Technological progress in the field of wireless communications over the past few years has only been matched by the increasing demand for sophisticated services at lower costs. A significant breakthrough was achieved in the design of efficient wireless communication systems with the advent of the diversity concept. Spatial diversity exploits the availability of multiple spatial paths between the transmitter and receiver by placing antenna arrays at either end. In addition to improving the reliability of communication by creating redundant copies of the transmitted information at the receiver, wireless transceivers with multiple antennas exploit the spatial degrees of freedom to multiplex multiple streams of data and achieve significant gains in spectral efficiencies. In this thesis, we design spatial diversity techniques for slow-fading wireless channels. There are two parts to this thesis: In Part I we propose spatial diversity techniques for point-to-point single-user wireless systems, while in Part II we propose multiuser cooperative diversity techniques for multiuser wireless communication systems. In the first part, we propose a set of new wireless communication techniques for multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) channels over Rayleigh slow-fading wireless channels. We introduce MIMO transceivers that achieve high data rates and low error rates using a class of MIMO systems known as layered space-time (ST) architectures, which use low complexity, suboptimal decoders such as successive cancellation (SC) decoders. We propose a set of improved layered space-time architectures and show that it is possible to achieve near-optimal error performance over MIMO channels while requiring just SC decoding at the receiver. We show that these architectures achieve high rate and diversity gains. We also show that some of the proposed layered space-time architectures could find applications in multiple-access communications as low-complexity solutions for achieving near-optimum performance. In the second part of this thesis, we propose novel techniques for cooperative communication between terminals in multiuser wireless communication systems. Cooperative communication is a concept where neighboring terminals share their antennas and signal processing resources to create a virtual transmit array . In addition to transmitting their own information, users in a cooperative communication system listen to transmission from other users and relay this information to the destination, thus creating multiple paths between transmitter and receiver. This form of diversity, known as cooperative diversity, helps improve the overall reliability of all the users in a network. We start with a simple three node multiple-access system where two users are communicating with a common destination. We propose new high-rate cooperation strategies which achieve the full diversity gain offered by the cooperative channel for this simple system. We propose a new framework to address the tradeoff between cooperation and independent transmission over a multiple access channel and determine the conditions under which each idea is better than the other. Finally, we propose a high rate cooperation protocol which achieves the maximum diversity over a multiple access system with an arbitrary number of users and achieves high rates which scale favorably as the number of users increases.

The complicated process may cause the internal defects of multi-layered ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) and result in the malfunctions. This work aims to investigate the deformations of MLCCs that composed of nearly a hundred of BaTiO3 and Ni electrode films interleaved and stacked due to high pressure at elevated temperature. This study focuses on theoretical and numerical analyses. Classical laminated plate theory, linear elastic assumptions and equilibrium equations were adopted. Associated with the texts by Timoshenko and practical manufacturing process, three types of boundary conditions were considered, such as all edges simple-supported, two opposite edges simple-supported and the other two free, and four edges free. Also, two more conditions need be added, including four fixed points at corners and the elastic foundation at bottom. The numerical simulation by finite element method (FEM) incorporated with software ANSYS was used to obtain the displacement field of MLCCs due to high pressure at elevated temperature. The MLCCs were divided into nine regions with suitably different boundary conditions. Compared with the numerical results the analytical solutions of nine regions were found satisfactorily acceptable, i.e., the errors were about 0.1% - 6.2% for the boundary conditions of four edges free and four corners fixed. The errors about 0.13% - 6.15% were also acceptable for the boundary conditions of two opposite edges simple-supported and the others free. However, the analytical solutions did not agree with the numerical results for the case of all the boundary conditions simple-supported. Finally the proposed theoretical methodology provides an analytical method alternatively, instead of FEM and ANSYS, to analyze a nearly hundred layered MLCCs.

The complete set of Green&rsquo / s functions for cylindrically layered media is presented. The formulations reported in the previously published work by Tokg&ouml / z (M.S.Thesis, 1997) are recalculated, the missing components are added and a solution to the problem when (rho equals rhop) is proposed. A hybrid method to calculate mutual coupling of electric or magnetic current elements on a cylindrically layered structure using MoM is proposed. For the calculation of MoM matrix entries, when (rho equals rhop) and fi is not close to fip, the closed-form Green&rsquo / s functions are employed. When fi is close to fip, since the spectral-domain Green&rsquo / s functions do not converge, MoM matrix elements are calculated in the spectral domain. The technique is applied to both printed dipoles and slots placed on a layered cylindrical structure. The computational efficiency of the anaysis of mutual coupling of printed elements on a cylindrically layered structure is increased with the use of proposed hybrid method due to use of closed-form Green&rsquo / s functions.

A “Value-Added” definition of school effectiveness calls for the evaluation of schools based on the unique contribution of schools to individual student academic growth. The estimates of value-added school effectiveness are usually used for ranking and classifying schools. The current simulation study examined and compared the validity of school effectiveness estimates in four statistical models for school ranking and classification. The simulation study was conducted under two sample size conditions and the situations typical in school effectiveness research. The Conditional Cross-Classified Model (CCCM) was used to simulate data. The findings indicated that the gain score model adjusting for students’ test scores at the end of kindergarten (i. e., prior entering to an elementary school) (Gain_kindergarten) could validly rank and classify schools. Other models, including the gain score model adjusting for students’ test scores at the end of Grade 4 (i. e., one year before estimating the school effectiveness in Grade 5) (Gain_grade4), the Unconditional Cross-Classified Model (UCCM), and the Layered Mixed Effect Model (LMEM), could not validly rank or classify schools. The failure of the UCCM model in school ranking and classification indicated that ignoring covariates would distort school rankings and classifications if no other analytical remedies were applied. The failure of the LMEM model in school ranking and classification indicated that estimation of correlations among repeated measures could not alleviate the damage caused by the omitted covariates. The failure of the Gain_grade4 model cautioned against adjustment using the test scores of the previous year. The success of the Gain_kindergarten model indicated that under some circumstances, it was possible to achieve valid school rankings and classifications with only two time points of data.

Despite the plethora of information regarding cellular crowding and its importance on modulating protein function the effects of confinement on biological molecules are often overlooked when investigating their physiological function. Recently however, the encapsulation of biomolecules in solid state matrices (NafionTM, sol-gels, zirconium phosphate,etc.) has increased in importance as a method for examining protein conformation and dynamics in confined space as well as novel applications in biotechnology. Biotechnological applications include, but are not limited to, bioremediation, biosensors, biocatalysts, etc. In order to better utilize solid state materials as substrates for biological molecules an understanding of the effects of encapsulation on the detailed dynamics associated with physiological function is required as well as a complete characterization of the physical properties associated with the space in which the biological molecule is to be confined. The focus of this research is to probe the effects of confinement on the thermodynamics of ligand photo-release/rebinding to the prototypical heme protein, myoglobin, encapsulated within sol-gel glasses utilizing photoacoustic calorimetry (PAC) and photothermal beam deflection (PBD). Optical spectroscopies (including optical absorption and fluorescence) have also been employed to characterize the molecular environments of materials including Zr-phosphate and metal organic polyhedral (MOPs), thought to be good candidates for novel bio-hybrid materials. The assembly mechanisms associated with MOPs were also examined in order to develop a foundation through which new, bio-compatible MOPs can be designed. Overall the results presented here represent a technological breakthrough in the application of fast calorimetry to the study of proteins in confined space. This will allow for the first time the acquisition of detailed thermodynamic maps associated with the well-choreographed biomolecular dynamics in confined environments.

The overall focus of this thesis is on the development and understanding of nanoporous layered silicates and membranes, particularly for potential applications in gas separations. Nanoporous layered materials are a rapidly growing area of interest, and include materials such as layered zeolites, porous layered oxides, layered aluminophosphates, and porous graphenes. They possess unique transport properties that may be advantageous for membrane and thin film applications. These materials also have very different chemistry from 3-D porous materials due to the existence of a large, chemically active, external surface area. This feature also necessitates the development of innovative strategies to process these materials into membranes and thin films with high performance.

The island of Rum in the Inner Hebrides, NW-Scotland, hosts a central volcanic complex that is part of the British-Irish Palaeogene Igneous Province situated in NE- Ireland and NW- Scotland. On Rum, rocks from several stages of Palaeogene magmatic activity have been exposed by millions of years of erosion. Rum is best known amongst geologists because of the famous layered ultrabasic intrusion that covers the SSE part of the island, which is amongst the world’s most studied non-active (fossil) volcanoes. The Long Loch Fault traverses Rum with an N-S direction and has been proposed to represent the feeder zone to the layered ultrabasic intrusion. The area close to the Long Loch Fault has been named the Central Intrusion, and was formed by interaction of the plutonic rocks with the Long Loch Fault. There are two end-member theories for the origin of the Central Intrusion: (i) formation by wholesale subsidence (graben formation) of layered ultrabasic units or (ii) by intrusion of new material in-between the Western and Eastern Layered Intrusions (brecciating and fracturing blocks of material from the layered suite) and so causing pulses of uplift and subsequent collapse. To test how the Long Loch Fault influenced magma emplacement on Rum, field work was conducted including structural mapping, and rock-sampling. The data collected in the field were processed by structural 3D modelling (Move Software suite) and complemented by petrography, FTIR, Electron Microprobe analysis and thermobarometry modelling. The results reveal that several fault splays cut the Central Intrusion, which furthermore provide evidence of a transtensional graben situated above the fault zone and into which the layered units collapsed. This collapse was associated with the intrusion of Ca-rich feldspathic peridotite at zones of weakness in the layered rocks (e.g. bedding planes, unit contacts and fractures), producing smaller fault blocks and acting as a lubricant in-between blocks. FTIR and barometry results show that the intruding feldspathic peridotite magma was water-rich and that the clinopyroxenes in the magma crystallised at approximately 15 km of depth. Consequently, a combination of both theories for the creation of the Central Intrusion appears most reasonable. The combination of data gathered allows to formulate a model in which the tectonic activity of the Long Loch fault repetitively opened and closed the magma conduit, causing pressure build-up in the underlying magma reservoir(s) when the conduit was shut. When the pressure was released, e.g. during fault movement, dense (phyric) and wet ultrabasic magma ascended rapidly and spread out into the shallow crustal magma chamber, thus supplying the growing ultrabasic pluton with pulses of magma from depth. / Ön Rum är en del av ö-gruppen Inre Hebridéerna i Nordvästra Skottland och består till stor del av magmatiska bergarter som härrör från en vulkan som var aktiv för cirka 60 miljoner år sedan. Vulkanen tillhör den Britiska Paleogena Magmatiska Provinsen och är skapad av mantelplymen som för nuvarande befinner sig under Island. Den nu eroderade vulkanen har en ikonisk status bland geologer världen över på grund av att den minerallagrade magmakammaren som utgör stora delar av ön, alltså själva hjärtat av vulkanen. Long Loch förkastingen delar Rum i två delar och har föreslagits vara huvudledaren av magma in i magmakammaren. Området på ön i anknytning till förkastningen har påverkats mycket av dess rörelser och har namngets den Centrala Intrusionen. Det finns två vitt skilda teorier om hur den Centrala Intrusionen har skapats: (i) den Centrala Intrusionen har skapats genom sättningar i magmakammaren och bildat en gravsänka, eller (ii) nytt material tränger i magmakammaren, vilket leder till upplyftning av magmakammar golvet som följs av sättning och bildar en gravsänka. I denna masteravhandling testades hypotesen ’Long Loch förkastningen var den primära magmaledaren till magmakammaren idag exponerad på Rum’ genom fältarbete, 3D modellering, petrografi, och geokemiska analyser (FTIR, Mikrosond och barometri). Resulatet visar att den Centrala Intrusionen genomskärs av flera förskastningsgrenar till Long Loch förkastningen vilka tillsammans formar ett tulpan mönster (en typ av gravsänka) som indikerar att en zon av flytande magma (magmaledare) låg under den Centrala Intrusionen när vulkanen var aktiv. Magman från zonen underlättade gravsänka bildandet genom att dela minerallagren i stora block och att intrudera mellan lager och fungera som glidmedel, vilket betyder att båda teorierna kan appliceras på bildandet av den Centrala intrusionen. FTIR och barometri analyserna visar att den intruderade magma var mycket vattenrik och och kom från en  magmakammere på 15 km djup. Long Loch förkastningens rörelser stängde och öppnade magmakanalen, vilket orsakade att kristallrik magma intruderade i pulser.

In this thesis, first a higher order dynamic theory for anisotropic thermoelastic plates is developed. Then, based on this plate theory, two dynamic models, discrete and continuum models (DM and CM), are proposed for layered composites consisting of anisotropic thermoelastic layers. Of the two models, CM is more important, which is established in the study of periodic layered composites using smoothing operations. CM has the properties: it contains inherently the interface and Floquet conditions and facilitates the analysis of the composite, in particular, when the number of laminae in the composite is large / it contains all kinds of deformation modes of the layered composite / its validity range for frequencies and wave numbers may be enlarged by increasing, respectively, the orders of the theory and interface conditions. CM is assessed by comparing its prediction with the exact for the spectra of harmonic waves propagating in various directions of a two-phase periodic layered composite, as well as, for transient dynamic response of a composite slab induced by waves propagating perpendicular to layering. A good comparison is observed in the results and it is found that the model predicts very well the periodic structure of spectra with passing and stopping bands for harmonic waves propagating perpendicular to layering. In view of the results, the physical significance of Floquet wave number is also discussed in the study.

APSDS is a layered elastic tool for aircraft pavement thickness determination developed and distributed by Mincad Systems and based on the sister software Circly. As aircraft pavement thickness determination remains an empirical science, mechanistic-empirical design tools such as APSDS require calibration to full scale pavement performance, via the S77-1 curve. APSDS provides the unique advantage over other tools that it models all the aircraft in all their wandering positions, negating the need for designers to use pass to cover ratios and acknowledging that different aircraft have their wheels located at difference distances from the aircraft centerline. APSDS requires a range of input parameters to be entered, including subgrade modulus, aircraft types, masses and passes and a pavement structure. A pavement thickness is then returned which has 50% design reliability. Greater levels of reliability are obtained by conservative selection of input values. Whilst most input parameters have a linear influence on pavement thickness, subgrade modulus changes have a greater influence at lower values and less influence at higher values. When selecting input values, designers should concentrate their efforts on subgrade modulus and aircraft mass as these have the greatest influence on the required pavement thickness. Presumptive or standard values are generally acceptable for the less influential parameters. S77-1 pavement thicknesses are of a standard composition with only the subbase thickness varying. Non-standard pavement structures are determined using the principle of material equivalence and the FAA provides range of material equivalence factors, of which the mid-range values are most commonly used. APSDS allows direct modelling of non-standard pavement structures. By comparing different APSDS pavements of equal structural capacity, implied material equivalences can be calculated. These APSDS implied material equivalences lie at the lower end of the ranges published by FAA. In order to obtain consistence between APSDS and the FAA guidance, the following material equivalence values are recommended: * Asphalt for Crushed Rock. 1.3. * Crushed Rock for Uncrushed Gravel. 1.2. * Asphalt for Uncrushed Gravel. 1.6. Proof rolling regimes remain an important part of the design and construction of flexible aircraft pavements. Historically, designers relied on Bousinesq's equation and the assumption of point loads on semi-finite homogenous materials to determine proof rolling regimes using stress as the indicator of damage. The ability of APSDS to generate stress, strain and deflection at any depth and any location across the pavement allows these historical assumptions to be tested. As the design of a proof rolling regime is one of comparing damage indicators modelled under aircraft loads to those under heavy roller loads, the historical simplifications are generally valid for practical design scenarios. Where project specific data is required, APSDS can readily calculate stresses induced by proof rollers and aircraft at any location and depth for comparison. APSDS is a leading tool for flexible aircraft pavement thickness determination due to its flexibility, transparency and being free from bias. However, the following possible areas for improvement are considered worthy of future research and development: * Improvements to the user interface. * Ability to model aircraft masses as frequency distributions. * Ability to copy stress with depth data to Excel(tm) spreadsheets. * Ability to perform parametric runs. * Inclusion of a reliability based design module.

There has been much interest in the use of therapeutics based on ribonucleic acid interference(RNAi) to inhibit synthesis of mutant proteins ever since Elbashir et al. (Elbashir, S. M., Harborth, J., Lendeckel, W., Yalcin, A., Weber, K. and Tuschl, T., 2001. Duplexes of 21-nucleotide RNAs mediate RNA interference in cultured mammalian cells. Nature. 411, 494-498.) found that synthetic double stranded small interfering ribonucleic acids (siRNAs) can initiate this evolutionarily conserved process in mammalian cells. Since RNAi is able to target single genes and therefore mitigate the underlying molecular pathology of diseases, RNAi-based therapeutics will most likely benefit monogenic neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington’s disease. It is however particularly difficult to deliver exogenous materials such as siRNAs into neurons in vivo as the blood-brain barrier (BBB) isolates the brain from the vascular system and prevents permeation of most materials. Neurons also do not take up exogenous materials readily. Therefore, effective delivery of siRNAs into the brain remains one of the biggest challenges impeding their use as a potential neurotherapeutic. Layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanoparticles are a class of anionic clay materials that have demonstrated great potential as a DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) delivery system for a variety of mammalian cell lines due to their unique physiochemical properties. This thesis examined the feasibility of LDH as a siRNA delivery system for cultured neurons and demonstrated that the delivered siRNAs are able to effectively down-regulate synthesis of a target protein with minimal toxicity. Experiments were conducted using double stranded DNAs (dsDNAs) initially, and siRNAs were then used to verify these results. It was shown that nucleic acids(dsDNAs and siRNAs) could successfully intercalate into pristine LDHs to form nucleic acid-LDH complexes that had properties suitable for use as a delivery system in mammalian cells. These studies established that LDHs and nucleic acid-LDH complexes were biocompatible with neurons isolated from embryonic day 17.5 mouse cerebral cortex, suggesting that LDH can be used for nucleic acid delivery into cultured neurons. LDHs were also shown to successfully deliver nucleic acids into a non-neural mammalian cell line (NIH 3T3 cells). Finally, this thesis demonstrated for the first time that LDHs were able to deliver siRNAs into neurons, providing encouraging preliminary evidence that sequence specific gene silencing of the Mus Musculus Deleted in Colorectal Cancer (DCC) gene had occurred. However, down-regulation of the DCC protein did not occur consistently, suggesting that further optimisation is needed to improve the efficacy of siRNA-LDH complexes to inhibit expression of target protein in neurons. In future, LDHs should be further developed as an efficient siRNA delivery system for therapeutic gene silencing in the central nervous system using a neurodegenerative disease model such as the Huntington’s disease mouse model, which closely phenocopies the human disease. This model will allow the in vivo efficacy of these nanoparticles to be tested and subsequently improved in order to deliver siRNAs locally and systematically into the brain.