Two different concepts and design procedures namely settlement reducing piles and piled raft foundations have been studied independently in this thesis. A laboratory study is conducted on model rafts with differing number of model settlement reducing piles. Pile length, pile diameter, type of soil and size of raft are kept constant and settlements are measured under sustained loading. Remolded kaolin is consolidated under controlled stresses before tests are performed in model boxes. The tests are conducted under two sustained loadings of 75 kPa and 40 kPa. 0(raft), 16 and 49 number of piles are used. During the tests, all of the skin friction is mobilized. Several tests are conducted for each combination to see the variability. It is concluded that increasing the pile number beyond an optimum value is inefficient as far as the amount of settlement is considered. Also an analytical procedure has been followed to calculate settlements with increasing number of piles. In the second part of this thesis, finite element analyse have been performed on a piled raft foundation model, using Plaxis 3D Foundation Engineering software. This analyse are supported with analytical methods. The piled raft model is loaded with 450 kPa raft pressure. The studies are conducted in two sets in which different pile lengths are used / 25 m and 30 m respectively. The numbers of piles are increased from 63 to 143. All other parameters are kept constant. The results showed that again an optimum number of piles will be sufficient to reduce the settlement to the acceptable level. The analytical methods indicate a similar behavior. The comparison and results are presented in the study.

Naturally occurring bacterial populations are capable of detoxifying chlorinated compounds and immobilizing the radionuclide uranium via reductive processes. This study addressed the following three knowledge gaps in the fields of chlorinated solvent and uranium bioremediation, 1) the risks and benefits of coupling bioremediation with thermal treatment for clean-up of chlorinated ethene-contaminated sites, 2) the accuracy of available techniques for the monitoring of chlorinated solvent bioremediation, and 3) the role of gram positive Desulfitobacterium spp. in uranium immobilization. Experiments demonstrated that thermal treatment increases electron donor availability, but the increased electron donor was not used to fuel reductive dechlorination and was actually consumed for methanogenesis. Two approaches for monitoring chlorinated solvent bioremediation were investigated, molecular techniques and compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA). Results demonstrated that while Dehalococcoides (Dhc) gene expression was up-regulated under conditions inhibitory to dechlorination, the isotope effects associated with dechlorination reactions catalayzed by Dhc populations in consortia and in pure cultures were similar. U(VI) reduction by multiple Desulfitobacterium isolates was demonstrated. Interestingly, while almost all U(VI)-reducing populations have been reported to produce uraninite (UO2), the product of U(VI) reduction by Desulfitobacterium isolates was a unique form of insoluble mononuclear U(IV).

<p>Students’ experience of stress is generally considered to be an isolated problem, caused by school work. Students’ experience of stress at school can also be affected by exterior influences.</p><p>This research aims to discover what factors Swedish students, age 13 – 16, experience as stressful. It also aims to describe how students believe this stress can be reduced. This project originated from a request from a secondary school. A questionnaire was used to map the different stress factors. Interviews enabled greater understanding of these factors and what students themselves believe can reduce the stress. The gathered material was interpreted in several steps by the use of ad hoc methods.</p><p>The result shows that half of the students experience stress every week. The main causes are lack of time and demands. They lack “free time”, which enables the body to recover from the stress. The students desire management, including guidance from parents concerning prioritising and setting limits. The school should help the students to develop study techniques. The stress is caused by a feeling of not being able to live up to and deal with own and exterior demands. It can be reduced by planning (enabling “free time”), influence (co-operation), personal development (improvement of self-esteem and identity) and management (guidance, limitations, acceptance and development).</p> / <p>Elevers upplevda stress i skolan ses ofta som ett isolerat problem som framkallas och påverkas under skoltid. Upplevelser av stress i skolan kan även bero på andra faktorer som elever påverkas av utanför skoltid.</p><p>Studien syftar till att kartlägga olika faktorer som elever i årskurs 7-9 upplever som stressande och hur de tror att stressen kan reduceras. Detta arbete har utgått från en frågeställning som framförts av en skola. En enkät användes för att kartlägga olika stressfaktorer. Intervjuer gav djupare förståelse för de olika stressfaktorerna och hur eleverna tror att den upplevda stressen kan reduceras. Det insamlade materialet tolkades i flera steg med ad hoc-metoder.</p><p>Resultatet visar att hälften av eleverna känner sig stressade varje vecka. Elevernas största stressfaktorer är tidsbrist och krav. De saknar ”fri tid”, som ger kroppen återhämtning från stress. Eleverna efterlyser ledarskap, hjälp från föräldrar att prioritera och sätta gränser samt att skolan ska utveckla elevernas studietekniker. Stressen orsakas av en känsla att inte kunna leva upp till och hantera egna och omvärldens krav. Reducering av stressen kan ske genom planering (skapande av ”fri tid”), inflytande (samplanering), personlig utveckling (stärkt självkänsla och identitet) och ledarskap (ledning, gränssättning, acceptans och utveckling).</p>

Thesis (MSc., Geology) -- Queen's University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.) in Food Science and Human Nutrition--University of Maine, 2009. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 43-47).

Perchlorate contamination of drinking water sources in the United States is widespread and represents a public health concern. Biological treatment is an attractive option because perchlorate-reducing bacteria (PRB) are ubiquitous in the environment and can reduce perchlorate completely to chloride. Treatment of perchlorate-contaminated water in fixed-bed bioreactors has been demonstrated at the laboratory- and pilot-scale. However, full-scale development of reliable biological drinking water treatment processes requires a better understanding of the microbial ecology and activity of perchlorate-reducing communities in bioreactors. The objective of this research was to develop molecular biology tools (MBTs) to quantify PRB and expression of genes required for complete perchlorate reduction (pcrA and cld). The development of MBTs targeting specific genes requires that the sequence of the genes be known. In this work, an MBT called prokaryotic Suppression Subtractive Hybridization (SSH) PCR complementary DNA (cDNA) Subtraction was developed to rapidly isolate target genes for sequencing. This new tool was developed and validated using the model bacterium Pseudomonas putida mt-2 and the model pollutant toluene. For this system, over 90% of the isolated gene fragments encoded toluene-related enzymes, and 20 distinct toluene-related genes from three key operons were identified. Based on these results, prokaryotic SSH PCR cDNA Subtraction shows promise as a targeted method for gene identification; however, application to a PRB did not yield new pcrA and cld sequences. Therefore, to support the development of biological perchlorate treatment processes, quantitative PCR (qPCR) and reverse transcription qPCR (RT-qPCR) assays targeting pcrA and cld were developed using existing sequences. The qPCR and RT-qPCR assays were applied to a laboratory-scale bioreactor and two pilot-scale bioreactors treating perchlorate-contaminated water. Higher quantities of perchlorate reduction genes and transcripts generally were observed when bioreactor performance was superior. Although no quantitative correlations were established, these assays detected differences in the quantity of PRB and changes in gene expression levels during the course of bioreactor operation and between bioreactors with different performance levels. Furthermore, these assays provided an additional line of evidence that microbial perchlorate reduction was occurring. This marks the first application of qPCR assays to quantify perchlorate reduction genes and transcripts in bioreactors. / text

Release of methane from large marine reservoirs has been linked to climate change, as a causal mechanism and a consequence of temperature changes, during the Holocene to Late Quaternary. These inferred linkages are based primary on variation in benthic foraminifer’s singnatures. This study examines and illustrates deep sea benthic foraminifera from Holocene to Late Quaternary sample from North Pacific Ocean IODP site 890B,Cascadia Margin. Deep sea benthic foraminifera has been quantatively analyzed in samples>125 μm size fractions. Factor and Cluster analysis of the 29 highest ranked species made it possible to identify six biofacies, characterizing distinct deep sea environmental setting. The environmental interpretation of each biofacies is based on the ecology of recent deep sea benthic foraminifera. The benthic faunal record indicates fluctuating deep se condition in environmental parameter including oxygenation, surface productivity and organic food supply. The benthic assemblage show a major shift at 2 to3 kyrs BP and 6 to10.5 BP marked by major turnover in the relative abundance of species coinciding with in increasing amplitude of interstadial cycles. There are strong possibilities of methane flux in this site. Dissociation of gas hydrates and release of methane to the atmosphere could be a cause of increase in the population abundance of highly reducing environmental species, which we interpreted in our data.

Oxygen scavengers are used in active packages to protect the food against deteriorative oxidation processes. The aim of this work was to investigate the possibilities to produce oxygen-scavenging packaging materials based on oxygen-reducing enzymes. The enzymes were incorporated into a dispersion coating formulation applied onto a food-packaging board using conventional laboratory coating techniques. Various enzymes were used: a glucose oxidase, an oxalate oxidase and three laccases originating from different organisms. All of the enzymes were successfully incorporated into a coating layer and could be reactivated after drying. For at least two of the enzymes, re-activation was possible not only by using liquid water but also by using water vapour. Re-activation of the glucose oxidase and a laccase required relative humidities of greater than 75% and greater than 92%, respectively. Catalytic reduction of oxygen gas by glucose oxidase was promoted by creating an open structure through addition of clay to the coating at a level above the critical pigment volume concentration. Migration of the enzyme and the substrate was reduced by adding an extrusion-coated liner of polypropylene on top of the coating. For the laccase-catalysed reduction of oxygen it was possible to use lignin derivatives as substrates for the enzymatic reaction. The laccase-catalysed reaction created a polymeric network by cross-linking of lignin-based entities, which resulted in increased stiffness and increased water-resistance of biopolymer films. The laccases were also investigated with regard to their potential to function as oxygen scavengers at low temperatures. At 7°C all three laccases retained more than 20% of the activity they had at room temperature (25°C), which suggests that the system is also useful for packaging of refrigerated food.

Since 1993, diet and fitness promoter Susan Powter has gained significant prominence with her passionate message of health and wellness. This study used fantasy theme analysis to examine Powter's view of reality and her ability to persuade her audience. The analysis revealed a coherent vision, "Stop the Insanity!," within which Powter and other dieters are viewed as heroes. Additionally, the diet and fitness industries are viewed as conspiring villains who starve dieters and exclude the unfit from exercise programs. Powter differentiates herself from these villains by promoting herself as an uneducated but sincere speaker who does not starve or exclude people. Rather, she can identify with dieters because she has experienced their pain and frustration. Because anything is better than the "starvation" and "exclusion" promoted by the diet and fitness experts, Powter's program cannot help but succeed in the eyes of those who share her vision of reality. / Department of Speech Communication

This study determined outcomes of a low-carbohydrate (CHO) and moderate-CHO diet on weight loss, ketone production, and urinary calcium excretion in a convenience sample of 14 (ages 18-26, m=2, f=12) overweight students at a midwestern college for one month in a two-week, cross over study design. Results showed significant weight loss in subjects over time (p< .01). However, no significant difference between diet groups over time for weight loss was shown. Outcome of urine ketone production remained unaffected over time and between groups over time. A significant difference was noted in urinary calcium excretion within subjects over time (p=.035), yet not between groups over time. These findings suggest that weight loss may be due to a decrease in water and lean body mass from glycogen mobilization. Ketone production was unaffected possibly due to non-compliance with diet recommendations and small sample size of the study. Urinary calcium excretion increases may be attributed to higher protein intakes in participants on the modified-CHO diets, possibly allowing for a negative calcium balance in the body leading to premature osteoporosis. / Department of Family and Consumer Sciences