The South African government’s integrated resource plan for electricity IRP2010 states that the country plans to have an additional 9.6 GW of nuclear power on the national electricity grid by 2030. In support of this, the NRF-funded SARChI Research Chair in Nuclear Engineering within the School of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering at the North-West University recently initiated research studies focused on Light Water Reactor (LWR) systems. These studies inter alia involve coupled neutronic and thermal hydraulic analyses of selected LWR systems. This study focuses on the steady state neutronic analysis of the European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) using Monte-Carlo N-Particle (MCNP5). The neutronic model will in due course be coupled to a thermal hydraulic model forming part of a broader study of the system. The Monte Carlo neutron transport code MCNP5 has been widely used since the 1950s for analysis of existing and future reactor systems due to its ability to simulate complex fuel assemblies without making any significant approximations. The primary aim of the study was to develop an input model for a representative fresh fuel assembly of the US EPR reactor core from which the fluxes and fission power of the reactor can be obtained. There after a 3D model of full EPR core developed by the school of mechanical and nuclear engineering based on findings of this work is also tested. The results are compared to those in the US EPR Final Safety Analysis Report. Agreement in major core operational parameters including the keff eigenvalue, axial and radial power profiles and control rod worth are evaluated, from which consistency of the model and results will be confirmed. Further convergence of the model within a reasonable time is assessed. / MSc (Engineering Sciences in Nuclear Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Saudi Arabia is in the process of implementing Electronic Patient Records (EPR) throughout its National Health services. One of the key challenges during the adoption process is the security of EPR. This thesis investigates the current state of EPR security in Saudi Arabia’s National Health Services (SA NHS) both from a policy perspective and with regard to its implementation in SA NHS’s information systems. To facilitate the analysis of EPR security, an EPR model has been developed that captures the information that is stored as part of the electronic record system in conjunction with stated security requirements. This model is used in the analysis of policy consistency and to validate operational reality against stated policies at various levels within the SA NHS. The model is based on a comprehensive literature survey and structured interviews which established the current state of practice with respect to EPRs in a representative Saudi Arabian hospital. The key contribution of this research is the development and evaluation of a structured and model-based analysis approach to EPR security at the early adoption stage in SA, based on types of information present in EPRs and the needs of the users of EPRs. The key findings show that the SA EPR adoption process is currently proceeding without serious consideration for security policy to protect EPR and a lack of awareness amongst hospital staff.

Neste trabalho foi desenvolvido um programa para simular espectros de ressonância paramagnética eletrônica (RPE) de onda contínua de amostras policristalinas para tensores não coincidentes. O Hamiltoniano de spin utilizado inclui os tensores anisotrópicos g, interação hiperfina, divisão de campo zero e quadrupolar e o termo Zeeman nuclear isotrópico. O programa inclui várias tecnologias novas, tais como: segmentação de campo com teoria de perturbação de autocampo para localizar as posições de campo ressonante, os métodos de distribuição Espiral e Repulsão para determinar o conjunto de orientações e a interpolação bidimensional triangular para reduzir o número de orientações computadas. A conjunção desses algoritmos podem aumentar a velocidade e a precisão das simulações, especialmente na simulação de espectros de sistemas de spin de dimensões grandes. O programa foi testado em algumas situações reais e o resultado obtido pode ser considerado, em alguns casos, equivalente aos programas comerciais e, em outros casos, de qualidade superior. / A computer program to simulate continuous wave electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) powder spectra for noncoincident tensors has been developed. The spin Hamiltonian used includes anisotropic g, hyperfine interaction, zero field splitting and quadrupolar tensors and isotropic nuclear Zeeman term. The program includes a number of new technologies such as: field positions, spiral and repulsion methods for determining a set of orientations and triangular bidimensional interpolation to reduce the number of computed orientations. The conjunction of these algorithms can greatly increase the speed and the accuracy of simulations; especially in simulating powder spectra of spin systems of large dimensions. The program has been tested in some real situations and the obtained result can be considered, in some cases, equivalent to that of commercial software, in other cases, of superior quality.

Thesis advisor: Michael Cermak / Electronic waste (e-waste) is being generated faster than ever, threatening the health of people at home and abroad. This paper advocates for improvements in e-waste management that increase environmental protection in innovative ways that also benefit workers. It reviews what is being done around the world in response to the problem and then introduces suggestions on how public and private actors can cooperate to achieve better results, particularly within the United States. The paper begins by examining the successes and failures of extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulations in Europe, the United States, China, and Japan. It then goes on to advocate for a system combining EPR with a refundable deposit to encourage consumer-driven increases in return rates. If people could receive five to ten dollars for recycling their old cell phone or laptop, far fewer would end up in landfills. The paper culminates with an examination of how the idea of “green-collar jobs” can apply to ewaste management. It examines non-college training programs to prepare people to work in this industry and bring them out of poverty. Several reports have discussed the e-waste issue and its policy implications but this will be the first that brings in the labor aspect. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: International Studies Honors Program. / Discipline: International Studies.

Estão sendo apresentados, neste trabalho, estudos estruturais e magnéticos do composto de [CuBr2(fdmp)2] utilizando as técnicas de difração de Raio-X e espectroscopia de EPR. a complexo cristaliza no grupo espacial P21/n com a=8.1653(47)&#197, b=10.432(3)&#197, c=13.385(4)&#197, &#946=100.12(4)&#176 e Z=2. Os íons de Cu(II), que estão em coordenação quadrado-planar trans ligando-se a dois Nitrogênios e dois Bromos, se encontram em centros de inversão. Somente urna linha de EPR e observada, proveniente do colapso das ressonâncias relativas aos dois íons de Cu(II) magneticamente não equivalentes, causado pela interação de troca. Devido a diferença significativa entre os pesos atômicos do Nitrogênio e Bromo, não e esperada urna simetria axial para o tensor g como é comum ocorrer em vários complexos de Cu(II); de fato, a decomposição de g cristalino para os dois g moleculares revela três autovalores distintos. Alem disso, a direção de maior g não coincide exatamente com a normal ao quadrado-planar, como é comum nesses complexos: se encontra rodada de &#8764 5&#176 em direção ao Bromo, caracterizando um estado fundamental do tipo dx2-y2 com mistura de dyz. Outro fato incomum verificado foi a dependência do fator g com a freqüência e a presença de contribuições não-seculares, característicos de sistemas em que a freqüência de troca é próxima a freqüência de Larmor. Uma analise da variação angular da largura de linha de ressonância foi utilizada para a determinação do parâmetro de troca &#8204J&#8204. Está também incluído, neste trabalho, um método numérico de decomposição de g cristalino em g moleculares e sua comparação com métodos da literatura. / In the present work, we discuss the structural and magnetic properties of the [CuBr2(fdmp)2] compound deduced from studies of X-ray diffraction and EPR spectroscopy. This complex crystallizes in the spatial group P21/n with a=8.1653(47)&#197, b=10.432(3)&#197, c=13.385(4)&#197, &#946=100.12(4)&#176 and Z=2. The copper ions, Cu (II), are in a square-planar coordination bound to two nitrogen and two bromine atoms. They are localized in inversion centers. Only one EPR line has been observed due to the collapse of the resonances of the two magnetically inequivalent Cu (II) ions caused by a strong exchange interaction between them. Since nitrogen and bromine have significantly different atomic weights we may not expect an axially symmetric g-tensor as is commonly found in many Cu (II) complexes. In fact, the decomposition of the experimental crystalline g-tensor into two molecular tensors reveals three distinct eigen-values. Furthermore, the axis of the largest molecular eigen-value does not exactly coincide with the normal of the square plane: it is rotated by &#8764 5&#176 toward the bromine atom which characterizes a dx2-y2 ground state with some contribution from a dyz state. Another unusual fact that has been revealed in our studies is the frequency dependence of the g-factor, due to the presence of non-secular contributions to Hamiltonian, which are characteristic for systems with a exchange frequency near the Larmor frequency. In order to determine the exchange factor &#8204J&#8204, we analyzed the angular dependence of the line broadening. In the present work we also included a numerical method for the decomposition of the crystalline g-tensor into molecular ones and compared it with other methods found in the literature.

A associação lipídio/citocromo c é importante e deve ser estudada, pois repercute na atividade peroxidática da proteína abordada e pode contribuir para o processo apoptótico, ou morte programada da célula, e também desempenha um papel significativo na cadeia respiratória. A natureza e a especificidade da interação do citocromo c com bicamadas lipídicas têm sido bastante investigadas ultimamente, mas informações detalhadas e precisas sobre tais assuntos ainda não existem. É aceito que ocorre primeiramente uma interação eletrostática entre a proteína citocromo c e as membranas fosfolipídicas. Em seguida, há uma interação hidrofóbica. Entretanto, ainda não é bem compreendido o papel da cadeia fosfolipídica. A associação do citocromo c com membranas lipídicas induz mudanças no estado de spin do átomo de ferro. A interação entre as vesículas carregadas e o citocromo c induz mudanças estruturais na proteína, as quais são refletidas no seu centro ativo, ou grupo heme. As mudanças do campo cristalino no sítio do ferro hemínico de forte para fraco são acompanhadas por mudanças do estado de spin de baixo para alto, respectivamente. Neste trabalho, estuda-se sistematicamente a natureza da interação entre o citocromo c e a cadeia fosfolipídica. As mudanças estruturais no grupo heme foram correlacionadas com a natureza do lipídio, ou seja, com a carga da cabeça e com o tamanho e o tipo da cadeia fosfolipídica. Foram utilizados treze lipídios diferentes, naturais e sintetizados, com cabeças polares negativas e neutras e com cadeias carbônicas saturadas e insaturadas de diferentes comprimentos. Para tal investigação, utilizamos as técnicas: Ressonância Paramagnética Eletrônica (RPE) Onda Contínua (CW) e Pulsada (PW) e Dicroísmo Circular Magnético (MCD). As técnicas enunciadas avaliam as mudanças de estado de spin e a simetria do citocromo c nos seus estados férrico e ferroso. A interação lipoprotéica lipídio/citocromo c foi avaliada com lipídios diferentes, inclusive com o lipossomo PCPECL, que mimetiza a membrana interna da mitocôndria nos eucariontes. A partir dos resultados experimentais, sugerimos um modelo para esse tipo de associação. / This association lipid/cytochrome c is interesting to study in order to understand the peroxidase activity of this protein, that plays an important role in the respiratory chain and in the apoptosis process or the programmed cell death. The nature and specificity of the interaction of cytochrome c with lipid bilayers have been major goals in recent studies, but detailed information on that issue is not yet widely available. In this regard, it is generally accepted that the electrostatic interaction is an important factor in the association of cytochrome c with phospholipid membranes, followed by a hydrophobic interaction. However, the role played by the phospholipid chain is not well understood. The association of cytochrome c with negative membranes induces a change in the heme iron spin state. The interaction between the charged vesicles and cytochrome c leads to structural changes in the active central or heme group. The changing of the crystalline field of the heme iron from strong to weak is accompanied by spin states changes from low to high spin, respectively. These facts concerned us to investigate more systematically the nature of the interaction between cytochrome c and the phospholipid chains. The lipid-induced effects in the heme iron crystalline field are correlated to the nature of the charged head group and to the size and type of the phospholipid chain. Thirteen different lipids, nature and synthetic, were used, with negative and neutra1 polar head group and saturated and unsaturated acyl chains with different length. This work investigates the change of heme iron spin state and symmetry of ferric cytochrome c using Continuous Wave (CW) and pulsed (PW) Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) and Magnetic Circular Dichroism (MCD) techniques. These techniques analyze the spin state change and the symmetry of the iron cytochrome c in its ferric and ferrous states. The effect of the different lipids were analyzed, including PCPECL membrane that mimetics the inner mitocondrial membrane in eukaryotes.

Foram estudados compósitos poluméricos e vidros fluoroindatos utilizando as espectroscopias de Ressonância Magnética Nuclear (RMN) pulsada e Ressonância Paramagnética Eletrônica (RPE). O estudo de RMN do 1H nos compósitos baseado no polímero polióxido de etileno e partículas de carbono permitiu diferenciar as mobilidades das cadeias poluméricas e identificar as contribuições destas fases. A partir das medidas de RPE foi possível sugerir uma interpretação das interações entre as partículas de carbono nos compósitos. Nos vidros fluoroindatos foi estudado o processo de cristalização, sendo acompanhada sua influência na relaxação nuclear do 19F. A cristalização foi observada por RPE nos vidros dopados com Cu2+, Mn2+ e Gd3+, sendo verificadas as alterações locais causadas por este processo. / Polymeric composites and fluoroindate glasses were studied using pulsed Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopies. Study of the composite formed by the polymer poly-ethylene oxide and carbon particles allowed us to distinguish the mobilities of polimeric chains and to identify the contributions from different phases. From EPR measurements it was possible to suggest an interpretation of the interactions between carbon particles in the composites. The main objective in the fluoroindate glasses study was to follow the crystallzation process. The 19F NMR measurements allowed to the observation of the influence of this process in the nuclear relaxation. The crystallization was also tracked by EPR spectroscopy in the doped glasses with the paramagnetic ions Cu2+, Mn2+ and Gd3+. This was accomplished by observing the local alterations caused by that process.

A arqueometria é uma área consolidada, com ampla utilização de métodos analíticos nucleares destrutivos e não destrutivos para caracterização, proteção e restauração de peças arqueológicas. O presente projeto teve como objetivo estudar a composição química elementar de amostras de fragmentos cerâmicos encontradas no sítio arqueológico São Paulo II localizado na calha do rio Solimões, próximo ao município de Coari na Amazônia Brasileira. Realizou-se a caracterização das amostras pela determinação de Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, Hf, K, La, Lu, Na, Nd, Sb, Sm, Rb, Sc, Ta, Tb, Th, U, Yb and Zn por meio da análise por ativação com nêutrons (NAA). A partir da composição química da cerâmica, foi possível definir o agrupamento de amostras em função da similaridade/dissimilaridade da composição química presente no material cerâmico. O agrupamento foi interpretado por métodos estatísticos multivariados como análise de cluster, análise de componentes principais e análise de discriminante. Foram selecionadas, a partir da formação dos grupos, 7 cerâmicas com o objetivo de elaborar o horizonte temporal do sítio, realizado por termoluminescência (TL) e ressonância paramagnética eletrônica (EPR). A temperatura de queima da cerâmica foi determinada em 6 fragmentos por meio da técnica de EPR. Os resultados apresentados neste trabalho podem contribuir com os estudos arqueológicos sobre a dinâmica da ocupação da Amazônia Central anterior à colonização Brasileira. / Archaeometry is currently a well established field in the archaeological sciences. The nuclear method for analysis of chemical elements is one of the important instruments for the characterization of the archaeological materials and has influences on the preservation and restoration. From the chemical and physical analyses it is possible to infer technical processes in ceramics manufacture and tools used by ancient people. Therefore, it contributes to the typology and to understand the roles of materials available in the archaeological sites, such as clays and lythic sources. Evidently, all the archaeological materials and sites are related to people that lived there a long time ago, and studies, as outlined above, reconstruct at least partially the history of such a population. This project aimed at studying the elementary chemical composition of 70 ceramic fragments samples from São Paulo II archaeological site, located along the Solimões River channel, next to Coari city, in Brazilian Amazon. The characterization of samples was performed by neutron activation analysis (NAA). By the determination of 22 elements in the ceramic fragments ( Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, Hf, K, La, Lu, Na, Nd, Sb, Sm, Rb, Sc, Ta, Tb, Th, U, Yb and Zn), it was possible to define groups of samples regarding the similarity/dissimilarity in elementary chemical composition. For such a task, the multivariate statistical methods employed were cluster analysis (CA), principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant analysis (DA). Afterwards, seven ceramic fragments have been selected to elaborate the site temporal horizon using thermoluminescence (TL) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) dating results. The EPR technique was also used to find the average firing temperature to produce the ceramics. The results of this research may contribute to the study on the occupation dynamics in the pre-colonial Brazilian Amazon.

In this thesis, I present my research into the development and use of a magneto-spectrometer operating at terahertz frequencies. Molecular samples with unpaired electrons were studied using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and the properties of semiconducting samples were measured by cyclotron resonance. A terahertz time-domain spectrometer was constructed, fine-tuned and benchmarked. The use of a large area photoconductive antenna (PCA), with a bias voltage modulated at 1 MHz, allowed for a signal-to-noise ratio of 13800:1 to be achieved, which was equal or superior to comparable systems in use. The thermal behaviour of the PCA was studied and modelled to find that a 28% increase in emission occurred when the PCA was cooled to 100 K and a 22% increase in the maximum usable bias voltage was possible when the emitter substrate was cooled in a liquid nitrogen cryostat. The spectrometer was used to study a mixed type I/type II GaAs quantum well heterostructure as a test sample, in the process extending the existing research performed on this controllable terahertz filter. Together with a Gunn diode, bolometer and a Schottky diode, a pulsed magnet was developed into a 135 GHz, continuous-wave EPR spectrometer. EPR was detected in DPPH allowing for the spectrometer magnetic field accuracy to be determined and in ruby, which provided the crystal orientation of the sample and the base temperature of the spectrometer. Following this, three novel mixed-metal fluoride-centred triangles were studied on a multiple frequency EPR spectrometer allowing for the exchange interactions to be calculated along with the g-factors for two energy states. Two dimetallic cobalt complexes were studied to find that small changes to the molecules resulted in significant changes in the measured EPR spectra and so these molecules could be a useful part of the study of exchange coupled systems. The terahertz time-domain spectrometer was then combined with the pulsed magnet and an asynchronous optical sampling (ASOPS) system. Use of ASOPS allowed the number of waveforms measurable during a magnetic field pulse to be increased by at least a factor of 20 compared to contemporary alternatives. The spectrometer was used study cyclotron resonance in a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) formed at a GaAs/AlGaAs interface. Cyclotron resonance was successfully measured in the 2DEG at frequencies up to 1.6 THz, finding an electron effective mass of 0.071 m e , a sheet electron density of 3.3 × 10 11 cm -2 and a mobility of 1.5 × 10 5 cm 2 V -1 s -1 . Furthermore, using this system, the detection of EPR in a ruby sample was achieved, providing the first demonstration of ASOPS being used to study EPR at terahertz frequencies.

Biogenesis of the multivesicular body (MVB) organelle is an important process for regulation of signalling in the cell. Signal receptors embedded within the outer MVB membrane can be sorted into intralumenal vesicles which bud away from the cytosol to within the MVB preventing further signalling. Sorting of receptors, invagination of the membrane and release of vesicles into the MVB lumen are mediated by the endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRT) along with a range of accessory proteins including histidine domain protein tyrosine phosphatase (HD-PTP). HD-PTP is a multidomain protein which makes several interactions with ESCRT partners, including ESCRT-0, ESCRT-I and ESCRT-III. This thesis focusses specifically on the interaction between HD-PTP CC domain and Ubap1 (ESCRT-I), and the two interactions of HD-PTP Bro and PRR domains with STAM2 (ESCRT-0) SH3 and Core domains. To address the structure of HD-PTP, multiple techniques were used: X-ray crystallography, which gives high resolution structural information; small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), which gives low resolution data for large non-crystallisable units in their solution state; and double electron-electron resonance (DEER) spectroscopy, which gives high resolution nanometre-range distance constraints between cysteines labelled with methanethiosulfonate spin label (MTSL). It was shown by X-ray crystallography that HD-PTP has an elongated CC domain, in stark contrast to its homologues ALIX and Bro1 which both have V-shaped CC domains. The CC domain showed limited flexibility both by SAXS and DEER. Further investigation showed that there was no significant conformational change upon binding its ESCRT-I partner Ubap1. The multidomain structure of HD-PTP Bro1-CC-PRR was described by SAXS, showing that these domains form an extended arrangement in solution. In addition, SAXS was also used to analyse the structure of these domains in complex with STAM2 (ESCRT-0), which showed that STAM2 is simultaneously tethered by the Bro1 domain and PRR. The Bro-CC-PRR portion of HD-PTP, has 9 cysteines, so with the aim of measuring local structural information in the CC domain alone, alternative spin labelling methods were investigated. Use of a bromoacrylaldehyde spin label (BASL), instead of MTSL, allowed more selective labelling of surface exposed cysteines, and avoided labelling most of the cysteines in the Bro1 domain. This novel method allowed the shape of the CC domain to be monitored during STAM2 binding and showed that there is no induced conformational change.