The paper describes the Rossendorf Beamline (ROBL) built by the Forschungszentrum Rossendorf at the ESRF. ROBL comprises two different and independently operating experimental stations: a radiochemistry laboratory for X-ray absorption spectroscopy of non-sealed radioactive samples and a general purpose materials research station for X-ray diffraction and reflectometry mainly of thin films and interfaces modified by ion beam techniques. The radiochemistry set-up is worldwide an unique installation at a modern synchrotron radiation source.

Quantifying and characterizing isolated tumor cells (ITCs) is of interest in surgical pathology and cytology for its potential to provide data for cancer staging, classification, and treatment. Although the independent prognostic significance of circulating ITCs has not been proven, their presence is gaining clinical relevance as an indicator. However, researchers have not established an optimal method for detecting ITCs. Consequently, this Ph.D. dissertation is concerned with the development and evaluation of dielectric spectroscopy as a low-cost method for cell characterization and quantification. In support of this goal, ultra-wideband (UWB), microwave pulse generator circuits, coaxial transmission line fixtures, permittivity extraction algorithms, and dielectric spectroscopy measurement systems were developed for evaluating the capacity to quantify B16-F10 tumor cells in suspension. First, this research addressed challenges in developing tunable UWB circuits for pulse generation. In time-domain dielectric spectroscopy, a tunable UWB pulse generator facilitates exploration of microscopic dielectric mechanisms, which contribute to dispersion characteristics. Conventional approaches to tunable pulse generator design have resulted in complex circuit topologies and unsymmetrical waveform morphologies. In this research, a new design approach for low-complexity, tunable, sub-nanosecond and UWB pulse generator was developed. This approach was applied to the development of a novel generator that produces symmetrical waveforms (patent pending 60/597,746). Next, this research addressed problems with transmission-reflection (T/R) measurement of cell suspensions. In T/R measurement, coaxial transmission line fixtures have historically required an elaborate sample holder for containing liquids, resulting in high cost and complexity. Furthermore, the algorithms used to extract T/R dielectric properties have suffered from myriad problems including local minima and half-wavelength resonance. In this dissertation, a simple coaxial transmission line fixture for holding liquids by dispensing with the air-core assumption inherent in previous designs was developed (patent pending 60/916,042). In addition, a genetic algorithm was applied towards extracting dielectric properties from measurement data to circumvent problems of local minima and half wavelength resonance. Finally, in this research the capacity for using dielectric properties to quantify isolated B16-F10 tumor cells in McCoy's liquid medium was investigated. In so doing, the utility of the Maxwell-Wagner mixture formula for cell quantification was demonstrated by measuring distinct dielectric properties for differing volumes of cell suspensions using frequency- and time-domain dielectric spectroscopy.

Sommaire L’oxygène fait partie intégrante de l’environnement et ceci jusqu’au fonctionnement même des structures cellulaires qui composent le corps humain. Deux systèmes sont intimement liés à la distribution de l’oxygène, ce sont les systèmes cardiovasculaire et respiratoire. La transparence du système optique de l’œil peut être exploitée afin de mesurer de façon non invasive la concentration en oxyhémoglobine du sang qui alimente le système nerveux central. L’oxygénation capillaire de l’œil a été mesurée par spectro-réflectométrie dans deux régions de l’œil: d’une part les capillaires de la zone du nerf optique qui représentent principalement la circulation rétinienne; d’autre part, les capillaires du limbe cornéen. Cinq sujets volontaires, non fumeurs, sains, âgés de 20 à 45 ans et cinq sujets volontaires, fumeurs, sains, âgés de 20 à 40 ans ont participé à cette étude. Tous ces sujets ont été exposés à des conditions d’hyper et d’hypo oxygénation. Une séance d’expérimentations était composée d’un enregistrement continu de 360 secondes. Durant la première étape de 60 secondes, le sujet respirait de l’air ambiant. Durant une deuxième étape de 180 secondes, le sujet était exposé soit à une condition d’hyper (60% O2) soit, à une condition d’hypo oxygénation (15% O2), tandis que les 120 dernières secondes de la séance de mesure permettait d’exposer le sujet, une fois de plus à l’air ambiant. Le rythme cardiaque et les changements d’oxygénation artérielle au niveau du doigt étaient mesurés pendant ce temps vec le sphygmo-oxymètre. Les variations du taux d’oxyhémoglobine du sang au niveau capillaire de l’œil (nerf optique ou sclérotique) étaient toujours en corrélation directe avec les variations du taux d’oxyhémoglobine artériel. Toutefois, les capillaires du nerf optique offrent plus de précision pour les mesures d’oxygénation, relativement aux mesures d’oxygénation du sang contenu dans les capillaires de la sclérotique. La précision de la mesure de la concentration d’oxyhémoglobine obtenue dans cette étude par spectro-réflectométrie de l’œil, en fait un instrument utile au diagnostic d’une grande partie des pathologies pulmonaires ou oculaires. / Abstract Oxygen is an integral part of the environment. It has a major role to play in the cellular structures of the human body. The two systems, which are closely related to the distribution of oxygen within the body are the cardiovascular and the respiratory systems. The transparency of the eye can be used as a way to non-invasively measure the concentration of oxyhemoglobin in the blood which feeds the central nervous system. The capillary oxygenation of the eye was measured using multichannel spectro-reflectometry technology. Two areas of the eye were studied: the capillaries of the optical nerve which represent retinal circulation as well as the capillaries of the eye at the corneal limbus. Five healthy non-smoking volunteers aged 20-45 years and five healthy smoking volunteers aged 20-40 years took part in this study. All subjects were exposed to hypo and hyper oxygenation conditions. The experimental session was composed of a continuous recording of 360 seconds. In the first 60 seconds, volunteers breathed ambient air, followed by a second phase of 180 seconds during which the subjects were either exposed to a condition of hyper (60% O2) or hypo oxygenation (15% O2). The final phase of the experimental session was an exposure to ambient air. Cardiac rhythm and arterial oxygenation were measured at the tip of the finger with a sphygmo-oxymeter. Clearly, variations in the oxyhemoglobin blood concentration in the capillaries of the optic nerve or the sclerotic are always directly correlated with variations in the arterial oxyhemoglobin levels. However, the optic nerve capillaries offer more precision for measurements of oxygenation as compared to the sclerotic capillaries. In this study, accurate information has been provided on the oxyhemoglobin concentration using spectro-reflectometry of the eye. This technology could become a tool in the diagnosis of various pulmonary or ocular pathologies.

Extreme variability of rainfall during the growing season in the Prairies underlies the need to improve means of quantifying the amount of soil moisture available for plant growth in real time. This study was conducted to modify and validate the Versatile Soil Moisture Budget (VSMB) for estimating volumetric soil water content. A network of soil moisture hydra probes and weather stations were installed for continuous soil moisture monitoring and real-time weather data collection at 13 sites across Central and Western Manitoba during the 2009 and 2010 growing seasons. The data from the probes were validated and calibrated. Both the laboratory and field validations showed that the root mean square error of the default factory calibration increased with increasing clay content of the soil. Outputs from these probes were used to test the modified VSMB model. The model was most effective at simulating soil water content at the surface layers.

Extreme variability of rainfall during the growing season in the Prairies underlies the need to improve means of quantifying the amount of soil moisture available for plant growth in real time. This study was conducted to modify and validate the Versatile Soil Moisture Budget (VSMB) for estimating volumetric soil water content. A network of soil moisture hydra probes and weather stations were installed for continuous soil moisture monitoring and real-time weather data collection at 13 sites across Central and Western Manitoba during the 2009 and 2010 growing seasons. The data from the probes were validated and calibrated. Both the laboratory and field validations showed that the root mean square error of the default factory calibration increased with increasing clay content of the soil. Outputs from these probes were used to test the modified VSMB model. The model was most effective at simulating soil water content at the surface layers.

The objective of this thesis work is to increase the functionality of optical fibers for possible applications in life-sciences. Optical fibers are a promising technology for use in biology and medicine. They are low-costwaveguides, flexible and have a small cross-section. They can guide high-power light with low loss in a micrometer core-size. These features make fibers attractive for minimally-invasive,in-vivostudies. The backwards guidance of the optical signal allows for real-time monitoring of the distance to the scattering targets and to study the environment through Raman scattering and fluorescence excitation. The longitudinal holes introduced in the fibers can be used,for instance,for delivery of medicine to a specific regionof a body. They could even be used for the extractionof species considered interesting for further analysis, for example, studyingcells that may be cancer-related. This thesis deals with four main topics. First, a demonstration is presented of the combination of high-power light guidance for ablation, low-power light reflectometry for positioning, and for liquid retrieval in a single fiber. It was found that in order to exploit the microfluidic possibilities available in optical fibers with holes, one needs to be able to combine fluids and light in a fiber without hindering the low-loss light guidance and the fluid flow. Secondly, one should also be able to couple light into the liquids and backout again. This is the subject of another paper in the present thesis. It was also observed that laser excitation through a fiber for the collection of a low-intensity fluorescence signal was often affected by the luminescence noise createdby the primary-coating of the fiber. This problem makes it difficult to measure low light-levels, for example, from single-cells. Athirdpaper in this thesis then describes a novel approach to reduce the luminescence from the polymer coating of the fiber, with the use of a nanometer-thick carbon layer on the cladding surface. Finally, exploiting some of the results described earlier, an optical fiber with longitudinal holes is used for the excitation, identification and for the collection of particles considered being of interest. The excitation light is guided in the fiber, the identification is performed by choosing the fluorescent particles with the appropriate wavelength, and, when a particle of interest is sufficiently near the fiber-tip, the suction system is activated for collection of the particle with good specificity. It is believed that the work described in this thesis could open the doors for applications in life-sciences and the future use of optical fibers for in-vivo studies. / <p>QC 20140516</p>

An essential component for evaluating the performance of a mine site after its closure includes the tracking of water movement through mine waste such as tailings and overburden. A critical element of this evaluation is the measurement of the volume of water stored in the closure landform. The objective of this project was to design a time domain reflectometry (TDR) device that could be used to measure the volumetric water content of a soil profile to depths of 10 to 20 m. Upon completion of this project, the device will be integrated onto ConeTec’s cone penetration testing (CPT) shaft for initially monitoring Syncrude Canada Limited’s northeastern Alberta oil sands mine site. The objective of this project will be achieved through at least two phases of research and development; this thesis concentrates on the first phase. In this phase, research focused on prototype development through laboratory testing to determine appropriate TDR probe geometries and configurations that could be integrated onto a CPT shaft. Considerations also had to be made for protecting the integrity of the probe during field use and mitigating the effects of highly electrically conductive soils common in reclaimed mine sites. A number of different prototype designs were initially investigated in this research, leading to the development of a refined prototype for advanced testing. Testing for the project was carried out first in solutions of known dielectric constants and salinities, and then proceeded to soils with a range of known water contents and salinities. Good quality electrical connections were found to be crucial for generating waveforms that were easy to interpret; bad connections resulted in poor results in a number of cases. Decreased probe sensitivity was observed in response to increased rod embedment within the probe variants. A far greater decrease in sensitivity was seen in the results of the fully sheathed rods, although the sheathing was effective for extending the range of the probe in electrically conductive testing conditions. Despite poor results that were seen in some of the tests, overall the results were promising. In particular, results from the push-test showed that the probe was able to monitor changes in water content with depth.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, March, 2004. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-75).

[pt] O uso de amplificadores a fibra dopada, principalmente o amplificador a fibra dopada com érbio (EDFA), permitiram um grande avanço no desenvolvimento das comunicações ópticas e, o uso de ferramentas para caracterizar estes dispositivos é de grande importância. A técnica de reflectometria óptica no domínio da freqüência (OFDR), é bastante eficiente por se tratar de uma técnica não destrutiva e possibilitar a caracterização do ganho através de medidas de ganho distribuído em fibras dopadas. Neste trabalho foi construído um sistema OFDR sintonizável permitindo medidas em diferentes comprimentos de onda, para caracterização de EDFA, operando na banda C (1530-1565 nm) e L (1565-1610 nm), e também fibras dopadas com túlio, operando na banda S (1450-1530 nm). Graças a estas medidas, foram feitos estudos de diversos esquemas de bombeamento e diferentes topologias visando um melhor entendimento e desempenho dos dispositivos, sempre de forma não destrutiva. / [en] The use of doped fiber amplifiers, especially erbium doped- fiber amplifier (EDFA), has been permitted a great advance in optical communications development, and the use of some tools to characterize these devices has a great importance. The optical frequency domain reflectometry technique (OFDR) is very efficient because it is a non-destructive technique and allows the characterization of the gain through distributed gain measurements. In this work a tunable OFDR system was built permitting to perform measurements in different wavelengths, for characterization in EDFA working in C (1530-1565 nm) and L (1565-1610 nm) bands, as well as Thulium doped fibers operating in S (1450-1530 nm) band. Thanks to these measurements, some different pump schemes studies have been made and also different amplifier topologies to find a best device performance, always in a non-destructive way.

Orientador: Edson Eiji Matsura / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Agricola / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-06T21:37:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MestasValero_RogerManuel_M.pdf: 1264659 bytes, checksum: bbb3d9d1a7966c854866628251702d0c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Resumo: O aumento na utilização de estufas para produção agrícola e o conseqüente cultivo em recipientes fez com que houvesse uma substituição de solos por substratos para plantas. Em cultivos em substratos, o pequeno volume e o baixo efeito tampão podem ocasionar prejuízos na produção, mas também podem aumentar as chances de sucesso agronômico. Conseqüentemente um sistema sensível como este deve ser continuamente monitorado, a fim de se obter bons resultados. É preciso avaliar metodologias que determinem a umidade (?) e condutividade elétrica (CE) nos substratos, com maior rapidez e in situ, mantendo boa correlação com o método padrão. Das várias propostas para determinação da umidade e CE dos meios porosos, a técnica da TDR (Reflectometria no domino do tempo) vem despertando cada vez mais interesse, pois apresentam características desejáveis, como a mensuração em tempo real e a possibilidade de leituras automatizadas, porém apresenta como desvantagens seu alto custo e sua necessidade de calibração. Apesar da técnica da TDR para determinação de umidade em solos ser mais estudada é necessário novos conhecimentos acerca desta técnica quando se utiliza substratos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi de avaliar o uso da técnica TDR na estimativa de umidade e condutividade elétrica em dois substratos orgânicos: casca de pinus (CP) e fibra de coco (FC), na qual, determinou-se as principais características físicas destes substratos (densidade, granulometria e curva de retenção de umidade). A calibração da TDR foi feita através de duas metodologias; umedecimento e secagem do substrato. Já para estimativa da condutividade elétrica utilizou-se modelos matemáticos desenvolvidos por Rhoades et al., (1976). Os resultados mostraram que os valores da constante dielétrica (Ka) e da umidade volumétrica (?) dos substratos puderam ser ajustados através de equações polinomiais cúbicas, estatisticamente significativas a nível de1%. Conclui-se que o uso da TDR para estimativa de umidade em substratos é possível, desde que se faça a calibração para cada um. Além disso, houve correlação da condutividade elétrica determinada pela TDR com a condutividade elétrica determinada pelo condutivímetro no extrato de solução dos substratos, possibilitando o uso da TDR na estimativa de condutividade elétrica nos substratos estudados / Abstract: The increasing use of greenhouse in agricultural production and the resulting grow of container crops is determining the substitution of soil for substrates. The small container volume and the low tampon effect can cause failures in substrate crops production, but also has the potential to increase the opportunities of agronomic success. Therefore, this sensible production system must be continuously monitored in order to obtain good results. So, more precise and fast methodologies that determine in situ the water content and electrical conductivity (EC) in substrates has to be evaluated, when compared to standard method. From the several proposals methods to determinate water content and EC in a porous means, the technique of the TDR (Time Domain Reflectometry) show some desirable characteristics, like real time measurements and the possibility of automated readings. Some disadvantages of this technique are the high initial cost and necessity of calibration. Although, the number of information of TDR use in soil moisture determination its use in substrate still needs more developments. The objective of this work was to evaluate the use of TDR technique in the measurement of water content and electrical conductivity in two organic substrates: pine bark (CP) and coconut fiber (FC). The specific gravity, particle size distribution and water content retention curve of both substrates were determined. The calibration of the TDR was done using two methodologies: dryness and saturation cycles. In the electrical conductivity determination it was applied mathematical models developed by Rhodes et al. (1976). The results showed that the values of water content and dielectric constant of the substrates can be mathematically adjust in cubic polynomial equations with 1% significant level. Therefore, the use of TDR technique of the TDR is feasible since a calibration curve is determined for each substrate. In addition, there was correlation of the electrical conductivity determined by the TDR with the electrical conductivity determined in the extract saturation by conductivimeter, making possible the use of the TDR in the EC measuring of the studied substrates / Mestrado / Agua e Solo / Mestre em Engenharia Agrícola