LIDAR, an acronym for LIght Detection And Ranging, is a system used for studying the scattering of laser light incident on a parcel of air. This thesis investigates the atmosphere above the Durban region using two atmospheric LIDARs, referred to, in this study, as the "old LIDAR" and the "new LIDAR". The old LIDAR was used in a campaign of observation from July to October 1997 in a study of aerosol concentrations over Durban. This thesis will focus on, among other things, the local aerosol profiles for low altitude (0 to 10 km) and high altitude (10 to 35 km). In particular, the focus will shift on any long persistence in this region (it was found that the aerosol layer observed by M. Kuppen (1996) on June 1994 at 25 km may have moved to the higher altitude of 28 km in October 1997. This may be explained by stratospheric upwelling, carrying the layer to higher altitude. These aerosols are known to influence the local climate). This investigation will give some useful insight into the local atmospheric dynamics. The new LIDAR system (Rayleigh-Mie LIDAR) has been used to measure atmospheric temperatures from 20 to 60 km as well as aerosol extinction coefficients from 15 to 40 km. Height profiles of temperature have been measured by assuming that the LIDAR returns are solely due to Rayleigh scattering by molecular species and that the atmosphere obeys the perfect gas law and is in hydrostatic equilibrium (Hauchecorne and Chanin 1980). Since its installation in April 1999, the new LIDAR has been used to monitor stratospheric temperatures and aerosol concentrations from 10 to 40 km. In this study, we discuss in chapter 7 the results of a validation campaign conducted during the period of April 1999 to December 2000. Average monthly LIDAR temperatures are computed from April 1999 to December 1999 and compared with radiosonde temperatures obtained from the South African Weather Service (SAWS) at Durban. The monthly LIDAR temperature profiles over two years (1999 and 2000) were also computed and compared with the climatological model Cospar International Reference Atmosphere (CIRA)-1986 and with the average monthly European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) temperatures . The results show that there is good agreement between LIDAR and SAWS radiosonde temperatures in the 20 and 30 km altitude range. Between 20 and 40 km, the monthly LIDAR temperatures agree closely with the CIRA-86 and ECMWF profiles. However, during winter, in the altitude range 40 to 60 km, LIDAR temperatures are warmer than CIRA-1986 and ECMWF temperatures, and they show large variability. These variations could be due to relatively fast transient phenomena like gravity waves or planetary waves propagating vertically in the stratosphere. As part of the validation process, the aerosol extinction coefficients retrieved from the LIDAR data have also been compared with the extinction coefficients measured by Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) II close to the LIDAR location and on coincident days. Appendix E of this thesis also investigates the concept of refraction by atmospheric gases as applied to gas lenses. A simple spinning pipe gas lens (SPGL) has been used as the objective lens of a camera to take pictures of the moon and sun spots. The SPGL is a varifocal length lens which depends on the temperature of the pipe and the angular velocity at which it spins. For our purpose a focal length of 8 m has been used. The moon pictures are compared with a lunar map so as to identify the maria. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

High-resolution electrical-resistivity, seismic-refraction, and seismic-reflection surveys were performed at three locations in the Inner Bluegrass Region of Kentucky along coincident survey lines in order to correlate results and determine which method is most effective at locating karst features in this area. The first two survey locations at Slack’s Cave and the Kentucky Horse Park were chosen in order to investigate known karst features. High and low electrical-resistivity anomalies were correlated to air- and water-filled karst voids, respectively. Seismic velocity anomalies, including parabolic time suppressions, amplitude terminations, and surface-wave backscatters, were also observed and correlated to these karst voids. These findings were applied to a third location along Berea Road in order to investigate undiscovered karst voids. Three seismic targets were selected based on backscatter anomaly locations and were aligned in a northwest trend following the general bedrock dip, joint orientations, and suspected conduit orientation. Overall, the seismic-reflection method provided the highest resolution and least ambiguous results; however, integration of multiple methods was determined to help decrease ambiguities in interpretation created by the inherent non-uniqueness found in the results of each method.

Bone is refractory to most conventional biochemical Procedures. However because it is now possible to cut sections (e. g. lopm) of fresh, undemineralized adult bone, this tissue can be analyzed by suitably modified methods of quantitative cytochemistry. A new substrate for assaying hydroxyacyl dehydrogenase activity demonstrated that bone cells may use fatty acids as a major source of energy: detailed analysis of the activities of key enzymes indicated that the paradox of ‘aerobic glycolysis’ of bone could be explained by fatty acid oxidation satisfying the requirements of the Krebs' cycle and directing the conversion of pyruvate to lactate The influence of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) activity in aerobic glycolysis has been considered. The inverse relationships between this activity and that of Na-K-ATPase led to the development of a new method for the latter, based on a new concept in cytochemistry ('hidden-capture' procedure). A major feature of fracture-healing is increased periosteal G6PD activity. The association with the vitamin K cycle has been investigated by feeding rats with dicoumarol which not only inhibited bone-formation but also G6PD activity. The stimulation of this activity in fracture-healing has been linked with ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity, for which a new method has been developed. Rats deficient in pyridoxal phosphate (cofactor for ODC) had decreased G6PD responses and also appeared to become osteoporotic. Studies on osteoporotic fractures in the human showed the presence of relatively large apatite crystals close to the fracture-site, and disorganized glycosaminoglycans (demonstrated by the new method of ‘induced birefringence’).

No description available.

Landslides have occurred throughout the Holocene geologic epoch and they continue to occur in the Peace River Lowlands of Alberta and British Columbia. This study was conducted to provide an understanding of the processes and extents of one such landslide situated on a major slope at the Town of Peace River, Alberta by means of geophysical techniques with the aim of reducing the geohazard risk to lives and infrastructures. The geophysical characterization involved the acquisition, processing, and joint interpretation of seismic reflection, seismic refraction tomography, vertical seismic profile, and electrical resistivity tomography datasets, thereby providing important information about the subsurface geometry of the landslide, insights into the material properties of the unstable mass in contrast to that of the stable rock, and possible causes of the landslide. This contribution shows that putting considerable efforts into the acquisition and processing of geophysical datasets can yield valuable functional details. / Geophysics

Thesis (Ph.D.(Exploration Geophysics))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Abstract in English. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-76).

Dissertation (Ph. D.)--University of Akron, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 2009. / "August, 2009." Title from electronic dissertation title page (viewed 9/23/2009) Advisor, Igor Tsukerman; Committee members, Nathan Ida, Iqbal Husain, Ernian Pan; Department Chair, Alex De Abreu Garcia, Dmitry Golovaty; Dean of the College, George K. Haritos; Dean of the Graduate School, George R. Newkome. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1995. / Typescript. Computer disk contains: Appendix A, Fortran programs. Bibliography: leaves 134-137. Also available online.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:23:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2003Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:50:27Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 matsuoka_mt_me_prud.pdf: 1885726 bytes, checksum: c111876227d4fc8e79e6759aa7bbc250 (MD5) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Atualmente, a maior fonte de erro sistemático no posicionamento com receptores GPS de uma freqüência é devido à refração ionosférica. O erro associado à refração ionosférica depende do conteúdo total de elétrons (TEC) na camada ionosférica, que por sua vez, é influenciado por diversas variáveis, tais como: ciclo solar, época do ano, hora do dia, localização geográfica e atividade geomagnética, e é difícil de ser corrigido. Os receptores GPS de dupla freqüência permitem efetuar correções do efeito da refração ionosférica, devido ao fato da mesma ser dependente da freqüência do sinal. Porém, receptores GPS de dupla freqüência são equipamentos caros, fazendo com que os de uma freqüência sejam amplamente empregados no posicionamento com GPS. As mensagens de navegação trazem informações que permitem efetuar correções da ionosfera para receptores GPS de uma freqüência, utilizando o modelo de Klobuchar. Porém vários estudos realizados mostraram que o modelo de Klobuchar pode remover apenas algo em torno de 50-60% do efeito total. Desta maneira, é necessário dispor de uma estratégia mais efetiva de eliminar os efeitos da ionosfera, a qual tem sido investigada a partir do uso de modelos regionais para a ionosfera. No Brasil, tem-se o modelo regional da ionosfera (Mod_Ion), desenvolvido na FCT/UNESP, que utiliza dados GPS da Rede Brasileira de Monitoramento Contínuo (RBMC). Neste modelo, a ionosfera é representada analiticamente pela série de Fourier. Nesta pesquisa, outras funções de modelagem e de mapeamento da ionosfera foram implementadas no Mod_Ion, visando melhorar a eficiência do modelo para posicionamento com receptores de uma freqüência. Os resultados dos experimentos do posicionamento por ponto mostraram que as funções série de Fourier, de Taylor e a polinomial foram as mais eficazes na correção do efeito sistemático... / Nowadays, one of the main drawbacks of the GPS accuracy for L1 users is the ionospheric refraction, which affects, mainly, the point positioning. The error associated with the ionospheric refraction depends on the Total Electron Content (TEC) in the ionospheric layer, that is influenced by several variables, including the solar cycle, the season, the local time, the geographical location of the receiver and the Earth's magnetic field. The broadcast ephemeris contains information for computing the group delay, using the broadcast model. The literatures report that the model correct 50 to 60% of the total effect of ionospheric refraction. Therefore, it is necessary a more effective strategy of eliminating the effects of the ionosphere. Some techniques and models have been developed to estimate these effects using data collected with double frequency GPS receivers. In Brazil, a regional model of the ionosphere (Mod_Ion) was developed in FCT/UNESP, which makes use of GPS data collected at the active stations of RBMC (Brazilian Network for Continuous Monitoring of GPS satellites) In this model, the ionosphere is represented analytically by a Fourier series type. In this research, other modelling and mapping functions of the ionosphere were implemented in Mod_Ion, seeking to improve the efficiency of the model for positioning with L1 receivers. The results of the experiments showed that the functions: Fourier series, Taylor series and the polynomial, were the most effective in the correction of the systematic effect due to the ionosphere, providing a improvement in the acuracy better than 79,5%, with values of discrepancies in the resultant of the cartesian coordinates better than 3 m, and the largest influence concentrates on the height.

Um dos problemas da fabricação de protótipos de dispositivos fotônicos esta no controle dos vários parâmetros de construção. A utilização do laser de femtosegundo para a fabricação de dispositivos óticos esta cada vez mais comum devido as suas qualidades e propriedades. Com a utilizaçãao das instruções de programação e do laser de femtosegundo foi possível a alteração do índice de refração dos substratos de sodocálcico e de sílica fundida, tornando viável o guiamento em estruturas planas. Com estas estruturas de guiamento devidamente produzidas e caracterizadas, permitiu construir um acoplador direcional, mostrando a possibilidade de controle para fabricação de diversos dispositivos. / One of the problems of manufacturing prototypes of photonic devices that control the various parameters of construction. The utilization of the femtosecond laser for the fabrication of optical devices is increasingly common due to their qualities and properties. With the utilization of the instructions for programming and femtosecond laser was possible alteration of the index of refraction of the substrates of soda-lime and fused silica, making viable guiding in planar structures. With these guiding structures properly produced and characterized, it was possible to build a directional coupler, showing the possibility of control for the manufacture of various devices.