Novel method for sequential batch recovery of biomass from a helical photobioreactor

This study developed and evaluated a novel method to recover the microalgae species Arthrospira platensis from a closed helical photo bioreactor system. A recovery apparatus was designed and shown to increase recovery by 40% via periodic online recovery runs during exponential growth phase of biomass. Considerations for the apparatus design included the low shear tolerance of the algae and the necessity for a closed system in order to monitor CO2 consumption. The recovery method draws on methods used for large scale recovery as reported in literature by Vonshak and Shimmatsu [1], [2]. This work seeks to improve reactor biomass yield for generating sugar extracts from A. platensis which may be used subsequently as a feedstock to generate recombinant proteins from E. coli

Three Essays On Investments: An Examination Of The Effects Of Diversification And Taxes

Chapter 1 examines the effect of property-type diversification in equity real estate investment trusts (REITs) from 1995 to 2006. A strong positive relationship is documented between property-type diversification and return on assets, return on equity, and Tobin’s Q. The diversification benefit comes from both the ability to select better performing property types in “hot” markets and the limited exposure to poorly performing property types in “cold” markets. Diversified REITs produce higher cash flows relative to equity as a result of a broader opportunity set; moreover, return on assets increases with the degree of diversification, which suggests significant shielding to property-type specific risk. Additionally, results indicate that diversified REITs operate and trade above their contemporaneous predicted values, which are calculated using imputed multipliers from specialized REITs. The evidence shows that the market is operating efficiently and has incorporated this information; diversified REITs Q ratios are significantly greater than specialized REITs. Chapter 2 uses a large sample of municipal bond closed-end funds to examine how tax liability affects seasonal trading. Optimal tax trading dictates that net tax liability be calculated after all trades. Investors’ net tax liability is held in a holding account of his or her choosing. This study investigates what happens when there is tax liability in excess of Safe Harbor, and tax holding accounts are liquidated to cover the payments. We find that there exists a pattern of negative returns and increased volume in the month of March that is unexplained by changes in yield. iii Chapter 3 examines the ex-dividend day effect for municipal bond closed-end. The proposed explanations for this phenomenon are tax effects, short-term trading and/or market microstructure effects. In this study I use a unique set of dividend distributions to provide additional evidence that ex-dividend behavior is related to taxation as well as short-term trading. The sample I use is comprised of dividends in nontaxable closed-end funds, which ordinarily are not subject to Federal Income Tax. However, there is an occasional distribution that is subject to capital gains or ordinary income tax. This provides a unique environment in which to study the ex-dividend price behavior of a fund while eliminating the need for comparisons across funds

Cascading Behavior in Large Blog Graphs

How do blogs cite and influence each other? How do such links evolve? Does the popularity of old blog posts drop exponentially with time? These are some of the questions that we address in this work. Our goal is to build a model that generates realistic cascades, so that it can help us with link prediction and outlier detection. Blogs (weblogs) have become an important medium of information because of their timely publication, ease of use, and wide availability. In fact, they often make headlines, by discussing and discovering evidence about political events and facts. Often blogs link to one another, creating a publicly available record of how information and influence spreads through an underlying social network. Aggregating links from several blog posts creates a directed graph which we analyze to discover the patterns of information propagation in blogspace, and thereby understand the underlying social network. Not only are blogs interesting on their own merit, but our analysis also sheds light on how rumors, viruses, and ideas propagate over social and computer networks. Here we report some surprising findings of the blog linking and information propagation structure, after we analyzed one of the largest available datasets, with 45,000 blogs and ~ 2.2 million blog-postings. Our analysis also sheds light on how rumors, viruses, and ideas propagate over social and computer networks. We also present a simple model that mimics the spread of information on the blogosphere, and produces information cascades very similar to those found in real life

The effect of 12 weeks of combined upper- and lower-body high-intensity interval training on muscular and cardiorespiratory fitness in older adults

Background: High-intensity interval training (HIT) can impact cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness simultaneously, yet protocols typically focus on lower-body exercise. For older adults however, performing activities of daily living requires upper- and lower-body fitness. Aims: To assess the effects of combined upper- and lower-body HIT on fitness in adults aged > 50 years. Methods: Thirty-six adults (50–81 years; 21 male) were assigned via minimisation to either HIT (n = 18) or a no-exercise control group (CON, n = 18) following baseline assessment of leg extensor muscle power, handgrip strength, cardiorespiratory fitness (predicted VO2max) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The HIT group completed two training sessions per week for 12-weeks, performing a combination of upper-, lower- and full-body exercises using a novel hydraulic resistance ergometer. Data were analysed via ANCOVA with probabilistic inferences made about the clinical relevance of observed effects. Results: All participants completed the intervention with mean (82 ± 6%HRmax) and peak (89 ± 6%HRmax) exercise heart rates confirming a high-intensity training stimulus. Compared with CON, HIT showed possibly small beneficial effects for dominant leg power (10.5%; 90% confidence interval 2.4–19.4%), non-dominant leg power (9.4%; 3.3–16.0%) and non-dominant handgrip strength (6.3%; 1.2–11.5%) while the intervention effect was likely trivial (5.9%; 0.5–11.5%) for dominant handgrip strength. There was a likely small beneficial effect for predicted VO2max (8.4%; 1.8–15.4%) and small-moderate improvements across several domains of HRQoL. Conclusion: Combined upper- and lower-body HIT has small clinically relevant beneficial effects on muscular and cardiorespiratory fitness in older adults

Using Qualitative Methods to Supplement Quantitative Research: A Case Study in Evaluating Student Usage of Facilities

Quantitative research is an important tool in understanding library users; quantifiable data is objective and can be processed and analyzed in ways that bring about new insights. Unfortunately, it is better at telling us where and when than it is at telling us the whys. Our library, the Business, Engineering, Science, and Technology library at Miami University, did a headcount study to see how many people were using which rooms at what times of the day and night. There were many things we learned from that data, but in order to flesh it out and make it more of a three-dimensional picture of our users we decided to use methods from ethnography. We ran a survey and then interviewed several of the survey respondents. The result was a “thick description” that allowed us to better understand the motivations behind some of the behavior seen in the quantitative stud

Influence of Absolute versus relative L-arginine Dosage on 1 km and 16.1 km time trial performance in trained cyclists.

This investigation aimed to determine the effects of L-arginine supplementation on cycling time trial (TT) performance. Eight trained male cyclists performed 1 and 16.1km time trials on three occasions, control (CON), absolute (ABS) and relative (REL) loading. Participants consumed 500ml of water with either 6g (ABS), 0.15 g·kg-1 body mass (REL) of L-arginine or water (CON) 90min prior to testing. Time to completion, mean power output (Wmean) and post-exercise lactate (La) were recorded for each TT. Time to completion decreased non-significantly for 1 and 16.1km TT’s during ABS and REL trials compared to CON. Wmean was significantly different between CON and REL during 16.1 km TT (196.19 ± 32.40W and 215.81 ± 31.56W). Blood lactates was significantly different between CON and ABS for the 1 km TT (p = 0.04) (13.59 ± 1.21 mmol·L-1 and 12.38 ± 0.70 mmol·L-1, respectively) and between CON and ABS (p = 0.04) (9.11 ± 2.91mmol·L-1 and 7.64 ± 3.01mmol·L-1, respectively) and CON and REL (9.11 ± 2.91mmol·L-1 and 7.15 ± 2.96mmol·L-1, respectively) for 16.1km TT. These results indicate L-arginine supplementation does not significantly improve cycling TT performance, though there was a trend towards reduced time to completion and increased mean power output, and that relative doses appear more effective than absolute doses

Student Project Environmental influences on box blight epidemics

Calonectria pseudonaviculata and C. henricotiae are two recently differentiated fungal species responsible for box blight, a disease that threatens the Buxus genus. Infection can be introduced to gardens on new plants and is spread through the use of tools. The fungus survives on stem lesions and fallen leaves when spores are dispersed by rainsplash. In this study, 195 Calonectria UK isolates collected by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Advisory Service were identified to species level. Detached stem assays were performed to assess how long stem and leaf lesions remain infectious, and their sensitivity to fungicides. A survey was also carried out at three National Trust properties on the effect of clipping on box blight distribution and severity. It was found that C. henricotiae was only present in and after 2011. C. henricotiae is more thermotolerant, and the increase in prevalence may be a result of increasing temperature and longer dry spells in the UK. Sporulation could occur multiple times on both stem and leaf lesions in humid conditions, although spore production dropped markedly after six sporulation events. Fungicides were effective at preventing spore production on stem lesions. Long dry spells may also reduce Calonectria’s ability to sporulate, leading to limited box blight spread between plants