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Accurate estimation of environmental dose rate is essential for high-resolution trapped-charge dating. Beta and gamma emissions from simulated sediments containing radioactive uranium, thorium and potassium are modelled in contexts that are spatially heterogeneous. Dose rate was modelled using Monte Carlo radiation transport codes MCNP and PENELOPE. A number of key issues that affect dose rate evaluation are examined and updated corrections are calculated. Granular structures used for geometrical input into the models were simulated using randomly packed ellipsoids. The pair correlation function and chord length distributions were derived. The effects of water content on dose rate were modelled and compared with cavity theory. Apart from activity dilution, the variation of grain size or water content was shown to be significant for gamma radiations due to the transition from charged particle equilibrium. The standard correction for beta dose rate due to grain size was found to be satisfactory although sensitivity to grain shape and material should be taken into account. Dose rate modeling was applied to three dating studies of early human fossils: Skhul V, Israel skull; Hofmeyr, South Africa skull and the Forbes’ Quarry, Gibraltar skull. The spatial modelling was implemented using computerised tomographic (CT) images and dose rate found to be modified significantly by the presence of the skull in the sediment. Time evolution of the dose rate was examined for the latter two skulls and dates of 36±3ka (Hofmeyr) and 55-95ka (Forbes’ Quarry) were calculated.

<p>U disertaciji je izvr&scaron;ena optimizacija detektorskog IZ&nbsp;&nbsp; sistema Quantulus 1220^TM radi razvoja metoda za određivanje pojedinačnih radionuklida ³H,²²²Rn i⁹⁰Sr, kao i ukupne alfa/beta aktivnosti u vodama. Predstavljeni su eksperimenti u svrhu kalibracije sistema, istraživanja uticaja relevantnih parametara na rezultate određivanja aktivnosti alfa i beta emitera, i pode&scaron;avanja optimalnih vrednosti ovih parametara.&nbsp;Posebna pažnja je posvećena variranju&nbsp; PSA diskriminatora, odnosno pode&scaron;avanju analizatora oblika impulsa na optimalnu vrednost u svrhu optimalnog razdvajanja alfa od beta događaja, kao i ispitivanju efekata prigu&scaron;enja u uzorcima i metodama&nbsp;njihove korekcije.&nbsp; Predstavljene razvijene metode su brze, efikasne i jednostavne, &scaron;to je naročito važno u slučaju radijacionog akcidenta, kada je potrebno brzo odrediti sadržaj radionuklida u&nbsp; uzorcima vode, a njihova validnost je pokazana u okviru međunarodnih<br />i međulaboratorijskih interkomparacija.</p> / <p>Dissertation involves optimization of detector AB&nbsp;&nbsp; system&nbsp; Quantulus 1220^TM for development of methods for determination of individual radionuclides ³H, ²²²Rn and ⁹⁰Sr, as well as gross alpha/beta activity in waters. Presented experiments had purpose of calibration of the system,&nbsp; investigation&nbsp; of&nbsp; relevant parameters&nbsp; influence&nbsp; on&nbsp; activity&nbsp; measurements&nbsp; of alpha and beta emitters, as well as&nbsp; setting the optimum values of&nbsp; these parameters. Special attention&nbsp; was devoted to&nbsp; PSA&nbsp; discriminator value&nbsp; setting, i.e. adjusting the pulse shape analyzer level at optimum value for an optimal separation of alpha from beta events, as well as testing the effects of quenching in the samples and methods for quench&nbsp; correction. Presented developed methods are fast, efficient and simple, which is especially important in the case of a radiation accident, when there is a need to quickly determine the content of radionuclides in water samples, and their validity has been demonstrated within the framework of international and inter-laboratory&nbsp; ntercomparison measurements.</p>

The crystal structures of two thermostable carboxylesterase Est30 and Est55 from Geobacillus stearothermophilus were determined to help understand their functions and applications in industry or medicine. The crystal structure of Est30 was determined at 1.63 Å resolution by the multiple anomalous dispersion method. The two-domain Est30 structure showed a large domain with a modified alpha/beta hydrolase core including a seven, rather than an eight-stranded beta sheet, and a smaller cap domain comprising three alpha helices. A 100 Da tetrahedral ligand, propyl acetate, was observed to be covalently bound to the side chain of Ser94 in the catalytic triad. This ligand complex represents the first tetrahedral intermediate in the reaction mechanism. Therefore, this Est30 crystal structure will help understand the mode of action of all enzymes in the serine hydrolase superfamily. Est55 is a bacterial homologue of the mammalian carboxylesterases involved in hydrolysis and detoxification of numerous peptides and drugs and in prodrug activation. Est55 crystals were grown at pH 6.2 and pH 6.8 and the structures were determined at resolutions of 2.0 and 1.58 Å respectively. Est55 folds into three domains, a catalytic domain, an α/β domain and a regulatory domain. This structure is in an inactive form; the side chain of His409, one of the catalytic triad residues, is pointing away from the active site. Moreover, the adjacent Cys408 is triply oxidized and lies in the oxyanion hole, which would block the entry of substrate to its binding site. This structure suggested a self-inactivation mechanism, however, Cys408 is not essential for enzyme activity. Mutation of Cys408 showed that hydrophobic side chains at this position were favorable, while polar serine was unfavorable for enzyme activity. Both Est30 and Est55 were shown to hydrolyze the prodrug CPT-11 into the active form SN-38. Therefore, Est30 and Est55 are potential candidates for use with irinotecan in cancer therapy. The catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km) of Est30 is about 10-fold lower than that of Est55. The effects of the Cys408 substitutions on Est55 activity differed for the two substrates, p-NP butyrate and CPT-11. Mutant C408V may provide a more stable form of Est55.

A white Gaussian noise measurement model is widely used in target tracking problem formulation. In practice, the measurement noise may not be white. This phenomenon is due to the scintillation of the target. In many radar systems, the measurement frequency is high enough so that the correlation cannot be ignored without degrading tracking performance. In this thesis, target tracking problem with correlated measurement noise is considered. The correlated measurement noise is modeled by a first-order Markov model. The effect of correlation is thought as interference, and Optimum Decoding Based Smoothing Algorithm is applied. For linear models, the estimation performances of Optimum Decoding Based Smoothing Algorithm are compared with the performances of Alpha-Beta Filter Algorithm. For nonlinear models, the estimation performances of Optimum Decoding Based Smoothing Algorithm are compared with the performances of Extended Kalman Filter by performing various simulations.

In radar target tracking problems, it may be required to use adaptive update rate in order to maintain the tracking accuracy while allowing the radar to use its resources economically at the same time. This is generally the case if the target trajectory has maneuvering segments and in such a case the use of adaptive update time interval algorithms for estimation of the target state may enhance the tracking accuracy. Conventionally, fixed track update time interval is used in radar target tracking due to the traditional nature of mechanically steerable radars. In this thesis, as an application to phased array radar, the adaptive update rate algorithm approach developed in literature for Alpha-Beta filter is extended to Kalman filter. A survey over relevant adaptive update rate algorithms used previously in literature on radar target tracking is presented including aspects related to the flexibility of these algorithms for the tracking filter. The investigation of the adaptive update rate algorithms is carried out for the Kalman filter for the single target tracking problem where the target has a 90&deg / maneuvering segment in its trajectory. In this trajectory, the starting and final time instants of the single maneuver are specified clearly, which is important in the assessment of the algorithm performances. The effects of incorporating the variable update time interval into target tracking problem are presented and compared for several different test cases.

Efficient best-first search algorithms have been developed for deterministic two-player games with two-outcome.We present a formal framework to represent such best-first search algorithms.The framework is general enough to express popular algorithms such as Proof Number Search, Monte Carlo Tree Search, and the Product Propagation algorithm.We then show how a similar framework can be devised for two more general settings: two-player games with multiple outcomes, and the model checking problem in modal logic K.This gives rise to new Proof Number and Monte Carlo inspired search algorithms for these settings.Similarly, the alpha-beta pruning technique is known to be very important in games with sequential actions.We propose an extension of this technique for stacked-matrix games, a generalization of zero-sum perfect information two-player games that allows simultaneous moves.

Dans l'analyse des émetteurs alpha et beta dans l'eau par scintillation liquide, la problématique de la discrimination des rayonnements se pose afin d'atteindre les limites de détection souhaitées. Dans le cas rare ou les énergies permettent une discrimination, nous avons mis en place un protocole d'analyse simultanée tritium/alpha sur des frottis. A l'aide d'une méthode a trois fenêtres il permet d'atteindre les limites de détection de 0,4 Bq/cm2 en tritium et de 0,04 Bq/cm2 en alpha.De façon générale, aucune distinction entre les spectres n'est possible et un ajustement du fond sous le pic alpha ne permet pas d'atteindre les limites de détection définies par les normes. Cependant le processus physique de scintillation permet une distinction des rayonnements, phénomène utilise par certains appareils, ceux-ci proposent donc le réglage par l'utilisateur d'un paramètre discriminant seuil. Nous avons développé un protocole de réglage permettant de reconstituer les spectres alpha et beta discrimines au mieux, rendant accessible une limite de détection de 0,03 Bq/L en alpha.Nous avons par ailleurs développé une approche innovante utilisant un détecteur en coïncidence dont les photomultiplicateurs sont connectes directement a une carte numérique d'acquisition. Chaque impulsion numérisée est ensuite traitée selon plusieurs critères simultanément, à la place des deux habituels. Aucun ne permet a lui seul d'obtenir une discrimination selon un seuil unique, mais la distribution des évènements dans chaque spectre est différente : un fenêtrage des évènements alpha permet d'atteindre une limite de détection de 0,2 Bq/L, quatre fois moindre que par une discrimination en énergie seule.

<p> This dissertation is concerned with establishing the conditions under which planar phase interfaces are morphologically unstable during phase transformations in isothermal ternary systems. First, linear perturbation methods are employed in a detailed treatment of precipitatematrix interface stability for dilute ternary systems. Following this, the stability of the planar interface in a two-phase ternary diffusion couple is examined with the aid of perturbation theory. An experimental investigation into the stability of <alpha>-<beta> phase interfaces in the Cu-Zn-Ni system at 775°C is described. The results of this experimental study are shown to be in good agreement with the earlier theoretical predictions. </p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The forefront of game playing Artificial Intelligence (AI) has for the better part of 21st century been using an algorithm called Alpha-Beta Pruning (Alpha-Beta). In 2017, DeepMind launched a new AI, based on the algorithm Monte Carlo Tree Search (MCTS), which defeated the former Alpha-Beta based chess AI champion Stockfish. This accomplishment fueled up more excitement and interest for using MCTS to develop more complex and better performing game playing AI.This paper aims to compare the strengths of MCTS and Alpha-Beta by allowing them to play against each other in a classic game with no available robust AI - the Fox Game.The results showed an evident victory for the Alpha-Beta AI. Therefore, Alpha-Beta is the better suited algorithm for developing a simple AI for the Fox Game. Further optimizations would enhance the performance of both algorithms but it is unclear which of the algorithms would benefit from it the most. / Framkanten av Artificiell Intelligens (AI) som spelar spel har i större delen av 2000-talet använt sig av en algorithm vid namn Alpha-Beta-beskärning (Alpha-Beta). Denna bedrift höjde intresset för att använda MCTS i syfte att utveckla mer komplexa och bättre spelande AI.Denna rapport har som mål att jämföra styrkor hos MCTS och Alpha-Beta genom att låta dem spela mot varandra i ett klassiskt spel utan någon tillgänglig AI - Rävspelet. Resultaten visade på en klar seger för Alpha-Beta AI:n. Därför är Alpha-Beta den bättre lämpade algoritmen för att skapa en simpel AI. Fler optimiseringar hade förbättrat spelstyrkan hos bägge algoritmerna med det är oklart vilken av algoritmerna som hade gynnat mest utav det. / Kandidatexjobb i elektroteknik 2022, KTH, Stockholm