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A menu driven computer program has been developed to serve as a user's interface with ACSYNT, the NASA-AMES program for aircraft synthesis. The interface program, CREATE, drastically reduces the amount of time required to learn how to use acsynt, thus allowing the power of ACSYNT to be used more effectively by the Aircraft Design curriculum at the Naval Postgraduate School. CREATE has been developed to reduce the required number of inputs to ACSYNT and is ideal for use with the early phases of the Aeronautical Engineering Curriculum. It can provide rapid feedback when examining the effects that different aircraft parameters have on the overall aircraft performance, thus enhancing the students understanding of the relationships between the numerous variables of aircraft studies. Included in the thesis are four examples that demonstrate some of the capabilities of ACSYNT and the use of CREATE. http://archive.org/details/ausersmanualforn1094543749 Lieutenant, U.S. Navy (USN) author Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

This is a comparative study of strategy formation in Irish complex\ud organisations. Four organisations were chosen for study which are\ud representative of the four main types of organisation to be found in\ud the Irish economy,a state agency,a public limited company,a state-owned\ud entreprise and a producer cooperative. The approach taken in this\ud research is multi-level and contextual,an approach which is still very\ud rare in organisational studies. Insight is sought through intensive,\ud longitudinal study of the four organisations over their whole life\ud histories. The central thrust of the inquiry is the empirical\ud examination of how situational context and autonomous organisational\ud behaviour influence organisational strategy and of how these two\ud elements interact. The context - strategy formation link,in particular,\ud is under-explored in the strategy literature. The small national\ud context facilitates the development of a multi-level perspective on\ud the interaction of situational context and organisational action\ud that includes the national,industry and organisational levels of\ud analysis. It also throws the context-organisation interrelationship\ud into greater relief than would be possible through using a similar research design in a much larger national context.\ud The empirical analysis identifies SITUATIONAL CONTEXT,ORGANISATIONAL\ud LEADERS and ORGANISATIONAL HISTORY as the three main elements\ud in strategy formation. It isolates and empirically analyses FIVE\ud important CONTEXTUAL FACTORS that shape strategy,and provides a\ud greater elaboration of the contextual influences on organisational\ud action than that to be found in much of the organisational literature,\ud where the environment of organisations tends to be viewed as\ud homogeneous and residual. It also reveals that the contextual influences\ud on organisational action often arise from INTER-LINKING PROCESSES OF\ud SOCIAL VOLITION across multiple levels of social and economic structure\ud and it examines the nature of these processes. In this way the study\ud goes beyond the predominant conception of contextual influences\ud as 'impersonal forces', a perspective on situational context that also\ud predominates in the organisational literature. The study also provides\ud a FRESH PERSPECTIVE ON the role of LEADERSHIP in strategy formation.\ud It deflects attention away from the predominant pre-occupation\ud in the leadership literature with the personality and personal\ud attributes of the leader. Leadership effectiveness is also seen\ud to be related to the ongoing processual dynamics of leading(i.e. to\ud ongoing performance and the maintenance of credibility over time) and to\ud the nature of the historical challenge presented to individual leaders\ud by situational context and organisational history. A classification of\ud leaders in terms of their historical roles is developed and offered as a\ud useful way of organising future research into the leadership phenomenon.\ud The study then develops,from the data and the analysis,a model\ud of organisational development,based on the concept of ORGANISATIONAL\ud CAREER,which is more existential and less deterministic than that\ud based on the life cycle analogy. These insights are finally synthesised\ud into A RELATIONAL MODEL OF STRATEGY FORMATION and the study ends\ud with an assessment of the utility of this model,and of the related\ud findings, for future research and practice.

We analysed the performance of one full-size VSSF and HSSF CW and two pilot-scale VSSF and HSSF FS systems in Estonia. We observed in detail the removal of organic material (after BOD7 and CODcr), nitrogen (Ntot) and phosphorus (Ptot) from wastewater (see publications I-IV). This thesis is mainly concentrated on the results that were achieved from November 2005 to December 2006 (divided into 6 periods of various re-circulation regimes), but for background a review of the long-term (January 2007 to May 2008, divided into three working periods) performance of Kodijärve CW is provided. A short overview of experiments performed in the Nõo FS from Aug 2007 to March 2008 is also included. We can conclude that in cold climates it is important to use a VSSF system before the HSSF system, because better aeration of wastewater provides overall better purification efficiency (PE) considering BOD7, CODcr and Ntot removal. It is also necessary not to overload filters in terms of both hydraulic and mass loading rates, so CW and FS dimensions must match the characteristics of the effluent. VSSF and HSSF filters can be designed in an economical way, especially when wastewater re-circulation of 100-300% is applied. The re-circulation of the wastewater improves overall purification significantly. It is possible to achieve satisfactory results in terms of effective BOD and COD removal and nitrification/denitrification as well as Ptot removal. We observed a significant positive correlation between the re-circulation rate and purification efficiency of BOD7, CODcr, Ntot and NH4-N. Käesolevas doktoritöös on analüüsitud ühe täismõõdulise vertikaalvoolulise ja horisontaalvoolulise hübriidse pinnasfiltersüsteemi (Kodijärve) ning kahe vertikaalvoolulise ja horisontaalvoolulise hübriidse piloot- ehk katseseadme (Nõo ja Rämsi) funktsioneerimist reoveepuhastuse eesmärkidel. Doktoritöö põhjal võime järeldada, et oluline on kasutada vertikaalvoolulist pinnasfiltrit enne horisontaalvoolulist pinnasfiltrit, kuna parem reovee hapnikuga varustatus tagab paremad tulemused puhastusefektiivuste osas, eriti BHT7, KHTcr ja Nüld näitel. Oluline on filtersüsteeme mitte üle koormata ja seda nii hüdrauliliselt kui ka reoainete koormuse osas ehk pinnasfiltersüsteemide dimensioonid peavad vastama neisse juhitava reovee parameetritele. Vertikaal- ja horisontaalvoolulisi pinnasfiltersüsteeme saab rajada ökonoomselt, eriti juhul kui rakendatakse reovee tagasipumpamist vähemalt määral 100-300% filtritesse juhitud reovee hulgast. Reovee tagasipumpamine parandab üldist puhastusmäära. Võimalik on saavutada rahuldavaid tulemusi BHT ja KHT ärastamise ning nitrifikatsiooni ja denitrifikatsiooni osas.

This study was carried out to synthesize qualitative research data on innovation strategies of Healthcare, and Food and Drink companies in Ireland involved in biotechnology research and development in Ireland, for the purpose of determining in a pragmatic manner the level of activity and types of innovation strategies pursued. Several types of innovation strategies through biotechnology have been identified. These strategies vary according to company type, company size and industry sector. Furthermore, those companies which represent a potential of considerable creativity in the innovation of products through biotechnology in Ireland have been identified. Thus, the medium involvement long-term planners identified in this study represent a source of entrepreneurial potential for the commercialisation of biotechnology in Ireland. Policy makers must investigate the implication of this for further biotechnology development in Ireland.

In this work, the suitability of lupin and sunflower raw materials (flour, protein concentrate) for lactic fermentation was examined with respect to growth, persistence and metabolism of potential starter strains. Four out of five tested lactic acid- and bifidobacteria showed high fermentation performances in lupin and sunflower substrates. The secondary plant metabolites did not have a significant inhibitory effect on the selected bacteria. Depending on the fermentation strain, the concentration of antinutritives was reduced, which leads to an improved quality and enhanced nutritional value of the products. In dieser Arbeit wurde die Eignung von Lupinen- und Sonnenblumenrohstoffen (Mehl, Proteinkonzentrat) zur Milchsäurefermentation hinsichtlich Wachstum, Durchsetzbarkeit und Stoffwechsel potenzieller Starterstämme untersucht. Vier von fünf untersuchten Milchsäure- und Bifidobakterien zeigten eine hohe Fermentationsleistung in den Lupinen- und Sonnenblumensubstraten. Die sekundären Pflanzeninhaltsstoffe hatten keinen signifikant hemmenden Einfluss auf die getesteten Bakterien. Je nach Fermentationsstamm wurde die Konzentration an antinutritiven Stoffen reduziert, was zu einer verbesserten Qualität und einem gesteigerten Nährwert der Produkte führt.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the UK, accounting for more than a third of all deaths, with atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD) being the commonest type of CVD. Recently, it has become recognised that in addition to traditional cardiovascular (CV) risk factors such as dyslipidaemia, hypertension, smoking, and diabetes, inflammation plays an important role in the development and progression of atherosclerosis. A concept has emerged that atherosclerosis to some extent can be viewed as a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease in which the adaptive immune system is targeted against vascular self-antigens modified by hypercholesterolaemia, involving both the innate and adaptive immune response. Much work has been done in determining how the immune system is involved, however relatively little is known about natural killer (NK) cells – an important component of the innate immune system which acts against virally infected cells and neoplastic transformation. In addition NK cells possess cytolytic ability and provide an early source of immunoregulatory cytokines. Recently, there has been increasing evidence to support a role for NK cells in the development of atherosclerosis. The work in this thesis examines NK cell function with the aim of determining whether any changes in the function of this immune cell could have a role in the development of CVD. In order to do this, we chose two patient populations at high CV risk and compared NK cell subsets and function to healthy controls. Firstly, 66 patients with dyslipidaemia on a variety of lipid lowering treatments attending a lipid clinic, and secondly 143 patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) including 11 with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on hospital haemodialysis (HD). It is known that CVD is the leading cause of death in patients with CKD, and in ESRD patients have a 20-100 fold risk of premature CV death compared to age matched controls from the general population. The increased CV risk results from additional risk factors that are unique to this patient population, but in particular, these patients have an immune dysfunction that is not completely understood and a resultant inflammatory state. We determined T-cell, NKT-cell, and NK cell subsets from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) by flow cytometry. We then isolated NK cells from PBMCs and assessed NK cell function using a 51-Chromium release assay. These results were then correlated with clinical and laboratory results. In the patients with dyslipidaemia, we did not find any correlations between lipid levels and NK cell numbers, subsets, or cytoxicity. The presence of statin therapy or any other lipid lowering treatment did not result in a reduction in NK cell cytotoxicity. In the CKD patient group, we found a correlation between NK cell cytotoxicity and creatinine, although this did not retain significance after multivariate analysis. Interestingly, we also found a correlation between NK cell cytotoxicity and serum phosphate level, which did remain significant after multivariate regression. We are the first to report a relationship between phosphate and NK cytotoxicity. This is an interesting finding as there is increasing evidence supporting a role for hyperphosphataemia in CVD and increased mortality in both the general population and particularly in patients with ESRD. Phosphate has been shown in some studies to be an independent predictor of inflammation, and may provide the link between the high risk of CVD and CKD. The next part of this thesis was an in vitro study of membrane cholesterol in NK cells. The cell membrane supports cholesterol-rich microdomains termed “lipid rafts”, which concentrate receptors and signal transduction molecules to facilitate high efficiency signal transduction. Statins have a number of pleiotropic effects which have been explained by reduced production of isoprenoid intermediates, and depletion of cell membrane rafts. This study aimed to investigate the effects of membrane cholesterol manipulation on NK cell function, and specifically, whether the actions of statins on NK cells are due to depletion of membrane cholesterol or inhibition of isoprenylation. The NK92MI cell line was used. Cells were either cholesterol loaded, or cholesterol depleted using statins, and NK cell function assessed using a 51-Chromium release assay. Cholesterol was successfully incorporated into the membrane and rafts and was concentration dependent. The addition of cholesterol to statin treated cells restored the cholesterol content in the cell membrane and in rafts. NK cell cytotoxicity decreased with statin treatment in correspondence with raft levels, however in contrast with the increased raft levels of cells which were cholesterol loaded, NK cytotoxicity was also decreased. Measurement of active Ras (a small G-protein that is localised by isoprenylation in membrane rafts when activated), showed that statin treatment reduced Ras within the raft which was not rescued by the addition of cholesterol, suggesting that statins deplete membrane cholesterol and rafts as well as inhibiting isoprenylation. Replenishment of membrane cholesterol restores non-isoprenylated, raft-associated proteins, but does not correct the functional effects of statins. The final part of this thesis aimed to evaluate the relationship between NK cells and potential CV risk biomarkers in these two patient populations at high risk of CVD. High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), pentraxin-3 (PTX-3), adiponectin, and soluble ST2 (sST2) levels were determined by ELISA, and correlated with NK cell numbers, phenotype, and function, as well as other routine biochemical and haematological parameters. We were not able to determine any definite relationships between the biomarkers studied and NK cell function, although there was an association between PTX-3 and NK cytotoxicity that was only found in inflamed (hsCRP>2mg/L) patients. In conclusion, these studies have provided further insight into the role of NK cells in a group of patients that have not previously been studied: patients with a range of CKD, in addition to patients with dyslipidaemia. This study is the first to associate NK cell cytotoxicity with serum phosphate levels which may have clinical implications. Further studies are needed to clarify whether other immune abnormalities occur in the context of hyperphosphataemia, and the causes and consequences of this. We have also demonstrated that statins deplete membrane lipid rafts as well as inhibit isoprenylation, suggesting a novel dual mechanism of action which merits further investigation.

This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University London Bacterial Vaginosis is one of the most common vaginal infection that affect 50% of women globally between the ages of 14-49, yet its aetiology remains unknown. Antibiotics or vaginal creams are usually prescribed to women to treat the infection however, reoccurrence is common after a year of treatment. Therefore, this condition desperately needs a new approach to developing an effective treatment. The aim of this thesis was to develop a microfluidic platform that can realistically mimic the in vivo vaginal epithelium tissue as an in vitro system which can then be used by clinicians and researchers to gain a better understanding of bacterial vaginosis (BV). The Vagina-on-chip (VOC) was developed using multiple techniques that combined micro-engineering, 3D printing, electrospinning, and cell culture to mimic the mechanical, biochemical and physical aspects of vaginal tissue. VOC platform comprised of three layers, top and bottom microfluidic channels to provide nutrients to the central layer, the membrane held in suspension to support the growth of vaginal tissue. The membrane was fabricated using natural and synthetic polymers via electrospinning technique. Composite membrane made with gelatine (GE) and polycaprolactone (PCL), a mixture of natural and synthetic polymers was found to be the optimal membrane for cell culture. This membrane was chosen due to its fibre size (257.25 ±72.92nm) and wettability CA (29.66 °) which provided a large surface area and hydrophilic exterior to support growth and cell adhesion of vaginal cells. Mechanical testing revealed that composite membrane exhibited similar mechanical properties to vaginal epithelium from non-prolapsed women. The composite membrane had a stress failure at 1.6MPa with strain failure at 12%. Cell viability assays were also conducted on the membranes to test for biocompatibility, which confirmed the composite membrane to be the most appropriate membrane for the VOC platform. Scanning electron microscopy was performed to visualise cell attachment on all membranes which showed the vaginal cells merging to the fibres of PCL/GE, PCL/COL and composite membrane indicating that these as-spun scaffolds promoted cellular attachments and spreading. Together with these results, the first VOC platform prototype was constructed. Due to its early stages in development, further experimentation and optimisation is required to evaluate its performance, to support the growth of vaginal tissue and potentially becoming a realistic research tool to study BV. EPSRC

Brand management research has focussed on exploring what terms consumers associate with a brand and the strength of these associations. No prior research proposes an approach that goes beyond the determination and measurement of brand associations restricting our understanding to how brand management indirectly influences consumer decision-making. Research is required to i) provide a theoretical explanation of how brands directly influence consumer information processing, ii) how processing styles influence brand associations and behavioural preferences, and, iii) the interplay between consumer brand associations and brand communication. The Construal Level Theory (CLT) of psychological distance offers a useful lens to do this. \ud \ud Two datasets totalling 6000 consumer tweets to 30 brands show that the 15 investigated luxury brands are psychologically distant while the 15 examined non-luxury brands are psychologically close. Contrary to expectations, 3000 brand tweets from the same 15 luxury and 15 non-luxury brands mismatch consumer brand associations. Luxury brands use psychologically close language and non-luxury brands psychologically distant language. On Facebook, the majority of the examined brands use psychological distance neither consistently nor effectively in their brand communication. An experiment shows that mismatching brand communication decreases purchase intentions and brand liking for psychologically distant luxury brands. \ud \ud This thesis makes three substantial empirical contributions to the brand management literature and one to research methodology. First, brands are mental representations and, as such, are psychologically close or distant and influence how consumers process brand communication. According to CLT, this affects price perceptions, assortment size preferences, and the positivity of evaluations. Second, psychological distance systematically differentiates luxury brands from non-luxury brands. Third, matching the psychological distance of brand communication to brand associations only improves outcomes for psychologically distant brands. Lastly, the computational method employed to analyse language for psychological distance is more reliable than conventional methods.