The problem we are attempting to solve is the situation that is created when the waiting staff does not know when a guest is in need of service. Our solution to this problem is to design a coaster that wirelessly communicates with a base unit. The base unit is used by the staff to track the liquid level in all of the guests’ glasses in real time. The result of the project is a prototype that is capable of demonstrating the most basic functionality of the specified system. Even though the system is technically working, there are many areas for improvement and further development in order for the prototype to be able to be released as a complete product. / Det problem som vi har uppmarksammat är den situation som skapas när serveringspersonal inte vet att kunder önskar påfyllning. Vår lösning på detta är ett dryckesunderlägg som trådlöst kommunicerar med en basenhet där personalen kan läsa av samtliga underläggs status. Projektet resulterade i en prototyp som kan demonstrera den mest grundläggande funktionaliteten hos det tänka systemet. Även om systemet fungerar finns det många utvecklingsomraden och fler problem som måste lösas innan det är redo att lanseras som en färdig produkt.

Evidence suggests different sections of the arteriolar network supplying muscle can respond independently and this may provide a mechanism for the localized distribution of blood flow. This hypothesis was tested in the microcirculation of the cat sartorius muscle by measurement of arteriolar diameter changes during muscle contraction and sympathetic nerve stimulation in each consecutive section of the network. The diameter changes were referenced to the initial distribution of resistance across the network, as determined from arteriolar pressure measurements and morphometric data. This led to an estimate of the change in network resistance. Unlike previous reports, the most distal arterioles dilated little during muscle contraction and our resistance estimate indicates these vessels play an insignificant role in functional hyperemia. The more proximal, third order arterioles dilated proportionately more than other arteriolar orders and made the largest single contribution to resting resistance. Similarly, these vessels were the largest single site of resistance change during sympathetic stimulation. Together, these findings suggest the third order arterioles play a dominant role in regulating flow to the capillaries that each supplies. Antagonism of sympathetic control during muscle contraction has been attributed to direct inhibition of vascular smooth muscle contraction and to inhibition of sympathetic neurotransmission. Evidence to support the latter mechanism comes from the observation that functional dilation is reduced with exogenous norepinephrine as compared to sympathetic stimulation. However, exogenous norepinephrine may bind to both alpha-1 and alpha-2 adrenergic receptors, whereas that released by sympathetic stimulation may bind primarily to alpha-1 receptors. Since this difference could be significant, functional dilation after systemic injection of norepinephrine or phenylephrine, a selective alpha-1 agonist, was compared to that during sympathetic stimulation. In contrast to the findings with norepinephrine, functional dilation after phenylephrine did not differ from that observed during sympathetic stimulation. This indicates the dilator substance(s) released during exercise may selectively inhibit alpha-1 mediated vasoconstriction but less effectively inhibit vasoconstriction mediated by alpha-2 receptors. Furthermore, these findings suggest that the vasodilator mechanism may act primarily at the level of the vascular smooth muscle, without appreciable pre-junctional inhibition of sympathetic nerves.

Plants under variable water stress exhibit a contraction of their stem diameter. This variation can be monitored to determine the plant water status which, in turn, will lead us to a method of scheduling subsequent irrigation. In this dissertation, the possibility of determining the water status in cotton plants by automatically sensing their stem diameter variation was explored. A full description of the displacement sensor, the electronic circuits used for automatic stem diameter monitoring and the data analysis is given. Simultaneous measurement of the leaf water potential and the stem diameter variation were done for a total of eight days during an irrigation cycle. Statistical analysis was performed to infer the water status in the plant from the stem diameter variation. It was discovered that the stem diameter variation lags the water potential by two hours, and that there was no simple linear correlation between them. In fact, it was discovered that the stem diameter variation was not only a function of the leaf water potential of the plant as it was believed; but indeed, it is also a function of the soil water condition. According to the results obtained, a basic model to describe the relationship between the stem diameter variation and the plant and soil water condition was developed.

No description available.

No description available.

The fibrous aerosol monitor (FAM) was designed to count fibrous particulates as accurately as the standard method, P & CAM 239, now NIOSH 7400. The Hi-Vol (HV) method, a modification of the standard method, was developed to collect fibers over a shorter time interval (i.e., 10-minutes) with the same accuracy as the standard method. The current study sought to compare the HV method with the FAM to assess its validity in measuring airborne asbestos levels and to assess the importance of short-term variation in asbestos levels in determining appropriate respiratory protection. Correlation between the FAM and HV showed a poor linear relationship in all comparison studies. However, there was good correlation between the average of short-term HV samples and long-term time-weighted average (TWA) samples at reported low levels of airborne asbestos. All membrane filter techniques showed strong correlation with each other, but were weakly correlated with the FAM. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)

The present paper introduces one very efficient and flexible time-domain analysis technique to predict the kinds of reflections and crosstalk. Numerical results show that this technique is indeed efficient and accurate in the transient analysis of a general multiple line system. Furthermore, this algorithm can be eventually coded in a form of a subroutine compatible with any standard CAD program, such as SPICE.

No description available.

No research has been performed comparing percent body fat measurements using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) and air plethysmography after weight loss. The purpose of this investigation was to compare body composition assessments using the Bod Pod® Body Composition System (BP) and the DEXA ProdigyTM before and after an 8-week weight loss diet and exercise program. Based on prior comparison studies, it was hypothesized that percent fat values would be significantly lower using the BP compared to the DEXA before and after weight loss. Also since both methods have been shown to be reliable, it was hypothesized that the BP and DEXA would detect similar changes in percent fat in response to a weight-loss intervention. Twelve women (42 ± 8 yrs) and ten men (40 + 11 yrs) had their percent body fat estimated using the BP and whole body DEXA ProdigyTM scanner. A similar significant (P < 0.05) decrease in percent body fat was observed using the BP and DEXA ProdigyTM (-2.2% and -1.8%, respectively) after weight loss. Percent body fat using the BP was significantly lower than the DEXA ProdigyTM before (36 ± 10.7% and 38.1 ± 9.4%, respectively) and after (33.8 ± 10.8% and 36.3 + 10.6%, respectively) the weight loss program. Significant Pearson correlation coefficients between the DEXA ProdigyTM and the BP were noted pre (r = 0.975) and post (r = 0.968) weight loss. These data indicate the BP provides significantly lower absolute %fat values within a range of body fat levels (20-56%) when compared to the DEXA. However, the BP and DEXA detect similar changes in %fat, fatfree mass, and fat mass from weight loss in men and women. Also, the BP consistently overestimated fat-free mass and underestimated %fat and fat mass compared to values obtained from DEXA. / School of Physical Education

Self-heating can have a detrimental effect on the performance and reliability of high power microwave devices. In this work, the thermal performance of the gallium arsenide (GaAs) Gunn diode was studied. Infrared (IR) thermal microscopy was used to measure the peak operating temperature of the graded-gap structured device. Temperature measurements were experimentally validated using micro-thermocouple probing and compared to values obtained from a standard 1D thermal resistance model. Thermal analysis of the conventionally structured Gunn diode was also undertaken using high resolution micro-Raman temperature profiling, IR thermal microscopy and electro/thermal finite element modeling. The accuracy of conventional IR temperature measurements, made on semiconductor devices, was investigated in detail. Significant temperature errors were shown to occur in IR temperature measurements made on IR transparent semiconductors layers and low emissivity/highly reflective metals. A new technique, employing spherical carbon microparticles, was developed to improve the measurement accuracy on such surfaces. The new ‘IR microparticle’ technique can be used with existing IR microscopes and potentially removes the need to coat a device with a high emissivity layer, which causes damage and heat spreading.