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There are seven living species of gars in two genera (Lepisosteiformes: Actinopterygii). In my first chapter, I estimate phylogenetic relationships among six of them using DNA data generated from four complete mitochondrial loci (cytb, CR, 12S, and 16S) and a single, partial nuclear locus--recombination activating protein 1 (RAG1) intron. A single outgroup taxon, the bowfin (Amia calva), was included in my analyses. Regardless of optimality criterion (genetic distance, parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian inference), a single, well-supported phylogeny estimate emerged. Both sister genera (Atractosteus and Lepisosteus) were monophyletic. Within Atractosteus, A. spatula paired with A. tropicus in the absence of data from A. tristoechus. Within Lepisosteus I recovered two sister pairings of species: L. platyrhincus and L. oculatus; and L. ossues and L. platostomus. I estimated the phylogenetic position of the seventh gar species, A. tristoechus, using DNA data generated from several partial mitochondrial loci and 105 morphological characters. In this analysis, within a monophyletic Atractosteus I recovered a well-supported sister pairing between A. spatula and A. tristoechus, with A. tropicus sister to the pair. My molecular phylogenies largely agree with recent morphologically-based phylogenies aside from the positions of L. ossues and L. platostomus. Using dates associated with the best fossil data available (244 Ma minimal age of the node joining bowfins to gars, and 100 Ma for Lepisosteidae), I estimated divergence dates under a relaxed molecular clock model in a Bayesian framework. Estimated ages for lineages ranged from approximately 50 Ma for Lepisosteus, 23 Ma for the split between L. oculatus and L. platyrhincus, 28 Ma on the L. osseus and L. platostoms divergence, and 30 Ma for the node uniting A. spatula and A. tropicus--dates ranging from the Early Eocene to the Early Miocene. In my second chapter, I conducted basic phylogeographic investigations into the geographical structuring of gene genealogies built with mitochondrial D-loop sequences from 115 individual gars, belonging to five species (A. spatula, L. osseus, L. platostomus, L. platyrhincus and L. oculatus) and collected from a broad array of localities. Across species, across localities, I found some phylogeographic structuring in L. osseus and L. oculatus. I found one unique set of haplotypes confined to L. osseus in the Pee Dee River drainage of North Carolina. The level of molecular divergence between these and other L. osseus haplotypes was similar to that among gar species. I found evidence that there might be mixing of haplotypes across a contact zone between L. platyrhincus and L. oculatus in the Florida Panhandle. I found significant molecular divergence among populations of L. osseus and L. oculatus distributed among drainages to the Gulf of Mexico. However little genetic divergence was detected among populations of L. osseus, L. platostomus and L. oculatus within the Mississippi River basin. In my third chapter I present pilot work into characterizing the origins of a population of morphologically unusual gars in eastern Wisconsin. The longnose gar, Lepisosteus osseus, and the shortnose gar Lepisosteus platostomus are native to Wisconsin. In the Fox and Wolf River systems in eastern Wisconsin there is a third form that superficially resembles the spotted gar, L. oculatus (not previously reported to occur in Wisconsin) in that is exhibits heavy head and body pigmentation and a relatively short, broad snout. After initial molecular phylogenetic analyses showed that these gars did not belong to L. oculatus, results of more detailed molecular investigations, coupled with simple morphological findings, are consistent with the hypothesis that these unusual gars may be hybrids of L. platostomus and L. osseus. Further molecular and morphological investigations must be conducted to definitively infer hybrid status for these unusual gars.

The objective of this study is to develop a fast curing phenolic formaldehyde (PF) and polymeric diphenyl methane isocyanate (MDI) based hybrid resin system for wood products applications. Various formulas of PF resins were synthesized with different formaldehyde to phenol ratio, sodium hydroxide to phenol and isocyanate group (-NCO) to hydroxyl group (-OH) molar ratios. The shear bonding strength property was used to evaluate and optimize the formulations by appropriate sample preparation. The optimized resins were characterized by rheometer, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and other methods. In order to eliminate the influence of hydroxyl groups from water in the PF resin, a frozen dried method was applied to remove the water while keeping PF resin in liquid state. Acetone was used to disperse the hybrid co-polymer to improve the mobility of the mixture of frozen dried PF resins and MDI. An unexpected phenomenon was observed when the two resins were mixed in acetone and a sharp reaction occurred. This led to an assumption that acetone promoted the curing of hybrid resin. The effect of acetone on the curing behavior of hybrid resin was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) and other techniques. It was confirmed that acetone promoted the curing of the co-polymer system. The gel time of hybrid resin with acetone decreases sharply compared to that of pure phenolic resin and original hybrid resin. Acetone also helped the hybrid resin to have better penetration behavior by improving the mobility and this also resulted in less variation of the strength distribution. Finally, lap shear samples were prepared at room temperature curing commercial polyurethane (PU), phenol-resorcinolormaldehyde resin (PRF) and laboratory made hybrid resins based on PF and MDI to compare the shear strength of different resins under different application conditions. The strength reduction of frozen dried PF with acetone/MDI is the lowest in humidity, temperature and humidity-temperature conditions. With just humidity condition, its shear strength reduction is significantly lower than that of any other resins including the solid wood control.

Preemergence herbicides are generally considered as a group to negatively affect hybrid bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. × C. transvaalensis Burtt-Davy) establishment. However, little is known about the effects upon hybrid bermudagrass root growth, establishment, and sod harvestability. Several research projects were conducted at Mississippi State University to determine the effects of commonly used preemergence herbicides on hybrid bermudagrass sod production. Measured response variables included visually estimated hybrid bermudagrass cover, normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI), ratio vegetative index (RVI), relative chlorophyll concentration (CI-RE), sod tensile strength, root mass, root length, root surface area, average root diameter, and root carbohydrate concentration after application of these herbicides. While several of these preemergence herbicides initially reduced hybrid bermudagrass growth, hybrid bermudagrass was generally able to recover and outgrow the herbicidal effects by the end of the growing season.

Power management strategies have impacts on fuel economy, greenhouse gasses (GHG) emission, as well as effects on the durability of power-train components. This is why different off-line and real-time optimal control approaches are being developed. However, real-time control seems to be more attractive than off-line control because it can be directly implemented for managing power and energy flow inside an actual vehicle. One interesting illustration of these power management strategies is the model predictive control (MPC) based algorithm. Inside an MPC, a cost function is optimized while system constraints are validated in real time. The MPC algorithm relies on dynamic models of the vehicle and the battery. The complexity and accuracy of the battery model are usually neglected to benefit the development of new cost functions or better MPC search algorithms. In fact, the literature does not deal with the impact of the battery model on MPC. This is why this Ph.D. dissertation evaluates the impact of different battery models of a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) through a sensitivity analysis to reach optimal performance for an MPC. The required fidelity of the battery might depend on different factors:the prediction horizon also called look-ahead step time the vehicle states update time the vehicle model step time the objective function The results of simulations show that higher fidelity model improves the capability to predict accurately the battery aging. As the battery pack is currently one of the most expensive components of an electric vehicle and lithium is a limited natural resource, being able to manage precisely the battery aging is a crucial point for both the automotive company and the battery manufacturer. Another important aspect highlighted by this PhD dissertation is that higher battery fidelity model reduces the possibility to violate the SoC constraint, which is greatly desirable. In fact, this constraint is usually defined by battery manufacturers for safety and battery aging management reasons. Last but not least, it has been proven that the impact of the battery modeling for the MPC controller depends on what the objective function aims to optimize. For instance, battery modeling have limited impact if the objective function takes into account the fuel consumption but far more for if it considers the battery degradation.

No description available.

This thesis outlines the mechanical design and integration of a P0/P4 Parallel Through-the-Road Hybrid Electric Vehicle. The vehicle is McMaster University’s entrant into the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge, the current offering of the long running Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition series. The competition challenges students to electrify a 2019 Chevrolet Blazer, while meeting the needs of a car sharing platform. The design of the McMaster vehicle will be explored, starting with a walkthrough of the architecture selection process performed in the first year of competition. The design process of both powertrains will be examined, starting with component selection and working up to assembly integration. Particular attention will be paid to the rear electrified powertrain, which has been designed from the ground up for this purpose, including custom single speed gear reduction. The current integration status of the vehicle will be shown. Timeline delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic will be discussed, as well as next steps to move towards complete vehicle integration. A vehicle testing plan will be put forward, using the cutting edge systems available at the McMaster Automotive Resource Center. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc) / As Hybrid Electric Vehicles continue to grow in market share, the Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition series seeks to challenge and train students in this booming industry. The current competition in this series is the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge, where students must re-engineer a 2019 Chevrolet Blazer into a hybrid vehicle over four years. The vehicle is to incorporate new autonomous technologies, as well as be targeted at a car sharing application. The McMaster University Engineering EcoCAR team has entered into this competition. This thesis describes the detailed mechanical design of the new vehicle. This begins by examining the selected hybrid layout, or architecture. Then the design process of individual systems is shown, with emphasis on how each system meets the McMaster team goals. Then the current state of the vehicle is shown, and delays due to COVID-19 are discussed. Finally, a testing plan is proposed, to ensure all systems can meet their design goals.

I SKAFFERIET integrerar man forskning och produktion av VERTIKAL ODLING med SAMLINGSPLATSER för folket i SORUNDA. Anställda forskar om och håller utbildningar kring hur man effektivast kan odla HYDROPONISKT. Huset kan ses som en MASKIN där utformningen baserats på att MAXIMERA FÖRUTSÄTTNINGARNA för vertikal odling.  Huset är uppdelat i två delar. Ena delen är glasad och där sker den vertikala odlingen. Den andra delen är klädd i SOLPANELER och där finns samlingsplatserna. Odlingen är separerad från övriga huset av HYGIENSKÄL. Tanken är att plantorna ska få SOLLJUS från söder, och vid behov finns UV-LAMPOR under vintern eller vid behov.  Näringslösningen som växterna står i kommer från biomassa, vilken i sin tur kommer från restprodukter vid jordbruket i området.Växterna står i en NÄRINGSLÖSNING bestående av REGNVATTEN, som samlas från taket till en vattentank i huset, samt av BIOMASSA som kommer från spillprodukter från jordbruket i Sorunda.  Varorna som produceras kommer att gå direkt till den LOKALA COOP samt de två LOKALA RESTAURANGERNA som idag ännu inte använder några lokala matvaror. / In Skafferiet they integrate research and production of vertical farming with gathering places for the people living in Sorunda. Employees research about vertical farming and hold courses about how to grow fruits and vegetables hydroponically in the most efficient way. The house is divided into two parts. The first part has a glass facade and that is where the vertical farming takes place. The second part has a sunpanel facade and inside is where the gathering rooms are. The two parts are divided because of hygiene reasons since the crops are being sold in the supermarket, in the bottom floor and in the two local restaurants in Sorunda which today do not sell any locally produced products.  The idea is that the crops get sunlight from the south and during night and winter there are UV-lamps to cover the plants´ needs. The crops stand in a nutrient solution of rain water, that is being collected from the roof into water tanks, and of biomass from waste products from Sorunda agriculture.

PARK+Nynäshamn behöver en plats för unga. Nynäshamns kommun spår en starkbefolkningstillväxt och att den grupp i kommunen som växer mest är unga vuxna samtbarnfamiljer. Så för att tillgodose en ung generation behövs en mötesplats som ligger påen central plats i Nynäshamn med goda förutsättningar till kommunikationer. I och medatt Nynäshamn växer, kommer relationen till Stockholm bli ännu viktigare. Pendlandetför arbetande ökar och logistiken behöver bli bättre. Därför har jag kommit fram till attplatsen för mitt projekt ska vara på stationsparkeringen. Den ligger nära Nynäsvägen,färjan, centrum, hamnen, Svandammsparken och pendeltågsstationen.Platsen som den ser ut nu är en parkering på marknivå, jag valde därför att lyfta uppparkeringen och låta den vara istället tillgänglig för fotgängare. Svandammsparken ochstråket vid Ferdinand Bobergs stationshus får en starkare koppling med byggnaden.Även kopplingen mellan pendeln och staden får ett starkare samband.Projektet har från en parkeringshustypologi som grund, med en betongstomme och tt-kassetter som bjälklag. Nynäshamns historia som hamn-/ och industristad gerbyggnaden dess karaktär, en betongstruktur med inslag av stål. Ramperna för bilarnaåterspeglar trapporna som dels är exteriört och interiört. Byggnaden utgår från att hasamma kapacitet som stationsparkeringen redan har, strukturen sätter därför ramarnaför de aktiviteter som ingår i programmet. De aktiviteter jag har valt, med inspirationfrån fryshuset här i Stockholm, är skateboardåkning, klättring, dans och musik. De förstatvå våningarna är tillägnade för aktiviteterna följt av två våningar mestadels parkering.Parkeringen är otempererad men är ändå förberedd med isolering för att kunnaanpassa byggnaden i framtiden. Exempelvis bostäder.Ambitionen är att inte ta bort något på platsen, utan snarare uppgradera parkeringenoch parken. På så sätt får stationsparkeringen en viktigare samband för Nynäshamnsbefolkning, men främst för de unga. En park plus parkering.PARK+ är ett aktivitetshus med fokus på streetkultur integrerat med ett parkeringsgarage. / PARK+ Nynäshamn needs a place for young people. Nynäshamn municipality predict a strong population growth and that the group in the municipality that grows the most are young adults as well families with children. So to cater to a young generation, a meeting place is needed that is located on a central location in Nynäshamn with good conditions for communications. Since that Nynäshamn grows, the relationship with Stockholm will become even more important. The use of commuter train for workers are increasing and logistics need to improve. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that the location of my project is to be at the station parking lot. It is located near Nynäsvägen, the ferry, the city centre, the harbour, Svandammsparken and the commuter train station. The place that looks now is a parking lot at ground level, so I chose to lift up the car park and allow it to be accessible to pedestrians instead. Svandammsparken and the path by Ferdinand Boberg's station house gets a stronger connection with the building. The connection between the shuttle and the city also gets a stronger connection. The project is based on a parking garage typology, with a concrete frame and a ribbed slab as joists. Nynäshamn's history as a port/and industrial city provides the building its character, a concrete structure with elements of steel. The ramps for the cars reflects the stairs which are partly exterior and interior. The building is based on having the same as the station parking already has, the structure therefore sets the frame capacity for the activities included in the program. The activities I have chosen, with inspiration from fryshuset located in Stockholm, is skateboarding, climbing, dancing and music. The first two floors are dedicated to the activities followed by two floors of mostly parking. The parking lot is unheated but is still prepared with insulation to be able to adapt the building in the future. For example, housing. The ambition is not to remove anything from the site, but rather to upgrade the car park and the park. In this way, the station parking becomes a more important connection for Nynäshamns population, but mainly for the young. A park plus parking. PARK+ is an activity center with a focus on street culture integrated with a parking garage.