Point-of-care (POC) diagnostics presents a giant market opportunity with profound societal impact. In particular, specific detection of DNA and protein markers can be essential for early diagnosis of e.g. cancer, cardiovascular disease, infections or allergies. Today, identification of these markers often requires extensive laboratory work and hence is expensive and time consuming. Current methods for recognition and detection of specific biomolecules are mostly optics based and thus impose severe limitations as to convenience, specificity, sensitivity, parallel processing and cost reduction. Electronic sensors based on silicon nanowire field-effect transistors have been reported to be able to detect biomolecules with concentrations down to femtomolar (fM) level with high specificity. Although the reported capability needs further confirmation, the CMOS-compatible fabrication process of such sensors allows for low cost production and high density integration, which are favorable for POC applications. This thesis mainly focuses on the development of a multiplex detection platform based on silicon nanowire field-effect sensors integrated with a microfluidic system for liquid sample delivery. Extensive work was dedicated to developing a top-down fabrication process of the sensors as well as an effective passivation scheme. The operation mechanism and coupling efficiencies of different gate configurations were studied experimentally with the assistance of numerical simulation and equivalent circuits. Using pH sensing as a model system, large effort was devoted to identifying sources for false responses resulting from the instability of the inert-metal gate electrode. In addition, the drift mechanism of the sensor operating in electrolyte was addressed and a calibration model was proposed. Furthermore, protein detection experiments were performed using small-sized Affibody molecules as receptors on the gate insulator to tackle the Debye screening issue. Preliminary results showed that the directionality of the current changes in the sensors was in good agreement with the charge polarities of the proteins. Finally, a graphene-based capacitor was examined as an alternative to the nanowire device for field-effect ion sensing. Our initial attempts showed some attractive features of the capacitor sensor.

This thesis will focus on spherical near-field antenna measurements and the methods developed or modified for the work of this thesis to estimate the uncertainty in a particular far-field radiation pattern. We will discuss the need for error assessment in spherical near-field antenna measurements. A procedure will be proposed that, in an automated fashion, can be used to determine the overall uncertainty in the measured far-field radiation pattern of a particular antenna. This overall uncertainty will be the result of a combination of several known sources of error common to SNF measurements. This procedure will consist of several standard SNF measurements, some newly developed tests, and several stages of post-processing of the measured data. The automated procedure will be tested on four antennas of various operating frequencies and directivities to verify its functionality. Finally, total uncertainty data will be presented to the reader in several formats.

The use of herbicides in cropping systems is routine in western Canada as is the practice of rotating crops between cereals, oilseeds and pulse crops. Often, herbicides that are appropriate one year in the crop rotation are not compatible with the following crop. Additionally, certain herbicides are designed to target certain enzyme pathways that can interfere with amino acid synthesis. These pathways also exist in the microbial community, including Rhizobium species. Rhizobia have a unique symbiotic relationship with legumes. In return for a carbon source, rhizobia not only fix atmospheric dinitrogen (N2) for the plant, but also can increase soil N reserves for the following year. With herbicides targeting amino acid synthesis in both plants and microbes, there is a possibility that N2 fixation may be inhibited by the application of certain herbicides.<p> This project was designed to examine possible negative effects of herbicide application on N2 fixation in field pea (Pisum sativum L.) and chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). The study included field, growth chamber and laboratory experiments in which the effects of pre- and post-emergent herbicides, as well as herbicide residues in soil were examined.<p> In the field experiments, some early season measurements suggested that herbicide application had a negative impact on various growth and N2 fixation parameters. However, as the season progressed, plants recovered from early herbicide damage and N2 fixation ultimately was relatively unaffected. Growth chamber experiments similarly revealed that N2 fixation was largely unaffected by herbicide application when the application rates were relatively low (i.e., at rates intended to simulate partial herbicide breakdown, and thus lower than the recommended field rate). Although, N2 fixation was suppressed where high rates of herbicide (i.e., greater than recommended field rate) were applied, the efficiency of the rhizobia to fix N2, (i.e., the amount of N2 fixed per unit nodule mass), was unaffected. This along with a laboratory experiment which monitored growth of rhizobia in vitro, confirmed that rhizobia were not directly affected by the herbicides used in this study and that overall N2 fixation was not inhibited directly by the application of these herbicides. It was concluded that any negative impact on N2 fixation caused by herbicides used in this study, was related to the impact of the herbicide on crop growth, and was not due to any direct effects of the herbicide on the rhizobia.

The thermal history of the Earth, from planetary accretion and core differentiation up to the present time, is of paramount importance for understanding our planet. The thermal evolution of the core and the mantle dictate the generation of the Earth's internal magnetic field and its evolution through time. In this dissertation, I study scenarios for the thermal and magnetic evolution of the Earth, using numerical simulations for mantle convection and implementing recent geochemical models for the mantle and core. The conditions for which a magnetic field can be generated in the Earth's core are studied using parameterized models for energy and entropy. The model devised in this project couples the results of the numerical simulations with the parameterized models for the core, to produce a global thermal and magnetic history, with feed-back between events happening in the mantle and the core.<p> The dissertation presents an analysis of the scenarios that can be constructed from implementing new constraints into the thermal models for the mantle and core and emphasizes the most relevant scenarios which can be applied to the Earth's evolution, consistent with physical parameters, and geochemical and magnetic constraints known to date. In addition, I discuss the relevance of some of the scenarios which appear incompatible with the Earth's evolution, but are reminiscent of the evolution of other terrestrial bodies.<p> The results of this work show that the most successful scenarios for the thermal and magnetic evolution require the presence of small amounts of core internal heating in the form of radioactive potassium, or a slightly increased concentration of radioactive elements at the base of the mantle, due to isolated, if the base of the mantle is less mobile and acts as a thermal insulator between the core and the overlying convective mantle primordial reservoirs. Successful scenarios are also obtained if the base of the mantle is less mobile and acts as a thermal insulator between the core and the overlying convective mantle. If the base of the mantle is less mobile and acts as a thermal insulator between the core and the overlying convective mantle.

This dissertation develops insights into subsistence related decision-making from the perspective of homeless and street involved young people themselves through 39 in-depth and life story interviews. The interviews provide insight into two important and underexplored questions: how the social organization of street spaces shapes street life and subsistence; and how the self is implicated in subsistence related decision-making. To address these questions the analysis develops a conceptual model based on field theory (Bourdieu 1984; Green 2008; Martin 2003) that conceptualizes “the street” as a collection of interlocking subfields—unique social terrains structured at the intersection of various social forces that position actors relative to one another and that orient actors towards particular approaches to street life. The core concepts of field theory—field, capital, and habitus—provide insight into how the unique social spaces of homelessness distribute resources, stratify actors, and provide discourses that frame practice. The analysis demonstrates the strength of this approach through case studies of three such subfields in Toronto. Further, the analysis extends the field framework, and contributes to research on the role of the self in street life, by examining how narratives influence the navigation of street spaces. Actors use narratives to make sense of their circumstances and to invest lines of action with a sense of personal meaning. This narrative perspective is integrated with a dual process approach to action (Vaisey 2009) that states that action is influenced by internalized dispositions formed through experience and upbringing (habitus), as well as through available cultural resources that underwrite and legitimize courses of practice. I extend this approach by considering how these two processes interact within narratives, and how the resulting interplay shapes how the homeless navigate the social spaces of homelessness.

The Retarding Field Energy Analyzer (RFEA, RFA) is a simple and reliable diagnostic technique to measure the ion temperature in the Scrape-Off Layer (SOL) and edge of magnetic fusion devices. Design and operation features of a single-sided (facing the ion down stream side) RFEA for ion temperature measurements in the STOR-M tokamak are described. Its compact size (21 × 15 × 20 mm3 ) allows RFEA measurements without perturbing plasma significantly. Both ion and electron tem- perature have been measured by RFEA in the STOR-M tokamak. A method is proposed to correct the effects of ion flow on the ion temperature using the simultaneously measured Mach number. The measured electron temperature is consistent with the previously reported Langmuir probe data. Abnormal behavior of the RFEA has been observed in both ion and electron modes when RFEA is inserted deep into the plasma.

Field pepperweed (<i>Lepidium campestre</i> L.) is a cruciferous winter annual wild edible plant. It has potential medicinal properties as it contains a considerable level of glucoraphanin, which is the precursor for sulforaphane, a phase 2 protein inducer. Phase 2 proteins either directly or indirectly promote the scavenging of strong oxidants, and thus decrease the risk of many complex disorders such as atherosclerosis and Alzheimers disease. However, field pepperweed plants also contain glucosinalbin, an antinutritional compound. For field pepperweed to become a green vegetable crop or source of functional food, it is desirable to reduce or eliminate glucosinalbin. The biosynthesis of glucosinalbin may be down-regulated through biotechnology. To that end, in the present studies, experimental protocols for plant regeneration and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation have been developed for field pepperweed. Establishment of such methods represents a vital first step in the process of engineering field pepperweed for enhanced nutritional value.<p> The effect of explant type and various combinations of growth regulators on regeneration were evaluated in three accessions of field pepperweed (Ames 13179, 13180 and 15718). Among the three genotypes, accession Ames 13179 had the highest regeneration frequency under several conditions. Regeneration from hypocotyl explants was more rapid and prolific than regeneration from either mature leaf or cotyledonary explants. Segments from the acropetal end of the hypocotyls were more regenerable than those from the basipetal end. Evaluation of different hormonal combinations and concentrations identified an optimal growth regulator combination (3 mg L-1 thidiazuron / 0.1 mg L-1 naphthalene acetic acid) for shoot induction.<p> The plant regeneration system established was adopted for field pepperweed transformation using the acropetal segments of hypocotyls as explants. Two plant expression constructs were tested for down-regulating by RNA interference with the expression of a field pepperweed cytochrome P450 gene named LcCYP79B2. This gene may be involved in biosynthesis of glucosinalbin. Conditions for transformation such as pre-culture, co-cultivation time, and antibiotic concentration were evaluated. Transgenic plants were obtained and confirmed by histochemical staining of the reporter â-glucuranidase activity and PCR (polymerase chain reaction) analysis of the NPTII gene. The current study has established efficient plant regeneration and transformation protocols for field pepperweed. They should be useful for future molecular biology studies and biotechnological applications in this species.

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin film transistors (TFTs) are used as switching elements in large area active matrix liquid crystal displays and various image sensing devices for radiation detection. The noise inherent in the a-Si:H TFTs contributes to the overall noise figure of such devices and degrades the signal to noise ratio; therefore, the noise is an important factor in the design of the devices. The noise of the a-Si:H TFTs has been studied experimentally, but the origin of the noise is not understood. <p> This work calculates the noise of the a-Si:H TFTs based on a simulation of operation of the TFTs and the hypothesis that the device noise is due to the intrinsic noise of the a-Si:H material. An a-Si:H TFT with an inverted-staggered structure has been simulated by numerically solving the fundamental transport equations for various gate and drain-source voltages. The drain-source curves derived from the simulation agree qualitatively with the experimental results: both the linear and saturated regions are observed. The low frequency noise was calculated based on the charge density distribution in the channel obtained from the simulation and the known dependence of the noise in the a-Si:H on the charge density, Hooges relation. The calculated noise power increases with the drain-source voltage and is inversely proportional to the gate voltage or the effective channel length. The curves agree qualitatively with the experimental results. The calculated noise power agrees quantitatively with the experiments when the scaling parameter in Hooges relation, , is set to . This value agrees with the experimentally determined value for a-Si:H. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the low frequency noise in the a-Si:H TFTs is due to the material itself.

Propagation of radiation in a waveguides is theoretically described by Maxwell&amp / #8217 / s equations. The gradient of refractive index and an influence on the waveguide by a superstrate requires a numerical solution of the differential equation. Iterative methods such as the Runge-Kutta approaches are used to calculate the effective refractive index in the waveguide depending on the superstrate&amp / #8217 / s and the waveguide&amp / #8217 / s local refractive indices. In this study,the refractive indices, and the model fields of the TE00 modes are calculated. The calculated fields of the 00 TE modes give information about the propagation of the light in the waveguide. Also, the precision of the Runge-Kutta aproaches has been tested. The advantages and disadvantages of the Runge-Kutta aproaches are discussed.

Graduation date: 1990