Waste heat recovery is a multi-billion-dollar industry with a compound annual growth rate of 8.8% assessed between 2016 to 2024 and low-grade waste heat (< 230^oC ± 20^oC) makes up 66% of this ubiquitous resource. Thermoelectric generators are preferred for the recovery process because they are cheap and are well suited for this temperature range. They generate power by converting thermal potential to electric potential, known as the Seebeck effect. Since they have no moving parts, they are inherently immune to mechanical failure or an intermittent need for maintenance. However, the challenge has been to effectively harvest waste heat with these modules to generate power, using passive processes. This work is focused on designing a device for optimized harvesting of waste energy from the ambient with a custom, evaporatively-cooled heat sink. This heat sink is designed to passively handle the cooling of the other side of the thermoelectric module so as to enable the attainment of a minimum of 5V, which is the minimum voltage required to power small mobile devices. The heat sink model is similar to a loop heat pipe but engineered for compactness. To ensure this level of efficacy is attained, several studies are made to optimize the wick. Non-metal wicks were considered as they do not contribute to an increase in temperature of the compensation chamber in loop heat pipes. A non-metal wick integrated with nanoparticles is tested and results show a clear thermal management enhancement over similar but virgin non-metal wicks, at over 16%. The heat source section of the device is optimized for energy-harvesting in low grade temperature regimes by incorporating a near-black body coating on the metal heat source section. Experimental results show that both the heat source and sink sections were able to induce sufficient thermal potential for the thermoelectric modules to passively generate up to 5V using eight 40mm by 40mm Bismuth Telluride modules in 3.5 minutes. The prototype is relatively cheap, inherently reliable and presents the possibility of passively harvesting low-grade waste heat for later use, including powering small electronic devices.

Assessment of trophic interactions between increasing populations of New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) and fisheries in southern Australia is limited due to a lack of species specific demographic data and an understanding of the factors influencing population growth. To establish species specific demographic parameters a cross-sectional sample of New Zealand fur seal females (330) and males (100) were caught and individually-marked on Kangaroo Island, South Australia between 2000 and 2003. The seals were aged through examination of a postcanine tooth, which was removed from each animal to investigate age-specific life-history parameters. Annual formation of cementum layers was confirmed and accuracy in age estimation was determined by examination of teeth removed from individuals of known-age. Indirect methods of assessing reproductive maturity based on mammary teat characteristics indicated that females first gave birth between 4-8 years of age, with an average age at reproductive maturity of 5 years. Among reproductively mature females, age-specific reproductive rates increased rapidly between 4-7 years of age, reaching maximum rates of 70-81% between 8-13 years, and gradually decreased in older females. No females older than 22 years were recorded to pup. Age of first territory tenure in males ranged from 8-10 years. The oldest female and male were 25 and 19 years old, respectively. Post-weaning growth in females was monophasic, characterised by high growth rates in length and mass during the juvenile growth stage, followed by a gradual decline in growth rates after reproductive maturity. In contrast, growth in males was biphasic and displayed a secondary growth spurt in both length and mass, which coincided with sexual and social maturation, followed by a rapid decline in growth rates. Age-specific survival rates were high (0.823-0.953) among prime-age females (8-13 yrs of age) and declined in older females. Relative change in annual pup production was strongly correlated with reproductive rates of prime-age females and adult female survival between breeding seasons.

<p>Specific and non-specific interactions of solutes with immobilized biomembranes were studied using chromatographic methods. Liposomes, proteoliposomes and red blood cell (RBC) membrane vesicles were immobilized by a freeze-thawing procedure, whereas whole RBCs were adsorbed in the gel beds using electrostatic interaction, binding to wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) or the streptavidin-biotin interaction. </p><p>Superporous agarose gel with coupled WGA was the most promising matrix for RBC adsorption and allowed frontal chromatographic analyses of the cells for about one week. Dissociation constants for the binding of cytochalasin B and glucose to the glucose transporter GLUT1 were determined under equilibrium conditions. The number of cytochalasin B-binding sites per GLUT1 monomer was calculated and compared to corresponding results measured on free and immobilized membrane vesicles and GLUT1 proteoliposomes. This allowed conclusions about the protein´s binding state <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i>. </p><p>Partitioning of drugs into biomembranes was quantified and the system was suggested as a screening method to test for possible intestinal absorption of drug candidates. We also studied how membrane partitioning of drugs is affected by the presence of integral membrane proteins or of charged phospholipids.</p><p>An attempt to combine the theory for specific binding and membrane partitioning of solutes in a single equation is briefly presented. </p>

<p>The human glucose transporter GLUT1 is abundant in red blood cells, the blood-brain barrier and epithelial cells, where it mediates the transport of the energy metabolite, glucose. In the present work some properties of GLUT1, including affinity binding of both substrates and inhibitors, transport rates as well as permeabilities of aromatic amino acids and drug-membrane interactions were analyzed by chromatographic methods.</p><p>Reconstitution by size-exclusion chromatography on Superdex 75 from a detergent with a low CMC that provides monomeric GLUT1 was examined regarding D-glucose- and CB binding as well as D-glucose transport. Upon steric immobilization in Superdex 200 gel beads, residual detergent could be washed away and dissociation constants in the same range as reported for binding to GLUT1 reconstituted from other detergents were obtained. The transport rate into the GLUT1 proteoliposomes was low, probably due to residual detergent. Binding to GLUT1 at different pH was analyzed and the affinity of glucose and GLUT1 inhibitors was found to decrease with increasing pH (5–8.7). The average number of cytochalasin B-binding sites per GLUT1 monomers was, in most cases, approximately 0.4. GLUT1 may work as a functional monomer, dimer or oligomer. To determine whether GLUT1 was responsible for the transport of the aromatic amino acids tyrosine and tryptophan, uptake values and permeabilities of these amino acids into liposomes and GLUT1 proteoliposomes were compared to the permeabilities of D- and L- glucose in the same systems. Dihydrocytochalasin B was identified to be a new inhibitor of tyrosine and tryptophan transport into red blood cells. Ethanol turned out to inhibit the specific binding between CB and GLUT1 and also to decrease the partitioning of CB and drugs into lipid bilayers. A capacity factor for drug partitioning into membranes that allows comparison between columns with different amount of immobilized lipids was validated, and turned out to be independent of flow rate, amount of lipids and drug concentration in the ranges tested.</p>

This study investigates movement as a phenomenon of constituting directedness in the Canadian writer Rudy Wiebe’s Mennonite novels. In Peace Shall Destroy Many (1962), in The Blue Mountains of China (1970), and in Sweeter Than All the World (2001), the phenomenon of movement is complexly at work as a decisive factor on numerous levels of constitution. Employing the concept of phenomenological directedness, the study elucidates phenomena central to the kinetic-kinaesthetic materiality of the three works. Focusing on textual nuances of kinaesthetic accentuation, the investigation highlights ways in which directedness shapes subjectivity rather than vice versa. Kinetic reality emerges as something torn between distance as a separating interval and distance as a remote intimacy manifesting an elision of the span between source-point and terminus. Such discrepancy shapes a sense of existential inconsecutiveness, in which an intriguing diminishment of feeling is a heightening of the affective life. This state of affairs is frequently aligned with faith as world-withdrawal. The wandering of persecuted believers is a theological process that at any given time can reduce itself to an external, purely geographic enterprise, thus becoming a substitute for faith. Nevertheless, the phenomenon of perpetual travel has the capacity to produce an overarching bonding-affect at the constituting heart of a community whose kinetic life is inseparable from the movement of regeneration.

The human glucose transporter GLUT1 is abundant in red blood cells, the blood-brain barrier and epithelial cells, where it mediates the transport of the energy metabolite, glucose. In the present work some properties of GLUT1, including affinity binding of both substrates and inhibitors, transport rates as well as permeabilities of aromatic amino acids and drug-membrane interactions were analyzed by chromatographic methods. Reconstitution by size-exclusion chromatography on Superdex 75 from a detergent with a low CMC that provides monomeric GLUT1 was examined regarding D-glucose- and CB binding as well as D-glucose transport. Upon steric immobilization in Superdex 200 gel beads, residual detergent could be washed away and dissociation constants in the same range as reported for binding to GLUT1 reconstituted from other detergents were obtained. The transport rate into the GLUT1 proteoliposomes was low, probably due to residual detergent. Binding to GLUT1 at different pH was analyzed and the affinity of glucose and GLUT1 inhibitors was found to decrease with increasing pH (5–8.7). The average number of cytochalasin B-binding sites per GLUT1 monomers was, in most cases, approximately 0.4. GLUT1 may work as a functional monomer, dimer or oligomer. To determine whether GLUT1 was responsible for the transport of the aromatic amino acids tyrosine and tryptophan, uptake values and permeabilities of these amino acids into liposomes and GLUT1 proteoliposomes were compared to the permeabilities of D- and L- glucose in the same systems. Dihydrocytochalasin B was identified to be a new inhibitor of tyrosine and tryptophan transport into red blood cells. Ethanol turned out to inhibit the specific binding between CB and GLUT1 and also to decrease the partitioning of CB and drugs into lipid bilayers. A capacity factor for drug partitioning into membranes that allows comparison between columns with different amount of immobilized lipids was validated, and turned out to be independent of flow rate, amount of lipids and drug concentration in the ranges tested.

Specific and non-specific interactions of solutes with immobilized biomembranes were studied using chromatographic methods. Liposomes, proteoliposomes and red blood cell (RBC) membrane vesicles were immobilized by a freeze-thawing procedure, whereas whole RBCs were adsorbed in the gel beds using electrostatic interaction, binding to wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) or the streptavidin-biotin interaction. Superporous agarose gel with coupled WGA was the most promising matrix for RBC adsorption and allowed frontal chromatographic analyses of the cells for about one week. Dissociation constants for the binding of cytochalasin B and glucose to the glucose transporter GLUT1 were determined under equilibrium conditions. The number of cytochalasin B-binding sites per GLUT1 monomer was calculated and compared to corresponding results measured on free and immobilized membrane vesicles and GLUT1 proteoliposomes. This allowed conclusions about the protein´s binding state in vitro and in vivo. Partitioning of drugs into biomembranes was quantified and the system was suggested as a screening method to test for possible intestinal absorption of drug candidates. We also studied how membrane partitioning of drugs is affected by the presence of integral membrane proteins or of charged phospholipids. An attempt to combine the theory for specific binding and membrane partitioning of solutes in a single equation is briefly presented.

In dieser Arbeit wurde ein Sensorkonzept mit Hilfe der Si-basierten Lichtemitter (MOSLED) zum Östrogennachweis in wässrigen Lösungen entwickelt. Das Sensorkonzept basiert auf einer direkten Fluoreszenzanalyse und besteht aus der Anordnung der Bio-Komponenten und dem Verfahren zu ihrer Herstellung sowie dem eigentlichen Meßverfahren. Die Anordnung besteht aus drei Teilen: die Funktionalisierung der MOSLED-Oberfläche, die Immobilisierung des hER_-Rezeptors und die Herstellung der Referenzlösung. Den Schwerpunkt dieser Arbeit bildet die Ausführung dieser drei Teile. Die Funktionalisierung der SiO2-Oberfläche der MOSLED wurde mit Hilfe eines im Rahmen dieser Arbeit entwickelten SSC (Spraying Spin Coating)- Verfahrens realisiert. Die Ausgangsmaterialien dieses Verfahrens sind organofunktionelle Silangruppen mit drei unterschiedlichen funktionellen Gruppen, nämlich die Amino-, Carboxyl- und die Thiolgruppen. Die Optimierung dieser Methode erfolgte mittels der zwei Silangruppen APMS ((3-Aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane und Triamino-APMS (N-[3-(Trimethoxysilyl)propyl]ethylenediamine mit der gleichen Molekülstruktur, aber mit einer unterschiedlichen Anzahl an funktionellen Gruppen. Diese Resultate wurden mit in der Literatur beschriebenen Verfahren verglichen. Die Optimierung der SSC-Methode wurde zuerst auf einfache SiO2-Oberflächen und dann auf der Oberfläche der MOSLED angewendet. Die Proben wurden mit Hilfe üblicher Methoden der Oberflächenphysik- wie FTIR-, Raman- und XPS-Spektroskopie untersucht. Die Oberflächenrauhigkeit wurde mittels AFM-Spektroskopie ermittelt, deren Aufnahmen eine glatte Oberfläche bei den mit der SSC-Methode silanisierten Proben zeigen. Während die Hydrophobizität der funktionalisierten SiO2-Oberflächen zunimmt, sinkt dabei die Oberflächenenergie, welche die Anbindung eines hER_-Rezeptors mit großer Bindungsenergie begünstigt. Zur Immobilisierung des hER_-Rezeptors wurde dieser erst an das Hüllenmolekül des QDots R-655-Farbstoffs gebunden und anschließend an der SSC-silanisierten SiO2-Oberflächen adsorbiert. Der Anteil der immobilisierten Rezeptoren wurde mittels PL-Messung kontrolliert. Eine andere Immobilisierungstrategie des hER_-Rezeptors an die SiO2-Oberfläche kann mit Hilfe eines Aminosäure-Derivates um den Rezeptor realisiert werden. Eine Adsorption der Lysinaminosäure an die SSC-APMS silanisierten SiO2- Oberflächen als Funktion des pH-Wertes wurde durchgeführt, und der Adsorbatsanteil des Lysins mittels XPS-Messung durch die Bindungsenergien der Energieniveaus C1s und N1s berechnet. Eine Referenzlösung mit QDots R800-Farbstoff markierten Östrogenmolekülen kommt zum Einsatz. Dabei wird die Position 17 des β-Estradiolmoleküls, welches mit einem N-Hydroxysuccinimide Derivat versehen ist, an das Hüllenmolekül des QDots R800-Farbstoff gebunden, sodass der Phenolring des β-Estradiols frei bleibt. Insbesondere ist bei den FTIR-Spektren eine nichtgebunden OH-Gruppe des β-Estradiolmoleküls gut erkennbar. Das gesamte Sensorkonzept wurde an zwei mit Östrogen mit einer Konzentration von 1mM und 1μM versetzten Wasserproben getestet. Die Anordnung der Bio-Komponenten wurde mittels PL nachgewiesen. Der Östrogennachweis wurde mit Hilfe des Ge- und Tb-basierten Lichtemitters demonstriert. / A sensor concept for estrogen detection in waterish solutions by Silicon based light emitters (MOSLED) was developed. This concept is based on direct fluorescence analysis and consists of a certain arrangement of the bio- components and their fabrication methods as well as the measurements protocol, which consists of for main steps: Passing the prepared MOSLED surface by the water sample, a washing step, passing the MOSLED surface by the reference solution, and the final optical measurement. The arrangement consists of three parts: the functionalisation of the MOSLEDs surface, the immobilization of the hERff receptor und finally the fabrication of the reference solution. The focus of this work is set on the achievement of these three parts. The functionalisation of the SiO2-surface of the MOSLED was realized by means of the new developed SSC (Spraying Spin Coating) method. The chemical precursor of this method are the organofunctional silane groups with three different functional groups, namely the amino-, carboxyl-, and thiolgroups. The optimization of the procedure was investigated with two types of silane groups APMS ((3-Aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane und Triamino-APMS (N-[3-(Trimethoxysilyl)propyl]ethylenediamine), which have the same molecular structure but a different number of functional groups per molecule. These results have been compared with those of the literature. The optimization of the SSC-method was analyzed by means of standard surface science techniques like FTIR-, Raman-, and XPS-spectroscopy. The surface roughness was applied by using AFM-spectroscopy, which showed a smooth surface by the samples treated with the SSC-method. Whereas the hydrophobicity of the functionalized SiO2 surface increases, the surface energy decreases, which favours the binding of a hERff receptor with large binding energy. In order to immobilize the hERff receptor at the surface, the receptor was bound to the molecular shell of the QDots655-dye and finally adsorbed to the silanized SiO2 surfaces. The fraction of the immobilized hERff receptors was controlled via PL-measurements. Another labelling strategy to immobilize the receptor at the SiO2 surface can be realized by using the amino acid as derivate to modify the receptor. For this aim the adsorption of the lysine at silanized SiO2 surfaces was investigated as function of the pH-value. The adsorbent part of the lysine was calculated via XPS by measuring the binding energy of both energy levels C1s and N1s . The reference solution with QDots800-dye marked estrogen molecules was used. The optimal binding was achieved by attaching the molecular shell of the QDots 800-dye to position 17 of the β-Estradiol molecule, which contains of a N-Hydroxysuccinimid derivate so that the phenol ring of the β-Estradiol remains free. In particular the FTIR-spectra showed the non-binding OH-groups of the β-Estradiol molecule. The whole concept of the sensor was tested at two water samples containing estrogen in a concentration of 1mM and 1μM. The adjustment of the Biokomponents was proven by PL, and the estrogen detection was demonstrated by using the Ge- and Tb-based light emitters.

In biosensors, printing involves the transfer of materials, proteins or cells to a substrate. It offers many capabilities thatcan be utilized in many applications, including rapid deposition and patterning of proteins or other biomolecules.However, issues such as stability when using biomaterials are very common. Using proteins, enzymes, as biomaterialink require immobilizations and modifications due to changing in the structural conformation of the enzymes, whichleads to changes in the properties of the enzyme such as enzymatic activity, during the printing procedures andrequirements such as solvent solutions. In this project, an innovative approach for the fabrication of proteinmicroparticles based on cross-linking interchange reaction is presented to increase the stability in different solvents.The idea is to decrease the contact area between the enzymes and the surrounding environment and also preventconformation changes by using protein microparticles as an immobilization technique for the enzymes. The theory isbased on using a cross-linking reagent trigging the formation of intermolecular bonds between adjacent proteinmolecules leading to assembly of protein molecules within a CaCO3 template into a microparticle structure. TheCaCO3 template is removed by changing the solution pH to 5.0, leaving behind pure highly homogenous proteinmicroparticles with a size of 2.4 ± 0.2 μm, according to SEM images, regardless of the incubation solvents. Theenzyme model used is Horse Radish Peroxidase (HRP) with Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) and Glutaraldehyde (GL)as a cross-linking reagent. Furthermore, a comparison between the enzymatic activity of the free HRP and the BSAHRPprotein microparticles in buffer and different solvents are obtained using Michaelis-Menten Kinetics bymeasuring the absorption of the blue product produced by the enzyme-substrate interaction using a multichannelspectrophotometer with a wavelength of 355 nm. 3,3’,5,5’-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) was used as substrate. As aresult, the free HRP show an enzymatic activity variation up to ± 50 % after the incubation in the different solventswhile the protein microparticles show much less variation which indicate a stability improvement. Moreover, printingthe microparticles require high microparticle concentration due to contact area decreasing. However, usingmicroparticles as a bioink material prevent leakage/diffusion problem that occurs when using free protein instead.

Study of biosensors has become an essential part of research in biotechnology. Biosensors as fast, portable, highly sensitive, and low-cost bioanalytical detection devices have been utilized in many fields of human activity. The first part of the presented work focuses on electrochemical biosensors for rapid environmental screening of herbicides as water pollutants. A sol-gel immobilization method for a photosystem II (PSII) complex is studied in order to enhance the sensitivity and the signal strength and stability of a PSII-based biosensor. Computer simulations of a PSII biosensor are employed with the aim to find out how the immobilization membrane properties influence the biosensor parameters. Newly developed immobilization by a thin-layer membrane based on the results of computer simulations and revised measurement protocols are presented. The second part of the work is devoted to synthesis and electrochemical detection of newly developed metal labels for electrochemical immunosensors. The synthesis of dendrimer-encapsulated silver nanoparticles and biorecognition properties of biotin-nanocomposite conjugates are discussed. For detection of synthesized labels, a microfluidic detector was manufactured and tested and different approaches to packing of a microfluidic chip employing polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) were investigated. Newly designed microstructures for a microfluidic separator of magnetic beads (MBs) were studied by computer simulations. The separator was made and trapping of MBs for the further employment in MBs-based immunoassays are presented