No description available.

Sepsis is a severe blood infection caused by bacteria entering the blood stream. Sepsis caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria is very dangerous with a high mortality rate. The current clinical diagnostic methods for sepsis require culturing the blood sample prior to other steps of the diagnosis procedure. Culturing the blood samples is a time-consuming step which increases the time required for the diagnostic procedure. Considering the fact that the mortality rate of the sepsis increases as time passes, it is essential to find methods for sepsis diagnosis that do not require culturing the samples. The first step of a new diagnostic method for antibiotic resistant sepsis, we have developed a new method for rapid separation of the bacteria from whole human blood based on centrifugal force. Density and size differences between blood cells and bacteria lead to different sedimentation velocities for each of these cells and microorganisms in a centrifugal field. Spinning blood inoculated with bacteria in our designed hollow disks at the specified speed for a designated period of time creates fairly well-separated layers of blood cells and plasma. Red and white cells have higher sedimentation velocities due to higher densities or larger sizes compared to bacteria, forming a region of dense cells close to the wall of the spinning disk. Bacteria sediment slower than red and white cells, moving to and remaining in plasma. By carefully slowing the spinning speed after separation, we are able to avoid remixing of the blood cell layer and bacteria, thus keeping the bacteria separated from rest of the blood cells. This thesis involves the experimental methods for increasing the recovery of the bacteria from human blood by mechanical and chemical methods. It also explains the theory behind the separation technique used.

Whitianga Estuary is a bayhead barrier type estuary located on the east of the Coromandel Peninsula, North Island, New Zealand. The catchment has undergone many land-use changes since pre-European settlement. In some areas of the catchment land-use has changed from native forest to grasslands to forestry and back to pasture. These changes in catchment land-use all contribute to increased sedimentation into the estuary. Development of the estuary itself has also occurred in recent times. Much growth has been focussed around the estuary due to Whitianga town-ship having a large boating community, and includes a 170 berth marina and wharf situated at the tidal inlet entrance to the estuary. These, and the extensive canal development engineering works can have substantial impacts on the sedimentation regime, and may modify tidal circulation, flushing, and sediment deposition within the estuary. The principle aim of this research is to assess hydrodynamics and sedimentation of the estuary for future management and development purposes, and also to model different scenarios in order to determine the most cost effective, and least obtrusive design for a proposed boat-ramp and approach channel near the marina. To determine sedimentation rates, sediment cores from four locations were collected to depths of 1 m. Coring locations were chosen based on preliminary model run results, selecting areas that appeared to be long-term sediment sinks of a stable nature. Cores were divided into 10 mm sections and prepared for 210Pb dating and heavy metal analysis, to make an assessment of the vertical sedimentation rates. Recent sedimentation rates were found to be as high as 9 mm/yr post-1950s and past sedimentation rates as high as 30 mm/yr pre-1950s. The use of heavy metal analysis for dating proved difficult as the background levels of the conservative elements used to normalise results varied, making the geochemical analysis approach inappropriate. As bathymetry is one of the most important aspects of modelling, a large amount of surveying was undertaken for this study. LiDAR, singlebeam data, and recent rectified aerial photographs were interpreted for the creation of a bathymetric grid file to be used for hydrodynamic modelling of the estuary. The 3DD numerical model was used to determine tidal flows and current velocities. From this initial hydrodynamic model a particle-tracking model was created to determine sediment transport pathways within the estuary. From the initial 20 m model it was then possible to create a number of nested model grids for the purpose of determining the best practice scenario for the creation of a proposed boat ramp and associated approach channel near the harbour entrance. Hydrodynamic results suggest that residual circulation in Whitianga Estuary is nearly in balance, with a low ebb tidal domination present. Particle tracking results suggest that sediment entrained and carried into and within the estuary will accumulate on the intertidal flats. Sediment transport modelling indicates that the impact of a proposed boat-ramp will result in sedimentation of the dredged approach channel due to reductions in residual and tidal velocities.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisor: Thomas M. Church, College of Marine and Earth Studies. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2005. / Bibliography: leaves 273-299. Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 60-63)

För att recipienter nedströms inte ska påverkas av dagvatten från industriområdenmed transport och lagerhållning, krävs det rening av föroreningar. Därför har detgjorts en undersökning av hur en dagvattendamm ska utformas för att få en ökadrening. Metoder som används är litteraturstudie och en fallstudie. Fallstudien harutförts för ett planerat industriområde. De frågor som besvarats är vilkaföroreningar som kan tänkas förekomma och hur de renas. Vidare har detstuderats vilka egenskaper som påverkar reningen i en dagvattendamm.Studieresultaten visade att de vanligast förekommande föroreningarna ärtungmetaller, miljöfarliga organiska ämnen och näringsämnen. Det har ocksåframkommit att dessa föroreningar, i huvudsak renas genom sedimentation ochväxtupptag. Vidare har det kommit fram att det inte finns någon standardlösningför hur en dagvattendamm ska utformas, med tanke på rening. Detta eftersom alladammar har olika yttre förutsättningar som styr utformningen, vilka beror på detområde där dammen ligger. Det har dock visats sig att det finns ett antal olikavägledande parametrar som bör beaktas för att få en god reningseffekt i dammen.De viktigaste av dessa är dammens hydrauliska och hydrologiska effektivitet. / Receiving waters downstream should not be affected by storm water from storageand transport industry, therefore it requires treatment of pollution. The objectiveof this study has been to show how a storm water pond should be designed toachieve a good treatment. The methods used are a literature review, and a casestudy. The case study has been performed for a planned industrial area. Thequestions which needed to be answered are the type of pollutants that might occurand how they are treated. Furthermore, it has been studied which properties affectthe purification in a storm water pond.The results of the study showed that the most pollutants were heavy metals, toxicorganic matter and nutrients. It has also become apparent that these pollutants, ismainly treated by sedimentation and absorption by plants. Furthermore, it hasemerged that there is no standard for how a storm water pond should bedesigned, with regards to the treatment. This is because all ponds have differentexternal conditions that control the design, which depends on the area where thepond is located. However, it has been shown that there are a number ofparameters that should be taken into account, in order to get a high treatmenteffect in the pond. The most important of these is the hydraulic and hydrologicalefficiency of the pond.

No description available.

Modeling the transport and fate of spilled crude oil is important for estimating short and long-term toxicity effects in coastal ecosystems. This research project investigates the partitioning of hydrocarbons from a surface crude oil slick, the resurfacing of chemically dispersed crude oil droplets, the suitability of in-situ field instruments for oil and sediment characterization, and the aggregation and settling of dispersed oil and suspended sediments. An initial laboratory study was conducted to investigate apparent hydrocarbon solubility in petroleum/water systems. Mixing shear and initial crude oil layer thickness were related empirically to oil entrainment rate. A model describing hydrocarbons partitioned in colloidal and soluble phases was consistent with experimental data. A second laboratory study was conducted to investigate the influence of coalescence kinetics on mean droplet size and resurfacing rate of chemically dispersed crude oil droplets. Increased mean shear rates resulted in mean droplet diameters and oil resurfacing rates. A third laboratory study was conducted to compare particle size and fractal dimension measurements obtained using a submersible flow cytometer, an electrozone particle counter, and a light scattering particle sizer. Measured particles included latex beads, crude oil, clay, crude oil-clay aggregates, and crude oil-silica aggregates. Tested instruments gave consistent size measurements for all particle systems, suggesting their suitability for sizing marine particles. To describe the aggregation kinetics of oil-sediment systems, a modified Smoluchowski model based on coalesced sphere (CS) assumptions was developed. Observed collision efficiency values (αOBS) were related to collision efficiency values for single particle type systems (αHOMO) and those for two particle type systems (αHET) using a probabilistic approach. For clay and crude oil, αHOMO values were higher than the αHOMO value for silica. Clay-oil and silica-oil have similar αHET values. Thus, crude oil can significantly increase the aggregation rates of noncohesive sediments such as silica. The CS model above was modified to incorporate sediment fractal geometry. The ability of this modified coalesced fractal sphere (mCFS) model to fit experimental data sets was better than that of a coalesced sphere (CS) model. Because of their reduced settling rates, sediments with lower fractal dimension form more aggregate with dispersed oil.

Thesis (M.S.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Civil Engineering. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.