"Thesis submitted for the degree of B.S.A."

Syncarpha recurvata (L.f.) B. Nord. (Asteraceae, Gnaphalieae) is listed as a vulnerable (intermediate priority) species. The propagation methods of achene germination, stem cuttings, air layering and micropropagation were investigated to obtain an efficient propagation method. Smoke water dilutions of 1:100, 1:50 and 1:10 significantly increased germination, with the 1:100 smoke water dilutions showing the highest germination percentage (22.4 percent). Achenes collected between August and October 2005 showed higher germination and viability than achenes collected between May and July 2006. Fifty percent of the stem cuttings and 32 percent of the airlayered branches rooted. Embryo culture was the only successful culture type out of the four attempted. Two embryos germinated and four became photosynthetic. Two of the germinated embryos also produced callus cells, a medium supplemented with 5 μM IAA may be used to test for a suitable plant regulator for organogenesis or embryogenesis. Syncarpha recurvata plants were also transplanted into pots and 60 percent survived. A growth rate of 1.466 mm y-1 was obtained from total shoot length measurements. In this study, it was found that air-layering branches of transplanted Syncarpha recurvata plants is the most efficient propagation method.

Yes / Finding a path towards a more accurate prediction of light propagation in human skin remains an aspiration of biomedical scientists working on cutaneous applications both for diagnostic and therapeutic reasons. The objective of this study was to investigate variability of the optical properties of human skin compartments reported in literature, to explore the underlying rational of this variability and to propose a dataset of values, to better represent an in vivo case and recommend a solution towards a more accurate prediction of light propagation through cutaneous compartments. To achieve this, we undertook a novel, logical yet simple approach. We first reviewed scientific articles published between 1981 and 2013 that reported on skin optical properties, to reveal the spread in the reported quantitative values. We found variations of up to 100-fold. Then we extracted the most trust-worthy datasets guided by a rule that the spectral properties should reflect the specific biochemical composition of each of the skin layers. This resulted in the narrowing of the spread in the calculated photon densities to 6-fold. We conclude with a recommendation to use the identified most robust datasets when estimating light propagation in human skin using Monte Carlo simulations. Alternatively, otherwise follow our proposed strategy to screen any new datasets to determine their biological relevance. / European Marie-Curie Actions Programme, Grant agreement no. 607886

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This thesis advances the understanding of charge propagation in a classical background through the study of the canonical quantisation of a charged particle in an intense laser background and the associated twopoint function. We will clarify how the causal propagator can be extracted. In addition, in this thesis we will provide an interpretation of this propagator in terms of degenerate quantum processes. We show how to use the Feynman diagram technique to build up a perturbative description of the interaction with the laser background. This also includes how multi-pole structures emerge as a perturbative feature. For all orders in perturbation theory we calculate the associated multiple wave-function renormalisations. We use Bessel functions to describe the distortion of the plane wave solutions due to the interaction with the laser. This is done for both a circularly and a linearly polarised laser.

This thesis describes a wide-hand channel sounding experiment carried out at the X-hand frequency over a transhorizon, sea path. The design of a wide-band channel probe is described in detail based upon the following operational requirements. "To capture as many sequential estimates of the transfer function of a telecommunication channel as possible, over the widest possible band-width and in the shortest time, subject to the constraint of low signal-to-noise ratio". The design described includes generation of a specialised, band limited, spectrally clean, synthesized test signal for bandwidth optimisation and the use of real-time, periodic averaging for signal-to-noise ratio enhancement. An external frequency reference has been used in preference to a carrier locked approach. The theoretical justification and hardware implications of this design approach are carefully argued in the thesis. Such a probe has been built, its dynamic performance assessed and compared with more conventional transfer function analyser designs. In particular the frequency stability of the unlocked system configuration and the problem of signal distortion due to excessi ve phase noise are explored in detail. The concept of time domain multi-ray modelling of a telecommunication channel has stimulated the application of high resolution spectral analysis techniques for ray parameter determination. A brief literature survey of various algorithms is presented and a comparison with the conventional Fourier approach is given. Detailed derivation of the Singular Value Decomposition - Prony (SVD-P) algorithm is presented together with an in-depth performance assessment over a wide-variety of simulated channel conditions. The measurement equipment was completed, tested in the laboratory and finally commissioned in May 1993. A long-term data capture campaign was started using an existing cross channel link; a large database of results has subsequently been obtained. Preliminary data analysis has been carried out and the thesis describes the phenomenological characteristics of the channel whilst subjected to a wide range of multipath propagation mechanisms. The final chapter of the thesis highlights the novel achievements of the research, together with a summary of the strengths and limitations of the experimental equipment and processing algorithms.

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