The objective of this dissertation is the application of Minkowskian cross-section measures (i.e., section and projection measures in finite-dimensional linear normed spaces over the real field) to various topics of geometric convexity in Minkowski spaces, such as bodies of constant Minkowskian width, Minkowskian geometry of simplices, geometric inequalities and the corresponding optimization problems for convex bodies. First we examine one-dimensional Minkowskian cross-section measures deriving (in a unified manner) various properties of these measures. Some of these properties are extensions of the corresponding Euclidean properties, while others are purely Minkowskian. Further on, we discover some new results on the geometry of a simplex in Minkowski spaces, involving descriptions of the so-called tangent Minkowskian balls and of simplices with equal Minkowskian heights. We also give some (characteristic) properties of bodies of constant width in Minkowski planes and in higher dimensional Minkowski spaces. This part of investigation has relations to the well known \emph{Borsuk problem} from the combinatorial geometry and to the widely used monotonicity lemma from the theory of Minkowski spaces. Finally, we study bodies of given Minkowskian thickness ($=$ minimal width) having least possible volume. In the planar case a complete description of this class of bodies is given, while in case of arbitrary dimension sharp estimates for the coefficient in the corresponding geometric inequality are found. / Die Dissertation befasst sich mit Problemen fuer spezielle konvexe Koerper in Minkowski-Raeumen (d.h. in endlich-dimensionalen Banach-Raeumen). Es wurden Klassen der Koerper mit verschiedenen metrischen Eigenschaften betrachtet (z.B., Koerper konstante Breite, reduzierte Koerper, Simplexe mit Inhaltsgleichen Facetten usw.) und einige kennzeichnende und andere Eigenschaften fuer diese Klassen herleitet.

In this two-part study, developments in finite element technology and the application thereof to topology optimization are investigated. Ultimately, the developed finite elements and corresponding topology optimization procedures are aimed at, but not restricted to, aiding the design of piezoelectrically driven compliant mechanisms for micropositioning applications. The objective is to identify and exploit existing, or to develop new, finite element technologies to alleviate the numerical instabilities encountered in topology optimization. Checkerboarding and one-node connected hinges are two commonly encountered examples which can directly be attributed to inadequacies or deficiencies in the finite element solution of structural problems using 4-node bilinear isoparametric finite elements (denoted Q4). The numerical behaviour leading to checkerboard layouts stems from an over-stiff estimation of a checkerboard patch of Q4 elements. The numerical model of a one-node connected hinge using Q4 elements, on the other hand, possesses no (or very little) stiffness in rotation about the common node. In the first part of the study, planar finite elements with in-plane rotational (drilling) degrees of freedom are investigated. It is shown that the skew-symmetric part of the stress tensor can directly be used to quantitatively assess the validity of the penalty parameter ã, which relates the in-plane translations to the rotations. Thereafter, the variational formulations used to develop these planar finite elements with drilling degrees of freedom are extended to account for the piezoelectric effect. Several new piezoelectric elements that include in-plane rotational degrees of freedom (with and without assumed stress and electric flux density) are implemented, evaluated and shown to be accurate and stable. Furthermore, the application of alternative reduced order integration schemes to quadratic serendipity (Q8) and Lagrangian (Q9) elements is investigated. Reduced or selective reduced integration schemes are often used to enhance element accuracy by `softening' higher order deformation modes. However, application of reduced integration schemes to Q8 and Q9 elements is usually accompanied by element rank deficiencies. It is shown how the application of five and eight point modified integration schemes preserve the accuracy benefits of reduced integration, while preventing element rank deficiencies. In the second part of the investigation, the salient features of elements with drilling degrees are utilized in two schemes to prevent, or improve the modelling of, one-node connected hinges. In principle, the first scheme uses the rotations computed at interior nodes to detect excessive rotations at suspect nodes. The second scheme essentially replaces planar elements forming a one-node hinge, where appropriate, with a more realistic beam model of the material layout while other elements in the mesh are modelled using planar elements as usual. Next, the dependence of optimal topologies on element formulation is demonstrated. Attention is especially paid to plate and shell applications. It is shown that Mindlin-Reissner based elements, which employ selective reduced integration on shear terms, are not reliable in topology optimization problems. Conversely, elements based on an assumed natural strain formulation are shown to be stable and capable of reproducing thin plate topology results computed using shear-rigid elements. Furthermore, it is shown that an ad hoc treatment of rotational degrees of freedom in shell problems is sensitive to the related adjustable parameter, whereas optimal topologies, using a proper treatment of drilling degrees of freedom are not. Finally, the use of reduced order integration schemes as a strategy to reduce the stiffness of a checkerboard patch of elements is considered. It is demonstrated that employing the five and eight point integration schemes, used to enhance the accuracy of Q8 and Q9 elements, also significantly reduce the stiffness of a checkerboard patch of elements, thereby reducing the probability of observing checkerboard layouts in optimal topologies. / Thesis (PhD (Mechanical Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering / PhD / unrestricted

Charles University Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové Department of Pharmaceutical Botany Candidate: Ingrid Salanciová Supervisor: PharmDr. Jana Karlíčková, Ph.D. Title of Thesis: Interactions of reduced and oxidized glutathione with copper, iron and zinc Copper (Cu), iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) are important trace elements that are necessary for proper function of the body. Excess but also the lack of these metals may lead to pathological conditions. Glutathione is the main antioxidant in the human body so it is expected to protect the organism against concequences of metal excess. Glutathione occurs in the reduced (GSH) and oxidized state as glutathione disulfide (GSSG) in the organism, both states forming an important redox system. On the other hand, glutathione can reduce these metals so that could participate in the formation of free radicals (metal based Fenton reaction). In this diploma thesis, was tested the ability of reduced and oxidized glutathione to interact with Fe, Cu and Zn in various (patho) physiological pH conditions was tested by using in vitro spectrophotometric competitive methods. Interactions include not only the chelation of Cu, Fe and Zn ions, but also their reductive activity toward Cu2+ and Fe3+ cations. Hematoxylin, bathocuproinedisulfonic acid disodium salt, ferrozine...

Ett område kan skapa en större tillväxtpotential för samhällets olika aktiviteter genom tillgängliga transportsystem. I arbetet med att tillgänglighetsanpassa transportsystemen är tågstationsområden en viktig faktor. En del i arbetet med att göra tågstationsområden tillgängliga för alla är att personer med nedsatt rörelseförmåga inte ska exkluderas. Att bedöma tillgänglighetsanpassningen för rörelsehindrade på ett tågstationsområde är viktigt för att alla ska kunna nyttja området på samma villkor. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur tillgängligheten i tågstationsområden är för rörelsehindrade. Detta genom att uppfylla målet att skapa en användbar bedömningsmodell på tillgänglighetsanpassningen för rörelsehindrade i denna typ av område. Studien genomfördes i samarbete med Älvkarleby kommun för att skapa ett underlag till hur deras tågstationsområden kan bli mer tillgänglighetsanpassade. Därför är studien avgränsad till Marma, Älvkarleby och Skutskär. För att uppnå målet och svara på forskningsfrågorna har en inventering utförts på de tre tågstationsområdena. Detta har sedan följts upp av en avståndsanalys samt en friktionsanalys. Avståndsanalysen och friktionsanalysen användes i bedömningen av tågstationsområdena samt att friktionsanalysen bidrog med förståelsen över vilka vägalternativ som finns på platserna. Slutligen skapades en bedömningsmodell innehållande olika typer av faktorer på ett tågstationsområde. Modellen bygger på tidigare utförda metoder i studien. Studien visar att den utformade rampen inte alltid är den optimala vägen för att ta sig mellan perrongerna på ett tågstationsområde på grund av avstånd och lutning. Resultatet från bedömningsmodellen visar att tillgängligheten på de tre tågstationsområdena skiljer sig från varandra. Därtill visas vilket som är det mest tillgänglighetsanpassade tågstationsområdet för rörelsehindrade. / An area that is accessible to society’s various activities creates a greater potential for growth. Global goals of accessibility have been designed to achieve a sustainable city, so that public places and sustainable transport systems are accessible to everyone. Train station areas are an important factor in the process of adapting accessibility to transport systems. Part of the work of making train station areas accessible to everyone is that people with reduced mobility should not be excluded. To estimate the accessibility adaptation for people with reduced mobility in a train station area is important for everyone to be able to use the area on the same terms. The purpose of the study is to investigate how accessibility in train station areas is for people with reduced mobility. This is achieved by fulfill the goal of creating a useful estimation model on the accessibility adaptation for people with reduced mobility in this type of area. The study is performed in collaboration with the Municipality of Älvkarleby, Sweden, to create a basis for how their train station areas can become more accessible. Therefore, the study is delimited to Marma, Älvkarleby and Skutskär. In order to achieve the goal and answer the research questions, an inventory was performed on the three train station areas. This has been followed up by a distance analysis as well as a friction analysis. The distance analysis and the friction analysis were used in the estimation of the train station areas and that the friction analysis also contributed to the understanding of the road options available at the locations. In the end, an estimation model was created containing different types of factors in a train station area. The model is based on previously performed methods in the study. The study shows that the designed ramp is not always the optimal route for moving between the platforms in a train station area due to distance and slope. The results from the estimation model shows that accessibility in the three train station areas is separating from each other. In addition, the most accessible train station area for people with reduced mobility is shown.

En minskad biltrafik är det nya idealet inom trafikplanering. Fysiska åtgärder har ensamma visat sig vara otillräckliga för att minska bilens framväxt. Det krävs komplement i form av strategier för beteendeförändring. Studien syftar således till att undersöka hur Linköping- respektive Åtvidabergs kommun samt bostadsbolagen Stångåstaden och Åtvidabergs bostads arbetar för att minska biltrafiken, samt hur beteendepåverkande åtgärder implementeras i trafikplaneringen. Studien byggs upp av en dokumentstudie samt kvalitativa intervjuer med representanter från samtliga aktörer. Empirin har analyserats med hjälp av tidigare forskning samt ett teoretiskt ramverk som berör mobility management. Studien visar att det finns betydande skillnader mellan en mindre och större kommun i arbetet med en minskad biltrafik. Framförallt handlar det om olika förutsättningar och invand mentalitet. Även samverkan mellan parter ses som viktig, där den största utmaningen är ansvarsfördelningen. / A reduced car traffic is the new ideal in traffic planning. Physical measures alone are insufficient to reduce the car's growth. Complements are required in the form of strategies for behavior change. The study thus aims to examine how Linköpings-and Åtvidabergs municipality respective housing companies Stångåstaden and Åtvidaberg bostads work to reduce car traffic and how behavioral measures are implemented into traffic planning. The study is built up of a document study and qualitative interviews with representatives from all parties. The empiric has been analyzed with the help of previous research as well as the theoretical framework mobility management. The study shows differences between the work in a smaller and larger municipality. Above all, it is about different conditions and the established mentality. Collaboration between parties is also seen as important, where the biggest challenge is the division of responsibilities.

Recent advances in manufacturing and growing concerns on the sustainability of aviation environment have led to a remarkable interest in electrical unmanned aerial systems (UASs) in the past decade. Among various UAS types, the newly designed quadrotor biplane tailsitter class is capable of delivering a wide range of civilian and military tasks, relying on its Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) capability as well as great maneuverability. Nevertheless, as such UASs employ rotors to generate thrust, and wings to generate lift, and operate at less-understood low to mid-Reynolds flow regime, they experience complicated flight aerodynamics with a noise generation mechanism which is different from common aircrafts. The present work aims at addressing this knowledge gap by studying the aerodynamics and aeroacoustics of a UAS of this type designed by the Army Research Lab. High-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are carried out for a wide range of operating conditions to understand the physics involved in the UAS aerodynamics and characterize its performance. Relying on the CFD results, a physics-informed reduced order model (ROM) is developed based on machine learning algorithms, to predict the propellers effects on the wings and calculate the dominant loads. The results of this study indicate that the UAS aerodynamics is significantly influenced by the propeller-wing interaction, which makes it challenging to estimate the loads by classic methods. The proposed physics-informed ROM shows a promising performance based on its computational cost and accuracy. Additionally, it is found that the aeroacoustics of the UAS is ruled by a two-way mechanism through which the propellers and the structure impose unsteadiness on each other.

Amino acids derived from the degradation of casein in cheese serve as precursors for the generation of key flavor compounds. Microbial degradation of tryptophan (Trp) is thought to promote formation of aromatic compounds that impart putrid fecal or unclean flavors in cheese, but pathways for their production have not been established. This study investigated tryptophan catabolism by Lactobacillus casei LC301 and LC202 and Lactobacillus helveticus CNRZ32 and LH212 cheese flavor adjuncts in carbohydrate starvation (pH 6.5, 30 or 37°C, no sugar) and cheese-like conditions (pH 5.2, 4% NaCl, 15°C, no sugar). Enzyme assays of cell-free extracts revealed both species of Lactobacillus catabolized tryptophan to indole lactic acid via indole pyruvic acid through transamination followed by dehydrogenation. Micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography of culture supernatants showed these enzymes also catalyzed the reverse reactions, i.e., conversion of indole lactic acid to tryptophan. Tryptophan decarboxylase activity was detected in Lactobacillus cell-free extracts, but tryptamine was not detected in culture supernatants. Analysis of culture supernatants showed that tryptophan metabolism in Lactobacillus casei did not differ between the two conditions of incubation as it did in Lactobacillus helveticus LH212 and CNRZ32. Lactobacillus helveticus LH212, for example, did not catabolize Trp in carbohydrate starvation but did in cheese-like conditions. While cells of L. helveticus CNRZ32 did not catabolize Trp in either condition, they catabolized indole pyruvic acid to only Trp in carbohydrate starvation and to both Trp and indole lactic acid in cheese-like conditions. Micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography of culture supernatants incubated under either starvation or cheese-like conditions showed Lactobacillus casei strains produced more indole lactic acid, and Lactobacillus helveticus strains favored tryptophan anabolic reactions. Based on the results obtained in this study, a putative pathway for the catabolism of tryptophan by lactobacilli in cheese is proposed.

Net photosynthesis, dark respiration, chlorophyll concentrations and growth were determined for Rumex patientia L. exposed to UV-B radiation corresponding to reduced atmospheric ozone concentrations. The hypothesis of whether reciprocity is maintained in the response of R. patientia to polychromatic UV-B radiation was tested. On the basis of the relationships derived from these studies, a simulation model was developed for the prediction of photosynthesis and growth of R. patientia exposed to UV-B radiation corresponding to any atmospheric ozone reduction. Photosynthetic rates were found to be depressed after two hours exposure to UV-B irradiance simulating a 0.18 atm•cm ozone column when the sun is at 30° from the zenith. During this initial exposure period, partial stomatal closure was implicated in the suppression of photosynthesis. However, after one day exposure, substantial increases in photosynthetic resistances apart from stomatal diffusion resistance occurred in the UV-irradiated plants and no differences in stomatal diffusion resistance were apparent between UV-irradiated and control plants. Dark respiration rates were slightly higher in those plants exposed to UV radiation. Leaf expansion of R. patientia was substantially repressed but only during the initial few days of exposure. Thereafter, leaf expansion was similar in the UV-irradiated and control plants. A reduction in total plant dry weight and leaf area of approximately 50 percent occurred after 22 days treatment while chlorophyll concentrations remained unaltered. Time of leaf initiation was shawm to be delayed in those plants exposed to UV-B radiation. Leaf longevity was decreased with increased UV radiation but accelerated whole-plant senescence and death was not observed. Photosynthetic rates determined through the ontogeny of the third leaf of R. patientia exposed to four levels of UV irradiance were found to be depressed as a function of the accumulated biologically effective UV irradiation. Thus, reciprocity was demonstrated between 6350 and 3175 J biologically effective UV irradiation. Results of the simultion model showed that under reduced atmospheric ozone concentrations, suppression of photosynthesis and leaf growth would be more severe during mid-sunnner (i . e. June) than would occur during the March to early May period, This results from smaller solar angles from the zenith and lower prevailing ozone concentrations prevalent during June. A validation test of the model was made with photosynthetic data obtained during a field study with R. patientia exposed to UV-B radiation corresponding to a 38 percent atmospheric ozone reduction (0.18 atm•cm when the sun was at 30° from the zenith). This validation test showed a reasonable correspondence between the measured and predicted photosynthetic rates. R. patientia was selected as the test species for this study because (1) it is reasonably sensitive to UV radiation as determined in preliminary studies evaluating approximately 20 native and agricultural plant species, (2) it is normally exposed to full sunlight in · its natural habitat, and (3) individual leaves are relatively long - lived (about 60 days) and are not normally shaded by other leaves of the same plant. Although this species probably represents one of the more sensitive plants to UV radiation, it would be this group of sensitive plants that would be initially affected under conditions of reduced atmospheric ozone. If more resistant plants with long-lived plant parts also accumulate UV radiation damage as was shown to occur in R. patientia, over sufficient periods of time even these species might be significantly impacted under conditions of reduced atmospheric ozone.

This work focuses on evaluating the condition of barrier-free routes in the town of Blansko. Another aim of this work is to propose changes of these routes thanks to which they would comply with Decree No. 398/2009 Coll., on general technical requirements ensuring barrier-free use of buildings, and for people with reduced mobility or orientation these routes would be user friendly. Additionaly, it acquaints the reader with technical requirements that ensure barrier-free use of road constructions and public spaces. In the theoretical part, the work acquaints the reader with target group of users for whom well-designed barrier-free spaces are important, introduces the elements and their use and, last but not the least, approaches the way of orientation and movement of target group of users. The practical part evaluates the accessibility of selected routes that connect public amenities. Subsequently, it proposes modifications that aim to facilitate the movement of people with limited mobility and orientation in the street space.

No description available.