Presently in ground vehicle industries, conducting durability tests with a high acceleration factor have become increasingly demanding for the less time and cost involvement. In the previous work, to accelerate the field test, the standard ‘test tailoring’ approach has been modified due to the requirement of high acceleration factors and the limitations of testing implementation. In this study, a computer-aided testing method is developed for the validation of this modified approach. Hence, a new test-piece has been designed by a conjugative approach involving the finite element technique and fatigue analysis. Afterwards, the accelerated durability loading profiles synthesized via the modified approach have been applied on the designed test-piece and the fatigue life has been simulated to verify the effectiveness of those loading profiles. Simulation results show that loading profiles with an acceleration factor up to 330 can be successfully generated with an accuracy of 95% by this modified approach.

Αντικείμενο της παρούσας εργασίας είναι η εξομοίωση της λειτουργίας ενός επεξεργαστή με διευρυμένο ρεπερτόριο εντολών μέσω του διαδικτύου. Αναλυτικότερα αναπτύχθηκε ένα διαδικτυακό εργαλείο που δέχεται την αλληλουχία των εντολών και στην συνέχεια αφού εκτελέσει έλεγχο αυτών, συμβολομεταφράζει και αποθηκεύει τον κώδικα που προκύπτει στην μνήμη της εφαρμογής. Αφού όλα τα παραπάνω έχουν ολοκληρωθεί και το πρόγραμμα έχει ελεγχθεί και αποθηκευθεί στην μνήμη τότε το γραφικό τμήμα της εφαρμογής αναλαμβάνει να εξομοιώσει την λειτουργία του επεξεργαστή, προβάλλοντας τις τιμές που παίρνουν οι καταχωρητές την κάθε στιγμή καθώς και την αλληλουχία των δεδομένων που μεταφέρονται από και προς αυτούς. / The purpose of this study is to simulate the operation of a processor with an expanded set of instructions through the Internet. In more details, it has been developed an online tool that accepts a sequence of instructions and then do various checks on them, compiles them and stores the code in application’s memory. As long as all this has been completed and the program has been tested and stored in memory, the simulation part of the application starts, in order to simulate the operation of the processor, providing registers with the correct value each time and the sequence of data transferred to and from them.

Sveriges riksdag har beslutat att de nationella nettoutsläppen av växthusgaser år 2045 ska varanoll samt reduceras med 70 % till år 2030. Vägfordon som transporterar gods stod år 2017 förungefär 30 % av transportsektorns totala nationella utsläpp. Syftet med studien är att belysahur en omställning från fossila till fossilfria godstransporter på land kan ske i Sverige till år2045 samtidigt som näringslivets behov av godstransporter tillgodoses. Angreppssättet är attgenom backcasting formulera två framtidsscenarier - scenario A innebär stor satsning på järnväg,scenario B innebär stor satsning på elväg - för att påvisa vilka åtgärder som krävs samt när ochgenom Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) analysera hur de två transportslagen kan utvecklas tillden dominanta regimen i respektive framtidsbild. Studien visade att utsläppsreduktionen går snabbare i scenario B vilket då innebär lägreackumulerade utsläpp samt att den monetära kostnaden för scenario A är dubbelt så stor somkostnaden för scenario B. Ett antal hinder, barriärer och möjligheter identifierades och analyseradesför de båda scenarierna. De aktörer som identifierades var politiska och lagstiftandeinstanser, transportköpare, transportörer, aktörer inom forskning och teknikutveckling, intresseochpåverkansorganisationer, konstruktions- och underhållsentreprenörer samt drivmedelsproducenteroch distributörer. De två förstnämnda bedömdes ha störst inflytande. För elvägar måstenischaktörerna lyckas skapa tillräckligt med intresse för att öka momentumet och ta elvägartill regimnivån. För järnvägen måste aktörerna får upp momentumet inom regimen med interninnovation för att kunna konkurrera med vägtransporter. Sammanfattningsvis visar studien på att en implementering av elväg kan vara bättre påkort sikt och järnväg bättre på längre sikt. Klimatmålet om netto-nollutsläpp till år 2045 kannås samtidigt som näringslivets behov av godstransporter tillgodoses, men konstruktionen avinfrastruktur måste påbörjas snart för att överflyttningen och omställningen ska hinna ske. Föratt nå 2030-målet verkar en ökad inblandning av biodrivmedel i vägfordon utgöra den störstamöjligheten, dock måste de sedan fasas ut för att ersättas av järnväg och elväg. / The Swedish Parliament has decided that the national net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2045should be zero and reduced by 70 % by 2030. In 2017, road freight vehicles were responsible forabout 30 % of the transport sector’s total national emissions. The purpose of the study is tohighlight how a transition from fossil to fossil-free freight transport on land can happen in Swedenuntil 2045, whilst meeting the country’s need for freight transport. The approach is to formulate,through backcasting, two possible scenarios of the future where the targets are met - scenario Ainvolves a large investment in railways, scenario B involves a large investment in electric roadsystems (ERS) - to demonstrate what measures are required and when, and through Multi-LevelPerspective (MLP) analyse how the two modes of transport can be developed into the dominantregime in each scenario. The study showed that the reduction rate of emissions is faster in scenario B, which thenmeans lesser accumulated emissions and that the monetary cost for scenario A is twice as highas the cost for scenario B. Also, a number of obstacles, barriers and opportunities were identifiedand analysed for the two scenarios. The actors that were assessed to possess the greatest influencewere political and legislative actors, and transport buyers. Regarding ERS, niche actors mustsucceed in creating enough interest to increase momentum and take ERS to the regime level.Regarding railway, the actors must increase the momentum within the regime with internalinnovation to be able to compete with road freight transport. In conclusion, the study shows that an implementation of ERS can be favourable in the shortterm and rail freight better in the longer term. The climate target of net zero emissions by 2045can be reached whilst the country’s need for freight transport is met, but the construction ofinfrastructure must begin as soon as possible for the transfer of goods and transformation ofthe system to take place. Moreover, the study argues that in order to reach the 2030 target,an increased use of biofuels in road vehicles seems to be the most promising solution. However,biofuels must then be phased out in order to be replaced by railway and ERS.

Cette thèse porte sur le suivi des paramètres de surface par télédétection radar. Le diffusiomètre ERS, caractérisé par une forte répétitivité temporelle et une faible résolution spatiale, a montré son potentiel sur des zones pastorales sahéliennes. Afin d'élargir son utilisation à l'ensemble de la bande sahélienne, il s'agit d'évaluer son potentiel sur des zones plus hétérogènes. Pour cela, les travaux portent sur une région d'étude située en zone sahélienne agro-pastorale. Les résultats d'une étude de modélisation du signal alliée à l'exploitation de la complémentarité des données issues du diffusiomètre et du radar à synthèse d'ouverture ERS, montrent que le taux de recouvrement du couvert végétal est le paramètre clé de la réponse radar au sein de la cellule de résolution. Ces résultats ont permis d'estimer par inversion l'humidité de surface à partir des données du diffusiomètre.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 218-228). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Not available / text

This thesis is about protein profiling in serum and plasma using antibody suspension bead arrays for the analysis of biobanked samples and in the context of prostate cancer biomarker discovery. The influence of sample preparation methods on antibody based protein profiles were investigated (Papers I-III) and a prostate cancer candidate biomarker identified and verified (Papers III-V). Furthermore, a perspective on the research area affinity proteomics and its’ employment in biomarker discovery, for improved understanding and potentially improved disease diagnosis, is provided. Paper I presents the results of a comparative plasma and serum protein profiling study, with a targeted biomarker discovery approach in the context of metabolic syndrome. The study yielded a higher number of significant findings and a low experimental variability in blood samples prepared as plasma. Paper II investigated the effects from post-centrifugation delays at different temperatures prior sample storage of serum and plasma samples. Minor effects were found on the detected levels of more than 300 predicted or known plasma proteins. In Paper III, the detectability of proteins in plasma was explored by exposing samples to different pre-analytical heat treatments, prior target capture. Heat induced epitope retrieval was observed for approximately half of the targeted proteins, and resulted in the discovery of different candidate markers for prostate cancer. Several antibodies towards the prostate cancer candidate biomarker CNDP1 were generated, epitope mapped and evaluated in a bead based sandwich immunoassay, as presented in Papers IV and V. Furthermore, the developed sandwich immunoassay targeting multiple distinct CNDP1 epitopes in more than 1000 samples, confirmed the association of CNDP1 levels to aggres- sive prostate cancer and more specifically to prostate cancer patients with regional lymph node metastasis (Paper V). As an outcome of the present investigations and in parallel to studies within the Biobank profiling research group, valuable lessons from study design and multiplex antibody analysis of plasma within biomarker discovery to experimental, technical and biological verifications have been collected. / <p>QC 20130821</p>

The Skelton Glacier is one of the many smaller outlet glaciers located in the Transantarctic Mountains, where it drains ice into the Ross Ice Shelf. These outlet glaciers are important when determining the past, present, and future state of the mass balance of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. This research uses satellite imagery acquired over a period of 15 years to obtain a high resolution velocity field for the Skelton Glacier which is then used to calculate the mass flux and mass balance at ten flux gates along the glacier using the input-output method. The high resolution velocity field is combined with ice thickness data and accumulation data from other sources to obtain the total mass balance. The high resolution velocity field of the Skelton Glacier was created using European Remote-Sensing Satellite 1 and 2 (ERS-1/2) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data acquired in 1996 with the processing technique of SAR interferometry (InSAR). Because of the lack of differential InSAR pairs, new auxiliary data from the ICESat and TanDEM-X mission were included into the analysis. A velocity field was created at a spatial resolution of 50m which was validated with in situ GPS measurements from 2011/12, and compared to lower resolution velocity fields of the Skelton Glacier. The ice velocity field is at improved accuracy for this area compared to previous studies and is thought to be representative for the mean ice velocity. The analysis of ice flux at several flux gates allowed an improved error estimation of the applied technique to estimate the overall mass balance. Mass flux estimates along the glacier were calculated using the new velocity field and additional thickness data, which was then compared to two accumulation datasets to give mass balance estimates along the glacier at selected flux gates. The mass flux through the grounding line was found to be 1.2165 Gt a⁻¹, which needs to be balanced in a state of mass balance equilibrium by a mean annual snow accumulation of about 185 mm a⁻¹ water equivalent over the total catchment area determined with 6569 km². The mass balance at the grounding line is slightly negative, but the second flux gate is thought to be more representative of the mass balance, which is estimated to be 0.0441 Gt a⁻¹. Error analysis of the mass balance estimates found uncertainties in this data to be approximately 0.110 Gt a⁻¹. It is concluded from the analysis that further improvements in the overall mass balance estimate can be primarily obtained by a better knowledge of ice thickness and snow accumulation.

This thesis explores the professional practice of two highly accomplished expert teachers, ‘masters’ of classical ballet, with the aim of providing an understanding of their expertise. A qualitative case study methodology was used to illuminate the masters’ knowledge acquisition and teaching practices. Data collection comprised interviews with the masters and a sample of their students, and teaching observations of the masters at work. A metaphoric conceptual framework of a three-act ballet performance has been used to present the thesis. This dance-related metaphor was chosen: firstly, because it keeps the ballet context in focus; secondly, because it allows for the leading roles to be those of the masters, and their students, and; thirdly because it provides a fitting way to highlight key themes that emerged from the data analysis. Furthermore, just as an entire three-act ballet needs to be experienced in order to fully understand its story, so too, all three acts of the thesis ‘performance’ must be read in order to appreciate the complexity and inter-connected nature of the masters’ practice. Part One (The Programme) provides the foundation work of the thesis (introduction, literature review, methodology, and methods). Part Two includes The Performance, with the Prologue presenting biographic narratives for both masters and each of the three acts revealing key dimensions of the masters’ practice. Act One explores their knowledge acquisition, professional philosophies and beliefs. Act Two explores their professional orientations. Act Three illuminates their expertise in action, within the class and rehearsal environment. Important themes include the recognition that, for the masters, learning and teaching develop over a lifetime and are inspired by an immense passion and dedication for ballet and its teaching. Also, a master brings to the art- form his/her own individuality, and creativity, and actively contributes to ballet’s historical continuum through his/her professional legacy of practice. While some of the findings support aspects already described in the literature about expertise, the use of a domain-specific case study establishes this support, and illuminates a new perspective with much needed evidence. A Grand Finale concludes the study, with the development of a prototypical view of the professional practice of a classical ballet master. Such a prototype has the potential to inform researchers of exemplary practice in other art forms, and more importantly, to highlight the essential characteristics of exemplary ballet masters.