<p>Reactive Black 5 and Procion Red MX 5B, an azo and anthraquinone dye repectively were decoulorized by mean of microorganisms growing on wood chips. The process consisted of three reactors, two anaerobic reactors and one aerobic reactor. The anaerobic process was used in order to make it possible to break the nitrogen bond of the azo group, (-N=N-) and the aerobic one to increase the possibility for the degradation of possible intermediates. After pumping wastewater through the system it was shown that mixtures or Reactive Black 5 and Procion Red MX 5B were efficiently decolourised at 50 mg/l as well as 200 mg/l of each of the dyes.</p><p><strong> </strong></p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Helsinki, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 35-43). Also available in electronic format via Internet.

An understanding of the damage evolution prior to crack initiation in advanced structural materials is of vital importance to the fatigue community in both academia and industry. Features known as the Persistent Slip Bands (PSBs) play an integral role in this damage evolution. Therefore, PSBs have been the focus of a lot of science-based investigations over the years. However, most existing studies in this area are restricted to analysis of PSBs in single crystal face centered cubic (FCC) materials. Moreover, these studies lack a quantitative analysis of the evolution of the fatigue damage (or PSBs) as a function of the material microstructure. This is especially true for relatively modern materials such as the Advanced High Strength Structural (AHSS) steels that are gaining a lot of importance in the automotive sector. Accordingly, the objective of this research is to quantitatively characterize evolution of PSBs in three AHSS steels having different microstructures as a function of number of fatigue cycles and strain amplitude. For this purpose strain controlled interrupted fatigue tests have been performed on two dual phase steels (DP-590 and DP-980) having different relative amounts of tempered martensite and a ferritic high strength low alloy steel (HR-590). Digital image analysis and Stereology have been used for unbiased quantitative characterization of the evolution of global geometry of the PSB colonies as function of number of fatigue cycles and strain amplitude. Evolution of PSB colonies has been couched in terms of variation of PSB colony volume fraction and total surface area unit volume, and total surface area of individual PSBs per unit volume and three-dimensional angular orientation distribution of the PSBs. For this purpose, new stereological techniques have been developed for estimation of the three-dimensional angular orientation distribution. The stereological data reveal that during strain controlled in these AHSS steels, volume fraction of the PSB colonies varies linearly with the their total surface area per unit volume. Detailed analysis of the stereological data leads to a simple geometric model for evolution of the PSB colonies in the three AHSS steels, which accounts for all observed data trends.

Brain decoding involves the determination of a subject’s cognitive state or an associated stimulus from functional neuroimaging data measuring brain activity. In this setting the cognitive state is typically characterized by an element of a finite set, and the neuroimaging data comprise voluminous amounts of spatiotemporal data measuring some aspect of the neural signal. The associated statistical problem is one of classification from high-dimensional data. We explore the use of functional principal component analysis, mutual information networks, and persistent homology for examining the data through exploratory analysis and for constructing features characterizing the neural signal for brain decoding. We review each approach from this perspective, and we incorporate the features into a classifier based on symmetric multinomial logistic regression with elastic net regularization. The approaches are illustrated in an application where the task is to infer from brain activity measured with magnetoencephalography (MEG) the type of video stimulus shown to a subject. / Graduate

With the proliferation of laptops, smart phones, sensors and other small devices, our physical environment is increasingly networked. Applications in a variety of problem domains (e.g., intelligent construction, traffic monitoring, smart homes, etc.) need to efficiently and seamlessly execute on top of such emerging infrastructure. Such infrastructure tends to be unreliable, and the network configuration changes constantly (network hosts depart and reemerge frequently). Consequently, software has to be able to react to these changes continuously and change its behaviors accordingly. In this dissertation, I introduce PAQ (Persistent Adaptive Query), a middleware designed to ease the programming burden associated with writing such applications. PAQ employs a novel style of query-driven application development that allows programmers to build pervasive applications by employing persistent queries--queries that continuously monitor the environment. The dissertation discusses the design and implementation of a new middleware model that allows programmers to write high level specifications abstracting away several tedious implementation details. PAQ employs both novel protocols that automatically tag the quality of information obtained from the network and statistical techniques to post-process and smooth the data. The goal of this research is to ease the software engineering challenges encountered during the construction and deployment of several applications in emerging pervasive computing environments thorough the use of a query-driven application development paradigm. / text

The biophysical properties and distribution of voltage gated ion channels shape the spatio-temporal pattern of synaptic inputs and determine the input-output properties of the neuron. Of the various voltage-gated ion channels, persistent Na⁺ current (INaP) is of interest because of its activation near rest, slow inactivation kinetics, and consequent effects on excitability. Overshadowed by transient Na⁺ current (INaT) of large amplitude and fast inactivation, various quantitative characterizations of INaP have yet to provide a clear understanding of their role in neuronal excitability. We addressed this question using quantitative electrophysiology to compare somatic INaP and INaT in 4–7 week old Sprague-Dawley rat hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons. INaP was evoked with 0.4 mV/ms ramp voltage commands and INaT with step commands in hippocampal neurons from in vitro brain slices utilizing nucleated patch-clamp recording. INaP was found to have a density of 1.4 ± 0.7 pA/pF in the soma. Compared to INaT, it has a much smaller amplitude (2.38% of INaT) and distinct voltage dependence of activation (16.7 mV lower half maximal activation voltage and 41.3% smaller slope factor than those of INaT). The quantitative measurement of INaT gave the activation time constant ([tau]m) of 22.2 ± 2.3 [mu]s at 40 mV. Hexanol, which has anesthetic effects, was shown to preferentially block INaP compared to INaT with a significant voltage threshold elevation (4.6 ± 0.7 mV) and delayed 1st spike latency (221 ± 54.6 ms) suggesting reduced neuronal excitability. The number of spikes evoked by either given step current injections or [alpha]-EPSP integration was also significantly decreased. The differential blocking of INaP by halothane, a popularly used volatile anesthetic, further supports the critical role of INaP in setting voltage threshold. Taken together, the presence of INaP in the soma demonstrates an intrinsic mechanism utilized by hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons to regulate axonal spike initiation through different biophysical properties of the Na⁺ channel. Furthermore, INaP becomes an interesting target of intrinsic plasticity because of its profound effect on the input-output function of the neuron. / text

Bakgrund: Långvarig smärta är svår att bota. Smärtan är svår att lindra och kan vara mycket påfrestande för kroppen. Sjuksköterskans bemötande kan påverka patientens smärtupplevelse. Ett gott bemötande kan hjälpa patienten att finna tilltro till vården samt lindra smärtan medans ett dåligt bemötande kan förvärra smärtupplevelsen. Syfte: Syftet är att ta reda på hur patienter med långvarig smärta upplever sin smärta samt hur de upplever sjuksköterskans bemötande i omvårdnaden. Metod: En litteraturstudie har genomförts där tio artiklar rörande långvarig smärta har granskats och analyserats och sammanställts i olika teman. Artiklarna har varit både kvalitativa och kvantitativa. Uppsatsen utgår från Joyce Travelbees omvårdnadsteori men baseras även på andra teorier. Resultat: I resultatet framkommer det att sjuksköterskans bemötande har stor betydelse för patientens upplevelse av vården. Patienter har känt sig förolämpade och nedvärderade och upplevt att de inte blivit trodda på. Patienter menar att dialogen mellan dem och sjuksköterskan är av stor vikt då det kan vara ett sätt att bearbeta oro och rädsla över deras sjukdomstillstånd. Diskussion: Det är viktigt att sjuksköterskan är medveten om patienten och dennes upplevelser. Hur sjuksköterskan bemöter patienten kan påverka dennes upplevelser av vården och kan skapa både en trygghet men också en känsla av osäkerhet hos patienten. Som sjuksköterska är det viktigt att frångå egna värderingar för att kunna se den unika personen som man har framför sig. Nyckelord: Långvarig smärta, omvårdnad, patientens upplevelser, bemötande / Background: Persistent pain is difficult to cure. The pain is difficult to reduce and can be very stressful to the body. The approach by the nurse can affect the patient’s perceived pain. A good approach can help the patient to find trust in public care and to reduce the pain, and a bad approach can make the pain experience worse. Aim: The aim of this study was to find out how patients with persistent pain experience their pain and how they experience the nurses clinical encounter in the care. Method: A literature study has been conducted, where ten articles handling persistent pain have been investigated, analyzed and been compiled into different themes. The articles have been both qualitative and quantitative. The study is based on Joyce Trevelbees nursing theory but includes other theories as well. Results: The result shows that the approach by the nurse is very important for the patient’s perception of the public care. Patients have felt offended, disparaged and disbelieved. Patients mean that the dialogue between the patient and the nurse is of high importance, as this is a way to handle concern and fear related to their illness. Discussion: It is important that the nurse is aware of the patient and the patient’s experiences. The approach by the nurse can affect the patient’s perception of the public care. It can create both a sense of security and of uncertainty for the patient. It is important as a nurse to leave your own values aside to be able to see the unique person in front of you. Keywords: Persistent pain, nursing, patients experiences, clinical encounter

This thesis examines the air-soil and air-water gas exchange of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) with emphasis on organochlorine pesticides (OCPs). The current status of net exchange, factors which influence the exchange process, and different approaches used to estimate the surface exchange were explored. The net exchange of chemicals was evaluated using the fugacity approach, with the aid of chemical tracers (congener profiles of complex mixtures and enantiomer proportions of chiral chemicals) to infer current use vs. legacy sources to the atmosphere. DDT in southern Mexico was undergoing net deposition from air to soil. Occurrence of fresher DDT residues in the south was indicated by a higher proportion of p,p’-DDT relative to p,p’-DDE and racemic o,p’-DDT in air and soils. Congener profiles of toxaphene suggested soil emissions as the source to air. The influence of chemical aging on soil-air exchange and bioaccessibility was studied in a high organic soil. The use of nonexhaustive extraction with hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HPCD) to predict bioaccessibility was optimized for OCPs and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Reduced volatility of spiked chemicals correlated with reduced HPCD extractability for soil that had been aged under indoor and outdoor conditions for 730 d and infers volatility could be used as a surrogate for bioaccessibility. Measured soil-air partition coefficients (Ksa) were lower than those predicted from the Karickhoff relationship, which considers octanol as a surrogate for soil organic matter. The role of soil moisture, organic carbon, temperature, depth of soil surface horizon and dissolved organic carbon in the fate of organic contaminants in soil were assessed using chemical partitioning space maps. These maps allow instant visual prediction of the phase distribution and transport process of a chemical among the three major phases in soil; i.e., air, water and solid. Net volatilization of alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane from water to air was found in the southern Beaufort Sea using fugacity calculations and flux measurements. The influence of ice cover on volatilization was indicated by a winter-summer shift from racemic to nonracemic alpha-HCH in boundary layer air.

Fragmentation, which often involves the division of one’s self into professional and personal domains that are insulated from each other, is a serious problem for soldiers in today’s Army. This type of professional-personal fragmentation arises organically in military service. Unfortunately, it also seems that the past 12 years of persistent conflict have exacerbated the problem of fragmentation for many soldiers. Given this, I argue that any program that the Army implements for moral development should recognize fragmentation and provide resources and practices to combat it. I contend that the Army Profession campaign, which is the Army’s primary program for moral development, fails to meet either of these requirements. Moreover, it seems to serve as a catalyst that further fragments soldier’s lives. I believe this follows from the manner in which the campaign limits moral aspiration to a domain-specific good, professionalism. Thus it seems that the Army Profession campaign is not sufficient for soldiers’ moral development. Some may point to the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program as the resource that the Army uses to address this problem because of its emphasis on the emotional, social, familial, and spiritual domains of soldiers. I argue, however, that neither the Army Profession campaign nor the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program construes these domains as constitutive of moral development. Furthermore, both programs rely on experts to train soldiers in their respective concepts. This is problematic because soldiers do not find these experts to be credible. I go on to claim that leaders and peers who have a relationship with their fellow soldiers, and have earned their trust and respect, should function as the center of gravity for character development in the Army. Unfortunately, many leaders and soldiers lack the resources to do so. Thus, they often refer fellow soldiers back to the experts. Instead, leaders and peers should use the resources that virtue ethics provides with respect to self-perception, virtue-relevant goals, and the emotions to promote soldiers’ moral development. Toward that end, chaplains are well-suited to help leaders and peers gather the resources and develop the practices that will contribute to these aims.

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