State Government and OCS Policy: An Analysis of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the Amendments of 1978

An Energy Research and Development Administration report indicates that the United States is increasing its dependence on oil from the countries that participated in the 1973 oil embargo. Given the volatile situation in the Middle East at this writing, the Carter Administration\u27s peace initiatives notwithstanding, this seems an imprudent policy. And, at a time when Project Independence is a recent memory, there is a great deal of irony in increased importation. It seems in the Nation\u27s best interest to reverse that trend. Natural gas is also in demand, of course, especially in the Northeast during the winter. The best solution to the rise in imported energy is the further development of our own resources

Roofed Stands of Sports Stadium

V diplomové práci je řešena nosná ocelová konstrukce zastřešené tribuny sportovního stadionu. Vnitřní síly a posudky prvků jsou řešeny pomocí programu Scia Engineer. Výpočtový model je navržen jako prostorová prutová konstrukce. Pro ověření jsou hlavní prvky spočítány i ručně. Prvky a styčníky jsou navrženy podle ČSN EN 1993. Kotvení sloupů je navrženo jako polotuhé. Byly vypracovány tři varianty řešení lišící se ztužením v podélném směru. Nejvýhodnější varianta s příhradovými ztužidly je podrobněji rozpracována.In this master's thesis a steel structure of roofed stands of a sports stadium is developed. Inner forces and design of elements are solved with the program Scia Engineer. The computational model is designed as a three-dimensional bar structure. Main elements are also designed by hand for verification. Elements and joints are designed according to ČSN EN 1993. Anchorage of columns is designed as semi-stiff. Three variants differ in type of longitudinal bracing. The most convenient, a model with truss bracing, was worked out in detail.

Effective Use Land in the Renewable Energy

Bakalářská práce porovnává využití půdy pro pěstování energetické biomasy a pro instalaci fotovoltaických elektráren. V České republice je energetická biomasa pěstovaná ve formě kukuřice pro bioplynové stanice a zejména jako řepka olejná určená na produkci biopaliv. Tu samou půdu ovšem můžeme zdánlivě nelogicky využít pro instalaci fotovoltaických elektráren. Cílem této bakalářské práce je tyto fundamentálně rozdílné přístupy k získávání obnovitelné energie zhodnotit a vzájemně porovnat z hlediska energetického, ekologického a ekonomického, ale i z hlediska udržitelnosti.The bachelor thesis examines the use of land for biomass energy production and for photovoltaic power plant energy production. There is a great deal of biomass production in the Czech Republic. The most prevalent is growing corn for biogas power plants and growing rape for biofuels. However, there is also a possibility of using that land for photovoltaic power plants. The goal of this bachelor thesis is to compare these fundamentally different approaches of renewable energy production. These renewables are evaluated energetically, ecologically, economically and in terms of sustainability.361 - Katedra energetikyvýborn

Orthogonal experimental design of titanium dioxide - Poly(methyl methacrylate) electrospun nanocomposite membranes for photocatalytic applications

An orthogonal experimental method was designed to assess the influence of the electrospinning processing parameters on average diameter and distribution of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) fibers. Based on the orthogonal experimental design analysis, electrospun TiO2-PMMA nanocomposites were processed with the optimal polymer processing conditions to obtain thin fibers with a high overall surface area. Further it was found that the average fiber diameter decreases from 2.0 ± 0.5 down to 1.2 ± 0.2 μm with increasing photocatalyst content. Moreover, the wettability of samples was independent of the filler amount, and showed strong hydrophobic behavior. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that for polymer solutions with concentrations higher than 10 wt%, there was a loss of the photocatalytic particles during processing, being more evident for the sample with 40 wt% particles present in the solution, with a loss of 8 wt% of ceramic particles. The immobilization of the TiO2 nanoparticles in the polymer fibers led to an increase of the thermal stability. The photocatalytic performance was assessed by using methylene blue (MB). The nanocomposite electrospun fiber membranes had a remarkable photocatalytic activity, especially the one with higher amount of TiO2, with all the MB dye being removed from the solution after 100 min, under UV. The orthogonal experimental design is an efficient way to save time and materials in the production of photocatalytic membranes

Structural and Functional Regulation of Vps4 by ESCRT Proteins.

The Endosomal Sorting Complexes Required for Transport (ESCRT) machinery controls key cellular processes, including multivesicular body (MVB) biogenesis, retroviral release, division between daughter cells, and closure of small plasma membrane wounds, all of which require the budding of membrane away from the cytosol. The ESCRT proteins function by binding membrane, generating curvature, and through the enzymatic activity of an AAA-ATPase Vps4, executing membrane scission. Both the localization and oligomerization state of Vps4 are important mechanisms that control Vps4 activity. The ESCRT-III proteins are themselves substrates of Vps4 activity but also participate in regulating Vps4 function. These proteins are structurally related, and contain a unique protein-interaction motif known as the MIT-interacting motif (MIM) that engages the Vps4 microtubule-interacting and trafficking (MIT) domain. Through this MIT-MIM interaction, the ESCRT-III proteins are thought to drive oligomerization and recruit Vps4 to the site of action. Vps4 regulation is further expanded by its co-factor Vta1, which itself contains two tandem MIT domains that bind to the ESCRT-III proteins. Two yeast ESCRT-III proteins, Did2 and Vps60, were initially found to bind the second Vta1 MIT domain that stimulates Vps4 via Vta1 binding. Biochemical analysis showed that Did2 does not bind to the second MIT domain as previously thought, but in fact binds to the first MIT domain. The crystal structure of the LIP5-CHMP1B complex (human orthologs of Vta1 and Did2) showed that this mode of interaction is conserved. Interestingly, the binding interface of Vps60 to Vta1 has diverged in higher species. It appears that LIP5 has evolved different structural requirements for VPS4 stimulation as well, and that CHMP5 (human ortholog of Vps60) has also gained an inhibitory function for LIP5 stimulation, which is in contrast to yeast Vps60. Another interesting difference between the human and yeast systems is that yeast harbor a novel ESCRT-III protein Vfa1. Vfa1 regulates Vps4 through a high-affinity MIT-MIM interaction that can greatly stimulate Vps4 ATPase activity. Taken together, these results suggest that while the basic mechanism of ESCRT function is conserved, there is a significant divergence in the regulatory mechanism of ESCRT action, with Vps4 as a prime example.PhDBiological ChemistryUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110318/1/cvild_1.pd

Reusable photocatalytic optical fibers for underground, deep-sea, and turbid water remediation

An approach for underground, deep, and turbid water remediation is presented based on optical fibers with a photocatalytic coating. Thus, photocatalytic TiO2 P25 nanoparticles immobilized in a poly(vinylidene difluoride) (PVDF) matrix are coated on polymeric optical fibers (POFs) and the photocatalytic performance of the system is assessed under artificial sunlight. To the best of our knowledge, poly(methyl methacrylate)-POF coated with TiO2/PVDF and the reusability of any type of POF for photocatalytic applications are not previously reported. The photocatalytic efficiency of the hybrid material in the degradation of ciprofloxacin (CIP) and its reusability are evaluated here. It is shown that 50 w/w% of TiO2 P25 achieves a degradation of 95% after 72 h under artificial sunlight and a reusability of three times leads to a loss of activity inferior to 11%. The efficient removal of ciprofloxacin and the stability of the POF coated with TiO2 P25 successfully demonstrate its suitability in the degradation of pollutants with potential application in regions with low light illumination, as in underground and deep water.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version