In this report we describe simulation of the surface current density on a PEC cylinder and the diffracted field for a line source above a finite PEC ground plane as a means to verify the Nero2D program. The results are compared with the exact solution and give acceptable errors. A terrain model for a communication link is studied in the report and we simulate the wave propagation for terrain with irregular shapes and different materials. The Nero2D program is based on the fast multipole method (FMM) to reduce computation time and memory. Gaussian sources are also studied to make the terrain model more realistic

The ubiquitous enzyme dUTPase hydrolyzes dUTP into dUMP and pyrophosphate, preventing DNA fragmentation and cell death due to accumulation of dUTP. Inhibitors of dUTPase could serve as drugs in the treatment of cancers and infectious diseases. This thesis presents five studies. A mutational study on the Escherichia coli dUTPase (S72A) provides new insights about the catalytic principles of the homotrimeric dUTPases. A model is presented in which transition state formation is associated with a rotation of the conserved Ser72 side chain. The model can explain the strict order of deamination and hydrolysis catalyzed by the bifunctional dCTP deaminase:dUTPases. The S72A/D90N double mutant is currently investigated. Preliminary data indicate that this form preserves the binding properties of the S72A mutant but is completely inactive, making it attractive for structural studies. In the remaining studies we compare the binding of substrate analogues to the human, the E. coli and the equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) homotrimeric dUTPases. One study concerns 2´,3´-dideoxy-UTP (ddUTP) and shows that removal of the 3´-hydroxyl group increases KM, ten times with the cellular dUTPases and fifty times with the viral dUTPase, but does not affect kcat with any of these enzymes. Another study concerns the inhibitory effects of 3´-azido-2´,3´-dideoxy-UTP. This derivative binds to the bacterial dUTPase but not to the other forms making it a potential lead for the development of antibacterial dUTPase inhibitors. Yet another study investigates two uracil derivatives. Both compounds are found to inhibit the human, the bacterial but not the viral dUTPase. The inhibition is shown to be competitive.

I den här uppsatsen beskrivs kommunikationen stödd av ett talbaserat kommunikationshjälpmedel mellan två personer utan funktionshinder. Beskrivningen görs utifrån ett teoretiskt perspektiv som tar hänsyn till att kommunikation är en interaktiv social process och fokus ligger på processen i vilken man skapar samförståelse. En kvalitativ metod användes där observationer samlades in genom videoinspelningar av personer involverade i en måltid. Materialet analyserades genom en kommunikationsanalys i vilken fokus låg på hur samförståelse uppnåddes. Hastighetsbegränsning och symbolurvalet visade sig vara egenskaper hos kommunikationshjälpmedlet som påverkade kommunikationen på så sätt att deltagarna på grund av dessa fick reparera eller avbryta den aktuella konversationen. För att kompensera för hastighetsbegränsningen och symbolurvalet använde sig deltagarna framförallt av två olika strategier, den ena innebar att man genom samkonstruktion skapade yttranden och den andra innebar att man använde sig av den ackumulerade samförståelsen för att på ett så ekonomiskt sätt skapa yttranden. Sammantaget visade sig kommunikationen med hjälp av ett hjälpmedel vara en process i vilken alla deltagare var involverade och påverkades av situationen.

No description available.

Hedgehog related genes have been shown to play a major role in development in all deuterostomes. In C.elegans, such genes have been found where the similarity is restricted to the C-terminal domain. This work has focused on the hedgehog related C.elegans proteins called ground (grd), ground-like (grl), and wart (wrt) which appear to form a unique structural family.These proteins are cysteine rich and have conserved cysteine patterns which, together with thethought that they are secreted, are expected to be in disulfide form. Since the extracellular environment is very oxidizing and due to the conserved cysteine pattern, disulfide bonds are thought to play a big part in the folding and stabilization of these proteins. The stability of the protein and the formation of a disulfide bond are related through a thermodynamic cycle, which insures that the stabilization of the protein by the disulfide is reflected by the identical stabilization of the disulfide by the protein. Practically, there are numerous parameters that can be used to try to achieve the correct disulfide bonds and folding, when doing in vitro trials, some of which were used in this project. C.elegans proteins grd-5, grd-13, grl-24, wrt-3 and wrt-5 were studied in this project. All of the proteins were expressed and purified with success, with theexception of grl-24. All constructs formed inclusion bodies. Some refolding attempts were performed on grd-13 and wrt-3. The presence of a disulfide bond in refolded grd-13 was demonstrated using chemical fragmentation. In general, these attempts did not give correctly folded proteins but provide a foundation to continue experiments aimed at producing a native-like protein for structural and functional studies.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka om nyhetsvärderingen har ändrats under åren 2001-2011 i Dagens Nyheters nyhetsrapportering om attackerna mot USA den 11 september 2001. Detta har vi gjort genom att studera bevakningen av årsdagarna för terrordåden. Dagens Nyheter valdes eftersom tidningen har en tillräckligt stor redaktion och tillräckligt med resurser för att täcka internationella händelser. Vår teoretiska ram utgörs av tre nyhetsvärderingsteorier. Med dessa som utgångspunkt utformade vi variabler och gjorde en kvantitativ innehållsanalys. Denna kompletterades med intervjuer med två av Dagens Nyheters före detta korrespondenter i USA. Vår hypotes var att fokus under de första åren skulle ligga på kategorin "offren och/eller terrordåden" för att sedan förflyttas till "terrordådens påverkan på samhället" och på "återuppbyggnaden av Ground Zero", men också till "ifrågasättandet av USA:s krig mot terrorismen" och "terrordåden ur terroristernas synvinkel". Resultatet visade att Dagens Nyheter till störst del har fokuserat på "offer och/eller terrordåden" samt "terrordådens påverkan på samhället". Ofta förekommer "kända personer och politiker" eller "representanter för USA" i artiklarna. I så väl text som i bild är amerikaner och svenskar överrepresenterade då artiklarna utspelar sig huvudsakligen i USA och i Sverige. Tvärtemot vad vi trodde förekommer sällan personer från Mellanöstern eller misstänkta terrorister. Inte heller ifrågasätts USA:s krig mot terrorismen.

Soil moisture and ground thaw state are both indicative of a hillslopes ability to transfer water. In cold regions in particular, it is widely known that the wetness of surface soils and depth of ground thaw are important for runoff generation, but the diversity of interactions between surface soil moisture and ground thaw themselves has not been studied. To fill this knowledge gap, detailed shallow soil moisture and thaw depth surveys were conducted along systematic grids at the Baker Creek Basin, Northwest Territories. Multiple hillslopes were studied to determine how the interactions differed along a spectrum of topological, typological and topographic situations (T³ template). Results did not show a simple relationship between soil moisture and ground thaw as was expected. Instead, correlation was a function of wetness such that the correlation between soil moisture and ground thaw improved with site wetness. To understand why differences in soil moisture and ground thaw state arose, water and energy fluxes were examined for these subarctic study sites to discern the key processes controlling the patterns observed. Results showed that the key control in variable soil moisture and frost table interactions among the sites was the presence of surface water. At the peatland and wetland sites, accumulated water in depressions and flow paths maintained soil moisture for a longer duration than at the hummock tops. These wet areas were often locations of deepest thaw depth due to the transfer of latent heat accompanying lateral surface runoff. Although the peatland and wetland sites had large inundation extents, modified Péclet numbers indicated that the relative influence of external and internal hydrological processes at each site were different. Continuous inflow from an upstream lake into the wetland site caused advective and conductive thermal energies to be of equal importance to ground thaw. The absence of continuous surface flow at the peatland and valley sites led to the dominance of conductive thermal energy over advective energy for ground thaw. A quantitative explanation for the shallow soil moisture-ground thaw patterns was provided by linking hydrological processes and hillslope storage capacity with the calculated water and energy fluxes as well as the modified Péclet number. These results suggest that the T³ template and the modified Péclet number could be very useful parameters for differentiating landscape components in modeling soil moisture and frost table heterogeneity in cold regions.

This research used classical and molecular epidemiology tools to assess the potential importance of feedlot cattle as Campylobacter reservoirs. The project was conducted from November 2004 to September 2005 in southern Alberta.<p> Fresh pen-floor fecal samples were collected from commercial feedlot cattle near slaughter weight in seven feedlots. Overall, 87% of 2,776 fecal samples were culture positive for Campylobacter species (86% of 1,400 in winter, 88% of 1,376 in summer), and 69% of 1,486 Campylobacter positive isolates were identified as <i>Campylobacter jejuni</i>. After accounting for clustering within pen and feedlot, the number of days-on-feed and feedlot size were associated (p ¡Ü 0.05) with Campylobacter species isolation rates.<p> Retail ground beef was collected from 60 grocery stores (four chains, three cities). None of the 1,200 packages were culture positive for Campylobacter species. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results from a subset of samples (n=142) indicated that 48% of packages were positive for Campylobacter DNA. By species, 14.8% (21/142), 26.8% (38/142) and 1.4% (2/142) of packages were PCR positive for <i>C. jejuni</i>, <i>C. coli</i> and <i>C. hyointestinalis</i> DNA, respectively. The collection period (1, 2, 3 or 4) was associated (p ¡Ü 0.05) with the odds of detecting Campylobacter species DNA using PCR.<p> Oligonucleotide DNA microarrays were used as a platform for comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) analysis of 87 C. jejuni isolates (46 bovine, 41 human) obtained within the same geographical regions and time frame. Of the 13 CGH clusters identified based on overall comparative genomic profile similarity, nine contained human and cattle isolates, three contained only human isolates, and one contained only cattle isolates. In addition, human clinical and feedlot cattle C. jejuni isolates were compared on a gene-by-gene basis and only a small number of the 1,399 genes tested were unequally distributed between the two groups (p ¡Ü 0.05).<p> The high isolation rates of Campylobacter species and <i>C. jejuni</i> reported here may have implications for food safety, public health and environmental contamination. Our findings suggest that feedlot cattle and human <i>C. jejuni</i>strains are very similar and may be endemic within southern Alberta.

Pulse crops have been long associated with biological dinitrogen fixation and therefore improve the sustainability of cropping systems when included in rotation. However, studies indicate there may be additional benefits of including pulse crops in rotation. To quantify these potential benefits, soil processes and properties related to nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) cycling were examined in five crop rotations with and without field pea (<i>Pisum sativum</i> L.) in Scott, Saskatchewan. Gross mineralization and nitrification rates were determined using the 15N isotope dilution technique in intact soil cores. To estimate the proportion of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions derived from nitrification related processes rather than denitrification processes tracer techniques using 15N were used. Field incubations were performed in 2008 at seeding (May 13), anthesis (July 8) and just after harvest (October 8). Mean mineralization and nitrification rates were not significantly different among rotations on any date and there was no significant difference in mean N2O emissions among rotations. From labeled 15NO3- cores, it was determined that nitrification-related processes were the major contributors to N2O emissions. There was no difference among the rotations in microbial biomass carbon (MB-C) or microbial biomass N (MB-N) with the exception of MB-C in the continuous field pea (FP) and the canola (<i>Brassica napus</i> L.)-wheat (<i>Triticum aestivum</i> L.)-field pea (CNL-W-FP) rotation at anthesis. There was no effect of rotation on dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and only seasonal differences were observed with DOC levels being lower before seeding than at anthesis and post-harvest. Based on the results obtained from a single growing season, our results show that N benefits of including field pea in rotation, beyond dinitrigen fixation, were not detectable and that the immediate N benefit of including field pea in rotation may be due simply to the direct effects of biological dinitrogen (N2) fixation. However, there have been reports of pulse crop benefits to succeeding crops in rotation. As a result, we investigated both the quantity and quality of crop residues, which can have an impact on soil properties and processes. Plants enriched with isotopic tracers can be used to trace crop residue decomposition to various C pools but only if the tracer is homogeneously distributed throughout the plant. In order to determine if repeat-pulse labeling could be used to trace crop residue decomposition, this method was followed using 13CO2 to enrich plant material of field pea and canola plants in a controlled environment. The distribution of 13C throughout the plant parts (roots, stem, leaves, and pod) and biochemical fractions [acid detergent fiber (ADF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL)] were determined. It was found that 13C was not homogeneously distributed throughout the plant parts or biochemical fractions. The pod fraction in particular was much less enriched in comparison to the other fractions. The ADL fraction was less enriched than the ADF fraction. Because of the heterogeneity of the label throughout the plant, modifications of the method are needed and 13C distribution through out the plant needs to be assessed before the repeat-pulse method can be used to trace C residue through various C pools. Nevertheless, root contributions to below-ground C were successfully determined from the enriched root material and the resulting enriched soil. It was found that canola contributed more above- and below-ground residues than field pea, however canola was also higher in ADF and ADL fractions indicating a more recalcitrant residue. Research should continue to better define the impact of pulse crop residues on C and N cycling and subsequent crops in rotation.

Aircraft manufacturer Aquavion Systems is currently designing and constructing prototypes for its revolutionary new fleet of aircraft called the SeaStryder. During the prototyping phase, it was discovered that the center-of-gravity of the SeaStryder600 was too far aft and outside of the acceptable range. To solve this design issue, it was hypothesized that the weight of the horizontal stabilizer may be reduced without compromising its structural integrity. The following document analyzes this hypothesis and provides two alternative designs. Each design exceeds the design requirements, meets additional requirements requested by industry, and provides a significant degree of weight savings. The first design provides a 25% weight reduction. The second design provides an 18% weight reduction as well as a 160% increase in loading capacity. The designs proposed have both been verified through the use of Finite Element Analysis as well as by means of experimentation where two prototype wings were constructed and tested to failure confirming the analytical results.