Improving the Efficiency and Resolution of Time of Flight (TOF) Mass Spectrometer for Magnetospheric Applications.

The Earth magnetosphere is the volume of space formed by the Earth magnetic field in response to the flow of plasma from the solar wind. Although the magnetopause shields us from the solar wind there are far more particles that penetrate with energy, and momentum to the Earths magnetosphere and interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field to create various plasmas and currents which shape and couple different regions of magnetosphere. The study of the dynamics of ions in and outside of the magnetosphere is done through mass spectrometer. Over the years, CODIF Ion TOF spectrometer have been used to understand the composition of the ions. However, the total ion detection efficiency has been decreased by a factor of 50. Thus, the scope of this project is to improve the mass resolution of the detector by understanding the scattering of the ions within the instrument. Using SRIM and SIMION simulations, we model the interaction of ions with Micro-Channel Plates (MCP) and carbon foils, which are vital components in time-of-flight detectors

The Structural system of traditional Malay Dwellings in Sambas Town West Kalimantan, Indonesia

The architecture of the Sambas traditional dwellings in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, one of the national heritage, has contributed particular characteristic structures. This study mainly focuses on these structural systems. A detailed investigation will be done on three type of Malay dwelling roof styles: Potong Limas (Limas style), Potong Kawat (Kawat style) and Potong Godang (Godang style). Analyzing the types of the structural systems used in the research objects, the author found an amazing endurance of these dwellings to toward the environmental conditions. This research is performed using the positivistic method and the data used were verified on the field and analyzed qualitatively. The utilization of local structures, such as the type of foundation, the wall construction and the roof slopes were built in unison with the natur

Understanding Thermometry at Low Temperature

Cryogenics play a vital role in building a Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) target for electron scattering experiments. The target material temperature was monitored using thermometry in order to evaluate their stability for use in the low temperature cryogenic bath of a DNP target. In this project, I investigated there solutions and accuracies of carbon ceramic, Cernox, Allen-Bradley, and thermocouple sensors at five known temperatures

Kecerdasan matematik-logik dalam kalangan pelajar sarjana Pendidikan Teknik dan Vokasional UTHM

Kecerdasan matematik-logik sering dikaitkan dengan penguasaan pelajar dalam subjek matematik. Pencapaian pelajar, khususnya pelajar Sarjana Pendidikan Teknik dan Vokasional, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) dalam kursus Statistik dalam Penyelidikan sedikit sebanyak mempengaruhi pencapaian akademik pelajar. Oleh itu, kajian ini dijalankan untuk mengkaji pengaruh kecerdasan matematik-logik terhadap pencapaian pelajar dalam kursus Statistik dalam Penyelidikan. Kajian berbentuk tinjauan secara kuantitatif untuk melihat hubungan diantara dua pembolehubah iaitu pembolehubah tidak bersandar (kecerdasan matematik-logik) dan pembolehubah bersandar (penguasaan pelajar dalam kursus Statistik dalam Penyelidikan). Persampelan rawak mudah digunakan dalam kajian ini dengan mengambil sampel seramai 108 orang pelajar Sarjana Pendidikan Teknik dan Vokasional sebagai responden kajian. Data diperoleh daripada sampel dengan menggunakan borang soal selidik yang diolah berdasarkan alat pengukuran kecerdasan MIDAS (Multiple Intelligence Development Assessment Scales). Data dianalisis menggunakan perisian SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) versi 16.0 yang melibatkan ujian statistik skor min dan kolerasi pangkat Spearman. Hasil dapatan kajian menunjukkan tahap kecenderungan kecerdasan matematik-logik pelajar berada pada tahap yang tinggi dan mempunyai hubungan yang signifikan dengan pencapaian pelajar dalam kursus Statistik dalam Penyelidikan. Berdasarkan dapatan kajian boleh disimpulkan bahawa kecerdasan matematik-logik dapat dijadikan kayu ukur dalam memastikan kejayaan pelajar

Biofilm formation by B. licheniformis isolated from whey protein concentrate 80 powder as a potential source of product contamination : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Food Technology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

This study aimed to examine biofilm formation of Bacillus licheniformis isolated from whey protein concentrate 80 (WPC80) as a potential source of contamination in the manufacture of WPC. Six WPC80 powder samples from one whey processing plant in New Zealand were used in this study. Six Bacillus species including (percentage of isolates in brackets) B. licheniformis (66%), Bacillus cereus/Bacillus thuringiensis (18%), Bacillus subtilis (4%), Bacillus pumilus (4%), Paenibacillus glucanolyticus (2%) and Lactobacillus plantarum (6%) were identified using colony morphologies, biochemical tests, species specific PCR and 16S ribosomal DNA gene sequencing and subsequent analysis using the BLAST and Seqmatch databases. Preliminary screening for biofilm formation by the predominant contaminant, B. licheniformis using a microtitre plate assay with the bacteria grown in laboratory medium tryptic soy broth (TSB) at three different temperatures (30°C, 37°C and 55°C) showed most biofilm formation at 37°C with 9/33 isolates forming strong biofilm. In total 13/33 isolates formed strong biofilm at three different temperatures on the polystyrene microtitre plate surface. Subsequent tests for biofilm formation on stainless steel (SS) showed an increased frequency of biofilm formation with 32/33 strains forming strong biofilm in TSB at 37°C. This demonstrates the limitation of the microtitre plate assay for screening for biofilm formation and suggests that biofilm growth of B. licheniformis favours a SS surface. The attachment and biofilm formation was further investigated using SS coupons and reconstituted whey medium at different concentrations (1%, 5%, and 20%). The best medium for B. licheniformis isolates to form biofilm on SS at its best growth temperature (37°C) was 1% reconstituted WPC80. Interestingly, when 1% reconstituted WPC80 was supplemented with lactose and minerals (mainly calcium and magnesium) to replicate the composition of Mozzarella cheese whey before ultrafiltration (UF), the B. licheniformis biofilm counts increased at least by one log. The production of protease enzyme, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and nitrate reduction by B. licheniformis showed the potential of B. licheniformis to influence the quality of dairy products. Biosurfactant production by B. licheniformis identified as lichenysin consisting of lipopeptide was detected and this may influence biofilm formation on SS. The inability of the B. licheniformis isolates to ferment lactose as their major carbon source was confirmed by lactose fermentation tests and shows that B. licheniformis is not ideally suited to a dairy environment. The B. licheniformis vegetative cells were found to be heat resistant with a < log10 reduction at the three temperatures tested; 72oC, 75oC and 80°C during 15 s, 30 s and 60 s heating intervals. In order to thrive in a dairy system, synergistic interactions with other microflora were investigated as a possible mechanism to use lactose that has been broken down by other microflora. Lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum), another isolate from the WPC80 samples, has the ability to produce glucose and galactose from lactose. This was grown with each of two B. licheniformis isolates (E30C11 and F30C02) with different abilities to form biofilm. Interestingly this did not enhance the growth of B. licheniformis suggesting that another carbon source, most likely whey protein, must provide the energy source for this bacterium in a whey environment. A review of the WPC80 processing plant showed the UF membranes had the largest surface area (3500 – 7500 m2), providing most potential for biofilm growth. However, UF was run at 10°C, too low for the growth of B. licheniformis which has a minimum growth temperature of 20°C. The hypothesis that sections of the processing plant before the UF step are the sites for B. licheniformis biofilm growth was supported by analysing several samples from the raw whey balance tank, clarifier, thermaliser and separator where 7 B. licheniformis strains were isolated. This shows that B. licheniformis is present at several early stages of WPC processing, with the most likely areas for growth being the certain sections of the clarifier, thermaliser and the separator where temperatures are close to the best growth temperature for this bacterium (37°C). Preventing B. licheniformis contamination of WPC needs to focus on adjusting the conditions in these sections of the processing plant to limit biofilm growth. Keywords: dairy, Bacillus species, L. plantarum, lichenysin, stainless steel, membrane processing plant

Coupling strength control in photonic crystal/photonic wire multiple cavity devices

Resonance splitting has been demonstrated for two coupled micro-cavities with control of the free spectral range between the resonance peaks, together with a normalised transmission level of approximately 60%. Coupled micro-cavity-based structures that were separated by two closely spaced in-line coupler sections between the two micro-cavities have also been successfully fabricated and measured. The coupling strength of the two cavities was controlled via the use of hole tapering in the middle section between the two cavities. 2D finite-difference time-domain simulation shows close agreement with the results of measurements

Heart Rate Variability: A possible machine learning biomarker for mechanical circulatory device complications and heart recovery

Cardiovascular disease continues to be the number one cause of death in the United States, with heart failure patients expected to increase to \u3e8 million by 2030. Mechanical circulatory support (MCS) devices are now better able to manage acute and chronic heart failure refractory to medical therapy, both as bridge to transplant or as bridge to destination. Despite significant advances in MCS device design and surgical implantation technique, it remains difficult to predict response to device therapy. Heart rate variability (HRV), measuring the variation in time interval between adjacent heartbeats, is an objective device diagnostic regularly recorded by various MCS devices that has been shown to have significant prognostic value for both sudden cardiac death as well as all-cause mortality in congestive heart failure (CHF) patients. Limited studies have examined HRV indices as promising risk factors and predictors of complication and recovery from left ventricular assist device therapy in end-stage CHF patients. If paired with new advances in machine learning utilization in medicine, HRV represents a potential dynamic biomarker for monitoring and predicting patient status as more patients enter the mechanotrope era of MCS devices for destination therapy