This report demonstrates a UV-embossed polymeric chip for protein separation and identification by Capillary Isoelectric Focusing (CIEF) and Matrix Assisted Laser Desportion/Ionization Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-MS). The polymeric chip has been fabricated by UV-embossing technique with high throughput; the issues in the fabrication have been addressed. In order to achieve high sensitivity of mass detection, five different types of UV curable polymer have been used as sample support to perform protein ionization in Mass Spectrometry (MS); the best results is compared to PMMA, which was the commonly used plastic chip for biomolecular separation. Experimental results show that signal from polyester is 12 times better than that of PMMA in terms of detection sensitivity. Finally, polyester chip is utilized to carry out CIEF to separate proteins, followed by MS identification. / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)

Compact diode-pumped solid-state lasers (DPSSL) arecontinuously replacing traditional gas lasers as well asenabling completely new technology. However, compact and costefficient designs are required to satisfy end-user demands. Theaim of this thesis was therefore to investigate novel laserdesigns for given applications considering these demands. In alarge part of the thesis work, nonlinear optics were employedto realize laser wavelengths where there was no appropriatelaser transition available. Besides other nonlinear crystals such as BBO, LBO and KTP,periodically poled KTP played an important role in this thesiswork. Its unique properties regarding up conversion processeswere exploited, thus supplying a broadened view over itspotential and limitations. This thesis places emphasis on practical concerns, mainlyrelated to real applications. It gives solutions to the beamshaping of laser diodes, covers the simulation and the designof laser dynamics as well as laser performance and describesthe sources of laser output degradation and damage mechanisms.Novel infrared lasers were designed and multiple intra-cavity,external cavity and non-resonant multi-pass frequencyconversion schemes were successfully employed and optimized.These produced red, orange, green, blue and ultraviolet outputfor various applications like spectroscopy, micro machining andwriting of fiber Bragg gratings. Keywords:diode-pumped solid-state lasers, nonlinearoptics, frequency conversion,

Detta arbete handlar om hur man som grafiker kan optimera utnyttjandet av tillgängliga resurser och trots begränsningar i form av polygon- och texturbudgetar öka sina möjligheter att skapa estetiskt tilltalande grafik. Arbetet undersöker en rad olika tekniker som kan användas för att resursoptimera material samt testar och utvärderar dessa med hjälp av material från spelprojektet Break a Leg (BAL). Resultaten visar att det grafiska materialet i BAL tjänat otroligt mycket på att resursoptimeras och att optimeringen förbättrat den tekniska kvaliteten avsevärt genom ökat texelvärde och effektiviserad vertexdensitet och gett en positiv visuell inverkan. Genom att integrera resursoptimering i det naturliga arbetsflödet ökar man som grafiker sina möjligheter att skapa estetiskt tilltalande grafik utan att överskrida de förutbestämda tekniska gränserna.

Deregulation of the cell cycle is a hallmark of neoplastic transformation and plays a central role in both the initiation and progression of cancer. Members of the NimA-related kinase (NEK) family of protein kinases are emerging as important players in regulation of the eukaryotic cell cycle during normal cell cycle progression and checkpoint activation in response to genotoxic stresses. The focus of this thesis is NEK10, a previously uncharacterized member of the NEK family. While little is known about the biology of NEK10, recent cancer genomics studies have identified NEK10 as a candidate susceptibility gene at chromosome 3p24 in cancer. Work herein describes a role for NEK10 in the cellular response to ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. NEK10 was required for the activation of ERK1/2 signaling upon UV irradiation, but not in response to mitogens, such as the epidermal growth factor. NEK10 interacted with Raf and MEK and enhanced MEK activity through a novel mechanism involving MEK autoactivation. Significantly, appropriate maintenance of the G2/M checkpoint following UV irradiation required NEK10 expression and ERK1/2 activation. In support of a conserved role for NEK10 in the cellular response to UV irradiation, nekl-4, the NEK10 C.elegans homologue, affected embryonic sensitivity to UV-irradiation. In search of regulatory inputs into NEK10, using mass spectrometry, our laboratory identified 19 distinct sites of NEK10 phosphorylation. Characterization of a number of these sites revealed a role for intermolecular autophosphorylation in achieving full NEK10 catalytic activity through activation loop phosphorylation on S684 and S688. Further, a C-terminal phosphorylation site on NEK10, S933, was found to be a 14-3-3 binding site, and was essential for NEK10 cytoplasmic to nuclear translocation following UV irradiation. Taken together, my studies have discovered a role for NEK10 in the engagement of the G2/M cell cycle checkpoint and provided a mechanistic insight into the relationship between NEK10 and the Raf/MEK/ERK cascade, and the control of NEK10 subcellular localization. This work will serve as a foundation for future studies aimed at understanding the molecular mechanism of NEK10 action and its function in development and tumourigenesis.

Ultraviolet direct photolysis (UV) and the advanced oxidation process UV/H2O2 are new technologies in the water treatment industry. Both treatments can cause the transformation of organic compounds. Nitrosamines and organic chloramines are disinfection by-products (DBPs) formed from the reaction of organic nitrogen compounds during chlorination or chloramination (chlor(am)ination) disinfection. It is therefore possible for UV and UV/H2O2 to affect the organic compound precursors for nitrosamines and organic chloramines and thus their formation from subsequent chlor(am)ination. The precursor compounds, UV and H2O2 doses used for UV or UV/H2O2, and alkalinity were found to have an effect on the formation of nitrosamines and organic chloramines during bench-scale experiments. Full scale studies found UV and UV/H2O2 had different effects on the formation of different nitrosamine species and organic chloramine concentrations, and that a potential correlation existed between the formation of organic chloramines from chlorination and the formation of N-nitrosodimethylamine from chloramination.

Ultraviolet direct photolysis (UV) and the advanced oxidation process UV/H2O2 are new technologies in the water treatment industry. Both treatments can cause the transformation of organic compounds. Nitrosamines and organic chloramines are disinfection by-products (DBPs) formed from the reaction of organic nitrogen compounds during chlorination or chloramination (chlor(am)ination) disinfection. It is therefore possible for UV and UV/H2O2 to affect the organic compound precursors for nitrosamines and organic chloramines and thus their formation from subsequent chlor(am)ination. The precursor compounds, UV and H2O2 doses used for UV or UV/H2O2, and alkalinity were found to have an effect on the formation of nitrosamines and organic chloramines during bench-scale experiments. Full scale studies found UV and UV/H2O2 had different effects on the formation of different nitrosamine species and organic chloramine concentrations, and that a potential correlation existed between the formation of organic chloramines from chlorination and the formation of N-nitrosodimethylamine from chloramination.

Deregulation of the cell cycle is a hallmark of neoplastic transformation and plays a central role in both the initiation and progression of cancer. Members of the NimA-related kinase (NEK) family of protein kinases are emerging as important players in regulation of the eukaryotic cell cycle during normal cell cycle progression and checkpoint activation in response to genotoxic stresses. The focus of this thesis is NEK10, a previously uncharacterized member of the NEK family. While little is known about the biology of NEK10, recent cancer genomics studies have identified NEK10 as a candidate susceptibility gene at chromosome 3p24 in cancer. Work herein describes a role for NEK10 in the cellular response to ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. NEK10 was required for the activation of ERK1/2 signaling upon UV irradiation, but not in response to mitogens, such as the epidermal growth factor. NEK10 interacted with Raf and MEK and enhanced MEK activity through a novel mechanism involving MEK autoactivation. Significantly, appropriate maintenance of the G2/M checkpoint following UV irradiation required NEK10 expression and ERK1/2 activation. In support of a conserved role for NEK10 in the cellular response to UV irradiation, nekl-4, the NEK10 C.elegans homologue, affected embryonic sensitivity to UV-irradiation. In search of regulatory inputs into NEK10, using mass spectrometry, our laboratory identified 19 distinct sites of NEK10 phosphorylation. Characterization of a number of these sites revealed a role for intermolecular autophosphorylation in achieving full NEK10 catalytic activity through activation loop phosphorylation on S684 and S688. Further, a C-terminal phosphorylation site on NEK10, S933, was found to be a 14-3-3 binding site, and was essential for NEK10 cytoplasmic to nuclear translocation following UV irradiation. Taken together, my studies have discovered a role for NEK10 in the engagement of the G2/M cell cycle checkpoint and provided a mechanistic insight into the relationship between NEK10 and the Raf/MEK/ERK cascade, and the control of NEK10 subcellular localization. This work will serve as a foundation for future studies aimed at understanding the molecular mechanism of NEK10 action and its function in development and tumourigenesis.

The extinction of solar radiation by atmospheric aerosols influences the Ultraviolet (UV) flux at the surface, which in turn has implications on both human and environmental health. In this study we present measurements of aerosol optical depth ( and #964;a) in the UV at Boulder, Colorado and Atlanta, Georgia using direct measurements of solar UV radiation. The wavelength dependence of and #964;a and the single scattering albedo ( and #969;o) are determined from the measured values of and #964;a. Daily averages of and #964;a range between 0.09 and 0.52 at Boulder and between 0.23 and 2.09 for Atlanta between the wavelengths of 332 and 340 nm. The average ngstrm exponent ( and #945;) is 0.83 at Boulder and 1.43 in Atlanta. Results clearly show that aerosols have a significant effect on the UV Index. Day-to-day changes in the UV index during the one month measurement period in Atlanta range between 2-3 UV Index units at solar noon. It is estimated that when changes in and #964;a and and #969;o occur simultaneously, the UV Index can change up to 6 units from one day to the next at solar noon in the Atlanta area. The single scattering albedo ( and #969;o) was estimated to range between 0.8 and 0.99 for Atlanta. The results suggest an increasing trend in and #969;o with increases in and #964;a. In addition, a new synthetic current UV Index is developed which expands to nearly 10,000 cities the number of current UV Index reports that can be distributed to the public in the United States. Right now, current UV Index values are limited to specific UV measuring sites, constrained by the difficulties of maintaining accurate calibration within the network of UV instruments. The distribution of UV Index values to more cities will increase the publics awareness of the harmful effects of the sun. This new UV Index can be accessed through The Weather Channel website.

In this study, we prepare the zinc oxide nanotip with aqueous solution on Al doped ZnO/glass substrate. In excess of 6 hours growth, the film-liked layer is obtained in the bottom of ZnO nanotip. In order to study the photoresponse of maximum ZnO nanotip length without film-like layer, we choose 6 hours as the growth time of ZnO nanotip, which the height is almost the same of about 4 £gm. For the fabrication of ZnO nanotip UV photodetector, In-Zn was use as anode and cathode electrodes in digitate type on the top of ZnO nanotip array. The photoresponse which use AZO buffer layer of 300 s is better than others due to the larger surface to volume ratio. We obtain that Ron/off is 10.9, rise time is 280 s, and decay time is 870 s. The thermal annealing at 300 ¢XC in N2, O2, and N2O for 1 hr can improve the photoresponse, because the Zn(OH)2 in the ZnO nanotip gets converted into ZnO. Among annealing ambiences, the annealed ZnO nanotip in N2O show higher performance due to high decomposition of O atoms, which fills in the oxygen vacancy. We obtained that Ron/off is 26.04, rise time is 50 s, and decay time is 70 s at 300 oC in N2O.

Light emitting diode (LED) will have development in liquid crystal display (LCD) backlight. Nevertheless, the point source of LED is not suitable for large size panel. Therefore, this research will change the package which is bullet type and design gapless dual-curvature micro lens (GDML). Using the optics software TracePro is simulation luminance to compare of hexagon, triangular and dual-curvature micro lens, and fabrication of the better size. We can get metal model using micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology after electroforming and hot embossing. The micro lens is formed by UV cure in metal model. It has different curvature and fill factor 100%. The advantage of electroforming is can manufacture a lot of product fast with high performance. The shrinkage rate is less than 0.5%. The collocation package of micro lens and LED chip can improve intensity and uniformity.