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A wireless sensor system is proposed for a targeted deployment in civil infrastructures (namely bridges) to help mitigate the growing problem of deterioration of civil infrastructures. The sensor motes are self-powered via a novel magnetic shape memory alloy (MSMA) energy harvesting material and a low-frequency, low-power rectifier multiplier (RM). Experimental characterizations of the MSMA device and the RM are presented. A study on practical implementation of a strain gauge sensor and its application in the proposed sensor system are undertaken and a low-power successive approximation register analog-to-digital converter (SAR ADC) is presented. The SAR ADC was fabricated and laboratory characterizations show the proposed low-voltage topology is a viable candidate for deployment in the proposed sensor system. Additionally, a wireless transmitter is proposed to transmit the SAR ADC output using on-off keying (OOK) modulation with an impulse radio ultra-wideband (IR-UWB) transmitter (TX). The RM and SAR ADC were fabricated in ON 0.5 micrometer CMOS process. An alternative transmitter architecture is also presented for use in the 3-10GHz UWB band. Unlike the IR-UWB TX described for the proposed wireless sensor system, the presented transmitter is designed to transfer large amounts of information with little concern for power consumption. This second method of data transmission divides the 3-10GHz spectrum into 528MHz sub-bands and "hops" between these sub-bands during data transmission. The data is sent over these multiple channels for short distances (?3-10m) at data rates over a few hundred million bits per second (Mbps). An UWB TX is presented for implementation in mode-I (3.1-4.6GHz) UWB which utilizes multi-band orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MB-OFDM) to encode the information. The TX was designed and fabricated using UMC 0.13 micrometer CMOS technology. Measurement results and theoretical system level budgeting are presented for the proposed UWB TX.

Radiotherapy is the major curative therapy for carcinogesis. Identifying the effective species that induce DNA damage under ionizing radiation holds the key to improve and advance radiotherapy. In a cellular environment, most of the radiation energy is absorbed by water in the cell. Traditionally, the major radicals resulting from the radiolysis of water are thought to be the hydroxyl radical (OH) and the hydrated electron, whereas the (OH) radical is considered as the major contributor to radiation-induced DNA damage. With the birth of femtosecond time-resolved laser spectroscopy, the precursor to the hydrated electron, the so-called prehydrated electron, has been directly observed. The prehydrated electrons are the excited states of the well-known hydrated electron in nature. Very recently, it was pointed out that the prehydrated electron is a reactive species capable of causing lethal DNA double strand breaks. Thus the reductive DNA damage is proposed as a new molecular pathway for radiation-induced DNA damage. Therefore, the reaction dynamics of the prehydrated electron is of great interest to unravel the exact mechanism of radiation-induced DNA damage. In order to study the action of the prehydrated electron (epre???) in biologically relevant reactions, additional compounds need to be applied to regulate the prehydrated electrons. Such compounds are electron scavengers. In this thesis, the ultrafast electron transfer reaction of epre??? with an electron scavenger potassium nitrate was first investigated using our state-of-the-art femtosecond time-resolved pump-probe laser spectroscopy (fs-TRLS). Quantitative scavenging efficiency is successfully obtained by measuring the reaction rate constant, which is determined to be kpre = (0.75 ?? 0.5)??10^13 M^???1s^???1. This value is two-orders larger than the reaction rate constant of ehyd??? with potassium nitrate k =9.7??10^9 M^???1s^???1, confirming the high reactivity of epre???. Moreover, to comparing effectiveness of the reductive DNA damage induced by the prehydrated electron to the oxidative DNA damage induced by OH radicals, OH radical scavengers are used to quench OH radicals, leaving the prehydrated electron as the only active species. However, no studies have ever investigated the reactions between OH radical scavengers and the prehydrated electron. Here we performed the first quantitative study on the scavenging reactions of epre??? with the well-known OH radical scavengers, isopropanol and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). We present the first evidence of such scavenging reactions and determine the reaction rate constants, which are measured to be k = 3.3 ?? 0.5??10^11 M^???1s^???1 and 8.7 ?? 0.5??10^11 M???1s???1 for isopropanol and DMSO in PBS buffer, respectively.These values are much higher than the reaction rate constants of isopropanol with OH radicals and DMSO with OH radicals (kisopropanol+OH = 2??10^9 M^???1s^???1 and kDMSO+OH = 7??10^9 M^???1s^???1). Furthermore, the OH radical is an important species produced from radiolysis of water. Knowing its reaction dynamics and kinetics can facilitate the comparison between the oxidative DNA damage induced by OH radicals and the reductive DNA damage by prehydrated electrons. By using an OH radical scavenger KSCN, we are able to directly observe the reaction dynamics of the OH radical. In addition, knowing the relative yield ratio of OH radicals and the epre??? (r = [OH]/[epre???]) is necessary for the comparison of the effectiveness of epre??? and OH radicals at inducing DNA damage. In our study, a quantitative analysis of the relative yield ratio r using an OH radical scavenger KSCN was obtained. The relative yield ratio is determined to be r = [OH]/[epre???] = 2.8 ?? 0.4. Incorporating this value into our recent studies on reductive DNA damage, we find that in terms of single-strand breaks and double-strand breaks yields per radical, an epre??? is nearly three times as effective as an OH at inducing DNA damage under irradiation. Overall, the results obtained from this thesis provide important information for future studies of epre??? action in biologically relevant reactions.

As the world faces an energy crisis with depleting fossil fuel reserves, alternate energy sources are being researched ever more seriously. In addition to renewable energy sources, energy recycling and energy scavenging technologies are also gaining importance. Technologies are being developed to scavenge energy from ambient sources such as vibration, radio frequency and low grade waste heat, etc. Waste heat is the most common form of wasted energy and is the greatest potential source of energy scavenging. Pyroelectricity is the property of some materials to change the surface charge distribution with the change in temperature. These materials produce current as temperature varies in them and can be utilized to convert thermal energy to electrical energy. In this work a novel approach to vary temperature in pyroelectric material to convert energy has been investigated. Microelectromechanical Systems or MEMS is the new technology trend that takes advantage of unique physical properties at micro scale to create mechanical systems with electrical interface using available microelectronic fabrication techniques. MEMS can accomplish functionalities that are otherwise impossible or inefficient with macroscale technologies. The energy harvesting device modeled and developed for this work takes full benefit of MEMS technology to cycle temperature in an embedded pyroelectric material to convert thermal energy from low grade waste heat to electrical energy. Use of MEMS enables improved performance and efficiency and overcomes problems plaguing previous attempts at pyroelectric energy conversion. A Numerical model provides accurate prediction of MEMS performance and sets design criteria, while physics based analytical model simplifies design steps. A SPICE model of the MEMS device incorporates electrical conversion and enables electrical interfacing for current extraction and energy storage. Experimental results provide practical implementation steps towards of the modeled device. Under ideal condition the proposed device promises to generate energy density of 400 W/L.

This work describes a programming model and performance model for cycle stealing on the Internet. Cycle stealing is the use of otherwise idle computers to perform work, and promises high performance computing at relatively low cost. The Internet, being the largest pool of potentially idle computers, is an obvious target for cycle stealing. However, computers connected to the Internet are often protected by firewalls, preventing point-to-point communication between them. The fluctuating avail-ability of computers for cycle stealing as they move in and out of an idle state, combined with the restricted communication of the Internet environment, means that programming models and abstractions suitable for programming supercom-puters and clusters are not ideal. Therefore, I have created a programming model for cycle stealing which reflects the types of parallel applications that are suitable for execution using idle computers connected to the Internet. The model is de-signed for use by non-expert parallel programmers, and I will show how it simpli-fies the development of cycle stealing applications, enabling rapid application de-velopment, and straightforward porting of existing sequential applications. This simple to use programming model, combined with the low cost of cycle stealing, improves the accessibility of high performance computing to non-traditional us-ers of supercomputers and clusters. Deployment on the Internet, and the need to navigate through firewalls, suggests a web based framework using common web protocols, web servers and web browsers. Part of this work investigates the feasibility of web based approaches to cycle stealing, from the setup of a cycle stealing system, application development and deployment, and connection of potentially idle computers. I designed and implemented a cycle stealing framework, deployable on the web, to meet expec-tations of performance, reliability, ease of use and safety. Existing cycle stealing frameworks emphasise the need for applications to be de-composed into a set of jobs that execute for a long period, that is, a job should have a computation time sufficient to justify its communication cost. However, there are no tools available for users to determine what an appropriate computa-tion time might be, given a job's data communication requirements. To date, de-ciding the granularity of jobs has been a matter of intuition. Therefore, a user may experience uncertainty as to the benefit of cycle stealing for their particular application, especially if the applications will have relatively short-lived jobs. Based on performance analysis of my framework, I have developed an analytical model and simulator, which can be used to predict, and help to optimise, the per-formance of user applications, and show the feasibility of executing a particular application using the cycle stealing framework.

Ordinary desktop computers continue to obtain ever more resources – in-creased processing power, memory, network speed and bandwidth – yet these resources spend much of their time underutilised. Cycle stealing frameworks harness these resources so they can be used for high-performance computing. Traditionally cycle stealing systems have used client-server based architectures which place significant limits on their ability to scale and the range of applica-tions they can support. By applying a fully decentralised network model to cycle stealing the limits of centralised models can be overcome. Using decentralised networks in this manner presents some difficulties which have not been encountered in their previous uses. Generally decentralised ap-plications do not require any significant fault tolerance guarantees. High-performance computing on the other hand requires very stringent guarantees to ensure correct results are obtained. Unfortunately mechanisms developed for traditional high-performance computing cannot be simply translated because of their reliance on a reliable storage mechanism. In the highly dynamic world of P2P computing this reliable storage is not available. As part of this research a fault tolerance system has been created which provides considerable reliability without the need for a persistent storage. As well as increased scalability, fully decentralised networks offer the ability for volunteers to communicate directly. This ability provides the possibility of supporting applications whose tasks require direct, message passing style communication. Previous cycle stealing systems have only supported embarrassingly parallel applications and applications with limited forms of communication so a new programming model has been developed which can support this style of communication within a cycle stealing context. In this thesis I present a fully decentralised cycle stealing framework. The framework addresses the problems of providing a reliable fault tolerance sys-tem and supporting direct communication between parallel tasks. The thesis includes a programming model for developing cycle stealing applications with direct inter-process communication and methods for optimising object locality on decentralised networks.

The aim of the present study was to study the occurrence of scavenging behavior among different species and strains of entomopathogenic nematodes. Another part of the study was focused on scavenging of the selected entomopathogenic nematodes in insects killed by various non-native strains of Xenorhabdus bovinenii. Further aim was to investigate the interspecific competition of the selected entomopathogenic nematodes with the nematode Oscheius myriophila for dead hosts. The final aim was the search for possible toxicity of the selected X. bovienii strains against nematode Oscheius myriophila.

The presented thesis deals with interspecific competition and host range of entomopathogenic nematodes and assess the mechanisms enabling coexistence of multiple EPN species. The thesis further studied the scavenging ability of EPNs and their defense mechanisms against invertebrate scavengers. The results revealed that coexisting EPN species share the same niche and their interaction are complex and may be asymmetric. EPNs were found to be able to colonise and multiply in cadavers of different insects and scavenging seems to be an important alternative to normal infection. The defence of EPNs against scavengers seems to be an adaptation of the nematode-bacteria complex.

Os processos de remoção de espécies químicas da atmosfera têm sido estudados atualmente utilizando modelos numéricos, na tentativa de compreender melhor, os processos de transferências de gases e material particulado (sejam elas naturais ou antropogênicas) intra-reservatórios na atmosfera e seus efeitos na dinâmica do tempo e clima. Neste estudo, foi utilizado o modelo RAMS para simular a estrutura vertical das nuvens que se desenvolvem na região amazônica, em conjunto ao modelo de remoção B. V. 2, para os processos de remoção úmida que ocorrem tanto dentro quanto abaixo da nuvem, além das condições atmosféricas locais da região da Bacia Amazônica para, assim, simular a transferência das espécies químicas da atmosfera para a hidrosfera dentro do escopo do projeto LBA. Dentro deste projeto, foram realizadas campanhas intensivas de medições, como a LBA/DRY-TO-WET e LBA/SMOCC (setembro a novembro de 2002) na região de Rondônia. No período das campanhas, foram realizadas medições das concentrações dos gases amônia, ácido nítrico e dióxido de enxofre, além das espécies inorgânicas solúveis em água, como amônio, nitrato e sulfato, entre outros. Estas concentrações de gases e partículas, bem como os parâmetros meteorológicos obtidos durante as campanhas, realizadas durante o período de transição entre as estações seca e chuvosa na região, foram utilizados como dados de entrada para ambos os modelos, onde foram escolhidos alguns eventos específicos. Com intuito de melhor representar o espectro de gotículas de nuvens no modelo de remoção, foram utilizadas a função de distribuição de Levine & Schwartz, 1982 e funções gama ajustadas aos dados observados em distribuição de gotículas de nuvem obtidas em vôos efetuados durante o experimento. Conseqüentemente, este trabalho visou à simulação da concentração na água de chuva de três espécies químicas (SO42-, NO3- e NH4+) removidas da atmosfera pelo evento de precipitação, comparando-as às composições químicas da água de chuva observadas experimentalmente, em dois eventos selecionados (9 e 10 de outubro de 2002). Simulações atmosféricas com o RAMS apresentaram resultados bastante satisfatórios conseguindo representar aspectos microfísicos das nuvens que se desenvolvem na região amazônica com bastante fidelidade. Os resultados da modelagem dos processos de remoção mostraram uma boa concordância com os observados, principalmente para o sulfato (que em alguns casos a quantidade encontrada na água de chuva pela simulação foi 97% da observada) em ambos os eventos, quando a altura da nuvem foi considerada mais realista para região (16 km). Além disso, observou-se que o espectro de gotículas de nuvem utilizado foi um parâmetro importante nos resultados. Os resultados mostraram ainda, uma predominância dos processos que ocorrem dentro da nuvem, sendo estes responsáveis por cerca de 80% a 97% da concentração da espécie química encontrada na água de chuva, corroborando a literatura. Com isso, ficou evidente a complexidade das interações e transferências entre os reservatórios atmosfera / hidrosfera através dos processos de remoção de poluentes, ressaltando assim, a importância dos estudos sobre este assunto. / The scavenging processes of chemical species have been studied using numerical modeling in order to understand the gases and particulate matter intra-reservoir transferences (natural or anthropogenic) which affect weather and climate. In this study RAMS model was used in turn to simulate cloud vertical structure formed over Amazonian area working together to B.V.2 scavenging model. The last model was used to simulate the in- and below-cloud scavenging processes, besides the local atmospheric conditions within the LBA Project. In this Project, there were evaluated many measurements of LBA/DRY-TO-WET and LBA/SMOCC (September to November) Campaigns at Rondonia State. During the Campaigns, ammonia, nitric acid and sulfur dioxide gases were evaluated and their respective particulate matter, ammonium, nitrate and sulfate, among others, as well as rainwater chemistry. These concentrations and meteorological parameters were also obtained, during the transition from dry to wet season, and used as input data to the both modeling, where some events were chosen. With the intention of modeling improvement, cloud droplet spectra were used from Levine & Schwartz, 1982 and gamma functions, according to each case and based on the droplet distribution obtained from flight collected data during the field Campaign. Consequently, this work simulated the rainwater concentrations of three chemical species (SO42-, NO3- e NH4+) scavenged from atmosphere by the precipitation event and compared to the observed data of two selected events (9 and 10 October 2002). RAMS atmospheric simulations presented satisfactory results which showed detailed cloud microphysics processes of Amazonian region. The modeling results show good agreement of observed data, mainly to sulfate, reaching 97% of the observed sulfate for both events, when the cloud height was considered more realistic for the region (16 km). Besides, the cloud droplet spectra were an important parameter to the modeling. The results also showed that the in-cloud process is responsible by 80% to 97% of the chemical species found in rainwater. Additionally, it was clear that the complexity of the interaction and intra-reservoir transferences through the scavenging processes and their importance.

Techniques for adapting metamaterials for the improvement of RF energy harvesting and infrared photodetection are demonstrated using experimental and computer simulation methods. Two methods for RF energy harvesting are experimentally demonstrated and supported by computer simulation. In the first method, a metamaterial perfect absorber (MPA) is made into a rectenna capable of harvesting RF energy and delivering power to a load by soldering Schottky diodes onto connected split ring resonator (SRR) structures composing the planar metasurface of the perfect absorber. The metamaterial rectenna is accompanied by a ground plane placed parallel to it, which forms a Fabry-Perot cavity between the metasurface and the ground plane. The Fabry-Perot cavity stores energy in the form of standing waves which is transferred to the SRR structures of the metasurface as AC currents that are rectified by the diodes to create DC power. This type of design enables highly efficient energy harvesting for low input power, creates a large antenna capture area, and uses elements with small electrical size, such that 100 uW of power (enough to operate simple devices) can be captured at ambient intensities ~ 1 - 2 uW/cm2. Two designs using this method are presented, one that operates for linear polarizations at 0.9 GHz and a smaller polarization-independent design that operates around 1.5 GHz. In the second method, the energy stored in the standing waves of an MPA Fabry-Perot cavity is instead harvested by placing a separate energy harvesting antenna within the cavity. The cavity shapes and enhances the incident electric field, and then the separate energy harvesting antenna is designed to be inserted into the cavity so that its shape and/or radiation pattern matches the electric field lines within the cavity and maximally extracts the stored energy. This method allows for great customization of antenna design parameters, such as operating frequency, polarization dependence, and directionality, by swapping out different metasurface and antenna designs. Using this method, the amount of power harvested by a simple dipole rectenna placed within a cavity is improved by a factor of 18 as compared to what it would harvest by itself at an ambient intensity of 35 nW/cm2. Lastly, the addition of plasmonic structures to DWELL (quantum dot-in-a-well) infrared photodetectors is investigated by computer simulation. DWELL photodetectors have the potential to one day replace standard mercury cadmium telluride detectors by being cheaper alternatives with a higher operating temperature. The inclusion of gold plasmonic structure arrays into DWELL detectors enables excitation of surface plasmon polariton modes that increase the responsivity of the detector to incident infrared radiation. The peak responsivity of a DWELL detector is demonstrated to improve by a factor of 8 for a 1 um thick layer of plasmonic structures and by a factor of 15 for a 2 um thick layer. These works are steps forward in making RF energy harvesting practically useful and for improving infrared photodetector performance.