ReSCon '12, Research Student Conference: Book of Abstracts

The fifth SED Research Student Conference (ReSCon2012) was hosted over three days, 18-20 June 2012, in the Hamilton Centre at Brunel University. The conference consisted of 130 oral and 70 poster presentations, based on the high quality and diverse research being conducted within the School of Engineering and Design by postgraduate research students. The conference is held annually, and ReSCon plays a key role in contributing to research and innovations within the School

Belleza Desnuda: A Conservation Assessment of the Exterior Concrete Surfaces of Henry Klumb’s Parroquia Nuestra Señora del Carmen in Cataño, Puerto Rico

The Parroquia Nuestra Señora del Carmen was founded in 1893 in the coastal town of Cataño, Puerto Rico. In 1957, the Dominican Catholic Order commissioned architect Henry Klumb to design a modern church, which was inaugurated in June 1962. Since its opening, the Del Carmen Church has remained relatively unchanged, yet efforts to maintain and \u27improve\u27 the building over the years, including painting the original exposed cement stucco exteriors, an important character-defining feature of its design; has contributed toward a misunderstanding and underappreciation of one of Klumb\u27s most significant works on the island. This case study examines Henry Klumb\u27s original design intent for the Del Carmen Church and its subsequent alterations over time, including the current conditions of the concrete and exterior cement stucco in the tropical coastal environment of Puerto Rico. The study was comprised of four phases: Firstly, an in-depth analysis of archival research of the building, its design, the historical context, and its construction and maintenance. The second phases include a conditions survey and assessment with a detailed focus and evaluation of the exterior Portland cement stucco. The third phase focused on physico-chemical analysis of selected samples from the cement stucco and the concrete substrates that included: petrography, micro-drop water absorption testing, microchemical spot test, salt content, carbonation testing, x-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The last phase recommends a cleaning program to determine the best treatment options for removing the current painted coatings without affecting the cement stucco and aiding the building\u27s restoration to its original appareance. Henry Klumb\u27s Del Carmen Church in Cataño, Puerto Rico, exemplifies how common conservation issues for modern heritage, such as design intent, weathering, authenticity, and material realities, are global concerns and how informed scientific investigations can aid in better interpretation and conservation

Energy: A continuing bibliography with indexes

This bibliography lists 1169 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system from January 1, 1983 through March 31, 1983

Tracing back the source of contamination

From the time a contaminant is detected in an observation well, the question of where and when the contaminant was introduced in the aquifer needs an answer. Many techniques have been proposed to answer this question, but virtually all of them assume that the aquifer and its dynamics are perfectly known. This work discusses a new approach for the simultaneous identification of the contaminant source location and the spatial variability of hydraulic conductivity in an aquifer which has been validated on synthetic and laboratory experiments and which is in the process of being validated on a real aquifer

The Use of Image Analysis for the Characterisation of Filamentous Microorganisms

Characterisation of mycelial morphology is important for physiological and engineering studies of filamentous fermentations, and in the design and operation of such fermentations. Image analysis has been developed as a method for this characterisation and has been shown to be faster and generally more accurate than previous methods. A fully automatic system has been developed, in which speed has been gained, but with loss of accuracy in some cases. The method has been tested on Streptomyces clavuligerus and two strains of Penicillium chrysogenum, one of which was in a medium containing undissolved solids. Additionally a method for the estimation of biomass for the penicillin fermentation using image analysis is presented. Two regions of hyphae are defined to describe the growth of mycelia during fermentation 1) the cytoplasmic region and 2) the degenerated region including large vacuoles. The volume occupied by each of these regions in a fixed volume of sample is estimated from area measurements using image analysis. Areas are converted to volumes by treating the hyphae as solid cylinders with the hyphal diameter as the cylinder diameter. The volumes of the cytoplasmic and degenerated regions are converted into dry weight estimations using hyphal density values available in the literature. The image analysis method for biomass and cell volume estimation is shown to estimate successfully concentrations of mycelia from 0.03 to 38g/L for a number of fermentations of Penicillium chrysogenum. The image analysis method has also estimated cell volume and biomass even in the presence of 30g/L of undissolved solids in the medium. The image analysis estimation of biomass is shown to agree with the conventional method of measurement using filtration. Both image analysis methodologies are powerful tools for the quantification and characterisation of filamentous microorganisms and will allow greater understanding of engineering and physiological processes occurring during fermentation

Microfuidic Devices and Open Access Tool for Localized Microinjection and Heart Monitoring of Drosophila Melanogaster

This thesis aims to address the current research gaps associated with the use of Drosophila larvae as an in-vivo model for cardiac toxicity and cardiac gene screening. In objective 1, we have developed a hybrid multi-tasking microfluidic platform that enables desired orientation, reversible immobilization, and localized microinjection of intact Drosophila larvae for recording heart activities upon injection of controlled dosages of different chemicals. In objective 2. we have developed software for in-vivo quantification of essential heartbeat parameters on intact Drosophila larvae. Several image segmentation and signal processing algorithms were developed to detect the heart, extract the heartbeat signal, and quantify heart rate and arrhythmicity index automatically, while other heartbeat parameters were quantified semi-automatically using the M-mode. In objective 3a, we demonstrated the application of our microfluidic device and heartbeat quantification software for investigating the effect of different chemicals (e.g., serotonin and heavy metals) on Drosophila larval heart function. Also, we applied our technology to genetically modified Drosophila larvae to investigate the effect of metal responsive transcription factor (MTF-1) against heavy metals cardiac toxicity (objective 3b)

Microfuidic Devices and Open Access Tool for Localized Microinjection and Heart Monitoring of Drosophila Melanogaster

This thesis aims to address the current research gaps associated with the use of Drosophila larvae as an in-vivo model for cardiac toxicity and cardiac gene screening. In objective 1, we have developed a hybrid multi-tasking microfluidic platform that enables desired orientation, reversible immobilization, and localized microinjection of intact Drosophila larvae for recording heart activities upon injection of controlled dosages of different chemicals. In objective 2. we have developed software for in-vivo quantification of essential heartbeat parameters on intact Drosophila larvae. Several image segmentation and signal processing algorithms were developed to detect the heart, extract the heartbeat signal, and quantify heart rate and arrhythmicity index automatically, while other heartbeat parameters were quantified semi-automatically using the M-mode. In objective 3a, we demonstrated the application of our microfluidic device and heartbeat quantification software for investigating the effect of different chemicals (e.g., serotonin and heavy metals) on Drosophila larval heart function. Also, we applied our technology to genetically modified Drosophila larvae to investigate the effect of metal responsive transcription factor (MTF-1) against heavy metals cardiac toxicity (objective 3b)