Pincer complexes moieties have attracted much attention in the past years. They have been proved that they are highly active catalysts in many different known transition metal-catalyzed organic reaction and some unpredictable organic transformation. In this thesis, we will use PN3P Cobalt pincer complex in two different applications. The first application is the unpresented Cobalt-catalyzed hydrogenation of nitriles to secondary imines. The selective hydrogenation of nitriles into secondary imines is a very challenging task and the catalysts play a very important role in the reaction and the selectivity. Herein in the thesis, we report the first selective hydrogenation of nitriles to secondary imines catalyzed by a well-defined and accessible PN3P cobalt pincer complex. Our results show different selectivity compared with the known PNP cobalt catalytic system during the nitriles hydrogenation. A set of aliphatic and aromatic nitriles are hydrogenated to the secondary imine under relatively mild conditions. The second application is the alkylation of nitriles with alcohols using PN3P cobalt pincer complex. The alcohol is being used here as alkylating agent in state of using toxic alkyl halides or excess amount of base to avoid any salt waste. The cobalt pincer complex work as catalyst for transformation that undergoes alkylation via hydrogen transfer pathways. The beauty of this reaction that it is delver water as the only byproduct. A different nitriles and alcohol are tolerated in this reaction.

A huge discrepancy between the number of patients on the waiting list for organ transplants and the actual available donors has led to search for alternative approaches to substitute compromised or missing tissues and organs. Tissue engineering is a promising alternative to organ transplantation with the aim to fabricate functional organs through the use of biological or biocompatible scaffolds. Nanogels made from self-assembling ultrashort peptides are promising biomaterials for a variety of biomedical applications. Our group at KAUST is interested in the development of novel synthetic peptide-based biomaterials that combine the advantages of both natural and synthetic hydrogels for various applications. In this study, we have investigated two compounds of a novel class of rationally designed ultrashort peptides, Ac-IVFK-NH2 (Ac-Ile-Val-Phe-Lys-NH2) and Ac-IVZK-NH2 (Ac-Ile-Val-Cha-Lys-NH2). These compounds have an innate tendency to self-assemble into nanofibrous hydrogels which can be used as 3D scaffolds, for example for the fabrication of 3D skin grafts for wound healing. We have evaluated the efficacy of the peptide scaffolds in treating full-thickness wounds in minipigs. Additionally, we assessed the ability of these scaffolds in supporting skeletal muscle tissue proliferation and differentiation. We found that our innovative nanogels supported a substantial increase in human dermal fibroblast and myoblast growth and cells viability, and supported myoblast differentiation. Also, microscopic observation of the direct contact of keratinocytes and fibroblasts revealed enhancement in keratinocytes proliferation. In addition, we demonstrated the ability of human umbilical vein endothelial cells to form tube like structure within peptide nanogels using immunofluorescence staining. Moreover, we successfully produced artificial 3D vascularized skin substitutes using these peptide scaffolds. We selected these peptide nanogels and were able to produce in situ silver nanoparticles within the nanogels, solely through UV irradiation, with no reducing agent present. We then assessed the efficacy of the silver nanoparticle-containing peptide nanogels on minipigs with full-thickness excision wounds. The application of the peptide nanogels on full thickness minipig wounds demonstrated that the scaffolds were biocompatible and did not trigger wound inflammation, and thus safe for topical application. The effect of nanogels, both with and without the addition of the silver nanoparticles, revealed that the scaffold itself has a high potential to act as an antibacterial agent. Interestingly, the effect of the peptide nanogels on wound closure was comparable to that of standard care hydrogels. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that both peptides can act as printable bioinks which opens up the possibility of 3D bioprinting of different cell types in the future. We believe that the described results represent an advancement in the context of engineering skin and skeletal muscle tissue, thereby providing the opportunity to rebuild missing, failing, or damaged parts.

The thesis presents a Sierpinski Carpet fractal antenna array designed at 24 GHz for automotive radar applications. Miniaturized, high performance and low cost antennas are required for this application. To meet these specifications a fractal array has been designed for the first time on Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic (LTCC) based substrate. LTCC provides a suitable platform for the development of these antennas due to its properties of vertical stack up and embedded passives. The complete antenna concept involves integration of this fractal antenna array with a Fresnel lens antenna providing a total gain of 15dB which is appropriate for medium range radar applications. The thesis also presents a comparison between the designed fractal antenna and a conventional patch antenna outlining the advantages of fractal antenna over the later one. The fractal antenna has a bandwidth of 1.8 GHz which is 7.5% of the centre frequency (24GHz) as compared to 1.9% of the conventional patch antenna. Furthermore the fractal design exhibits a size reduction of 53% as compared to the patch antenna. In the end a sensitivity analysis is carried out for the fractal antenna design depicting the robustness of the proposed design against the typical LTCC fabrication tolerances.

Several operational and environmental conditions can result in poor biogas yield during the operation of anaerobic digesters and anaerobic bioreactor landfills. Over time, anaerobic co-digestion and leachate blending have been identified as strategies that can help address some of these challenges to improve biogas production. While co-digestion entails the co-treatment of multiple substrates, leachate blending involves combination of mature and young landfill leachate. Despite the benefits attributed to these strategies, their impact on recirculating bioreactor landfill scenarios and anaerobic digesters requires further investigation. In the first phase of this thesis, an attempt to assess biogas production improvement from organic fraction of municipal solid waste in simulated bioreactor landfills through recirculation of blended landfill leachate was conducted. Real old and new leachate blends (67%New leachate:33%Old leachate, 33%New leachate:67%Old leachate) as well as 100%New and 100%Old leachate were recirculated through six laboratory-scale bioreactors using open-loop and closed-loops modes. Compared with the control bioreactor where 100% new leachate was recirculated and operated as a closed-loop, cumulative biogas production was improved by as much as 77 to 193% when a leachate blend of 33%New:67%Old was recirculated. Furthermore, comparison of the results from open-loop and closed-loop operated bioreactors indicated that there was approximately 28 to 65% more biogas in open-loop bioreactors. The Gompertz model applied to the methane data produced a better fit (R2 > 0.99) than first order and logistic function models. Leachate blending reduced the lag phase by almost half and thus helps in alleviating the ensiling during the start-up phase. In the second phase, a biochemical methane potential (BMP) assay was conducted to investigate the synergistic effect of percentage sewage scum addition; 10%, 20% and 40% (volatile solids basis) on biogas production during mesophilic co-digestion with various organic substrates viz; organic fraction of municipal solid waste, old leachate, new leachate and a leachate blend prepared from 67%old leachate and 33%new leachate under sub-optimal condition. Results show that the net cumulative bio-methane yield was improved with increased sewage scum percentage during co-digestion because of positive synergism. Meanwhile, the addition of 40% sewage scum to the individual co-substrates improved net cumulative bio-methane yield by 28% - 67% when compared to their respective mono-substrate digestion bio-methane yield. Furthermore, reactors containing leachate blends consistently produced more biogas over other sets because of blending. Kinetic modelling applied to the bio-methane production data shows modified Gompertz equation achieved a better fit with up to an R2 value of 0.999. Finally, co-digestion substantially reduced the lag time encountered during mono-digestion. In the last phase, the biomethane potential involved in the ACo-D of sewage scum, organic fraction of municipal solid waste was investigated in this phase using either thickened waste activated sludge or leachate blend (67%old leachate and 33%new leachate) as a tertiary component. Compared to the mono-digestion of TWAS, results shows that biomethane yield was enhanced in by as much as 32 - 127% in trinary mixtures with SS and OFMSW mainly due to the effect of positive synergism. Furthermore, LB addition improved biomethane production in trinary mixtures of SS:LB: OFMSW by 38% than in corresponding trinary mixtures of TWAS. Whereas an optimal combination of 40%SS:10%TWAS:50%OFMSW and 20%SS:70%LB:10%OFMSW produced the highest biogas yield of 407mL.gVS-1 and 487mL.gVS-1 respectively. The application of the first order model showed that lower hydrolysis rates promoted methanogenesis with k = 0.04day-1 in both 20%SS:70%LB:10%OFMSW and 20%SS:50%LB:30%OFMSW. Estimations by the modified Gompertz and logistic function were conclusive methane production rate improved by as much a 60% in a trinary mixture over the production rate during mono-digestion of TWAS alone. The results of the various experiments of this thesis therefore suggest that leachate blending can be used as a strategy to improve biogas production in both bioreactor landfills and anaerobic digesters. Also, sewage scum as an energy-rich substrate can be better utilized during co-digestion with other low-energy substrates.

This thesis deals with the simulation modelling of manipulator mechatronic system in ADAMS. The beginning of thesis is dedicated to the theoretical study of the compute modelling electro-mechanical systems and mechatronics approach modelling manipulator’s systems. Next chapters describe the creation of kinematics model of the manipulator with using ADAMS and proposal supporting frame in ANSYS/Workbench environment. The next step, manipulator and supporting frame simulation model is created for the computing vibration a dynamic analysis. At the end of this thesis is used cosimulation ADAMS and Matlab/Simulink for the control of synchronous drivers of manipulator.

From a social constructivist perspective (SCP) we analyse TV-commercials’ success. We address the following questions: Does the customer co-create meaning, and, more specific, is a commercial more successful if a customer plays a co-creating role? If so, both the customer and her experience, as well as the commercial, play a significant part in explaining the commercial’s success. As independent constructs to explain commercials’ success we used storytelling, indicating the commercial’s part, and experiential conclusiveness, indicating the customer’s part. We found support that the customer and seller via the commercial co-create meaning and coordinate their activities.

Magister Administrationis - MAdmin / The living marine resources of South Africa belong to the people of the country. With a steady growth of the human population and the subsequent increased demand for food, it is imperative that the resources of our waters are managed for the optimal social and economic development of all South Africans. The ownership of the resources are vested in the state and it is, therefore, the state's responsibility to ensure that the chosen form of fisheries management promotes both sustainability and equity.

RNA molecules interact by forming inter-molecular base pairs that compete with the intra-molecular base pairs of their secondary structures. Here we investigate the patterns of neutral mutations in RNAs whose function is the interaction with other RNAs, i.e., the co-folding with one or more other RNA molecules. We find that (1) the degree of neutrality is much smaller in interacting RNAs compared to RNAs that just have to coform to a single externally prescribed target structure, and (2) strengthening this contraint to the conservation of the co-folded structure with two or more partners essentially eliminates neutrality. It follows that RNAs whose function depends on the formation of a specific interaction complex with a target RNA molecule will evolve much more slowly than RNAs with a function depending only on their own structure.

I’m a music producer that is active in several different subgenres in electronic dance music (EDM). A music producer is a person that oversees the recording process, most often the creative side and decides how everything should sound like. You can compare it to a film director. During the last decade, the role as a music producer has progressed into a factotum position, which means you usually have several different roles yourself: you can be a songwriter, mixing engineer, recording engineer and even a singer. Another thing that has changed is the workplace. It’s common nowadays that people are sitting at home and producing their own beats/songs. This is foremost possible because of how the technology has evolved and made everything smaller and more efficient. If you rewind back 25 years this was an impossible task. You needed big studios, with big rooms to record drums, guitars, keyboards and vocals, and a huge mixing table with big tape machines to record it all. Nowadays you have everything you need with a laptop, an audio interface and with access to the internet. You can easily find pre-recorded vocals, hire vocalists online, buy sample packs with drum loops and make your own melody sounds with virtual synthesizers. There’re also huge digital libraries with sounds that real instrumentalists recorded which you can use to create your own chord progressions or melodies. So, you basically have everything you need to make a big dance record with only a simple laptop sitting in your own garage in the Bronx. It’s also easy to get in touch with other artists, producers and singers through social media and other sites on the web. In my essay I want to explore how the process looks like when you are collaborating with others online. It could be between other producers, singers, songwriters or even instrumentalists. How do you start a collab? Are there any pros and cons with collaborating? I also would like to examine what people do if they are having trouble getting along while collaborating. How do you maintain a good chemistry with the others? And if your creative process differs compared to when you are writing music by yourselves.

I denna studie var syftet att undersöka idrottslärares erfarenheter till ett tvålärarskap samt de effekter som det för med sig. Frågor som behandlades var hur utformningen av undervisningen såg ut men också fördelar och nackdelar med ett tvålärarskap. Vid analysen tillämpades en fenomenografisk analysmodell bestående av sju steg. Studiens empiriinsamling gjordes med hjälp av kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med idrottslärare som undervisade i tvålärarskap i årskurs 1–9 eller gymnasiet. Resultatet visade att lärarna utformade undervisningen på ett liknande sätt, där det varierade utifrån gruppens behov men också moment. Samtliga lärare försökte undervisa alla elever tillsammans. Fördelar med tvålärarskapet var utveckling av ämnet, sambedömning och ökad måluppfyllelse. Nackdelarna som belystes var ökad undervisningstid samt ökade lönekostnader. Förslag till framtida forskning är att jämföra skillnader mellan en skola med tvålärarskap och enlärarsystem men också studera om betygen förändrats i takt med tvålärarskap.