The primary aim of the thesis is to provide a comprehensive investigation of the osmotic dehydration processes in plant tissue. Effort has been concentrated on the modelling for simulating the processes. Two mathematical models for simulating the mass transfer during osmotic dehydration processes in plant tissues are developed and verified using existing experimental data. Both models are based on the mechanism of diffusion and convection of any mobile material that can transport in plant tissues. The mass balance equation for the transport of each constituent is established separately for intracellular and extra-cellular volumes with taking into account the mass transfer across the cell membrane the intracellular and extra-cellular volumes and the shrinkage of the whole tissue. The contribution from turgor pressure is considered in both models. Model two uses Darcy’s law to build the relation between shrinkage velocity and hydrostatic pressure in each volume because the plant tissue can be considered as the porous medium. Moreover, it has been extended to solve the multi-dimensional problems. A lot of efforts have been made to the parameter study and the sensitivity analyses. The parameters investigated including the concentration of the osmotic solution, diffusion coefficient, permeability of the cell membrane, elastic modulus of the cell wall, critical cell volume etc. The models allow us to quantitatively simulate the time evolution of intracellular and extra-cellular volumes as well as the time evolution of concentrations in each cross-section.

The thesis addresses the economic impacts of construction safety in Greece. The research involved the development of a methodology for determining the overall costs of safety, namely the sum of the costs of accidents and the costs of safety management failures (with or without accident) including image cost. Hitherto, very little work has been published on the cost of accidents in practical case studies. Moreover, to the author’s belief, no research has been published that seeks to determine in real cases the costs of prevention. The methodology developed is new, transparent, and capable of being replicated and adapted to other employment sectors and to other countries. The methodology was applied to three construction projects in Greece to test the safety costing methodology and to offer some preliminary evidence on the business case for safety. The survey work took place between 1999 and 2001 and involved 27 months of costing work on site. The study focuses on the overall costs of safety that apply to the main (principal) contractor. The methodology is supported by 120 discrete cost categories, and systematic criteria for determining which costs are included (counted) in the overall cost of safety. A quality system (in compliance with ISO9000 series) was developed to support the work and ensure accuracy of data gathering. The results of the study offer some support for the business case for safety. Though they offer good support for the economics of safety as they demonstrate need for cost effectiveness. Subject to important caveats, those projects that appeared to manage safety more cost-effectively achieved the lowest overall safety cost. Nevertheless, results are significantly lower than of other published works for two main reasons; first costs due to damages with no potential to injury were not included and second only costs to main constructor were considered. Study’s results are discussed and compared with other publish works.

This thesis documents the design, manufacture and testing of a passive and non-invasive micro-scale planar particle-from-fluid filter for segregating cell types from a homogeneous suspension. The microfluidics system can be used to separate spermatogenic cells from testis biopsy samples, providing a mechanism for filtrate retrieval for assisted reproduction therapy. The system can also be used for point-of-service diagnostics applications for hospitals, lab-on-a-chip pre-processing and field applications such as clinical testing in the third world. Various design concepts are developed and manufactured, and are assessed based on etched structure morphology, robustness to variations in the manufacturing process, and design impacts on fluid flow and particle separation characteristics. Segregation was measured using image processing algorithms that demonstrate efficiency is more than 55% for 1 µl volumes at populations exceeding 1 x 107. the technique supports a significant reduction in time over conventional processing, in the separation and identification of particle groups, offering a potential reduction in the associated cost of the targeted procedure. The thesis has developed a model of quasi-steady wetting flow within the micro channel and identifies the forces across the system during post-wetting equalisation. The model and its underlying assumptions are validated empirically in microfabricated test structures through a novel Micro-Particle Image Velocimetry technique. The prototype devices do not require ancillary equipment nor additional filtration media, and therefore offer fewer opportunities for sample contamination over conventional processing methods. The devices are disposable with minimal reagent volumes and process waste. Optimal processing parameters and production methods are identified with any improvements that could be made to enhance their performance in a number of identified potential applications.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (M.S. in Systems Engineering and Analysis)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2009. / Thesis Advisor(s): Paulo, Eugene. Second Reader: Rhoades, Mark. "December 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on January 27, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: Systems integration, System safety, System-of-Systems safety. Includes bibliographical references (p. 51-52). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S. in Computer Science)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2009. / Thesis Advisor(s): Lum, Vincent Y. Second Reader: Wu, C. Thomas. "September 1990." Description based on title screen as viewed on December 17, 2009. DTIC Descriptor(s): Data Bases, Data Management, Schools, Models, Computers, Alphanumeric Data, Navy, Semantics, Theses, Information Retrieval, User Needs, Media, Management, Interfaces. DTIC Identifier(s): Management Information Systems, Data Bases, Systems Engineering, Theses, Installation. Author(s) subject terms: Multimedia Database Management System, Multimedia, DBMS, MDBMS, Image Database. Includes bibliographical references (p. 128-130). Also available in print.

Report (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. M.S. 1993. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-93). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (MS)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2009. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Robert C. Maher. Appears on title page as Darrin Kiysohi Reed (sic). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 60-71).

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 86 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-65).