The hydrogeology, stable isotope distribution, and chemical distribution of Cl- and NO3--N within the Battersea Drainage Basin in southern Alberta were investigated. The Battersea Drainage Basin is characterized by widespread spreading of livestock manure on irrigated farmland and a high density of feedlots, creating concern about groundwater quality in the region. Past research has used conventional piezometers to study the source, distribution and fate of nitrate in the shallow groundwater. The key component of this research involved using the new technique of high-resolution profiling to determine the distribution, source, fate, and transport of nitrate in the shallow geological groundwater environment. High-resolution profiles of δ2H indicated groundwater throughout the glaciofluvial deposits and between 5.4 and 13.7 m below ground in glaciolacustrine deposits contained values > -150.0‰ and tritiated waters (> 0.08 TU). This suggested that this water recharged within the past 60 years. At depth 5.4 to 13.5 m BG, lower δ2H values did not coincide with detectable tritium, indicating the groundwater was much older and not vulnerable to agricultural contamination. High-resolution profiles of Cl- and NO3--N (solid core and squeezed pore water data) showed concentrations of these ions up to 411 and 219 mg L-1, respectively, in the glaciofluvial deposits. Concentrations of Cl- and NO3--N decreased to less than 50 mg L-1 (Cl-) and the Drinking Water Standard for NO3--N (10 mg L-1) in the underlying glaciolacustrine and glacial till deposits at most sites. Comparison to the high-resolution δ2H profiles suggested the high nitrate concentration in the glaciofluvial sediments is agricultural in origin. High concentrations for Cl- and NO3--N (up to 257 and 209 mg L-1, respectively) observed in glacial till and glaciolacustrine deposits below 6.0 m BG at two sites (LB5a and LB6) did not coincide with modern water, indicating the source of high nitrate is geologic in origin. The NO3--N to Cl- ratios suggested denitrification was not appreciable in the glaciofluvial deposits. However, denitrification may be a cause of decreased nitrate in the underlying fine textured deposits at certain sites. Interpretation of the high resolution profiles also suggested that the major conduit for nitrate migration is in near-surface glaciofluvial sediments via advection. The distributions of δ2H, Cl- and NO3--N with depth suggest that transport in the underlying glaciolacustrine and glacial till deposits is diffusion dominated, thus acting as a sink and removing nitrate from the permeable zone. However, the presence of fracturing in the oxidized zone of glacial tills and glaciolacustrine deposits suggests that transport may occur via advection through fracturing and diffusion in the material matrix. High-resolution profiling of δ2H, Cl- and NO3--N proved to be valuable in obtaining information regarding the distribution, source, and transport of groundwater and nitrate in the shallow groundwater environment at a level of detail that cannot be readily obtained through use of conventional piezometers.

The ubiquitous nature of microorganisms and their specificity to certain locations make them potentially useful for forensic investigators. Advances in microbial profiling techniques have made it possible to compare microbial community profiles obtained from evidence or crime scenes to individuals and vice versa. Profiling microbial communities associated with cadaver decomposition may provide useful information concerning post-mortem intervals and aid in the identification of clandestine graves. Four experiments using pigs as human decomposition analogues were performed over the course of 2011 and 2012 in southern Ontario to document changes in soil microbiology following decomposition. Studies were conducted in the spring and summer to document the effect of environmental conditions on the decomposition process and subsequent changes in gravesoil microbiology. Microbial activity was measured using a fluorescein diacetate assay as a preliminary indicator of changes within the soil microbial population. Both decreases and increases in microbial activity were observed throughout each decomposition experiment indicating that the microbial response to decomposition is complex. It is believed that environmental conditions and decomposition rates play a role in determining how taphonomic events affect soil microbial activity. Fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) profiling was used document community level changes throughout decomposition. Shifts in FAMEs profiles were brought on by the onset of active decay and persisted through to the dry remains stage. The fatty acids 3OH 12:0, 12:0, 16:0 and 18:0 were frequently found in higher amounts in gravesoils and may prove useful as markers of cadaver decomposition. Metagenomic profiles of soil microbial communities were obtained using Illumina?? sequencing. Decomposition was associated with changes v in microbial community composition. This allowed gravesoil samples to be differentiated from control samples for an extended period of time. Bacteria responsible for the shift in microbial profiles are those commonly associated with cadaver decomposition. Both sets of soil profiles indicated that weather had an effect on microbial community composition. Results highlight the need to document natural changes in microbial communities over seasons and years to establish normal microbial patterns to effectively use soil microbial profiles as post-mortem interval or clandestine grave indicators.

This thesis presents a protocol for intervehicle communication for use in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANET). VANET is a natural extension of mobile ad hoc networks (MANET) in which the restrictions related to power and mobility are relaxed. The routing protocols used for MANETs are generally dependent on the state of the network. With changes in the network topology, routing messages are generated so that the states of the routers in the network are updated. In the case of VANETs, in which the level of node mobility is high, message-routing overhead has serious implications for the scalability and throughput of the routing protocol. This thesis introduces criteria that are recommended for use when protocols are designed for VANET applications and presents the Selected Node Geographic Forwarding (SNGF) protocol. The SNGF protocol implements controlled flooding in an efficient manner in order to reduce unnecessary communication overhead. The protocol has a destination discovery mechanism that allows it to initiate correspondence between nodes without reliance on static location services. The protocol avoids formation of clusters by using the concept of selective forwarding, thus providing the advantages of cluster based approaches without actually forming one itself. It effectively deals with blind flooding by introducing a comprehensive retransmission time delay in the nodes. This retransmission delay favors the nodes in the direction of the destination and prevents other nodes from retransmitting the same message. The SNGF protocol does not use routing tables, which require frequent updates in mobile networks, instead it relies on directing the messages to geographic locations which are forwarded by any available intermediary nodes. The protocol also provides techniques for handling network fragmentation which can be a frequent problem in vehicular networks. It is capable of delayed message transmission and multiple route discovery in the case of the non-availability of the shortest path to the destination. To evaluate the performance of the SNGF protocol, an extensive study of mobile networks was conducted using the NS2 simulator. The simulation results demonstrate the reachability of the protocol, its scalability advantages and its total independence from location services. The SNGF protocol allows each participating node to operate independently of other nodes in the network. Nodes in the network are able to communicate with other nodes without ever becoming dependent on intermediary nodes. This feature opens new possibility for individual node based application development in ad hoc networks. The traffic profiling is described as it would be observed by an independent node participating in VANET using the SNGF protocol. The node communicates with other nodes and collects relevant data through the discourse capability of SNGF. The data collected by the node is viewed as a snapshot in time of the traffic conditions down the road based upon which future traffic condition is predicted. Traffic profiling is investigated for different levels of VANET deployment. The simulation results show that the proposed method of traffic profiling in a VANET environment using the SNGF protocol is viable for even lower levels of deployment.

Design and realization of a conventional carbon dioxide laser was performed. Gas composition and gas pressure effects on laser output power were studied. Effects of input electrical power and current on laser power were also investigated. Beam profiling of the laser beam was performed by pinhole method. Laser beam parameters like beam divergence, beam propagation factor were measured. These properties were extracted from focusing a laser beam in near field and performing a number of cuts across the beam cross-section and measuring the beam diameter at these points. Diameter measurements were obtained by knife edge method. Laser beam parameters were obtained for three different power laser beams in two axes across the beam. Found parameters were compared with regard to beam power and beam cross-section axis. Also possibility of using the obtained laser beam in material processing was investigated.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2006. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Univ., 2006. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Licentiatavhandling (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2006. / Härtill 2 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Northeastern University, 2008. / Title from title page (viewed Nov. 17, 2008). Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Law, Policy and Society Program. Includes bibliographical references (p. 99-105).

Thesis (Ph.D. in Biostatistics) -- University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 237-239). Free to UCDHSC affiliates. Online version available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations;

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.