title: Microstructural effects on the stability of retained austenite in transformation induced plasticity steels

contributor:
Boyd, Doug
Mechanical and Materials Engineering

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subject:
TRIP steel
Steel microstructure
Martensite transformation

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Mechanical and Materials Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2007-12-14 13:35:07.248

abstract:
Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) steels have both high strength and high ductility. Retained austenite in the microstructure, upon straining, transforms to martensite and this absorbs energy and improves the work hardening of the steel, giving improved elongation. The transformation can be either stress-assisted or strain-induced and the initiation and the mechanism depend on the composition of, the size and shape of, and the phases surrounding, the austenite grains. It is important to understand the relationship between these variables and the properties of the TRIP steel.

The aim of this work was to determine how the microstructure of the TRIP steel affects the transformation. Four experimental microstructures were developed, containing austenite grains with different sizes, shapes, and surrounding phases. The Fine microstructure had thin elongated austenite laths between fine bainitic ferrite laths, the Coarse microstructure had elongated austenite grains between coarser bainitic ferrite laths, the Equiaxed microstructure had equiaxed austenite grains in a matrix of equiaxed ferrite and the Acicular microstructure had elongated austenite grains surrounded by recovered ferrite laths.

Tensile tests were performed and detailed characterization, using neutron diffraction, was done of samples with the four microstructures. The variation in the amount of austenite during deformation was measured. The tensile tests revealed that the microstructures had different mechanical properties and different transformation behaviours. Fine had the lowest elongation and the highest strength. Acicular and Equiaxed had good elongation but lower strength. Coarse had intermediate strength and Equiaxed had sustained work hardening.

The transformation in Fine and Coarse was minimal. Coarse had some slow, steady transformation, but Fine may have had none. The transformation in Equiaxed was larger. It started quickly and then slowed at higher strains. The austenite in Acicular transformed steadily. The predominant mechanism of transformation was stress-assisted transformation, with strain-induced transformation occurring only in Equiaxed.

The results of this work showed that the influence of the surrounding phases on the stability of the austenite is significant. The differences in the transformation behaviour of the four microstructures seemed to be due more to the surrounding phases than the grain size or the composition, although both these factors also played a role.

abstract: PhD


title: Implementation of coarse-grain coherence tracking support in ring-based multiprocessors

contributor:
Manjikian, Naraig
Electrical and Computer Engineering

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rights: This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.

subject:
Cache coherence
Ring-based multiprocessor
Coarse-grain coherence tracking
Prototype implementation
Multiprocessor system-on-chip

abstract: Thesis (Master, Electrical & Computer Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2007-10-24 10:16:47.81

abstract:
As the number of processors in multiprocessor system-on-chip devices continues to increase, the complexity required for full cache coherence support is often unwarranted for application-specific designs. Bus-based interconnects are no longer suitable for larger-scale systems, and the logic and storage overhead associated with the use of a complex packet-switched network and directory-based cache coherence may be undesirable in single-chip systems. Unidirectional rings are a suitable alternative because they offer many properties favorable to both on-chip implementation and to supporting cache coherence. Reducing the overhead of cache coherence traffic is, however, a concern for these systems.

This thesis adapts two filter structures that are based on principles of coarse-grained coherence tracking, and applies them to a ring-based multiprocessor. The first structure tracks the total number of blocks of remote data cached by all processors in a node for a set of regions, where a region is a large area of memory referenced by the upper bits of an address. The second structure records regions of local data whose contents are not cached by any remote node. When used together to filter incoming or outgoing requests, these structures reduce the extent of coherence traffic and limit the transmission of coherent requests to the necessary parts of the system.

A complete single-chip multiprocessor system that includes the proposed filters is designed and implemented in programmable logic for this thesis. The system is composed of nodes of bus-based multiprocessors, and each node includes a common memory, two or more pipelined 32-bit processors with coherent data caches, a split-transaction bus with separate lines for requests and responses, and an interface for the system-level ring interconnect. Two coarse-grained filters are attached to each node to reduce the impact of coherence traffic on the system. Cache coherence within the node is enforced through bus snooping, while coherence across the interconnect is supported by a reduced-complexity ring snooping protocol. Main memory is globally shared and is physically distributed among the nodes.

Results are presented to highlight the system's key implementation points. Synthesis results are presented in order to evaluate hardware overhead, and operational results are shown to demonstrate the functionality of the multiprocessor system and of the filter structures.

abstract: Financial support for this work was provided by the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Communications and Information Technology Ontario, and Queen's University.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: A study of prehospital trauma care in Ontario

contributor:
Pickett, William
Lam, Miu
Community Health and Epidemiology

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subject:
Emergency medical services
Intubation
Prehospital trauma care
Urban-rural analysis

abstract: Thesis (Master, Community Health & Epidemiology) -- Queen's University, 2007-10-24 11:58:53.955

abstract:
Objectives:

1. To describe variations in major trauma between rural and urban residents of Ontario in terms of external causes, severities, prehospital care and clinical outcomes.
2. To determine whether prehospital intubation improves survival to hospital discharge among victims of major trauma.

Methods:
The study involved secondary analyses of data from the Ontario Prehospital Advanced Life Support Study (OPALS). OPALS is the largest study of prehospital emergency medical services conducted worldwide.

  1. Rural-urban status of trauma patients was determined using modified Beale Codes.  Differences in trauma characteristics and patient care were compared among four geographic groups (Large Metro, Medium Metro, Small Metro, Rural).
     2. Patients who were intubated in the field were individually matched with non-intubated patients by patient age, injury severity score category, abbreviated head injury score category, and exact Glasgow coma scores.  Cox regression was used to estimate the effect of prehospital intubation on patients' survival to hospital discharge, stratifying on patient matching.

Results:

1. Patients in the large metro and rural groups had higher injury severity scores (medial 25, 24, respectively) than the other two groups (median=22).  Paramedics generally spent more time in rural and large metro areas (median=37.4, 36.6 minutes respectively) than in medium and small metro (median=32.0, 30.7 minutes respectively) areas.  Response times and transport times in rural groups were significantly longer than the other three groups, while scene times in the large metro group were significantly longer compared with the other geographic groups.  There were no significant differences in survival rates by geographic group.
2.  There were no significantly differences between the intubated and the non-intubated groups by age, sex, Glasgow coma scores, injury severity score, and systolic blood pressure category.  Prehospital intubated patients exprienced a 3-fold risk of mortality after adjustment for potential confounders (HR2.9; 95% CI 1.4 to 5.8).

Conclusions:
1. While response and transport times for major trauma were longer in rural areas, there were no significant differences in mortality in patients with different rural urban status.
2. Prehosptial intubation showed a negative association with survival among major trauma patients.  Further randomized trials are required to invesitigate this clinical issue.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Experimental Validation of an Elastic Registration Algorithm for Ultrasound Images

contributor:
Hashtrudi-Zaad, Keyvan
Abolmaesumi, Purang
Electrical and Computer Engineering

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subject:
ultrasound
image registration
validation
elastic registration

abstract: Thesis (Master, Electrical & Computer Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2007-10-24 22:35:20.875

abstract: Ultrasound is a favorable tool for intra-operative surgical guidance due to its fast imaging speed and non-invasive nature. However, deformations of the anatomy caused by breathing, heartbeat, and movement of the patient make it difficult to track the location of anatomical landmarks during intra-operative ultrasound-guided interventions. While elastic registration can be used to compensate for image misalignment, its adaptation for clinical use has only been gradual due to the lack of standardized guidelines to quantify the performance of different registration techniques. Evaluation of elastic registration algorithms is a difficult task since the point to point correspondence between images is usually unknown. This poses a major challenge in the validation of non-rigid registration techniques for performance comparisons. Current validation guidelines for non-rigid registration algorithms exist for the comparison of techniques for magnetic resonance images of the brain. These frameworks provide users with standardized brain datasets and performance measures based on brain region alignment, intensity differences between images, and inverse consistency of transformations. These metrics may not all be suitable for ultrasound registration algorithms due to the different properties of the imaging modalities. Furthermore, other metrics are required for validating the registration performance on different anatomical images with large deformations such as the liver. This work presents a validation framework dedicated for ultrasound elastic registration algorithms. Quantitative validation metrics are evaluated for ultrasound images. These include a simulation technique to measure registration accuracy, a segmentation algorithm to extract anatomical landmarks to measure feature overlap, and a technique to measure the alignment of images using similarity metrics. An extensive study of an ultrasound temporal registration algorithm is conducted using the proposed validation framework. Experiments are performed on a large database of 2D and 3D US images of the carotid artery and the liver to assess the performance of this algorithm. In addition, two graphical user interfaces which integrate the image registration and segmentation techniques have been developed to visualize the performance of these algorithms on ultrasound images captured in real time. In the future, these interfaces may be used to enhance ultrasound examination.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: S. Maria Del Pianto: Loss, Remembrance And Legacy In Seventeenth Century Naples

contributor:
Schütze, Sebastian
Art History

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subject: Neapolitan Art

abstract: Thesis (Master, Art History) -- Queen's University, 2007-10-27 14:20:05.416

abstract: This thesis explores the creation of the church of S. Maria del Pianto and its altarpieces commissioned in the wake of the Neapolitan plague of 1656. The church and its sacred images are representative of the devotional shift that occurred in Naples after such catastrophic loss of life – in particular devotion to the souls in Purgatory. An exploration of the church’s commission, the people involved as benefactors, and the significance of the site upon which it was built proved central to the identification of the possible meanings of the altarpieces for their seventeenth-century audience and are examined in detail in this study.

abstract: M.A.


title: Ab initio Studies of Indium Clustering on the Ge(111)-5x5 Surface

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subject:
condensed matter physics
electronic structure
surfaces

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy) -- Queen's University, 2007-10-26 14:14:48.513

abstract:
This thesis reports an \textit{ab initio} study of the
Ge(111)-5$\times$5 reconstruction, which forms on top of a Si(111)-7$\times$7
substrate.
Detailed descriptions of the structural and electronic properties of this
surface, obtained from density-functional calculations,
are presented and analyzed. A study of In clusters on this surface is performed, and compared
 with recent experimental work on this system. The effect of surface strain as well as the issue
of the Si-Ge interface is addressed. Also, a preliminary investigation of some dynamical
aspects of an In atom on the 5$\times$5 surface is presented.

abstract:
NSERC
HPCVL
WestGrid

abstract: PhD


title: Investigating the stability of nitric oxide synthase quaternary structure to denaturant and temperature

contributor:
Rafferty, Steven
Chemistry

format:
2302390 bytes
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subject:
Nitric Oxide synthase
Nitric Oxide synthase architecture
Synthase

abstract: Thesis (Master, Chemistry) -- Queen's University, 2007-10-26 15:28:14.182

abstract: A limitation to investigations of homodimeric protein dissociation is that the signals produced from methods such as fluorescence and circular dichroism represent both dissociation and protein unfolding that may be occurring simultaneously within a sample. Although size exclusion chromatography examines the state of a protein’s quaternary structure, complicated overlapping peaks representative of oligomer and monomer can result. To address these limitations the mixed dimer system has been adopted to investigate the dissociation of a homodimeric protein. A mixed dimer is a species in which each subunit of a homodimeric protein is associated with a different affinity tag. The two tags used are the His6-tag and the Glu7-tag. Such a mixed dimer will bind to a metal chelating column such as Ni-NTA so long as the dimer is intact. Denaturant- or temperature induced dimer dissociation can be detected by the amount of Glu7-tagged subunit present in the unbound fraction after the protein is passed over an Ni-NTA resin. SDS PAGE and densitometry assess the amount of Glu7-tagged subunit present in those unbound fractions. The experimental conditions necessary to implement this method were developed, and then applied to mammalian inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and Staphylococcus aureus NOS (SaNOS). With respect to both urea and temperature, the stability of SaNOS is higher than that of iNOS in spite of the bacterial enzyme having a much smaller dimer contact surface. We have also used the mixed dimer method to estimate an equilibrium dissociation constant (KD) for iNOS dissociation of no greater than 2.3μM. This value is compared to the results obtained for iNOS by analytical ultracentrifugation, which can characterize protein complexes and their stoichiometry.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Influence of Foundation Stiffness on Reinforced Soil Wall

contributor:
Bathurst, Richard J.
Civil Engineering

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subject:
Reduced-scale model testing
Geosynthetics
Retaining walls
Foundation stiffness

abstract: Thesis (Master, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2007-10-27 12:15:56.027

abstract:
The influence of yielding foundations on the mechanical behaviour of reinforced soil walls including wall deformations and loads (strains) in the reinforcement layers is very complex. Based on a review of the literature, there is a need to quantify and isolate the influence of foundation boundary type and magnitude of foundation stiffness on deformations and reinforcement loads in geosynthetic reinforced soil walls.

This thesis presents the results of a series of 1/6-scale reinforced soil wall model tests that were carried out to examine the influence of horizontal and vertical toe compliance and vertical foundation compressibility on wall behaviour.

The heavily instrumented walls were constructed in a strongbox that was 1.2 m high by 1.6 m wide and retained soil to a distance of 2.3 m behind the facing. The models were uniformly surcharged in stages following construction.

The experimental program consisted of three groups of tests. Group 1 tests involved five walls. One wall was constructed with a very stiff horizontal restraint, and three walls were constructed with different horizontal toe stiffness using combinations of coiled springs. The remaining wall in this series was constructed without any horizontal toe restraint.

Group 2 was comprised of three walls. One wall was a control wall with a rigid toe. The other two walls were constructed with different vertical toe stiffness support using different combinations of rubber blocks.

Group 3 included a control wall with a rigid foundation and a companion wall constructed with a compressible foam and rubber layers below the backfill soil and the wall facing.
The results demonstrate that the quantitative behaviour of the models was affected by the type and magnitude of foundation stiffness. For example, as horizontal toe stiffness increased a greater portion of the total horizontal earth load against the wall facing was carried by the toe. The data showed that the shape of facing lateral deformation profiles changed from rotation about the toe for the case of a very stiff horizontal toe to a more uniform profile for the unrestrained toe case. For the case of a rigid vertical footing support below the facing, vertical toe loads were greater than those computed from facing self-weight alone due to down-drag forces developed at the facing–reinforcement connections as the wall facing moved outward. As vertical toe support stiffness decreased with respect to foundation compressibility below the soil backfill, the magnitude of soil down-drag forces diminished resulting in a decrease in vertical toe load.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Validation of a Dynamic Simulation of a Five Degree of Freedom Point Contact Joint

contributor:
Anderson, Ronald
Mechanical and Materials Engineering

format:
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subject:
point contact joint
kinematics
dynamics
biomechanics

abstract: Thesis (Master, Mechanical and Materials Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2007-10-30 16:12:57.843

abstract:
A new special case computer simulation to model the non-linear, three dimensional dynamic equations of motion of a five degree of freedom point contact joint has been developed and the functionality has been validated with data collected from a physical model.  A system physically realistic to model was designed with sphere in sphere contact. A small outboard body articulates within a larger inboard spherical cut out body and springs help provide stability to the system by attaching the outboard body to the ground. The outboard body can move relative to the inboard body in both a rolling and sliding manner.  The dynamic equations of motion were determined using Kane’s formulation and a
numerical solution was attained through the implementation of a fourth-fifth order,
variable time step, Runge-Kutta integrator. The positions of four markers, located on the outboard body of the system, were predicted in ground fixed coordinates by the solution routine. A physical model of the system was constructed and position locations of four markers located on the outboard body were captured by an Optotrak 3020 motion tracking system.  Both static and dynamic experimental trials were performed and compared to the simulation. For one test case, the experimental data frequency of oscillation was found to be ωe = 2.33 Hz and the simulation frequency was found to be ωs = 2.37 Hz. Several sources for the discrepancies include viscous damping, a possible additional forcing function caused by lead wire sway, and neglecting the mass of the system’s
springs. Coulomb damping was included in the simulation.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: The structural, thermal, and fluid evolution of the Livingstone Range anticlinorium, and its regional significance to the southern Alberta foreland thrust and fold belt

type:
cartographic material
thesis

contributor: Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering

format:
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subject:
Livingstone Range
Chevron fold
Meteoric water
Isotope

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Geological Sciences & Geological Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-01 15:25:23.854

abstract:
The Livingstone Range anticlinorium (LRA) is a long (>65 km) narrow (<5 km) structural culmination that coincides with a major hanging-wall ramp across which the Livingstone thrust cuts ~1000 m up-section eastward from a regional décollement in the upper part of Devonian Palliser Formation to another regional décollement within Jurassic Fernie Formation. The presence of Precambrian basement fluids prior to thrusting and folding is recorded in the LRA by deformed jasper+/-fluorite+/-sphalerite veins, and adjacent haloes of altered dolomitic host rock with high 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.7094 to 0.7100) relative to most host rocks. Basement fluids are a possible source for anomalously radiogenic strontium that occurs in the diagenetically altered Paleozoic carbonate rocks in the LRA and throughout the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, but underlying thick shale strata such as the Exshaw Formation are also a possible source. The earliest stages of thrusting deformation involved the development of distinctive chevron-style, flexural-slip thrust-propagation folds that have conspicuous blind thrust faults along their hinge zones. The hinge-zone thrust system of the Centre Peak anticline consists of a series of stacked detachment thrusts, each of which emerges from a different zone of interbed slip in the backlimb of the anticline and deflects the hinge zone eastward. Each successively higher detachment thrust dies out in the hinge zone at approximately the same stratigraphic level at which an overlying detachment thrust fault emerges from a bedding detachment zone in the backlimb. Fluid flow during thrust-propagation folding is recorded by dolomite+/-calcite veins with isotopic compositions that are similar to those of host rocks. Fluid flow occurred along faults related to thrust-propagation folding, and also along many tear faults and larger thrust faults. Veins in these fault zones have slightly higher 87Sr/86Sr ratios relative to adjacent host rocks and are interpreted to have formed from a mixture of formation fluids and hotter basement fluids in a rock-dominated system. Oxygen isotope thermometry of four syn-folding veins indicates they precipitated at anomalously high temperatures (>250°C). The youngest episode of fluid flow along thrust faults and tear faults is recorded by calcite veins with very low δ18O values (-18 to -9‰ PDB), which are interpreted to have precipitated along faults that were active while the LRA was being transported eastward and elevated by underlying thrust faults, and cooled by infiltrating meteoric water. The conduits along which significant meteoric fluid circulation occurred are marked by visibly altered host rocks that have anomalously low δ18O values and slightly lower δ13C values relative to most host rocks.
Rapid cooling due to deep infiltration of meteoric water into the shallow brittle surface of the deforming earth is almost certainly not restricted to thrust and fold belts, nor is its thermal effect necessarily restricted to the upper few kilometers. This model for fluid flow has significant implications for predicting thermal conditions in deep metamorphic rocks that lie beneath the brittle crust, the most obvious effect being to push down the brittle/ductile transition zone, which would enhance even deeper meteoric fluid circulation and cause the deflection of underlying isotherms.

abstract: PhD


title: Determining the distribution and fate of mercury in sediments of the Cataraqui River at Kingston, Ontario

contributor:
Campbell, Linda M.
Rutter, Allison
Biology

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subject:
mercury
sediment
Cataraqui River
brownfields
contamination
Kingston

abstract: Thesis (Master, Biology) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-01 19:12:24.364

abstract:
The Cataraqui River, which drains 930 square km of watershed before emptying into the inner harbour of Kingston, Ontario (pop: 113,000), has a long history of anthropogenic use. More than 40 industries have existed within the inner harbour over the last century, and while many of these industries are no longer present, the properties that they operated on remain to the present day as potential sources of persistent contamination. This study examined total mercury (THg) concentrations in depth profiles of 21 sediment cores within the inner harbour. THg in pore waters was measured in some selected cores along with methylmercury (MeHg), and total organic carbon measured as % Organic Matter (OM). Results show that the spatial distribution of THg in the surface sediment is not homogenous; concentrations in surface
sediment along the southwestern shoreline, adjacent to the former industrial properties, are significantly greater than the rest of the inner harbour, and above the severe effect limit (2000 μg/kg) guideline for sediment. MeHg was detected in some sediment cores, and was found to have a significant, positive correlation with [THg] in surface sediment. THg in pore water was
below detection limits in most cores, indicating possible strong associations with sediments, however OM only showed significant, positive correlations with THg in one core sampled. To determine the sources of Hg to sediments, soils, runoff and storm sewer discharges near high
concentration sediments were measured for THg. Hg was not detected in storm sewers, but
was detected in terrestrial soil near the Kingston Rowing Club at a concentration of more than 4000 μg/kg. Significant [THg] was detected in runoff draining shoreline soils, indicating that erosion from terrestrial sources may be an ongoing source of Hg to sediment. Since [THg] was correlated to the [MeHg] in surface sediment, reducing the amount of Hg entering the river from terrestrial sources may reduce the amount of bioavailable Hg in sediments of the inner
harbour.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: The Empire Within: Montreal, the Sixties, and the Forging of a Radical Imagination

contributor:
McKay, Ian G.
History

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subject: Quebec Sixties

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, History) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-02 13:07:24.642

abstract:
This thesis explores the wide variety of ways in which radical intellectuals and activists in Montreal used and adapted Third World decolonization theory to build a broad movement of solidarity and anti-colonial resistance from 1963-1972.  Beginning in the early 1960s, activists and intellectuals in Montreal began drawing upon the language of Third World decolonization to resituate their understandings of themselves, their society, and the world in which they inhabited.  Through their engagement with Third World liberation theory – and the closely related language of Black Power – radical intellectuals in Montreal sought to give new meaning to the old conception of humanism, and they worked to drastically expand the geographical frame of reference in which Quebec politics were generally understood.   After analyzing the shifting meaning of decolonization in the period leading up to the late 1960s, this thesis explores the ways in which various groups adopted, built upon, challenged, and shaped the conception of Quebec liberation.  Montreal’s advocates of women’s liberation, the city’s Black activists, defenders of unilingualism, and labour radicals were all deeply shaped by the intellectual and urban climate of Montreal, and by ideas of Quebec decolonization.  They developed their own individual narratives of liberation, yet linked by the flexible language of decolonization, these narratives all greatly overlapped, forming a vast movement which was larger than the sum of its parts.  If the concept of decolonization was extremely powerful, however, it was also highly ambiguous and contradictory, and activists only slowly came to an understanding of the multi-layered nature of colonialism in Quebec.  By the early 1970s, the idea of decolonization was slowly abandoned by those advocating radical social change in the city.

This thesis makes three interrelated arguments.  First, it argues that radicalism in Quebec in the 1960s cannot be understood outside of the larger international context in which it emerged.  Second, it attempts to rethink the ways in which different groups and movements during the 1960s interacted and fed upon each other’s analyses and learned from each other.  And, finally, by looking at the centrality of Third World decolonization to the development of dissent in Montreal, it hopes to add new perspectives to the growing field of international Sixties scholarship, by insisting that history of the ‘West’ was profoundly shaped by its interactions with the Third World.

abstract: SSHRC

abstract: PhD


title: Ultra-Low Dose Antagonist Effects on Cannabinoids and Opioids in Models of Pain: Is Less More?

contributor:
Olmstead, Mary C.
Psychology

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subject:
Behavioural Pharmacology
Analgesia
Antinociception
G-protein coupled receptors
pain
SR141716
formalin test
inflammatory pain
tail-flick test
rat

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-05 09:31:30.162

abstract: An ultra-low dose of a drug is approximately 1000-fold lower than the dose range traditionally used to induce a therapeutic effect. The purpose of the present thesis was to broaden the knowledge of the ultra-low dose effect, that was previously identified in the opioid receptor system, by looking at whether opioids and cannabinoids interact at the ultra-low dose level, whether cannabinoid receptors themselves demonstrate the ultra-low dose antagonist effect, and whether the opioid ultra-low dose effect is maintained in a model of persistent, unavoidable pain.  For experiment 1, separate groups of Long Evans rats were tested for antinociception following an injection of vehicle, the cannabinoid agonist WIN 55 212-2 (WIN), the opioid antagonist naltrexone (an ultra-low or a high dose), or a combination of WIN and naltrexone doses.  Ultra-low dose naltrexone elevated WIN-induced tail flick thresholds without extending its duration of action.  In experiment 2, antinociception was tested in rats following either acute or sub-chronic (7 days) injections of vehicle, WIN, ultra-low doses of the CB1 receptor antagonist rimonabant (SR 141716), or a combination of WIN and ultra-low dose rimonabant.  Following the chronic experiment, striatal tissue was rapidly extracted and subjected to co-immunoprecipitation to analyse CB1 receptor coupling to G-protein subtypes. Ultra-low dose rimonabant extended the duration of WIN-induced antinociception, and attenuated the development of WIN-induced tolerance.  Animals chronically treated with WIN alone had CB1 receptors predominately coupling to Gs proteins, whereas all other groups had CB1 receptors predominately coupling to Gi proteins.  For experiment 3, all animals were subjected to the formalin test following either acute or sub-chronic injections of vehicle, the opiate morphine, ultra-low doses naltrexone, or a combination of morphine and ultra-low dose naltrexone. Ultra-low dose naltrexone had no significant effect on morphine-induced pain ratings in either the acute, or sub-chronic drug treatments.  This thesis provides evidence that the ultra-low dose effect, including the agonist-induced G-protein coupling switch, extends to another receptor type. This effect may, therefore, be part of a generalized principle that applies to many G-protein coupled receptors.

abstract: A portion of this research was supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Proof of Principle Grant to M.C. Olmstead and J.J. Paquette.

abstract: PhD


title: The University as a site for challenging conventional food geographies:  the case of sustainability in food services at Queen’s University

contributor:
Donald, J. Betsy
Geography

format:
974151 bytes
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subject:
Sustainability
Sustainable Best Practice
Institutional Purchasing
Food Systems
Local Food

abstract: Thesis (Master, Geography) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-08 12:33:25.771

abstract: In this thesis, I examine the factors that influence the introduction of sustainable practice into university food services.    There is a growing body of evidence documenting the ecological impact of the conventional agro-food system. Therefore, understanding how institutional practice either enables or hinders sustainable or ‘alternative’ food practice is critical because institutional food services could serve as a potential site for challenging conventional food geographies.  Drawing upon a case study approach, my thesis explores the food service environment at Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada.  Two smaller, less detailed food service cases studies (the University of Guelph and the University of Toronto) are used to compare the factors and indicators that determine how sustainability is incorporated into food services.  Given the geographical variability within University institutions, I argue that university food services are a contested political space and an important site for challenging conventional food systems.  They are also places to test alternative, more sustainable models. I outline some key variables that are currently preventing Queen’s University from moving toward a more sustainable food service model.  Furthermore, I discuss the implications of this research for the alternative food geography literature.

abstract: M.A.


title: Development, Characterization and Application of a Reactive Bulking Agent for Wall Control

contributor:
Katsabanis, Panagiotis (Takis) D.
Mining Engineering

format:
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subject:
Low density explosives
LDE

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Mining Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-09 12:19:49.747

abstract:
This research thesis is focussed on the development of a novel low density explosive composition whose main application is wall control in open pit mining. The product has, however, the potential to be used in a variety of applications and rock conditions where customization of the explosive’s energy output is required.

Experimental observations on the novel low density explosive showed that the product is capable of initiating and sustaining stable detonations at densities as low as 0.10 g/cm3. Given the extreme low densities at which the novel product maintains its detonating characteristics, it will be appropriate to treat it as a reactive bulking agent, hence its name: Low Density Reactive Agent or LDRA for short.

When mixed with standard ANFO prills, the reactive nature of the LDRA ensures a detonable mixture regardless of the final dilution sought or the degree of segregation eventually produced during mixing and loading. If operational constraints are such that a lower energy is required, the LDRA can then be used on a stand‐alone basis, without mixing it with other explosive compositions, such as ANFO or emulsions.

The detonation characteristics of the LDRA at a target density of 0.15 g/cm3 were evaluated, with particular effort placed on measuring the detonation and explosion pressures, parameters having the greatest influence on damage. The effects of diameter, confinement and primer on LDRA performance were evaluated through velocity of detonation (VOD) measurements. In addition, VOD experiments were conducted in the LDRA to evaluate the stability of propagation in longer columns, the behaviour in a decking configuration and the ability to initiate and be initiated by a column of ANFO. The low pressure regimes characterizing the LDRA provided the opportunity to investigate the full pressure history of the detonation gases by designing experiments of a non‐destructive nature that allowed the repetition of tests under different loading scenarios.

Following the characterization stage, the opportunity to test the LDRA as a damage control tool under a true operational scenario arose at the Chuquicamata Mine, in northern Chile. The project provided important input as to the feasibility of manufacturing the LDRA at a semi‐industrial scale and to evaluate the performance of the product in the large diameter blastholes used at the mine

abstract: PhD


title: Using Cluster Analysis, Cluster Validation, and Consensus Clustering to Identify Subtypes

contributor:
Shatkay, Hagit
Computing

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662473 bytes
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subject:
Cluster analysis
Cluster validation
Consensus clustering
Autism

abstract: Thesis (Master, Computing) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-15 23:34:36.62

abstract:
Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDDs) are neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by impairments in social interaction, communication and behaviour [Str04]. Given the diversity and varying severity of PDDs, diagnostic tools attempt to identify homogeneous subtypes within PDDs.
The diagnostic system Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) divides PDDs into five subtypes. Several limitations have been identified with the categorical diagnostic criteria of the DSM-IV. The goal of this study is to identify putative subtypes in the multidimensional data collected from a group of patients with PDDs, by using cluster analysis.
Cluster analysis is an unsupervised machine learning method. It offers a way to partition a dataset into subsets that share common patterns. We apply cluster analysis to data collected from 358 children with PDDs, and validate the resulting clusters. Notably, there are many cluster analysis algorithms to choose from, each making certain assumptions about the data and about how clusters should be formed. A way to arrive at a meaningful solution is to use consensus clustering to integrate results from several clustering attempts that form a cluster ensemble into a unified consensus answer, and can provide robust and accurate results [TJPA05].
In this study, using cluster analysis, cluster validation, and consensus clustering, we identify four clusters that are similar to – and further refine  three of the five subtypes defined in the DSM-IV. This study thus confirms the existence of these three subtypes among patients with PDDs.

abstract: OGS, QGA

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Art and Reform in Tenth-Century Rome - the Paintings of S. Maria in Pallara

contributor:
Osborne, John
Art History

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subject:
Medieval Art
Monasticism

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Art History) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-12 13:38:42.99

abstract:
The medieval wall paintings of the church of S. Maria in Pallara, situated on the Palatine Hill, Rome, provide insight into the intellectual use of images in the Middle Ages. The fragmentary apse programme survives, supplemented by antiquarian drawings that include copies of lost nave cycles and a lost donor portrait of their patron, Petrus Medicus. The patron, along with his monastic foundation, is documented in tenth-century charters, on which documents the paintings’ dating currently depends. Questions about this dating have surfaced in the art-historical literature, as have concerns about gender and historical veracity, matters of historiography which are introduced in Chapter 1. Thus, the goals of this study were to verify the paintings’ dating, to examine their use of text and image and to illuminate the context in which they were created.
	Chapter 2 describes and analyses the S. Maria in Pallara paintings within Roman artistic traditions of the Romanesque period. Since no contemporary parallel can be found for the iconography of the Apostles on the shoulders of Prophets decorating the church’s apse arch, a composition more common to Gothic art, Chapter 3 examines the iconography’s diffusion and sources. Textual evidence suggests that a church dedicated to Saint Sebastian preceded the tenth-century foundation of S. Maria in Pallara, which was then rededicated to the Virgin Mary, Saints Sebastian and Zoticus. Thus, Chapter 4 examines the visual profile of the cult of Saint Sebastian and its dependence on the Acta Sebastiani to provide a context for the church’s depictions of that saint, including portraits and a lost narrative cycle. Messages about chastity encoded in these images are also examined. Chapter 5 examines the lost narrative cycle depicting the life of the little-known Saint Zoticus, to whom the church was also dedicated and who was envisioned in the guise of another saint, Getulius, who was martyred with his wife, Saint Symphorosa, and their seven sons. Messages about chastity were also communicated through that cycle’s manipulation of S. Maria in Pallara’s topographic history. Thus, far from being simple reflections of text, the S. Maria in Pallara paintings engage Roman history, reforming that history to project a moral image of the future.

abstract: PhD


title: The Health Experience of Low-Income Church-Going Black Women: The Importance of Spirituality

contributor:
Power, Elaine
Kinesiology and Health Studies

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subject:
lay perspectives of health
Black women
spirituality

abstract: Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-12 20:58:32.724

abstract: Health research and services are dominated by a biomedical model which understands health as the absence of disease in the physical body. The dominance of this approach has resulted in the absence, silence and refutation of lay perspectives on health, particularly those of visible minority groups. Using qualitative interview methods, this study provides an avenue to hear the voices and stories of church-going, low-income Black women who live in Toronto, Canada. Analysis of the data shows that for this group of women, the meanings of health and the way it is experienced can be seen as an amalgamation of spiritual principles which holistically touches the various domains of their lives. The women in this study experience health as emotional, social, communal, personal, physical, material and above all in spiritual dimensions. These findings would be useful in guiding the development of meaningful and effective health care services that are sensitive to the diverse experiences of health.

abstract: M.A.


title: Teaching the Unknowable: Does Analogy Lead to Implicit Skill Acquisition in a Dart-Throwing Task?

contributor:
Stockley, Denise
Education

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subject:
Adult Learning
Implicit Learning
Darts
Analogy
Procedural Learning

abstract: Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-13 09:40:59.568

abstract: This experiment was conducted to examine the hypothesis that learning by analogy will invoke characteristics of an implicit mode of learning. On Day 1, dart novices learned to throw darts as close as possible to the centre of a target under one of three scenarios: control (without instruction), implicit (while performing a distracting secondary task), and analogy (while imagining an analogous physical image). Each participant threw 6 blocks of 40 darts, receiving repeated instructions before each block. The next day (Day 2), participants were tested for retention and for transfer by the addition of a secondary distracting task. The results showed that significant learning took place in all groups over a period of six learning blocks on the first day. There was also significant response to retention and transfer testing on Day 2. Learning to throw darts without instruction was shown to be superior to learning under both of the other conditions – analogy and secondary task. The study demonstrated that dart throwing instruction using analogy was insufficient to induce the beneficial features of implicit learning. The chosen elastic analogy, in fact, led to a significant deterioration of performance when compared to controls during transfer on Day 2. Sex and skill differences are unlikely to have played a significant role in the main findings. The findings are discussed within the framework of current literature.

abstract: M.Ed.


title: Impact Study of Multimode Fibre Taper in Modal Noise Under Restricted Offset Launch Conditions

contributor:
Yam, Scott
Electrical and Computer Engineering

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subject:
Multimode Fibre
Modal Noise

abstract: Thesis (Master, Electrical & Computer Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-15 09:37:44.887

abstract:
Delivering high bandwidth to the individual household or small business is currently a major bottleneck in the high speed network, a problem referred to as the last mile issue. Multimode fibre is widely deployed in the last mile for cost reasons. Recently, the tremendous high-speed data transport potential of multimode fibre has been demonstrated by utilizing offset launch techniques and a laser source. However, modal noise, caused by interference among the various propagating modes of a multimode fibre in the presence of mode selective loss, is a significant roblem when a laser source is employed.
    This thesis investigates several aspects of modal noise for what we believe to be the first time. By utilizing single mode fibre launching, modal noise is measured at different transverse offset launching positions with both continuous wave and pulse waveform input at several different fibre lengths. Modal noise is also measured for both waveforms in conjunction with a multimode optical fibre taper in an “in line” configuration, and timing jitter is investigated for the case of pulse waveform input. Performance improvements are found in some offset positions with the fibre taper in line.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: A Matrix Isolation Spectroscopic Investigation of the Reaction Products of Transition Metal Centres With Ethene and Water

contributor:
Parnis, Mark J.
Chemistry

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subject: Chemistry

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Chemistry) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-14 17:20:22.312

abstract:
The reaction products of thermally generated atomic V with ethene and ethene isotopomers have been investigated by matrix isolation ultraviolet visible and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. When V is deposited into matrices of pure Ar, evidence for V and V2 are present in the UV-visible absorption spectra. Addition of trace amounts of ethene results in the elimination of absorptions due to V2 on deposition, likely due to the formation of V…(C2H4) van der Waals complexes on matrix condensation. Irradiation of matrices containing V and trace C2H4 in Ar, with light corresponding to atomic V electronic excitations, eliminates all UV-visible absorptions due to atomic V in the Infrared analysis of matrices containing V and C2H4 give evidence for a new product on deposition, consistent with a kinetically formed H-V-C2H3 isomer.
Following further irradiation of the matrix, several new products of C-H bond insertion by the metal atom, including additional H-V-C2H3 conformational
isomers, and H2V(η2-C2H2) products are observed in the infrared spectrum.
Additionally, the formation of ethane is evident as a major product immediately following deposition of V + C2H4 + H2O in Ar. The formation of this product is
consistent with alkene insertion into the V-H bond of an H-V-OH intermediate, followed by a photo-induced elimination to give C2H6.
Under higher C2H4 concentrations, competitive ethane formation in which a sacrificial hydrogenation mechanism involving two ethene molecules is observed, analogous to the mechanism proposed to account for V + H2O + C2H4. Isotopic investigations aimed at confirming key aspects of the proposed mechanisms are also presented. Similar reactivity is observed for several metals, suggesting that
this reaction is a generalized reaction, whenever transition metal hydrides are formed. The additional observation of ethene hydrogenation where the initiating hydride source is either water, or ethene, suggests that this reaction could also easily generalize to other initiating hydride sources. The mechanism could also extend to the insertion of other π-bond containing species, as well.

abstract: PhD


title: Structural Behaviour of Steel Columns and Steel-Concrete Composite Girders Retrofitted using CFRP

contributor:
Fam, Amir Z.
Civil Engineering

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subject: Retrofit CFRP Steel

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-15 18:35:59.552

abstract:
Steel bridges and structures often need strengthening due to increased life loads, or repair due to corrosion or fatigue cracking. This study explored the use of adhesively bonded Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) flexible sheets and rigid plates in retrofitting steel columns and girders, through experimental and analytical investigations. The first part of the research program investigated the behaviour of CFRP-strengthened steel columns comprised of square Hollow Structural Sections (HSS). Fifty columns, 175 mm to 2380 mm long (i.e. with slenderness ratios ranging from 4 to 93), were tested under axial compression loads to examine the effects of number and type of CFRP layers, fibre orientation, and slenderness ratio. Transverse wrapping was shown to be suitable for controlling outwards local buckling in HSS short columns, while longitudinal layers were more effective in controlling overall buckling in slender columns. The maximum increases in axial strength observed in the experiments were 18 and 71 percent, for short and slender columns, respectively. An analytical fibre-element model and a non-linear finite element model were developed for slender columns. The models account for steel plasticity, geometric non-linearities, and residual stresses. The models were verified using experimental results, and used in a parametric study. It was shown that CFRP effectiveness increases for columns with larger out-of-straightness imperfections and higher slenderness ratios.

The second part of the research program investigated w-section steel-concrete composite girders retrofitted using CFRP materials. Three girders, 6100 mm long, were tested to study strengthening of intact girders using CFRP plates. Eleven girders, 2030 mm long, including girders artificially damaged by completely cutting their tension flanges at mid-span, were tested to study the effectiveness of repair using CFRP sheets. The parameters considered were the CFRP type, number of layers, number of retrofitted sides of the tension flange, and the length of CFRP repair patch. The strength and stiffness of the intact girders have increased by 51 and 19 percent, respectively. For the repaired girders, the strength and stiffness recovery ranged from 6 to 116 percent and from 40 to 126 percent, respectively. Unlike flexural strength, the stiffness was not much affected by the bond length. Analytical models were developed, verified, and used in a parametric study, which showed that the higher the CFRP modulus, the larger the gain in stiffness and yielding moment, but the lower the gain in strength and ductility. In general, this study demonstrated that steel structures can indeed be successfully strengthened or repaired using CFRP material.

abstract: PhD


title: Academic achievement, academic self-concept, and academic motivation of immigrant adolescents in Greater Toronto Area (GTA) secondary schools

contributor:
Freeman, John G.
Education

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subject:
Academic achievement
Immigrant adolescents
Academic motivation
Academic self-concept

abstract: Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-20 10:34:07.043

abstract: This study examined the academic achievement, academic self-concept, and academic motivation of 573 immigrant and non-immigrant adolescents in two public secondary schools in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Multivariate analyses revealed statistically significant differences between immigrant and non-immigrant adolescents with respect to their academic achievement, academic self-concept, and academic motivation. In addition, supplemental exploratory analyses indicated significant ethnic group differences in academic achievement, academic self-concept, and academic motivation. Surprisingly and importantly, analyses showed the absence of statistically significant gender differences among immigrant adolescents in terms of their academic achievement, academic self-concept, and academic motivation. Results from multiple linear regression analyses provided support for the Self-Description Questionnaire II as a measurement to be used with both immigrant and non-immigrant adolescents. In contrast, support for the Academic Motivation Scale, which is based on the Self-Determination Theory, was not adequately substantiated in the current research for either immigrants or non-immigrants.

abstract: M.Ed.


title: Essays on Public Good Contribution

contributor:
Boadway, Robin W.
Beach, Charles
Economics

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subject:
voluntary contributions to public good
pollution abatement
charitable donations

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Economics) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-19 01:48:10.777

abstract:
This thesis explores some theoretical and empirical issues in the voluntary contributions to public good. Chapter I contains a brief motivation and introduction. In chapters II and III, we analyze two non-cooperative methods for either enhancing or mitigating externality-causing activities. Chapter II deals with positive externality in the public good contribution context, and chapter III with negative externality in the pollution abatement context. Chapter IV contains an empirical analysis of charitable donations by the elderly.

Chapter II models the so-called ``corporate challenge gift'' used in real world fund-raising, and adopts the concept to voluntary contributions to public goods more generally. We model the process as a sequential game in public good contributions. One of the agents sets a quantity-contingent matching scheme to leverage higher contributions from the other players. Under the assumption that the preferences of agents are public information and the assumption that the scheme setter can commit to the matching plan, we show that the scheme brings efficient levels of total contributions to the public good.

Chapter III applies some ideas from a joint work with Professor Robin Boadway and Professor Jean-Fran\c{c}ois Tremblay on ``Commitment and Matching Contributions to Public Goods'' to the issue of reducing negative externality-causing activity. In particular, it adapts both the Guttman-Danziger-Schnytzer type of rate-matching mechanism and the quantity-contingent matching method for public good contributions to the international pollution abatement problem. In a simple two-country model, we find that both matching schemes induce the countries to internalize the negative externality imposed on the other country. However, perhaps due to the lack of enough policy instruments, they cannot equate the marginal costs of abatement across the countries, leaving room for Pareto improvement. This further improvement can be achieved if the two countries also contribute to a conventional public~good.

Chapter IV is an empirical exercise on some positive externality-generating activities by the elderly. It attempts to document the charitable giving of money and time by people aged 60 or above in the 2003 PSID data for the United States and analyze the influences of some economic and demographic factors on these activities. Income, wealth, the subjective rating of health status, and years in school are found to have statistically significant impacts. Income and wealth appear to have distinct influences. The tax price of money donation also has a statistically significant effect on money donations.

abstract: PhD


title: An Effect-Driven Fractionation Approach for the Isolation and Characterization of CYP1A Inducing Components of Crude Oils

contributor:
Brown, R. Stephen
Chemistry

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subject:
Effect-Driven Fractionation
Crude Oil Analysis
PAH Analysis
CYP1A Induction
HPLC Methods
Chromatography

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Chemistry) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-19 13:46:18.602

abstract:
Exposure to crude oils has been shown to induce CYP1A enzymes and cause chronically toxic effects in aquatic organisms. Earlier studies indicated that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in crude oil are primarily responsible for the chronic toxicity. Crude oil contains a variety of PAHs; the majority of them are alkyl substituted. In this work, we have used an effects-driven fractionation and analysis approach (EDFA) to isolate and characterize PAHs present in Alaskan North Slope and Scotian Light crude oils that are toxic to fish.
The crude oil components were first fractionated into four fractions using a low temperature vacuum distillation technique. Among them, the heavy gas oil fraction (boiling range 287°C – 461°C) of both oils caused highest toxicity to fish. To isolate the PAHs from waxes present in this fraction, a low temperature wax precipitation method was developed and optimized. CYP1A induction results showed that the extract contained a large number of CYP1A inducers while the residue contained none. Chemical analyses confirmed that most of the PAHs were partitioned into the extract fraction. Alkyl PAHs present in the extract were further fractionated into five fractions based on the number of aromatic rings using a normal phase HPLC method. Chemical analysis and the toxicity testing of these fractions indicated that alkyl PAHs belonging to classes such as phenanthrene, fluorene, naphthobenzothiophene, and chrysene are likely responsible for the observed toxic effects.

To aid the EDFA scheme, a new HPLC-DAD method for the analysis of alkyl PAHs was developed. The alkyl PAHs were first fractionated based on the number of aromatic rings using a normal phase column followed by their analysis using reverse phase HPLC–DAD technique. The reverse phase analysis involved classifying the alkyl PAH peaks into different PAH classes based on their DAD spectra. Then, alkyl carbon numbers for each peak were assigned based on their retention time. To analyze co-eluting alkyl PAH isomers an offline multi-dimensional HPLC method was developed. Orthogonal separation was achieved by first fractionating the alkyl PAHs on a normal phase column followed by the RP-HPLC-DAD analysis. Using these data a 2D contour plot was developed and used for the detailed analysis of alkyl PAHs isomers. Analysis results showed good agreement with a gas-chromatography-mass-spectrometric (GC-MS) analysis method, and the new method was able to distinguish some PAH types which could not be identified by GC-MS.

abstract: PhD


title: The Structure of Perceptual Content

contributor:
Bakhurst, David
Philosophy

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subject: Philosophy

abstract: Thesis (Master, Philosophy) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-19 19:16:04.362

abstract: Philosophers often endorse the claim that perceptual experience has content.  However, the significance of this claim is highly disputed.  A particularly central issue is the relationship between concepts and the content of perceptual experience.  Accounts of this relationship are largely shaped by a key question; is perceptual content itself conceptual, or is it nonconceptual?  In the following thesis, I focus on this debate, and consider arguments in favour of both conceptualism and nonconceptualism.  The first chapter lays the foundation for the other two, by developing some general views about perceptual content, and what it means to claim that the content of perceptual experience is either conceptual or nonconceptual.  In the second chapter, arguments on behalf of conceptualism are discussed, which largely focus on epistemic issues surrounding perceptual experience.  The third chapter discusses the idea that perceptual experience outstrips conceptual resources in various ways.  I argue that on the balance of considerations, primarily due to certain ways in which experience is situation dependent, a stronger case can be made for nonconceptualism.

abstract: M.A.


title: Inuit observations of environmental change and effects of change in Anaktalâk Bay, Labrador

contributor:
Smith, Mick
Reimer, Ken (Royal Military College)
Environmental Studies

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subject:
Inuit knowledge
Environmental change

abstract: Thesis (Master, Environmental Studies) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-20 12:02:32.619

abstract:
As in many arctic regions, impacts of increasing environmental stressors such as climate change and industrialization (particularly mineral exploration and mine development) have led local Inuit in northern Labrador to notice changes in their environment.  In addition, they have expressed concerns that research and monitoring programs aimed at understanding and tracking these changes are lacking in many areas and do not accurately reflect their knowledge and concerns.  Many communities feel powerless in the face of these changes as they lack the resources needed to respond. In consideration of this, an integrated regional approach has been initiated in Nunatsiavut to ensure concerns from all stakeholders, including Inuit as well as major industrial and governmental organizations, are adequately addressed.
The purpose of this study was to further the understanding of environmental changes in Anaktalâk Bay (the shipping route to the Voisey’s Bay Nickel mine) and the effects of these changes on local Inuit in order to inform the development of a multi-partner monitoring (MPM) program for the area.  The research was conducted using a participatory approach that included documenting Inuit knowledge (IK) obtained during a workshop involving 14 long-term residents of Nain (>25 years; both genders) in December 2006. Trends identified during the transcript analysis highlight that often the most severe perceived effects on Inuit occur when environmental stressors work synergistically.  Key linkages between environmental changes and effects were also identified.
The workshop findings document the local desire for a monitoring program to track ecosystem-based changes, as well as the social, economic and environmental effects of these changes, to ensure that Inuit are able to mitigate these changes, and adapt when mitigation is not possible or sufficient. Workshop participants voiced an interest in participating in future monitoring activities and it is anticipated that program development will give both researchers and community members an opportunity to continue to work together and learn from each other, in order to develop and implement relevant and appropriate local solutions. Ultimately, this program should begin to address the Inuit desire in this region to strengthen and protect their relationship with the environment.

abstract:
Queen's University
Environmental Sciences Group
Nunatsiavut Government
ArcticNet

abstract: M.E.S.


title: Sedimentological and Chemical Attributes of Late Pleistocene Cool-Water Carbonates From the Southern Australian Continental Margin: Early Seafloor Diagenesis and Paleoceanography

contributor: Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering

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subject:
Cool-Water Carbonate
Australia

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Geological Sciences & Geological Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2008-01-14 09:41:25.35

abstract:
The high-energy open shelf along the southern Australian continental margin is blanketed by heterozoan cool-water carbonates of late Pleistocene and Holocene age.  Three distinct assemblages have been identified and radiocarbon dated.  These include: i) Holocene grains, unaltered biofragments deposited during Marine Isotope Stage 1; ii) stranded grains, grey and buff-colored abraded biofragments and intraclasts marooned during the sea level rise associated with the latter stages of Marine Isotope Stage 2; and iii) relict grains, highly abraded, iron-stained intraclasts originally deposited during the intermediate sea-level stands of Marine Isotope Stages 3 and 4.  Whereas the skeletal makeup of Holocene grains has been previously detailed, attributes of the older grains have not been elucidated.  Relict-grain skeletal composition indicates that during Marine Isotope Stages 3 and 4 shallow, warm, oligotrophic, marine grassbed environments developed across the western portion of the region, whereas more heterozoan assemblages to the east imply cooler marine waters and that an overall upwelling regime was in effect.  Stranded grains (Marine Isotope Stage 2) are mostly heterozoan across the whole region, reflecting deposition on narrower shelves (restricted euphotic zone) and in generally cool waters.  Stable isotopic compositions of relict and stranded foraminifera indicate that the western portion of the region (the Great Australian Bight) had water of elevated salinity.  Environments analogous to outer Shark Bay are interpreted to have formed across the Great Australian Bight during portions of Marine Isotope Stages 2, 3 and 4.
Comparison between relatively unaltered Holocene grains and altered late Pleistocene stranded and relict grains reveals pathways of early diagenesis in this cool-water marine realm.  Both calcitic and aragonitic biogenic grains display dissolution features.  Dissolution of calcitic components over the past ~20,000 years is incomplete (stranded and relict sediments are predominantly Mg-calcite).  Aragonitic skeletons, however, are mostly dissolved over this same time period.  Contemporaneously, micritic cement also precipitates in this environment, wherein Mg-calcite (~12 mol%) infills skeletal pores of many stranded and most relict skeletons.  Similar cement locally precipitates between grains, forming cemented grain aggregates.
Mobilization of metals in the slightly reducing pore waters of the southern Australian margin has resulted in the formation of Fe- and Mn-oxides that discolor the stranded and relict grains.  Such oxides precipitated on the surface of shells, in empty microbial borings, and in skeletal micropores, scavenge other trace metals, altering the original elemental makeup of these cool-water carbonates.  Trace element analysis of Holocene carbonate grains and of living gastropod skeletons indicates that these coatings begin to precipitate during or soon after shell formation.  Marine dissolution/precipitation dynamics in addition to mobilization of metals in pore water, fundamentally changes the sedimentological and chemical attributes of these cool-water carbonates on the seafloor soon after deposition.

abstract: PhD


title: Geologic Controls on Instability in WWI Excavations, Canadian National Memorial Site, Vimy, France

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subject:
WWI excavations
Instability
Chalk
Engineering geology

abstract: Thesis (Master, Geological Sciences & Geological Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2007-12-21 11:08:16.522

abstract:
The Canadian National Memorial Site, near Vimy, Artois, France, commemorates the WWI Battle of Vimy Ridge; where all four divisions of the young Canadian Corps fought together with the British Forces to liberate the French ridge.  Today, trench systems and an extensive subterranean network of tunnels underlie the gentle landscape of the park, which is visited each year by hundreds of thousands of tourists.  Failure within these excavations is expressed as local subsidence and is potentially hazardous to the public.
	The following research identifies the geologic factors that influence instability in the excavations and how these factors vary both with depth and lateral extent.  The Artois region of northern France is underlain by Upper Cretaceous chalk with a thin veneer of Paleocene sediments.  Structure is dominated by the northwest-southeast trending Weald-Boulonnais anticlinorium.
Three principle geological controls govern failure within the excavations at the Vimy site; lithologic variations, structural geometry and carbonate dissolution.  An extensive stratigraphic study identified variable horizons such as chalk marls, nodular chalks, hardgrounds and flint seams, which affect the strength, permeability and structure of the rockmass.
Structural geometry in the chalk varies with depth and clay content.  Orthogonal fracture patterns are typical in pure carbonate rockmasses whereas inclined conjugate sets occur in clay-rich chalk.  Three failure mechanisms were observed in the Vimy excavations that vary with structure and lithology.  Beam failure via block fall-out is observed in pure chalk with subhorizontal and subvertical structures.  Ravelling, the upward propagation of roof failure, is typical of closely spaced inclined jointing, and is also observed in shallow clay-rich lithologies.  Finally, dissolution pipes occur at the intersection lineations of conjugate joint sets, and are also typical of clay-rich lithologies.
Dissolution by meteoric groundwater is identified as the third geologic control and results in a decrease of intact strength, weakening of joint surfaces and overall loss of confinement in the rockmass, thereby initiating the failure modes described previously.
	These extensive geologic studies pinpoint the origins and variability of instability in the rockmass at the Vimy site.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Transient Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Cytokine Responses in the Maternal and Fetal Guinea Pig

contributor:
Smith, Graeme N.
Anatomy and Cell Biology

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subject:
Chorioamnionitis
Cerebral Palsy
Inflammation
Cerebral White Matter Damage

abstract: Thesis (Master, Anatomy & Cell Biology) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-28 08:23:04.327

abstract: The aim of this study was to further investigate the role of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the pathogenesis of fetal cererbral white matter injury associated with chorioamnionitis by charaterizing the time course of the cytokine response in the pregnant guinea pig following a maternal inflammatory insult. Chorioamnionitis increases the risk for fetal brain injury. In the guinea pig, a threshold maternal inflammatory response must be reached for significant fetal brain injury to occur. However, a previous study demonstrated that, by seven days after an acute maternal inflammatory insult, cytokine levels in both maternal and fetal compartments are not different from controls. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to test the hypothesis that a significant cytokine response occurs within the first seven days following an acute maternal inflammatory response. Pregnant guinea pigs (n=34) were injected intraperitoneally with 100µg/kg lipopolysaccharide (LPS) at 70% gestation and euthanized at 24 hours, 48 hours or 5 days following endotoxin exposure. Control animals were euthanized at 70% gestation without exposure. Concentrations of interleukin-6, interleukin 1-β and tumour necrosis factor-α (IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α) were quantified in the maternal serum and amniotic fluid by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. IL-6 and IL-1β concentrations were elevated in the maternal serum at 24 hours and returned to control levels by five days. In the amniotic fluid, IL-6 peaked at 48 hours and IL-1β at 24 hours. TNF-α levels were not significantly increased. A single maternal LPS injection produces transient increases in cytokine concentrations in the maternal serum and amniotic fluid. This further implicates the cytokines as potential mediators of fetal white matter damage. Although this response might not be sufficient to produce the brain injury itself, it may initiate harmful pro-inflammatory cytokine cascades, which could even continue to harm the fetus following delivery. A human diagnostic protocol was developed to assess the use of serial serum biomarkers, including IL-6 and TNF-α, in the prediction of histological chorioamnionitis. Preliminary analysis of the pilot study suggests that certain biomarkers might be worthy of further investigation in a larger-scale study.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Modelling Deception Detection in Text

contributor:
Skillicorn, B. David
Computing

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subject:
Deception Detection
Fraud
Text mining
Email
Enron

abstract: Thesis (Master, Computing) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-28 18:10:30.45

abstract: As organizations and government agencies work diligently to detect financial irregularities, malfeasance, fraud and criminal activities through intercepted communication, there is an increasing interest in devising an automated model/tool for deception detection. We build on Pennebaker's empirical model which suggests that deception in text leaves a linguistic signature characterised by changes in frequency of four categories of words: first-person pronouns, exclusive words, negative emotion words, and action words. By applying the model to the Enron email dataset and using an unsupervised matrix-decomposition technique, we explore the differential use of these cue-words/categories in deception detection. Instead of focusing on the predictive power of the individual cue-words, we construct a descriptive model which helps us to understand the multivariate profile of deception based on several linguistic dimensions and highlights the qualitative differences between deceptive and truthful communication. This descriptive model can not only help detect unusual and deceptive communication, but also possibly rank messages along a scale of relative deceptiveness (for instance from strategic negotiation and spin to deception and blatant lying). The model is unintrusive, requires minimal human intervention and, by following the defined pre-processing steps it may be applied to new datasets from different domains.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Application of Pattern Recognition Techniques to Monitoring-While-Drilling on a Rotary Electric Blasthole Drill at an Open-Pit Coal Mine

contributor:
Daneshmend, Laeeque K.
Mining Engineering

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subject:
neural network
blasthole drilling monitoring

abstract: Thesis (Master, Mining Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-28 15:22:17.454

abstract: This thesis investigates the application of pattern recognition techniques to rock type recognition using monitoring-while-drilling data. The research is focused on data from a large electric blasthole drill operating in an open-pit coal mine. Pre-processing and normalization techniques are applied to minimize potential misclassification issues. Both supervised and unsupervised learning is employed in the classifier design: back-propagation neural networks are used for the supervised learning, while self-organizing maps are used for unsupervised learning. A variety of combinations of drilling data and geophysical data are investigated as inputs to the classifiers. The outputs from these classifiers are evaluated relative to the rock classification made by a commercially available rock type recognition system, as well as relative to independent labelling by a geologist.  Classifier performance is improved when drilling data used as inputs are augmented with geophysical data inputs. By using supervised learning with both drilling and geophysical data as inputs, the misclassification of coal, as well as of the non-coal rock types, is reduced compared to results of current commercial recognition methods. Moreover, rock types which were not detected by the previous methods were successfully classified by the supervised models.

abstract: I would like to thank the financial support provided by the George C. Bateman and J. J. Denny Graduate Fellowship, as well as funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) provided via NSERC grant support to Dr. Daneshmend.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Three Essays on Macroeconomic and Financial Stability

type: book thesis

contributor:
Milne, Frank
Koeppl, Thorsten V.
Wang, Ruqu
Economics

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macroeconomic and financial stability
global games

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Economics) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-28 15:26:27.834

abstract:
This thesis studies several issues in the field of macroeconomic and financial stability.

In Chapter 2, I argue that systemic bankruptcy of firms can originate from coordination failure in an economy with investment complementarities. I demonstrate that in such an economy, a very small uncertainty about economic fundamentals can be magnified through the uncertainty about the investment decisions of other firms and can lead to coordination failure, which may be manifested as systemic bankruptcy. Moreover, my model reveals that systemic bankruptcy tends to arise when economic fundamentals are in the middle range where coordination matters. High financial leverage of firms greatly increases the severity of systemic bankruptcy. Optimistic beliefs of firms and banks can alleviate coordination failure, but can also increase the severity of systemic bankruptcy once it happens.

Chapter 3 studies how coordination failure in a country's new technology investment dampens a country's economic growth. I establish a two-sector Overlapping Generation model where capital goods are produced by two different technologies. The first is a conventional technology with constant returns. The second is a new technology exhibiting increasing returns to scale due to technological externalities, about whose returns economic agents have only incomplete information. My model reveals that coordination failure in new technology investment can lead to slower economic growth. More interestingly, the model generates a positive correlation between economic growth and volatility.

In Chapter 4, Frank Milne and I establish a dynamic currency attack model in the presence of a large player. In an attack on a fixed exchange rate regime with a gradually overvalued currency, both the inability of speculators to synchronize their attack and their incentive to time the collapse of the regime lead to the persistent overvaluation of the currency. We find that the presence of a large player can accelerate or delay the collapse of the regime, depending on his incentives to preempt other speculators or to “ride the overvaluation."

abstract: PhD


title: A density-functional theory including dispersion interactions

contributor:
Becke, Axel
Chemistry

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subject:
Density functional theory
Intermolecular interactions

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Chemistry) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-29 21:57:09.045

abstract:
The London dispersion interaction is responsible for attraction between non-polar molecules and is of great importance in describing structure and reactivity in many areas of chemistry. Dispersion is difficult to model accurately. Density Functional Theory (DFT) methods, widely used in computational chemistry today, do not include the necessary physics. This often leads to qualitatively incorrect predictions when DFT is applied to dispersion-bound systems. A novel DFT method has been developed which is capable of accurately modeling dispersion. Dispersion attraction between molecules arises when an instantaneous dipole moment in one molecule induces a dipole moment in a second molecule. Our approach proposes that the source of these instantaneous dipole moments is the position-dependent dipole moment of the exchange hole. The model is no more computationally expensive than existing DFTs and gives remarkably accurate dispersion coefficients, intermolecular separations, intermolecular binding energies, and intramolecular conformational energies. Our dispersion theory is also combined with previous post-exact-exchange models of dynamical and nondynamical correlation, yielding a unified exact-exchange-based energy functional called DF07. DF07 overcomes many of the outstanding problems in DFT arising from local exchange approximations. The DF07 model is shown to provide highly accurate results for thermochemistry, kinetics, and van der Waals
interactions.

abstract: PhD


title: From sacred space to commercial place : a landscape interpretation of Mount Pleasant Cemetery

contributor:
Davidson, Joyce
Geography

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subject:
Cemetery
Commercialism
Commodifying deathscapes

abstract: Thesis (Master, Geography) -- Queen's University, 2007-12-04 14:36:36.972

abstract:
The rural cemetery was a European creation first introduced in the nineteenth century. Relocated outside the commercial city sector the cemetery was promoted as a diversion to the confusion and complexity of urban life. Applying picturesque ideas to traditional burial grounds rural cemeteries became symbolic landscapes for the city and country.  The aesthetic nature of its design became an inspiration and eventual model for North American cemeteries.

As a cultural institution, the cemetery is constantly in flux. Centuries of interaction between society and the cemetery have resulted in substantial changes that have shaped the present landscape. Although traditionally in public-trust, cemeteries have become largely privatized, operated, managed and developed as businesses for-profit. The commercially-driven practices of these institutions have had significant impacts on the present cemetery landscape. Toronto’s Mount Pleasant Cemetery is a good example of a cemetery experiencing this extensive commercial restructuring.
A review of pertinent literature outlined recent transformations within the cemetery landscape citing concerns over the emerging private-enterprise cemetery and its impacts on the burial landscape. My fieldwork examined site-transformations specific to Mount Pleasant through an in-depth analysis of the present cemetery landscape. Concepts of commercialization, commodification and heritage tourism framed my analysis of the architecture, landscaped environment and new developments in light of the rising ‘cemetery business’.

My findings revealed that by expanding into a multi-purpose cemetery Mount Pleasant is learning to do business in the twenty-first century. Increasingly run as a private enterprise Mount Pleasant Cemetery remains a historical landmark in crisis, unsure how to remain competitive in the commercial industry of the present, while preserving the integrity and traditions of the past.

abstract: M.A.


title: The influence of sport type and interdependence on the growth experiences of young male athletes

contributor:
Côté, Jean
Kinesiology and Health Studies

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subject: Youth Sport Development

abstract: Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2007-12-03 10:38:29.411

abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine how sport type and interdependence were associated with the growth experiences of select level male basketball players (n = 150) and distance runners (n = 98), aged 14 to 17 years. This study also examined how growth experiences were related to the outcomes of enjoyment and burnout. Athletes completed the Youth Experiences Survey 2.0 (Hansen & Larson, 2005), Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (Raedeke & Smith, 2001), Sources of Enjoyment in Youth Sport Questionnaire (Wiersma, 2001), and a newly developed scale assessing interdependence. Hierarchical multiple regression procedures determined sport type was an independent predictor of teamwork and social skills experiences, and adult networks and social capital experiences. Basketball players reported higher rates of growth experiences promoting adult networks and social capital, and teamwork and social skills, and negative experiences. In terms of interdependence levels, athletes from both sports did not differ. Hierarchical multiple regression determined interdependence was an independent predictor of growth experiences promoting identity exploration, initiative, positive relationships, adult networks and social capital, and teamwork and social skills. Hierarchical multiple regression also determined negative experiences significantly predicted burnout. Although different sports may provide different learning environments for youth, interdependence levels in a sport setting were also related to the learning environment, independent of sport type. From this study, it can be surmised that the learning environments of youth sports may be more strongly influenced by how the people involved interact than by the type of sport.

abstract: M.A.


title: Analysis of a bacterial serine/threonine kinase

contributor:
Martin, Nancy L.
Microbiology and Immunology

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subject: Bacterial  Ser/Thr Kinase

abstract: Thesis (Master, Microbiology & Immunology) -- Queen's University, 2007-12-04 18:19:29.574

abstract: RdoA is a bacterial protein kinase from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium first noted for its regulation of dsbA expression in this organism.  The crystal structure of RdoA’s homologue, YihE from Escherichia coli, revealed a basic bi-lobal kinase domain that is a hallmark of the eukaryotic Ser/Thr, Tyr protein kinase superfamily.  YihE however, bears the greatest structural similarity to choline kinase and aminoglycoside 3’-phosphotransferase [APH(3’)]-IIIa which are both atypical kinases.  RdoA and YihE have demonstrated the capacity for autophosphorylation in vitro and the ability to phosphorylate myelin basic protein, however, the native kinase target protein has not been identified.  Based on structural alignment with APH(3’)-IIIa, predictions were made of key residues involved in ATP binding and catalysis and five YihE mutants were generated.  Both the wildtype and YihE mutants were cloned for expression as N-terminal histidine-tagged proteins.  In the work presented here, these proteins have been overexpressed and purified for further study.  Mutational analyses revealed that four of the five mutants had decreased kinase activity in comparison to the wildtype protein, thereby establishing the mutated residues as important for enzymatic activity.  Several attempts were made to elucidate the substrate of RdoA/YihE, however, it remains unknown.  Further investigation is necessary to identify its substrate(s) and to pinpoint its physiological significance.  RdoA is a member of the Cpx regulon and its absence stimulates Cpx activation.  Since the Cpx system is involved in regulating expression of cell surface appendages and is one of three envelope stress response systems, it is hypothesized that RdoA serves to relay Cpx activation signals.  This is supported by studies on the effect of pH on Cpx activity in wildtype and rdoA- cells presented here.  RdoA homologues are present in at least 85 different genera.  This level of conservation is indicative of an important biological role for this previously uncharacterized bacterial protein kinase.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Towards a framework for intuitive programming of cellular automata

contributor:
Akl, Selim
Computing

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subject:
Cellular automata
Parallel computing

abstract: Thesis (Master, Computing) -- Queen's University, 2007-12-05 10:26:09.591

abstract: The ability to obtain complex global behaviour from simple local rules makes cellular automata an interesting platform for massively parallel computation. However, manually designing a cellular automaton to perform a given computation can be extremely tedious, and automated design techniques such as genetic programming have their limitations because of the absence of human intuition. In this thesis, we propose elements of a framework whose goal is to make the manual synthesis of cellular automata rules exhibiting desired global characteristics more programmer-friendly, while maintaining the simplicity of local processing elements. We also demonstrate the power of that framework by using it to provide intuitive yet effective solutions to the two-dimensional majority classification problem, the convex hull of disconnected points problem, and various problems pertaining to node placement in wireless sensor networks.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Development of a Hydrogen Producing Thermal Control for Chemical Hydrogen Storage

contributor:
Davis, Boyd R.
Mining Engineering

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subject:
Hydrogen storage
thermal control
efficient
reactor

abstract: Thesis (Master, Mining Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2007-12-06 14:45:56.551

abstract:
This thesis investigated a potential improvement to hydrogen storage for fuel cells using a thermally efficient hydrogen storage method. The efficiency of the storage
system was improved using a metal hydride system to act as a thermal control unit for an exothermic chemical hydrogen storage system.

A cylindrical shaped “hybrid” reactor was created to allow hydrogen production
from a sodium borohydride packed bed reactor and the metal hydride. Additionally, a custom built pressure-composition-temperature apparatus was built to record the amount
of hydrogen desorption from the metal hydride while isolating the metal from potential
poisons such as oxygen.

Before using the chemical hydride packed bed, heat transfer through the reactor was studied using circulating water. The water experiments showed that an increase in
heat flux to the reactor led to a faster desorption rate of hydrogen from the metal hydride resulting in a larger temperature drop throughout the reactor.

After the operating characteristics of the hybrid reactor were studied, a 10 wt%
solution of sodium borohydride was created and pumped through the packed bed to
produce enough hydrogen for a 300 W fuel cell. The amount of heat produced from the
packed bed portion of the reactor was significant, but temperatures levelled to around 80 °C. As expected, temperature control was directly proportional to the rate of hydrogen release from the metal hydride. On average, approximately 10% of the available heat energy was transferred to the metal hydride, and the hybrid reactor operated with gravimetric and volumetric energy densities of 0.27 kWh·kg-1 and 1.29 kWh·L-1 respectively. If the hybrid reactor is used solely to control peak temperatures, the amount of metal hydride necessary for thermal control could be decreased. Additionally, improvements in heat transfer as well as the hydrogen storage materials themselves would increase the energy density values further.

When compared to other energy storage devices, the hybrid reactor without
improvements is competitive as a backup power generator due to its silent operation and
large volumetric energy density. Since the hybrid reactor can provide quiet and cool
energy storage in a relatively small volume, it may become an effective and efficient
means for hydrogen storage with limited improvements.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Investigation of the Effects of Biofouling on the Hydraulic Properties of Wells in Fractured Bedrock Aquifers

contributor:
Novakowski, Kent S.
Civil Engineering

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subject: Groundwater biofouling

abstract: Thesis (Master, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2007-12-11 11:11:24.327

abstract: The objective of this study is to improve the understanding of the effect of biofilm growth and biofouling on well performance in a fractured rock aquifer.  The study was conducted by investigating biofouling in several recently drilled and much older wells.  The study was conducted at three field sites using six groundwater wells in Perth, Portland and Cambridge Ontario.  The well located in Perth was drilled in the spring of 2006 and after preliminary hydraulic testing; biofilm was grown in the well by the addition of nutrients (steel wool, Difco beef peptone and gelatin).  The wells located in Portland and Cambridge are more than 10 years old and were already biofouled.  In each case, the well was hydraulically tested using open- well pumping methods and via slug testing using a straddle packer system (1.7m spacing) in which measurements were obtained contiguously from the bottom to the top of the well.  This provided distinct measurements of the hydraulic properties of the individual fracture zones along the length of each hole.  The five older wells in Portland and Cambridge were cleaned following the initial testing using recirculation of hydrochloric acid followed by recirculation of 35% hydrogen peroxide.  Once the cleaning was completed, the hydraulic testing was repeated.  Each of the wells were videotaped using a downhole camera at various stages during the study.  Samples were obtained on three occasions for bacterial typing using the BART™ system.  Transmissivity data from the different states of fouling (drilled, fouled or cleaned) were compared and it was determined that fractures with low transmissivity values are more susceptible to the effects of biofouling than those with high transmissivity.  The reduction in transmissivity was as much as 50% percent.  Fractures with low transmissivity are of small apertures which are easily plugged by biofilm.  The cleaning process did not markedly improve total wellbore performance for those wells where a comparison was made following cleaning.  The presence of any form of iron, (i.e. steel well casing or steel pump parts) in the well will contribute significantly to the biofouling, based on the results of the laboratory study.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Quantification of complex phosphorus removal reactions occurring within wetland filtration treatment systems

contributor:
Anderson, Bruce
Civil Engineering

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subject:
Phosphorus
Wetlands
Waste water quality

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2007-12-10 11:40:49.657

abstract:
In a constructed treatment wetland applied to domestic wastewaters, long term studies and increased operational experience indicate that phosphorus removal is variable or inconsistent, especially in cold-climate applications. These inconsistencies can be attributed to the complexity of phosphorus removal mechanisms, and the lack of consideration of these complexities in the design, installation and operation of these treatment systems. Sorption of phosphorus to the wetland media is generally considered to be the major removal mechanism. The research described in this thesis was conducted to determine the most suitable material for application in a constructed wetland and a post wetland-filter to treat phosphorus in wastewater effluents, taking advantage of sorption processes. The present work was conducted at lab (bench) scale.
Three potential sorptive media were studied in the research program, namely gravel, slag and clinker. Several methods for media analysis were investigated as potential screening tools for media selection.  To determine the various forms of phosphorus in the media, sequential extraction tests were considered to be most relevant and useful for this research. Batch testing and flow cell testing along with sequential extraction tests were conducted to predict the sorption capacity and performance of the media for the long term (10+ years) removal of phosphorus. The protocols developed in this thesis permitted a rigorous assessment of the media and should be applied in any assessment of sorptive media to select the best medium.
Gravel showed some sorption of phosphorus although it was not sufficient to meet the regulatory limits for the effluent concentration. Clinker and slag showed high sorption capacity as compared to gravel and the observed effluent concentration was below the regulatory limits. All three media showed the presence of background phosphorus, with clinker having the highest amount of background phosphorus. However, except gravel, clinker and slag did not show any significant amount of phosphorus being leached out during low phosphorus loading conditions. Taking all factors under consideration, slag and clinker were identified as good media for phosphorus removal. Media that have proven to have high sorption capacities and also retention capabilities should be considered for applications where phosphorus removal is the prime objective.

abstract: NSERC

abstract: PhD