Hail damage in canola has been characterized with symptoms such as randomly broken stems and loss of plants. The effect on stand reduction and stem cut-off in canola has yet to be addressed. Two separate experiments, stand reduction and stem cut-off, were conducted at six environments using a factorial arrangement, with four growth stages and five levels of intensity as the two factors, and four replications for each treatment. Data on seed yield, seed oil, and seed protein from each plot of five environments, and yield contributing traits from twenty plants per treatment from four environments were taken. Seed yield losses increased as both growth stage and level of stem cut-off/stand reduction increased. A regression equation was developed to estimate the yield reduction resulting from different levels of stand reduction/stem cut-off at four growth stages. Highest seed yield reductions were 82% and 43% at 90% stand reduction/stem cut-off, respectively. / Northern Canola Growers Association

Monod-type kinetic models, used in simulating microbial growth in biological treatment systems, suggest significant decreases of substrate utilization at lower temperatures. However, it is documented that performance of fixed film treatment systems are not hindered with declining temperatures. Previous studies at the Moorhead, MN, Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) showed significant impacts of temperature on biofilm growth in its moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR), and studies noted that at low temperatures more biomass was present. Previously, a series of kinetic bench-scale batch tests was performed to measure ammonium removal in the full-scale system. As part of this research, a diffusion based kinetic model was developed to simulate the bench-scale trials and determine if Monod kinetics and temperature corrections properly model fixed film systems. It was found that Monod kinetics and temperature corrections do apply to fixed film system as long as proper consideration is given to the change in biofilm characteristics.

Solar energy installations located in dry, arid regions chosen for their availability of sunlight often face the problem of dust accumulation, or "soiling", on their solar collector surfaces, requiring this dust to be cleaned regularly in order to maintain optimal power production. The electrodynamic screen (EDS) is a technology that can clean this dust off the surfaces of photovoltaic panels and concentrating solar power mirrors using no water and a minimum of power. The EDS is a series of conductive electrodes embedded between two thin dielectric layers, where voltages applied across the electrodes create a patterned electric field which directs the motion of charged dust particles off the EDS surface. As the dust in different desert regions across the world have different physical characteristics, a different set of design parameters is required for the optimal EDS for each region. This optimization work could be easily conducted using a computer model of the physics of an EDS and the dust it clears off its surface. In this thesis, a computer model of the EDS system is created using COMSOL Multiphysics. This model simulates the voltages applied across the electrodes and the resulting electric fields, and then use these to simulate the trajectories of the charged dust particles as they move across the EDS surface. This particle tracing work is validated using experimental data from high-speed camera trials and performance data for different EDS designs. This validation work shows both agreements and disagreements between the predicted and observed dust particle motion, and the beginnings of the investigation into this difference is presented. Finally, the ability to further develop this model for EDS design optimization is discussed.

Pleiotropy refers to the shared effects of a gene or genes on multiple phenotypes, a major reason for genetic correlation between phenotypes. For example, for osteoporosis, bone mineral densities at different skeletal sites may share common genetic factors; thus, examining the shared effects of genes may enable more effective fracture treatments. To date, methods are not available for estimating and testing the pleiotropic effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genetic association studies. In this dissertation, we explore two types of methods to evaluate the SNP-specific pleiotropic effect based on multivariate techniques. First, we propose two approaches based on variance components (VC) analysis for family-based studies, which quantify and test the pleiotropic effect by examining the contribution of specific genetic marker(s) to polygenic correlation or covariance of traits. Second, we propose a multivariate linear regression approach for population-based studies with samples of families or unrelated subjects. This method partitions the specific effect of the marker(s) from phenotypic covariance. We evaluate the performance of our proposed methods in simulation studies, compare them to existing multivariate analysis methods and illustrate their application using real data to assess candidate SNPs for osteoporosis-related phenotypes in the Framingham Osteoporosis Study. In contrast to existing methods, our newly proposed approaches allow the quantification of pleiotropic effects. The bootstrap resampling percentile method is used to construct confidence intervals for statistical hypothesis testing. Simulation results suggest that the VC-based approaches are affected by the polygenic correlation level. The covariance analysis approach outperforms the VC-based approaches, with unbiased estimates and better power, which remain consistent regardless of the polygenic correlation. In addition, the covariance analysis approach is simple to implement and can be applied to both family data and genetically unrelated data. Using simulation, we also show that existing methods, such as MANOVA, can have high rejection rates when a SNP has a large effect on a single trait, which prevent us from using them for pleiotropic effect analysis. In summary, this dissertation introduces promising new approaches in multiple phenotypic models for SNP-specific pleiotropic effect.

A 47-year-old male had bilateral upper extremity thrombophlebitis after use of intravenous amiodarone for sustained ventricular tachycardia complicating myocardial infarction. Intravenous amiodarone has been widely used since it was introduced 20 years ago for severe intractable arrhythmias. Superficial thrombophlebitis was frequently noted in the early case reports when high-dose intravenous amiodarone was used. Superficial thrombophlebitis could extend hospitalization and become a significant source of distress to our patients. Some authors recommend insertion of a central line to administer intravenous amiodarone especially with expected extended use of therapy. The treating physician should be vigilant and switch from intravenous therapy to oral therapy as soon as the patient's condition stabilizes and oral therapy can be started.

Unlike most instabilities, which are non-synchronous in nature, the Morton Effect is a synchronous phenomenon. This thermal instability occurs primarily in overhung rotors that are supported by fluid film bearings and is caused by differential viscous shearing within the bearing lubricant. The Morton Effect has also gained much attention within the last decade. Prior studies of the Morton Effect have used complex analysis in the frequency domain to model this instability. However, such an approach makes it difficult to develop a user-friendly design tool for engineers. The current research employs a steady-state analysis to predict the onset of the Morton Effect, and it uses an instability criterion which is based on a threshold unbalance caused by a force equal to 15% of the weight of the rotor. It is hoped that this method will provide a more easily adaptable platform for design and analytical purposes. The current model has demonstrated good agreement with other theoretical models and experimental data. This agreement applies to rotors that are supported by either plain or tilting pad journal bearings and it was found that a worse case scenario for the Morton Effect would involve centered, circular and large-amplitude bearing orbits. A test rotor was also designed and built. Initial experimental data revealed an unusual instability that might have been caused by the Morton Effect. / Ph. D.

The fundamental unit of behavior, defined by the discriminated operant, can be reduced to the three-term contingency, which includes an antecedent stimulus, a response, and a reinforcing consequence. Behavioral momentum theory suggests that resistance to disruption (i.e., resistance to change) of operant behavior is governed by the relation between the antecedent stimulus context and the rate of reinforcement within that context (i.e., Pavlovian stimulus-reinforcer relation). Further, behavior momentum theory suggests that resistance to change is independent of the contingency between the response and the reinforcer (i.e., operant response-reinforcer relation). Thus, although additional response-independent food decreases response rates by greatly degrading the response-reinforcer relation, resistance to change is increased because the stimulus-reinforcer relation is enhanced. Inconsistent with behavioral momentum theory, unsignaled delays decrease response rates and resistance to change by slightly degrading the response-reinforcer relation while maintaining equal stimulus-reinforcer relations. Therefore, it is unclear exactly how degrading response-reinforcer relations with response-independent food and delayed reinforcers affects resistance to change because the stimulus-reinforcer relations have generally differed across components and studies. Thus, the present experiment examined whether differentially degrading response-reinforcer relations affects resistance to change while maintaining equal stimulus-reinforcer relations. In the present experiment, a three-component multiple schedule with equal rates of immediate response-dependent reinforcement (15 per hr) was used with pigeons keypecking for food. Equal rates of response-independent food (60 per hr) and 3-s unsignaled delayed reinforcers (60 per hr) were added to two different components in baseline. Thus, the stimulus-reinforcer relations were equal in the two components with added reinforcers and were greater than in the component without added reinforcers . Any differences in resistance to change across the components with added reinforcers should reflect only differences in the response-reinforcer relations because the stimulus-reinforcer relations were equal. Consistent with behavioral-momentum theory, however, resistance to presession feeding, response-independent food presented during intercomponent intervals , and extinction was greater in the components with added reinforcers. There were no differences in resistance to change between the two components with added reinforcers. These results replicate the finding that adding response-independent food increases resistance to change and extends this finding to the effects of added delayed reinforcement.

Precision measurements of the Mossbauer fraction of Fe57 in chromium were made using the black absorber technique over a range of temperatures from 78K to 792K. Because of uncertainty in corrections at high temperatures, only the data collected from 78K to 600K was used in analyzing the results. The f values were analyzed in terms of a Debye approximmation. This analysis of the data yielded a theoretical fit which was based on two adjustable parameters (a Debye temperature of 438K and an anharmonicity parameter of 2 x 10-4K-1). The f measurements were also analyzed using a theory proposed by Mannheim in 1968. Two different phonon density of states functions (Feldman, Muhlestein) were applied to Mannheim’s theory, and the resulting theoretical fits to experimental values showed a decrease in the force constant as a result of introducing an impurity into the chromium. Feldman’s phonon spectrum yielded a force constant ratio of 1.30±.07 and an anharmoncity parameter of ℇ=2.5(±.5) x 10-4K-1.

Additions of copper were shown to affect cell morphology, growth rates and nutrient uptake in Closterium moniliferum. These parameters are interrelated in the total life cycle of the organism. It was found that the timing of events in the life cycle, including sexual reproduction, could be changed when copper was added. When increasing concentrations of copper were added to the growth medium, Closterium moniliferurn exhibited a stimulatory, inhibitory, or toxic dose-response typical of organisms to trace metals. The stimulatory effect, occurring at pCu* 14.4, was demonstrated by an early increase in cell number, increased nitrate uptake, and early onset of sexual reproduction. The inhibitory effects of greater concentrations of copper (pCu* 12.1) were a longer lag phase, decreased nitrate uptake, and later onset of sexual reproduction. Light micrographs and scanning electron micrographs of normal and aberrant cells demonstrated the effect of copper on morphology. It was demonstrated that the sexual phase in some srains of Closteriurn moniliferurn could be triggered by changes in the amount of nitrogen in the medium. Although it was expected that each cell would have a minimal cell quota (Q nitrogen/cell) before sexual reproduction occurred, work here demonstrated that Q was not the critical factor in the initiation of the process. Sexual reproduction occurred at Q = .05 micromoles nitrogen/cell up to .21 micromoles nitrogen/cell. Neither was cell density in batch cultures the critical factor. Sexual reproduction occurred in the range of 400 cells/ml up to 6100 cells/ml. Different nitrogen sources gave different responses in the onset of sexual reproduction. Nitrate depletion. not ammonia, appears to be the critical component in induction of sexual reproduction. The actual effect of metals like copper on the population dynamics of Closterium moniliferum in natural environments is yet to be determined. The stimulatory effect on nitrate uptake by copper, and its accompanying earlier formation of zygotes, may have survival value for the organism since the zygotes become thick-walled and are not as subject to environmental perturbations as vegetative cells.

Need for this investigation: The interest that has been aroused in the general public by the cigarette manufactures with their publicity claims, pro and con, as to the effects of their particular brand of cigarettes upon the emotional reaction of the smoker has offered the stimulus tor this research. Statement of problem: Physiological or psychological. The research reported here represents an experimental attempt to reveal the relationship between the physiological or psychological responses to smoking. The Thesis: Does smoking produce emotional relaxation? This report is an outgrowth of experiments of similar nature which have been completed in the past. The report covers the data from an experiment attempting to show some statistical evidence that there possibly is an emotional relaxation resulting from the smoking of a cigarette.