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The purpose of this investigation was to provide quality dynamic strength properties for a solid grade severe-weather (SW) brick material and to illustrate the need for careful evaluation of the strain-rate effects on geomaterials. A split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) was used to perform a series of tests on specimens from a solid grade SW brick to determine the mechanical response of this material at high strain-rates. Both classical and modified SHPB tests were performed. The results from the classical SHPB tests provided evidence that modifications to the SHPB are necessary when testing geomaterials such as brick. To modify the SHPB, a small copper disk was placed at the impact end of the SHPB incident bar to increase the rise time of the initial pulse. The material response from the modified SHPB tests provided an average compressive strength of 104 MPa, which resulted in a dynamic increase factor of 1.42.

Production limits have been maximized in earthen pond (EP) aquaculture. Pond design innovations may increase limits of catfish production by enhancing nitrogen processes. The split-pond system (SPS) partitions a pond into fish (20%) and waste treatment/oxygen production compartments (80%). In 2010, an SPS and EP were stocked (March) and harvested (October) with 25,000 catfish ha-1. Water quality (DO, pH, temp, ORP, CHL-a), nitrogen dynamics (TN, TAN, NO2-, NO3-), nitrogen pathway estimation, and nitrogen budgets were compared. In the waste treatment compartment, maximum DO concentrations exceeded 40 mg L-1, whereas ORP values provided favorable denitrification conditions. October EP NO2- concentrations were 3-4 mg L-1; 10old greater than the SPS. Feed (~90%) and fish (~60%) were the greatest source and sink of nitrogen, respectively. The SPS may be a promising pond design for the catfish industry through enhanced nitrogen removal and potential opportunity for increased production.

High entropy alloys (HEAs) are a relatively new class of solid solution alloys that contain multiple principal elements to take advantage of their high configurational entropy, sluggish diffusion, lattice distortion, and the cocktail effect. In recent development, work hardening mechanisms known as twinning induced plasticity (TWIP) and transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) have been found active in Al0.3CoCrFeNi (molar fraction) and Fe50Mn30Co10Cr10 (at %) HEA compositions. Friction-stir processing was done to increase the mechanical properties and improve the microstructure of the alloys for the purpose of high strain rate performance. Quasi-static tensile tests as well as top-hat geometry Split-Hopkinson pressure bar tests were conducted to view the mechanical properties as well as view the microstructural evolution at dynamic strain rates. Overall, the Al0.3CoCrFeNi condition after friction-stir processing and heat treatment has proved to have the best mechanical properties, and selecting from the conditions in this study, Al0.3CoCrFeNi has better shear localization resistance.

Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) are known for their role as adaptors during translation of the genetic information and as regulators for gene expression; uncharged tRNAs regulate global gene expression in response to changes in amino acid pools in the cell. Aminoacylated tRNAs play a role in non-ribosomal peptide bond formation, post-translational protein labeling, modification of phospholipids in the cell membrane, and antibiotic biosynthesis. [1] tRNAs have a highly stable structure that can present a challenge for their detection using conventional techniques. [2] To enable signal amplification and lower detection limits, a split probe - split deoxyribozyme (sDz or BiDz) probe, which uses a double-labeled fluorogenic substrate as a reporter – has been introduced. In this project we developed an assay based on sDz probe to detect yeast tRNAPhe as a proof-of-principle highly structured target. An sDz probe was designed specific to tRNAphe that could efficiently unwind stable secondary and tertiary structure of the target RNA thereby providing an efficient tool for tRNA detection. [3]The efficiency of the developed sDz probe was compared with a currently used state-of-the-art hybridization probe – molecular beacon probe. The results obtained in the project further demonstrate the power of sDz probes for the detection of highly structured RNA analytes. The split probes show signal amplification capabilities in detection of structured analytes, which will benefit diagnostics, fundamental molecular biology research and therapeutic fields.

Nucleic acid aptamers are "short single-stranded DNA- or RNA-based oligonucleotides that can selectively bind to small molecular ligands or protein targets with high affinity and specificity, when folded into their unique three-dimensional structure" (1). Aptamers have shown promising ability for detection in the subnanomolar range of nucleic acid targets with specificity down to single nucleotide variations (2). The selectivity, low limit of detection, and cost-effectiveness make these nucleic acid aptamers optimal bio-sensors. Previous work by our group has been done to optimize the signal of the dapoxyl-binding aptamer (DAP), which is a light-up aptamer. Here, we propose to organize this aptamer into a split-aptamer system and determine the limit of detection and selectivity for a target gene in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

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Introduktion: Avsikten med denna studie var att undersöka och beskriva de olika komplikationer som kan uppkomma vid och efter en bilateral sagittal split osteotomi samt fastställa deras incidens och påverkan på slutresultatet.Metod: Vi har använt oss av 4 läroböcker för att få förståelse för tillvägagångssättet vid en BSSO. Vår artikelsökning gav totalt 49 artiklar som vi läste i sin helhet genom inklusions- och exklusionskriterier. Vi valde sedan ut 34 artiklar av dessa som vi sedan använde oss av i arbetet gällande komplikationer vid BSSO.Resultat: Direkt postoperativt hade skador på nervus alverolaris inferior högsta incidens (91%) av komplikationerna. Incidens av skador på nervus lingualis var 19,4%, bad splits 6,49%, blödning 1,2%, nervskador på nervus facialis 0,67% samt non-union 0,47%. Av de komplikationer, som sågs 1 år postoperativt, hade recidiv vid posterior flyttning högst incidens på 28% och recidiv vid anterior flyttning 21%. Vid skador på n. lingualis låg incidensen 13,44%, skador på n. alveolaris inferior 10,75% och tempromandibulära dysfunktioner 3,7%.Slutsats: Permanenta komplikationer vid BSSO sker sällan och de komplikationer som uppkommer kan oftast lösas med reoperation. Skador på n alveolaris inferior har högst incidens vid BSSO. Detta är en komplikation som dock inte går att korrigera i efterhand och som kan påverka patienten under en längre tid. Därför bör patienten preoperativt vara informerad om de olika komplikationer som kan uppkomma.

In this thesis, we study the role of interdiction in the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP), which naturally arises in humanitarian logistics and military applications. We assume that in a general network, each arc has a chance to be interdicted. When interdiction happens, the vehicle traveling on this arc is lost or blocked and thus unable to continue the trip. We model the occurrence of interdiction as a given probability and consider the multi-period expected delivery. Our objective is to minimize the total travel cost or to maximize the demand fulfillment, depending on the supply quantity. This problem is called the Vehicle Routing Problem with Interdiction (VRPI). We first prove that the proposed VRPI problems are NP-hard. Then we show some key analytical properties pertaining to the optimal solutions of these problems. Most importantly, we examine Dror and Trudeau's property applied to our problem setting. Finally, we present efficient heuristic algorithms to solve these problems and show the effectiveness through numerical studies. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)