sexually mature females, GSI, hepatic EROD activity, and hepatic DNA adducts. In the third project, potential toxicity from munitions on the seafloor, at a dumpsite in the Stockholm archipelago, was analysed by the nanoinjection of sediment extracts into newly fertilised rainbow trout (<i>Oncorhynchus mykiss</i>) eggs, followed by the measurement of biomarkers in the developing larvae. No biological effects of the dumped munitions were found. The same stations in the Stockholm archipelago as in the second project were investigated as a positive control. The results of the three projects agreed well, which demonstrated the continuous pollution of the Baltic Sea and the severe pollution conditions and adverse biological effects in central Stockholm. Further investigations are urgently needed to identify which pollutants or other factors are causing the observed biological effects, both in the background areas in the Baltic Sea and in the Stockholm recipient.</p>

<p>In modern medicine, the measurement of electrophysiological signals play a key role in health monitoring and diagnostics. Electrical activity originating from our nerve and muscle cells conveys real-time information about our current health state. The two most common and actively used techniques for measuring such signals are electrocardiography (ECG) and electroencephalography (EEG).</p><p>These signals are very weak, reaching from a few millivolts down to tens of microvolts in amplitude, and have the majority of the power located at very low frequencies, from below 1 Hz up to 40 Hz. These characteristics sets very tough requirements on the electrical circuit designs used to measure them. Usually, measurement is performed by attaching electrodes with direct contact to the skin using an adhesive, conductive gel to fixate them. This method requires a clinical environment and is time consuming, tedious and may cause the patient discomfort.</p><p>This thesis investigates another method for such measurements; by using a non-contact, capacitively coupled sensor, many of these shortcomings can be overcome. While this method relieves some problems, it also introduces several design difficulties such as: circuit noise, extremely high input impedance and interference. A capacitively coupled sensor was created using the bottom layer of a printed circuit board (PCB) as a capacitor plate and placing it against the signal source, that acts as the opposite capacitor plate. The PCB solder mask layer and any air in between the two acts as the insulator to create a full capacitor. The signal picked up by this sensor was then amplified by 60 dB with a high input impedance amplifier circuit and further conditioned through filtering.</p><p>Two measurements were made of the same circuit, but with different input impedances; one with 10 MΩ and one with 10 GΩ input impedance. Additional filtering was designed to combat interference from the main power lines at 50 Hz and 150 Hz that was discovered during initial measurements. The circuits were characterized with their transfer functions, and the ability to amplify a very low-level, low frequency input signal. The results of these measurements show that high input impedance is of critical importance for the functionality of the sensor and that an input impedance of 10 GΩ is sufficient to produce a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 9.7 dB after digital filtering with an input signal of 25 μV at 10 Hz.</p>

<p>Den här högskoleavhandlingen beskriver designen av ett IF-filter samt hårdvarukonstruktion av en ny 77 GHz FMCW-radar demonstrator. Syftet med demonstratorn är att illustrera hur kisel germanium-, SiGe, teknologi kan användas istället för den mer vedertagna men dyrare gallium arsenik-, GaAs, teknologin. Den gamla radar-prototypen vilken Acreo AB utvecklat är funktionell men behöver konstrueras om för att bättre kunna utvärdera radarprestandan. I avhandlingen presenteras grundläggande radarteori och ekvationer för att underlätta förståelsen av de olika systemblocken. Rapporten beskriver också systemarkitekturen och hur dess funktionalitet kommer att testas. Det omdesignade IF-filtret har simulerats i en PSpice-simulator och ett prototypkort av detta har tillverkats för mätningar. Ett 4-lagers kretskort av hela systemet har tagits fram i Orcad Layout. Slutligen innehåller rapporten förslag på förbättringar till nästa demonstratorversion.</p> / <p>This bachelor thesis describes the design of an IF-filter and the hardware construction of a new version of a 77 GHz FMCW-radar demonstrator. The purpose of the demonstrator is to illustrate how the silicon germanium-, SiGe, technology could be used instead of the more conventional but also much more expensive gallium arsenide-, GaAs, technology. The old radar prototype that Acreo AB has developed is fully functional but needs to be redesigned to be able to evaluate the radar performance in a better way. The thesis presents the basic radar theory and equations to help understanding the construction of the system blocks. The report also describes the system architecture and how its functionality should be tested. The redesigned IF-filter has been simulated in a PSpice simulator and a prototype has been manufactured and measured. A 4-layer PCB-board of the whole system was done in Orcad Layout. Finally the report is concluded with suggestions on improvements for the next demonstrator version.</p>

Outer space is a very harsh environment that can cause electronics to not operate as they were originally intended. Aside from the extreme amount of radiation found in space, temperatures can also change very dramatically in a relatively small time frame. In order to test electronics that will be used in this environment, they first need to be tested on Earth under replicated conditions. Vanderbilt University designed a dewar that allows devices to be tested at these extreme temperatures while being radiated. For this thesis, a test setup that met all of the dewar's constraints was designed that would allow a 12-bit, 16-channel analog-to-digital converter to be tested while inside.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) is a group of chemicals that are toxic, undergo long-range transport and accumulate in biota. Due to their persistency the distribution and recirculation in the environment often continues for a long period of time. Thereby they appear virtually everywhere within the biosphere, and poses a toxic stress to living organisms. In this thesis, attempts are made to contribute to the understanding of factors that influence the distribution of POPs with focus on processes in the marine environment. The bioavailability and the spatial distribution are central topics for the environmental risk management of POPs. In order to study these topics, various field studies were undertaken. To determine the bioavailable fraction of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) the aqueous dissolved phase were sampled and analysed. In the same samples, we also measured how much of these POPs were associated with suspended particles. Different models, which predicted the phase distribution of these POPs, were then evaluated. It was found that important water characteristics, which influenced the solid-water phase distribution of POPs, were particulate organic matter (POM), particulate soot (PSC), and dissolved organic matter (DOM). The bioavailable dissolved POP-phase in the water was lower when these sorbing phases were present. Furthermore, sediments were sampled and the spatial distribution of the POPs was examined. The results showed that the concentration of PCDD/Fs, and PCNs were better described using PSC- than using POM-content of the sediment. In parallel with these field studies, we synthesized knowledge of the processes affecting the distribution of POPs in a multimedia mass balance model. This model predicted concentrations of PCDD/Fs throughout our study area, the Grenlandsfjords in Norway, within factors of ten. This makes the model capable to validate the effect of suitable remedial actions in order to decrease the exposure of these POPs to biota in the Grenlandsfjords which was the aim of the project. Also, to evaluate the influence of eutrophication on the marine occurrence PCB data from the US Musselwatch and Benthic Surveillance Programs are examined in this thesis. The dry weight based concentrations of PCB in bivalves were found to correlate positively to the organic matter content of nearby sediments, and organic matter based concentrations of PCB in sediments were negatively correlated to the organic matter content of the sediment.

This thesis reports the results of biomarker measurements in three environmental monitoring projects. In the first project, which was part of the Swedish national environmental monitoring, biomarkers were measured annually in female perch (Perca fluviatilis) in two background areas in the Baltic Sea during 1988–2000, resulting in a unique 13-year series of measurements. The most important results were a strong decreasing temporal trend in the gonadosomatic index (GSI) and a strong increasing temporal trend in the hepatic ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity in the Baltic Proper. In the second project, biomarkers and concentrations of classic pollutants were measured in female perch in the Stockholm recipient 1999–2001. This was the first time a large city was investigated as a point source of pollution, and the gradient was longer and included more stations than customary. Severe pollution conditions in central Stockholm were indicated by the poor health status of the perch: retarded growth, decreased frequency of sexually mature females, low GSI, disturbed visceral fat metabolism, increased hepatic EROD activity, decreased muscle acetylcholinesterase activity, increased frequency of hepatic DNA adducts, and a high concentration of biliary 1-pyrenol. Muscle ΣDDT and ΣPCB were measured as pollution indicators and were 10–28 respectively 12–35 times higher than the background levels in perch from the Baltic Proper. In the Stockholm archipelago two superimposed gradients were found. Whereas the response of several biomarkers consistently decreased with increasing distance from central Stockholm, the response of others first decreased from Stockholm to the middle archipelago and then increased to the open Baltic Sea. The latter biomarkers included the frequency of sexually mature females, GSI, hepatic EROD activity, and hepatic DNA adducts. In the third project, potential toxicity from munitions on the seafloor, at a dumpsite in the Stockholm archipelago, was analysed by the nanoinjection of sediment extracts into newly fertilised rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) eggs, followed by the measurement of biomarkers in the developing larvae. No biological effects of the dumped munitions were found. The same stations in the Stockholm archipelago as in the second project were investigated as a positive control. The results of the three projects agreed well, which demonstrated the continuous pollution of the Baltic Sea and the severe pollution conditions and adverse biological effects in central Stockholm. Further investigations are urgently needed to identify which pollutants or other factors are causing the observed biological effects, both in the background areas in the Baltic Sea and in the Stockholm recipient.

In modern medicine, the measurement of electrophysiological signals play a key role in health monitoring and diagnostics. Electrical activity originating from our nerve and muscle cells conveys real-time information about our current health state. The two most common and actively used techniques for measuring such signals are electrocardiography (ECG) and electroencephalography (EEG). These signals are very weak, reaching from a few millivolts down to tens of microvolts in amplitude, and have the majority of the power located at very low frequencies, from below 1 Hz up to 40 Hz. These characteristics sets very tough requirements on the electrical circuit designs used to measure them. Usually, measurement is performed by attaching electrodes with direct contact to the skin using an adhesive, conductive gel to fixate them. This method requires a clinical environment and is time consuming, tedious and may cause the patient discomfort. This thesis investigates another method for such measurements; by using a non-contact, capacitively coupled sensor, many of these shortcomings can be overcome. While this method relieves some problems, it also introduces several design difficulties such as: circuit noise, extremely high input impedance and interference. A capacitively coupled sensor was created using the bottom layer of a printed circuit board (PCB) as a capacitor plate and placing it against the signal source, that acts as the opposite capacitor plate. The PCB solder mask layer and any air in between the two acts as the insulator to create a full capacitor. The signal picked up by this sensor was then amplified by 60 dB with a high input impedance amplifier circuit and further conditioned through filtering. Two measurements were made of the same circuit, but with different input impedances; one with 10 MΩ and one with 10 GΩ input impedance. Additional filtering was designed to combat interference from the main power lines at 50 Hz and 150 Hz that was discovered during initial measurements. The circuits were characterized with their transfer functions, and the ability to amplify a very low-level, low frequency input signal. The results of these measurements show that high input impedance is of critical importance for the functionality of the sensor and that an input impedance of 10 GΩ is sufficient to produce a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 9.7 dB after digital filtering with an input signal of 25 μV at 10 Hz.

Den här högskoleavhandlingen beskriver designen av ett IF-filter samt hårdvarukonstruktion av en ny 77 GHz FMCW-radar demonstrator. Syftet med demonstratorn är att illustrera hur kisel germanium-, SiGe, teknologi kan användas istället för den mer vedertagna men dyrare gallium arsenik-, GaAs, teknologin. Den gamla radar-prototypen vilken Acreo AB utvecklat är funktionell men behöver konstrueras om för att bättre kunna utvärdera radarprestandan. I avhandlingen presenteras grundläggande radarteori och ekvationer för att underlätta förståelsen av de olika systemblocken. Rapporten beskriver också systemarkitekturen och hur dess funktionalitet kommer att testas. Det omdesignade IF-filtret har simulerats i en PSpice-simulator och ett prototypkort av detta har tillverkats för mätningar. Ett 4-lagers kretskort av hela systemet har tagits fram i Orcad Layout. Slutligen innehåller rapporten förslag på förbättringar till nästa demonstratorversion. / This bachelor thesis describes the design of an IF-filter and the hardware construction of a new version of a 77 GHz FMCW-radar demonstrator. The purpose of the demonstrator is to illustrate how the silicon germanium-, SiGe, technology could be used instead of the more conventional but also much more expensive gallium arsenide-, GaAs, technology. The old radar prototype that Acreo AB has developed is fully functional but needs to be redesigned to be able to evaluate the radar performance in a better way. The thesis presents the basic radar theory and equations to help understanding the construction of the system blocks. The report also describes the system architecture and how its functionality should be tested. The redesigned IF-filter has been simulated in a PSpice simulator and a prototype has been manufactured and measured. A 4-layer PCB-board of the whole system was done in Orcad Layout. Finally the report is concluded with suggestions on improvements for the next demonstrator version.

Under the competitive situation of globalization, the competition and challenges that the enterprises are confronting now are more rigorous than in the past. The PCB industries in Taiwan had ever ranked the third biggest in the world. However, on account of the shifting of the manufacturing bases in the worldwide, in 2002 the PCB output value in China had taken the place of Taiwan and become the third biggest in the world. And in the course of PCB industry development in China, the PCB enterprises from Taiwan had also participated in it early or late. The main inducing reasons were because of the undeveloped markets, low labor and land cost. When the arising of new and developing markets has made the scale of the enterprises expand from the arrangement of single area (Taiwan) into regional areas (Asia), the management range of the enterprise has also expanded at the same time and the management and cost problems it derived and the related problems caused by the management risks due to obscure information will be coming up. Therefore, how to connect the nerve center of the enterprise with each subsidiary, logistic warehouses, customers and suppliers of the group and integrate and set up the information network of upper and lower reaching customers and manufacturers and subsidiary and establish a set of mode suitable for the implement of information plans of the group and for the organization management so as to achieve the goals of fast information obtaining, policy making and real-time reaction and enable the overall arrangement of globalization to elaborate multiple effects, which is the purpose of the study. The study has analyzed the management of supply chain, the global planning and management mode and the application and development of information technology and also proceeded extensive analysis and research from the industrial structure, characteristics of PCB and its future competition superiority. Under the information goal of enhancing enterprise¡¦s competition superiority, the study has proposed related suggestions from the organization and management dimensions and information technology and application support dimension. 1. On the organization dimension and the plan of organization functions, achieve centralized planning so as to conform to the company¡¦s overall biggest profits; to maintain and implement of the subsidiary in each area to conform to the effects of localization and discrepancy; to avoid excessive centralized management which will cause the ineffectiveness of operation in each subsidiary or the excessive independence of the area which will cause the difficulties of the overall information establishment standardization and integration. Therefore, in addition to the original vertical framework, it has increased the planning of investigation organization functions (horizontal organization) so as to assist to help with the management and operation among between multi-site companies. 2. On the management dimension, it has developed modes from information system according to five stages of work: (1) the system planning stage (2) the system analysis stage (3) the system development stage (4) the conduction stage of system duplication and (5) system maintenance stage to scheme discussion topics like multi-area resources integration, multi-area coordinated collaboration system and multi-area rights and duties of labor division to be developed into an information construction management mode. 3. On the dimension of information technology and application support, according to the trade object and trade conduct of the enterprise, it has advanced the framework o f enterprise¡¦s information operation strategy and logistics management. Besides, it has conferred the framework of the information integration according to the aspect of resources sharing among the group¡¦s subsidiary so as to achieve the goals of supporting enterprise¡¦s strategy development and management optimization. Eventually it has proposed the blueprint of PCB industry system construction, the steps of system construction, and the constructional labor division mode of information among regional subsidiary of the group to be offered for the trade to refer to this framework under such global operation strategy and logistics management to develop the information system of supporting the enterprise¡¦s core competition superiority.

In this study, the wastewater generated from etching process of the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) was treated by a process including both acidification and coagulation/sedimentation and then followed by the catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) over different catalysts (either Pt/SiO2¡PAl2O3 or Pt¡PX/£^-Al2O3) process in series. Although the initial chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration of the wastewater is as high as 7740-12700 mg/L, the effluent of the pretreatment process was measured to have COD value in ranges of 3050-4260 mg/L. Several re-action parameters, such as reaction temperatures (200-260¢J), oxygen partial pressures (0-3 MPa), and two kinds of catalysts were performed experimentally to investigate the COD reduction of the wastewater during the CWAO process. Both reaction temperature and variety of catalyst are found most effectively on the COD reduction. However, the effect of oxygen partial pressure on the COD reduction is just in little. Results showed that the COD reduction during the CWAO over the Pt¡PX/£^-Al2O3 catalyst process is the most significant, which with a tow-step re-action and both the two reactions do obey first-order reaction kinetics. A change from a higher reaction activity of the CWAO reaction to a slower one implies a decrease of the reaction rate. On basis of our experiments data, the effective operating conditions of CWAO for the COD reduction was observed to be at temperature of 260¢J under oxygen partial pressure of 2.0 MPa and at a retention time period of 60 min. The COD conversion was calculated as high as 75%; however, it could be enhanced up to 78% and 91%, respectively, when the CWAO was conducted in presence of the Pt/SiO2¡PAl2O3 and Pt¡PX/£^-Al2O3 catalysts, respectively. It can be seen that the organic compound of the wastewater was mineralized most completely (with a COD/TOC ratio of 3.7¡Ó0.2) after the CWAO over the Pt¡PX/£^-Al2O3 catalyst process. Furthermore, a higher COD/TOC ratio of 3.9¡Ó0.3 was achieved when the Pt/SiO2¡PAl2O3 catalyst was in presence of the CWAO process, and the primitive WAO process had the highest COD/TOC ratio of 4.8¡Ó0.4. The experimental data showed that both a higher reaction temperature (¡Ù260¢J) and an application of catalyst are more important factors for the min-eralization of the organic compound of the wastewater during the CWAO process. In our investigation, BOD5/COD ratio has been used to assess if the WAO and/or the CWAO process treatment yield products more amenable to biodegradation. The BOD5/COD ratio was 0.68-0.93 when the reaction temperature was above 220¢J and the retention time was as long as 60 min. Unfortunately, the BOD5/COD ratio of the effluent from the CWAO process came out a lower value (0.45-0.65) though it was under the same reaction conditions. It is probable that the biodegradable portion of the organic compounds of the wastewater were decomposed easier during the CWAO process than during the WAO process. In addition, it was found that the products of the wastewater was decomposed partially into CO2 and into some low molecular weigh acids, such as formic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, etc. The activation energy with respect to COD was calculated to be 38.42 kJ/mole and 83 kJ/mole, respectively, for the first-step reaction and for the second-step reaction, respectively, of the WAO process. It was al-so calculated that the first-step reaction of the CWAO over the Pt/SiO2¡PAl2O3 catalyst process has activation energy of 18.25 kJ/mole and 25.76 kJ/mole is for the second-step reaction. However, 16.05 kJ/mole and 49.61 kJ/mole are calculated for the first-step and the sec-ond-step reactions, respectively, of the CWAO over the Pt¡PX/£^-Al2O3 catalyst process. It can be seen that the application of both the Pt/SiO2¡PAl2O3 and the Pt¡PX/£^-Al2O3 catalysts has a significant effect on reducing the activation energy of the WAO. It was observed that the total COD conversion of the wastewater is as high as 96% and the BOD5/COD ratio of the effluent has been en-hanced up to more than 0.6. The combination of both the CWAO over the Pt¡PX/£^-Al2O3 catalyst and the biological treatment is a promising tech-nique for the PCB¡¦s wastewater treatment to fit the wastewater control regulation in Taiwan, which requests the COD value of the wastewater discharged should be less than 120 mg/L.