Yes / Granulation is commonly used as an enlargement process of particles produce granules with desirable characteristics and functionality. Granulation process transforms fine powders into free-flowing, dust-free granules with the presence of liquid binder at certain operating conditions. The main focus of this research is on seeded granulation of detergent powders, a new phenomenon of granulation in which a layer of fine powders surround the coarse particle. This is already proven for calcium carbonate (Rahmanian et al., 2011). Here, detergent granules were produced in a 5 L high shear Cyclomix granulator using different fine/coarse powder ratio (1/3, 1, 3) and different binder ratio of 10 %, 20 % and 30 %. The granules were then characterized for their particle size distribution, strength and structure. It was found that a high percentage (70 wt. %) of granules in the desired size range between 125 - 1,000 µm were produced using the powder ratio of 1/3 and a binder content of 10 %. Low mean crushing strength (3.0 N) with a narrow distribution was obtained using this condition. Structure characterization of the detergent granules produced in the granulator shows that consistent seeded granule structures are produced under the optimum process and formulation conditions of 1/3 powder ratio with 10 % binder.

Conventional ultrasonographic examination of the bovine ovary is based on a sequence of two-dimensional (2D) cross-section images. Day-to-day estimation of the number, size, shape and position of the ovarian follicles is one of the most important aspects of ovarian research. Computer-assisted follicle segmentation of ovarian volume can relieve physicians from the tedious manual detection of follicles, provide objective assessment of spatial relationships between the ovarian structures and therefore has the potential to improve accuracy. Modern segmentation procedures are performed on 2D images and the three-dimensional (3D) visualization of follicles is obtained from the reconstruction of a sequence of 2D segmented follicles. <p>The objective of this study was to develop a semi-automatic 3D follicle segmentation method based on seeded region growing. The 3D datasets were acquired from a sequence of 2D ultrasound images and the ovarian structures were segmented from the reconstructed ovarian volume in a single step. A seed is placed manually in each follicle and the growth of the seed is controlled by the algorithm using a combination of average grey-level, standard deviation of the intensity, newly-developed volumetric comparison test and a termination criterion. One important contribution of this algorithm is that it overcomes the boundary leakage problem of follicles of conventional 2D segmentation procedures. The results were validated against the aspiration volume of follicles, the manually detected follicles by an expert and an existing algorithm.<p>We anticipate that this algorithm will enhance follicular assessment based on current ultrasound techniques in cases when large numbers of follicles (e.g. ovarian superstimulation) obviate accurate counting and size measurement.

Conventional ultrasonographic examination of the bovine ovary is based on a sequence of two-dimensional (2D) cross-section images. Day-to-day estimation of the number, size, shape and position of the ovarian follicles is one of the most important aspects of ovarian research. Computer-assisted follicle segmentation of ovarian volume can relieve physicians from the tedious manual detection of follicles, provide objective assessment of spatial relationships between the ovarian structures and therefore has the potential to improve accuracy. Modern segmentation procedures are performed on 2D images and the three-dimensional (3D) visualization of follicles is obtained from the reconstruction of a sequence of 2D segmented follicles. <p>The objective of this study was to develop a semi-automatic 3D follicle segmentation method based on seeded region growing. The 3D datasets were acquired from a sequence of 2D ultrasound images and the ovarian structures were segmented from the reconstructed ovarian volume in a single step. A seed is placed manually in each follicle and the growth of the seed is controlled by the algorithm using a combination of average grey-level, standard deviation of the intensity, newly-developed volumetric comparison test and a termination criterion. One important contribution of this algorithm is that it overcomes the boundary leakage problem of follicles of conventional 2D segmentation procedures. The results were validated against the aspiration volume of follicles, the manually detected follicles by an expert and an existing algorithm.<p>We anticipate that this algorithm will enhance follicular assessment based on current ultrasound techniques in cases when large numbers of follicles (e.g. ovarian superstimulation) obviate accurate counting and size measurement.

This thesis presents a study to enhance and improve a zero liquid discharge (ZLD) reverse osmosis process that uses seed crystals to promote crystallization of the dissolved salts in the residual brine while it is being treated by identifying those membrane materials that are most suitable for the process. In the study, a one plate SEPA Cell module by GE Osmonics was used to determine which membranes were most susceptible to fouling and/or membrane hydrolysis. A cellulose acetate (CA), polyamide (PA) low MWCO, and PA high MWCO membrane were tested under reverse osmosis conditions. The CA and thin film (TF) membranes were also tested for nanofiltration. The cell was operated under conditions that were determined to be optimum for each membrane by the manufacturer, GE Osmonics. A high pressure, low flow, positive displacement diaphragm pump circulated the saturated calcium sulfate solution with 2 % suspended solids through the cell while the reject and permeate were recycled back to the feed, thereby preserving a saturated solution to promote crystal growth and simulate the seeded reverse osmosis process. The temperature was maintained constant by adding an ice pack to the feed vessel when necessary. The transmembrane pressure differential was maintained constant by adjusting a back pressure valve on the concentrate outlet. The results illustrate that if potable drinking water is the intended use, then the nanofiltration cellulose acetate membrane should be used. If irrigation is the desired use, then the nanofiltration thin film membrane should be used. Overall, the reverse osmosis cellulose acetate membrane was observed to outperform all membranes when all performance parameters were normalized. However, this membrane was observed to be prone to degradation in a seeded slurry and therefore its lifetime should be analyzed further. The polyamide membrane initially had a high water transport coefficient, but fouling led to its rapid decline which was attributed to the membrane’s rough and protrusive surface. A lifetime test on the thin film and cellulose acetate revealed that when operated at their maximum pressure specified by GE Osmonics for a duration of 8 hours that no decrease in rejection occurred.

One of the principle factors that limits the areas to which seeded bermudagrass can be adapted is low temperature. Therefore, increasing the winter tolerance of seeded bermudagrass cultivars has been a goal of turfgrass breeders for many years. Design of an efficient breeding method for developing cultivars with increased tolerance to cool and freezing temperatures could be enhanced by having heritability estimates for cold tolerance traits. Additionally, the identification of correlated traits can be useful in improvement of cultivar development. Heritability estimates for winter tolerance can be obtained from cold treatments imposed artificially or from observations made in the field. Parental clones and their respective polycross half-sib families were established in a randomized complete block design with four replications in 2004 in Lexington, KY. Differences in spring green up and fall dormancy measured in 2006 were detected between genotypes within the progeny and parental groups. These same lines were subjected to 15 replications of a freezing treatment in a freeze chamber. Differences in spring green up and fall dormancy were detected between genotypes within the progeny and parental groups. Differences in freeze response were also detected using the artificial freeze treatment. Broad-sense heritabilities were estimated to be 0.895 and 0.573 for spring green-up and fall dormancy respectively. Narrow-sense heritability estimates were found to be 0.885 and 0.265 for these same traits. These results indicate that this population could be improved for cold tolerance using phenotypic recurrent selection. Freeze response was found to be positively correlated to winter hardiness and seed yield in the parent group.

This dissertation investigates the growth of high quality GaN and InN thin films by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE). It also explores the growth of self-seeded GaN branching nanowires and p-type doping of InN, two topics of particular interest at present. The growth of high quality III-Nitride semiconductor thin films have been shown to be dependent on the group-III (metal) to nitrogen ratio. A metal-rich growth environment enhances the diffusion of the group-III adatoms through the formation of a group-III adlayer. By using a metal-rich growth environment, determined by growth rate studies using laser reflection interferometry or RHEED analysis of the surface, both GaN and InN films have been grown with a smooth surface morphology. Additionally the smooth surface morphology has beneficial effects on the electrical and optical properties of both materials. However, with the growth using a metal-rich environment, group-III droplets are present on all film surfaces, which can be an issue for device fabrication, as they produce facets in the crystal structure due to enhanced growth rates. MBE growth of GaN nanowires via the vapour liquid solid (VLS) and vapour solid (VS) growth techniques have so far been based on the N-rich growth regime. However, we have shown that the Ga-rich growth regime can be used to grow self-seeded one dimensional and hierarchical GaN nanowires. 7 µm long hierarchical GaN nanowires with at least three branches were grown and shown to have a high crystalline quality. The suggested growth mechanism is a self-seeding VLS process driven by liquid phase epitaxy at the nanoscale, while the branching growth was nucleated due to the Ga-rich growth regime by excess Ga droplets forming on the trunk during growth. The growth of vertical GaN nanowires has also been achieved using the same self-seeding process and the critical parameter seems to be the Ga to N ratio. Also, the growth rate of the Ga-rich grown GaN nanowires can supersede the growth rates reported from N-rich grown GaN nanowires by at least a factor of two. The fabrication of vertical and planar GaN nanowire devices has been demonstrated in this study. Two point and three point contacts were fabricated to the branching GaN nanowires in the planar direction with resistive measurements ranging from 200 - 900 kΩ, similar to chemical vapour deposition and MBE grown GaN nanowires. The nonlinear current-voltage characteristics from the three point contacts may lead to unique nano-devices. The planar nanowires have also shown to have potential as UV detectors. Schottky diodes were fabricated on the vertical nanowires, with values for the barrier heights consistent with bulk diodes. Mg and Zn doping studies of InN were also performed. Both InN:Mg and InN:Zn have strong photoluminescence only at low doping concentrations. However, the InN:Mg films have reduced mobilities with increased Mg content, whereas the mobility determined from the InN:Zn films is independent of Zn. When the InN:Zn film quality was improved by growing under the In-rich growth regime, electrochemical capacitance-voltage results suggest n{type conductivity, and strong photoluminescence was obtained from all of the films with four features seen at 0.719 eV, 0.668 eV, 0.602 eV and 0.547 eV. The features at 0.719 eV and 0.668 eV are possibly due to a near band edge to valence band or shallow acceptor transition, while the 0.547 eV has an activation energy of 60 meV suggesting a deep level acceptor.

Acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibiting herbicides are commonly used to eliminate weeds from mature turfgrasses. Field trials were conducted from 2004-2006, testing ALS herbicides for preemergence and early postemergence activity on newly seeded turfgrasses, using four species: Riviera bermuda, Zenith and Companion zoysia, L- 93 creeping bentgrass, and Poa annua L. Data collected were phytotoxicity and percent turf cover. Bermuda and zoysia herbicides were metsulfuron-methyl (42 g ha-1), trifloxysulfuron (29 g ha-1), flazasulfuron (53 g ha-1), foramsulfuron (30 g ha-1), bispyribac-sodium (112 g ha-1), and rimsulfuron (35 g ha-1). Treatments occurred the day of seeding and two-three weeks after seeding. Flazasulfuron, trifloxysulfuron and bispyribac-sodium caused significant damage in all treatments. Data suggests that bermuda and zoysia are tolerant of seedling treatments of foramsulfuron, rimsulfuron, and metsulfuron-methyl at these rates. Bentgrass and P. annua herbicides were foramsulfuron (15 and 30 g ha-1), siduron (2803 g ha-1), bispyribac-sodium (49 g ha-1), and paclobutrazol (281 g ha-1). Treatments occurred the day of seeding, two and four weeks after seeding. Foramsulfuron at 15 and 30 g ha-1 caused significant damage regardless of when it was applied. Data suggests that bentgrass and P. annua are tolerant of seedling treatments of siduron, paclobutrazol, and bispyribac-sodium at these rates.

This research emphasizes on the use of seeded growth in synthesis of noble metal nanocrystals with precise control over the size, shape, and composition. In the first part of this work, I have produced Au nanocrystals with single-crystal structure and truly spherical profiles and investigated their optical properties and self-assembly as induced by dilution with water. These Au nanospheres were generated in high yield and purity, together with controllable sizes continually increased from 5 to 150 nm. I also found these Au nanospheres self-assembled into dimers, larger aggregates, and wavy nanowires, respectively, as diluted with water. In the second part of this work, I demonstrate the kinetic control can be implemented to control the shape of mono- and bi-metallic nanocrystals in seeded growth. The as-prepared single-crystal nanospheres of Au were employed as seeds to synthesize of tetrahedral Au nanocrystals and Au@Pd core-shell nanocrystals with six distinct shapes. The success of the two demonstrations relies on manipulation of reaction kinetics to achieve different product shapes. The reaction kinetics was controlled by varying a set of reaction parameters, including the type and concentration of capping agent, the amount of reductant, and the injection rate of metal precursor solution. In the final part of this work, I will discuss an unusual change in crystallinity observed in seeded growth of Au nanocrystals on Au seeds. In particular, single-crystal Au seeds treated with a chemical species could develop twin defects during the seed-mediated growth process to yield multiply twinned products.

The pathological hallmark of many age-related neurodegenerative diseases is the presence of proteinaceous inclusions in nerve cells and glial cells. Alpha-synuclein is the main component of the inclusions of Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and multiple system atrophy, as well as of rarer diseases, collectively called synucleinopathies. For a long time, it was widely believed that neurodegenerative diseases were cell-autonomous; however, a more recent hypothesis has suggested that some misfolded proteins resemble prions. Thus, aggregated alpha-synuclein shares features of PrPSc, the scrapie form of the prion protein. The aim of this thesis was to further characterize the prion-like properties of aggregated alpha-synuclein by studying the pathways of seeded aggregation, and to identify the species of alpha-synuclein responsible. I present evidence, using a HEK 293T cell model, that filamentous protein was the most seed-potent form of alpha-synuclein. Recombinant aggregated protein, aggregated alpha-synuclein from mice transgenic for A53T alpha-synuclein, as well as alpha-synuclein aggregates from Parkinson’s disease and multiple system atrophy brains, seeded aggregation. The mechanisms of alpha-synuclein internalization and intracellular trafficking, and how these processes affect seeded aggregation, are not fully understood. I showed that internalization of alpha-synuclein aggregates occurs through clathrin- and dynamin-independent, Cdc42-, actin- and PI3K-dependent endocytosis. Alpha-synuclein aggregates are trafficked to the endolysosomal pathway; a small fraction of lysosomes ruptures, which induces aggregation of expressed cytoplasmic alpha-synuclein, and disruption of autophagy, which in turn enhances seeded aggregation. These findings expand knowledge of the prion-like properties of assembled alpha-synuclein and identify novel mechanisms with therapeutic potential.

Yes / It has been shown that seeded granules of calcium carbonate can be produced in commercial batch high shear granulators such as the Cyclomix high-shear impact mixer. Seeded granules are attractive to the pharmaceutical industry due to their high uniformity and good mechanical properties which can assist efficient tablet manufacture. In the current study, attempts to produce seeded granules of Durcal 65 and PEG 4000 binder using hot melt granulation are reported, in response to the recent shift towards continuous pharmaceutical manufacturing. Various screw configurations and rotation speeds were investigated in a series of experiments to determine the relationship between process conditions and granule properties. Particle size analysis, strength measurement and structural characterisation were used to quantify granule properties. It was found that using a series of kneading elements arranged at a 60° staggering angle located near to the feed section of the extruder screw generated strong, spherical granules. From structural characterisation approximately 5–15% of extruded granules were found to be seeded. Twin screw melt granulation is therefore considered to be a promising technique for continuous production of seeded granules, although a more detailed investigation is required to optimise yield and quality.