Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'LWC'

Tämän diplomityön aiheena oli tutkia Metso IQ Surface -mittausjärjestelmän soveltuvuutta LWC-paperikoneella sekä parantaa LWC-paperin sileyttä syväpainoon soveltuvammaksi. Pääkohteena mittauksessa olivat mittarin antamat karheus- sekä sileys-indeksit, joita verrattiin laboratorio arvoihin eli pohjapaperin bendtsen-karheuteen sekä lopputuotteen PPS-sileyteen. Metso IQ Surface -mittausjärjestelmä mittaa liikkuvan paperin laatua ottamalla 3D -kuvia paperin pinnasta ja analysoimalla niitä. Kuvattava pinta valaistaan usealla led-viistovalolla eri kulmista kameran ympäriltä. Kuvan varjostumien avulla fotometrinen stereo-menetelmä tuottaa paperin pinnan gradienttikentät. Pinnan topografia tuotetaan puolestaan integroimalla gradienttikenttiä. Pinnan topografian avulla paperille voidaan laskea joukko muita pinnan rakennetta kuvaavia piirteitä. Mittaus osoitti hyvää korrelaatiota bendtsen-karheuteen pohjapaperissa. Myös lopputuotteen osalta mittaus havaitsi oikein sileyden muutokset. Lopputuotteen sileyden osalta korrelaatio oli hyvä, mutta vähäisten mittauspisteiden vuoksi tulosta ei voida pitää yhtä merkittävänä. Mittaus korreloi myös hyvin hiokkeen annostelun freenes arvosta johtuvaan karheus vaihteluun noin kahden vuorokaudenkin ajanjaksoissa. Topografiamittaus havaitsi jo pohjapaperissa muutoksen, joka näkyi myös lopputuotteen sileyden paranemisena. Tämän diplomityön kirjallisuusosassa käsitellään LWC-paperintekoprosessia sen pääpiirteissään. Esille on tuotu asioita, jotka voivat vaikuttavat paperinpinnan topografiaan. Syväpainoprosessia on esitelty kirjallisen osuuden lopussa. Kokeellisessa osassa suoritettiin paperikoneella seuraavat koeajot: formeritelan alipainemuutos, teränvaihto päällystyskoneella sekä superkalanterin ajonopeus koeajot. Formeritelan alipainemuutos pienempään sekä päällystyskoneen teränvaihto koeajot tuottivat parempaa sileyttä lopputuotteelle. Myös superkalanterin ajonopeuden laskulla oli positiivinen vaikutus lopputuotteen sileyteen. Parempi sileys johti parempiin syväpainotuloksiin kaikissa muissa paitsi teränvaihtokoeajossa
The topic of this master thesis was to study the suitability of Metso IQ Surface measurement on a LWC-papermachine and also improve the smoothness of LWC-paper to more suitable for rotogravure printing. The main targets of the study were the smoothness and roughness indexes given by the Metso IQ Surface measuring. These indexes were compared to the laboratory values of bendtsen roughness and PPS smoothness. Metso IQ Surface measurement measures the surface quality of a moving paper sheet by using high-speed image capture and image analysis technology. The illumination of the measured area is done with several LED flash lights from different directions around the camera. Surface topography measurement is based on photometric stereo method. Photometric stereo method provides surface gradient fields using shading information. Surface topography is obtained by integrating the gradient fields. Using this topography information roughness and smoothness indexes can be calculated. The Topography Measurement proved good correlation with laboratory bendtsen roughness on base paper. Also correlation between the PPS smoothness and smoothness index given by the measurement was good, but with small number of measure points, the result can’t be relevant. The Topography Measurement also showed good correlation to roughness variation which was caused by freeness of pulp dosage. The Measurement noticed change on a base paper which led up to better smoothness of the end product. This theory part of master thesis deals with main processes of making LWC-paper. Also some key elements that may affect the topography of paper surface during the process are drawn attention. The rotogravure printing process is demonstrated at the end of the theory part. In the experimental part following trial runs were produced on the papermachine: former roll vacuum trial, blade exchange of couter trial and driving speed trials of supercalander. Turning down the former roll’s vacuum and exchange of the blade on the couter showed better smoothness of the end product. Also lowering the speed of the supercalander improved the smoothness. The better smoothness led up to better rotogravure printing result in all other cases but not in the blade exchange of couter trial

Le papier lwc pour impression en heliogravure est supercalandre : la bande de papier est comprimee a plusieurs reprises, pendant des temps tres courts, sous de fortes pressions exercees par deux rouleaux aux caracteristiques elastiques tres differentes. Les rouleaux metalliques de la supercalandre sont chauffes, ainsi, le travail mecanique subi par la feuille de papier dans la zone de pincement (appelee nip), s'accompagne d'un transfert thermique. Or le comportement rheologique du papier depend de sa temperature. Les caracteristiques thermiques des papiers sont donc une donnee fondamentale pour la comprehension du procede. Nous avons developpe un appareil de mesure de la conductivite thermique des materiaux minces semi-isolants. Les mesures realisees sur des papiers et des couches papetieres modeles ont permis d'etudier l'influence de la composition fibreuse et de la composition de la couche, de la porosite et de l'humidite du papier sur la conductivite thermique des papiers support et couche. Les mesures de conductivite thermique associees a des mesures de capacite calorifique massique par analyse calorimetrique differentielle ont ete utilisees pour modeliser le transfert thermique dans un nip. Les temperatures calculees ont montre une bonne concordance avec les valeurs mesurees lors d'essais de calandrage sur machine pilote. Ces essais ont permis d'evaluer la validite des modeles proposes dans la litterature pour decrire la reduction d'epaisseur du papier apres calandrage en fonction des parametres de la calandre. Nous avons egalement evalue l'influence de ces parametres sur les proprietes de surface (brillant et lisse notamment) du papier lwc.

Dans ce travail, nous etudions l'imprimabilite des papiers lwc en heliogravure edition. Les proprietes de surface, la permeabilite et les proprietes electriques des papiers vierges sont caracterisees a l'aide de diverses techniques de mesure. Une relation entre la structure de la couche et la permeabilite du papier couche est mise en evidence. D'autre part, la technique de la chromatographie inverse en phase gazeuse appliquee aux papiers couches permet de determiner de facon satisfaisante leur energie de surface. Les points manquants, les vaguelettes, la transvision et le rendu densitometrique ont ete retenus comme criteres de qualite d'impression. Ils sont analyses visuellement et a l'aide d'appareils de mesure. Grace aux resultats obtenus, il est possible d'identifier les caracteristiques du papier ayant une influence preponderante ainsi que leur importance relative. L'etat de surface du papier mais aussi ses proprietes electriques determinent le nombre de points manquants. Les vaguelettes dependent essentiellement de la regularite de la couverture de couche sur le support fibreux. Les problemes de transvision sont causes principalement par une opacite trop faible du papier. Des experiences complementaires realisees au laboratoire permettent d'ameliorer la comprehension des phenomenes d'interaction encre - papier, qui determinent notamment le rendu densitometrique. Nous montrons l'existence d'une competition entre la penetration de l'encre, liee a la permeabilite du papier, et l'etalement a la surface, qui depend de la mouillabilite mais aussi de la rugosite.

The ever rising need for detailed knowledge of the structure of paper coating urges the improvement and development of new techniques for gaining new and valuable information. The assessment, study and characterisation of factors that are assumed to affect the interaction between printing inks and coated paper surface may be accomplished by microscopy and image analysis techniques. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a most suitable tool for morphometrical studies of fibres and paper. Digital images acquired in a SEM, by the secondary electron imaging (SEI) or backscattered electron imaging (BEI) mode have suitable quality and resolution for further image processing and analysis.

The present study exemplifies how microscopy and image analysis may be applied for structural studies of the coating layer. Image processing and analysis routines for acquiring information on the coating layer surface roughness and porosity details like the pore shape, size and orientation are described. A routine, based on the Sobel operators, for measuring the pigment particle orientation, is also described. The developed semi-automatic image analysis routines are useful methods for morphometric analysis of paper structure details, thus facilitating numerical data acquisition of the pores and the pigment particles’ geometry. Parts of the obtained information is assumed to be unattainable by other methods at this point.

To discern the binder in the coating layer from the embedding epoxy and thus observe individual pores in the coating, the binder has to be stained before embedding. In the study, osmium tetroxide (O_sO₄) was used to stain the latex binder in the coating layer. Morphometric analyses of paper cross-sections using SEM, BEI-mode images and stereo images were used to quantify the paper coating structure details. The smallest details to be quantified are approaching the limitations given by the imaging methods.

It is shown that the staining procedures allow a quite accurate determination of pore fraction in the coating, and individual readings of the pores like pore area, aspect ratio and orientation. Two compared staining methods differed somewhat in their effect on the paper. O_sO₄ dissolved in water gave good staining throughout the base paper/coating sandwich, allowing good visualisation and assessment of the coating structure. However, moisture tends to make the base paper fibre expand, raising the paper thickness and thus the macro-roughness. When staining by dry O_sO₄ crystals, the base paper expansion is avoided, however, even the staining of the fibres is reduced. Critical coating parameters like mean pore area and micro-roughness of the coating layer do not differ between the two methods.

In the study, the structure of commercial LWC paper coating layers were assessed and quantified by SEM, BEI-mode and digital image analysis of cross sections. It is quantified how clay particles cause a more densely packed coating structure compared to coatings containing mainly CaCO₃. The pores of clay coatings have a larger aspect ratio and are oriented more parallel to the paper surface. Pore orientation is affected by the pigment particle orientation. Besides the size of the pores, their orientation is proved to be an essential parameter affecting the achieved print gloss level for a given paper grade. The pore’s orientation/ diameter ratio seems to be a suitable parameter for describing its geometry and influence on print gloss. For a given pore diameter, the more horizontally oriented, the higher the delta gloss (print gloss-paper gloss).

The objective of this work was to study the addition of fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs) for efficient use on pigment coating of paper substrates with low grammage and the goal was to achieve high optical response by using low amount of FWAs. A commercial light-weight coated (LWC) paper grade was provided by Stora Enso Corbehem Mill and isotropic laboratory sheets were produced at Stora Enso Research Centre using PFI sheet former. Optical properties such as brightness, whiteness and L, a* and b* colour space values were evaluated using Minolta spectrophotometer with D65 illuminant for both types of substrate using different types and amounts of FWA while the effect of the addition of dye was evaluated in both isotropic sheets and as well as in the coating. The results showed that brightness and whiteness of double-coated paper increased by increasing the amount of fluorescent whitening agent in the coating layer. Also, higher brightness and whiteness was achieved by introducing a higher amount of fluorescent whitening agent in the top coating rather than in a pre-coating. The addition of a shading colorant in the paper substrate had a positive influence not only on the brightness but also on the whiteness of coated paper.
Syftet med denna studie var att studera tillsatsen av fluorescerande vitmedel (FWA) för att effektivisera användningen i pigmentbestrykning av papper med låg ytvikt. Målet var att nå en hög optisk respons men ändå använda en låg mängd FWA. Ett kommersiellt LWC-papper erhölls från Stora Enso, Corbehems pappersbruk, och isotropa laboratorieark tillverkades med PFI-arkformerare på Stora Enso Research Centre. Optiska egenskaper, såsom ljushet, vithet och färgrymd (L, a* och b* värden), hos samtliga prover med varierande mängd och typ av FWA uppmättes med hjälp av en Minolta spektrofotometer med D65 ljuskälla. Effekten av färgnyanstillsats utvärderades både hos handgjorda ark och hos bestrykningslager. Resultaten visade att både ljushet och vithet hos dubbelbestrukna ark ökade med ökad mängd FWA i bestrykningslagren. Högre ljushet och vithet nåddes också när FWA placerades i toppbestrykningen. Tillsats av nyanseringsfärg i papperssubstratet ökade både ljushet och vithet hos de bestrukna arken.

Pour les besoins du refroidissement de leurs réacteurs, les CNPE1 sont placés à proximité immédiate de cours d’eau ou du littoral. Ils sont de ce fait exposés à des bancs de brouillards, en particulier à l’automne et au cours de l’hiver. Or les modèles opérationnels de dispersion atmosphérique/dépôt, utilisés pour simuler la contamination radioactive de l’environnement à la suite d’un accident nucléaire, considèrent uniquement les dépôts par temps sec et ceux par temps de pluie. Faut-il tenir compte de la présence des brouillards comme terme additionnel de dépôt de radionucléides en cas d’accident nucléaire ? Pour répondre à cette question, une étude expérimentale a été conduite sur plusieurs sites exposés aux brouillards ou aux nuages (principalement la plateforme d’observation atmosphérique de l’ANDRA à Houdelaincourt ainsi que la station de recherche atmosphérique de l’OPGC/CNRS2 au sommet du Puy de Dôme et la plateforme d’étude atmosphérique SIRTA3 de l’IPSL4 à Palaiseau). La collecte d’eau de brouillard et la mesure des quantités d’eau déposées sous forme de gouttelettes sur différents types de végétaux, ont été réalisées respectivement grâce à collecteurs à fils et des pesées de précision. En mesurant le contenu en eau liquide dans l’air ainsi que la masse d’eau déposé sur les plantes, il a été possible de calculer des vitesses de dépôt des gouttelettes de brouillard pouvant atteindre plusieurs dizaines de cm.s-1 dans le cas d’un brouillard composé de grosses gouttelettes (diamètre médian volumique moyen de 20 µm). Ces vitesses élevées mettent en évidence l’importance des processus gravitationnels mais aussi turbulents notamment dans le cadre du dépôt sur des végétaux à structure foliaire tridimensionnelle comme les conifères. L’effet d’auto-écrantage lié à une densité de biomasse foliaire élevée a également été quantifié. Les concentrations en radionucléides à l’état de traces ont montré que l’eau de brouillard pouvait être jusqu’à 20 fois plus concentrée que l’eau de pluie, du fait de la dilution par condensation de vapeur d’eau sur les gouttelettes au cours de leur grossissement. Les mesures des masses d’eau déposées par les brouillards et de la concentration en radionucléides dans les gouttelettes sur le site d’Houdelaincourt, permettent d’estimer ces dépôts habituellement qualifiés d’occultes car trop faibles pour être quantifiés par des pluviomètres ou des radars météorologiques. Sur l’ensemble d’une saison de brouillard, le dépôt occulte de radionucléides a représenté jusqu’à 25% des dépôts par temps secs et par temps de pluie. En cas de rejet accidentel, la présence de brouillard pourrait contribuer à hauteur de 14% du dépôt par temps sec. Ces résultats mettent en évidence la nécessité de prendre en compte ce processus de dépôt pour mieux quantifier les retombées radioactives sur des territoires en contact avec des brouillards ou des nuages (en ce qui concerne les sites d’altitudes), en particulier en situation post-accidentelle. Un schéma simple de type dépôt sec, considérant le diamètre médian des gouttelettes dérivé de la visibilité, permet à minima de mieux simuler le processus de dépôt par sédimentation des gouttelettes. Ces travaux restent à compléter pour quantifier la contribution de la turbulence induite par l’écoulement de l’air au voisinage des obstacles comme des végétaux de grandes tailles et incorporer un schéma spécifique dans les modèles de dépôt.

Accompanied by the fast development of technology and channels in the advertisement industry, many traditional incumbents felt pressure and were seeking ways to change or better their own position within the industry. The Nordic Association of Heatset Printer (NAHP), where this thesis was carried out, is largely associated with these traditional channels for advertising, such like newspapers, brochures and magazines. They are taking their initiative to prepare and face the challenge coming from new entrants within the advertising industry. I have identified that to fulfill the responsibilities to their customers at a very high standard could enable themselves to continuingly remain a competitive position in the advertisement industry, and among these responsibilities, the printing quality is definitely an important one. By checking whether all the printers conform to the error tolerances set by the ISO standard, I could offer the members of the organization useful information and suggestion, and eventually give them directions on where they might need to improve, and where they need to maintain. I have also identified 3 determinants regarding printing and they are print density, dot gain and the ΔE of L*a*b*. Checking whether those three primaries have met the industry standard has become the main job of this thesis work. To finish this thesis work, I have gathered samples from printers within NAHP, tested the color control strips on each samples, input the data into statistical Excel files, programmed to analyze the data, and finally conducted evaluations. The test results have revealed that most presses from the printing houses within my thesis work are able to offer high quality prints. However, certain problems have also been identified. Some presses definitely need to change and improve their printing setting in order to reach ISO standard and achieve audience satisfaction. In addition, the results have also double confirmed that all three investigated properties, print density, dot gain and ΔE of L*a*b*, correlate intensely and influence one and another.

River restoration projects are being installed worldwide to rehabilitate degraded river habitat. Many of these projects focus on stream habitat improvement (SHI), and an estimated 60%of the 37,000 projects listed in the National River Restoration Science Synthesis Program focus on SHI for salmon and trout species. These projects frequently lack a sufficient monitoring program or account for the environmental costs associated with SHI. The present study used life cycle assessment (LCA) techniques and topographic effectiveness monitoring to quantify environmental costs on the basis of geomorphic change. This methodology was a novel approach to assessing the cost-benefit relationship of SHI. To test this methodology, two phases of the Lower Scotts Creek Floodplain and Habitat Enhancement Project (LSCR) were used as a case study. The LSCR was a SHI project installed along the northern coast of Santa Cruz County, California, USA. A limited scope LCA was used to quantify the life cycle impacts of raw material production, materials transportation, and on-site construction. Once these baseline results were produced, a topographic monitoring program was used to quantify the topographic diversity index (TDI) in pre- and post-project conditions. The TDI percent change was used to scale the baseline LCA results, which quantified the environmental impacts based on geomorphic change. Phase II outperformed phase I. Phase I had greater cumulative environmental impacts and experienced a 7.7 % TDI increase from pre- to post-project conditions. Phase II had 43% less cumulative environmental impacts and experienced a 7.9% TDI increase from pre- to post-project conditions. The impacts in phase I were greater because of the amount of material excavated to create off-channel features, which were a key feature of the LSCR. A scenario analysis also was conducted within the LCA component of this study. The scenario analysis suggests that life cycle impacts could be reduced by 30%-65% by using the accelerated recruitment method in place of importing materials to build large wood complexes. The results of this study suggest that managers may improve the environmental performance of SHI projects by: (1) using the accelerated recruitment method to introduce larger key pieces to the channel, reducing the need to import materials; (2) using nursery grown plants as opposed to excavating plants for revegetation; (3) minimizing fuel combustion in heavy equipment and haul trucks by ensuring clear access to the channel and streambank, using small engine equipment to clear access corridors during site preparation, running more fuel-efficient machinery or bio-fuel powered machinery, and by attempting to minimize haul distances by sourcing materials locally; and (4) utilizing a “franken-log” design (a ballasted LWC configuration with a rootwad fastened to the downstream end of a log) in LWCs which led to favorable TDI change. This study concluded that LCA could be a valuable tool for monitoring SHI and river restoration projects and that further research of the TDI analysis is justified.

In the state of California, about one in six adults suffer from some sort of mental illness and about one in twenty of those suffer from a serious mental illness (SMI). In the County of Los Angeles, about 4.5% of the county’s roughly 9.8 million residents suffer from a serious mental illness. Through most of history, mental health care and primary health care have represented two independent systems. The two independent systems have resulted in a double standard of quality of care, accessibility of care, and social stigmas of care. The disconnect leaves mental health care inferior to physical care, where mental illnesses are easily overlooked carrying negative social stigmas with little access. MindLink Coordinators, LLC, a not-for-profit mental health care coordinating organization, looks to bridge a major gap between mental health care and primary health care through care coordination and technology. In conjunction with care coordination, MindLink will provide various services for patients with mental illnesses. MindLink’s purpose will start with serving the Los Angeles County area with the hope of eventually serving patients throughout the state of California.

Mint Green is a limited liability company who provides preventative health care services to the Greater Long Beach area. Mint Green is entering the Weight Loss Services Industry which is experiencing rapid growth due to the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Mint Green has the opportunity to reach approximately 65% of firms who offer health benefits to their employees. Mint Green’s Healthy Eating and Lifestyle Plan (HELP) is the core instruction to the weight loss programs. Mint Green has four types of weight loss programs; each developed to satisfy a wide array of budgets. Mint Green is projected to yield a profitable margin.

Titel: Användning av LCC. Vad krävs för att utforma en LCC-modell? Bakgrund: Försvarsmakten äger och anskaffar komplicerad materiel som ska fungera under en lång livslängd. Materielförsörjningen ska vara kostnadseffektiv och kostnaderna kända ur ett livscykelperspektiv i största möjligaste mån. Life Cycle Cost (LCC) är en metod som kan bidra härtill. Vid anskaffningar och upphandlingar påbjuds det att LCC ska användas bland annat i syfte att öka kostnadseffektiviteten och få kontroll på kostnader. Till detta krävs en organisation som vet hur man genomför LCC på lämpligaste sätt. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att beskriva och belysa hur det går till och vad som krävs vid framtagning av LCC-modeller och praktisk användning av LCC och därigenom även bidra till ökad kunskap och förståelse för LCC-arbetet. Avgränsningar: I den här uppsatsen avgränsas arbetet att gälla inom FMV:s organisation och till huvudsak avhandla vad som krävs av organisationen, t.ex. i form av kompetens hos personal, för att utforma LCC-modeller. Metod: Delvis strukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med tre inom området erfarna och kunniga personer. Intervjuunderlag med öppna svar konstruerades utifrån studiens syfte och frågeställning som underlag för intervjuerna. Resultatet från intervjuerna bildade empiri. Empirin diskuterades och tolkade i förhållande till teorin varefter resultatet presenteras. Resultat, slutsatser: Studien ger en bild av vad som krävs för att bedriva LCC-arbete. Den visar vilka kompetenser som behövs (stor bredd av kompetenser krävs) och hur man kan organisera arbetet. Studien visar vad som styr utformning av LCC-modeller och poängterar olika risker och svårigheter i sammanhanget. Hur man kan förebygga och minimera risker och missförstånd framkommer. Studien poängterar problem och svårighet kopplat till kvaliteten på uppföljningssystem och likaså kvalitet vad avser data, både tillgänglighet och relevans.

Le Lac Chapala est le lac le plus important du Mexique. Le fond du lac est peu accidenté; la profondeur moyenne varie entre 4 et 7,7m. Son bassin hydrographique est situé dans un vaste graben d’orientation E-W, associé à l’axe neovolcanique transmexicain. D’après l’étude de 35 paramètres physico-chimiques de l’eau du lac pendant les années 90, le principal facteur de la variation à court terme est l’alternance des saisons, sèches et pluvieuses. L’évolution la plus importante à long terme est due à la sur-utilisation de l’eau du Rio Lerma. L’analyse comparative des 3 cartes bathymétriques suggère que le taux d’accumulation de sédiments a été plus élevé entre 1981 et 1997 que dans la période 1929-1981. Les analyses sédimentologiques montrent que la fraction granulométrique dominante est les limons, suivie par les argiles et très peu de sables. Minéralogiquement la composition est caractérisée par des smectites, quartz, feldspaths, calcite et hématite. Une plus forte concentration en Ni, Pb, As et Cu dans les premiers 25cm de la carotte suggère une influence anthropique, résultat du développement industriel. Les analyses de diatomées et de phytolithes ont mis en évidence la dissolution de la silice biogénique et les analyses magnétiques la présence de titanomagnétite d’origine volcanique. Les isotopes de Cs, Pb et Pu a permis d’estimer les taux de sédimentation (SR) entre 1 et 7 mm/a (0,03-0,55 g/cm2/a). La partie orientale et surtout les zones deltaïques des rivières Lerma et La Pasion montrent des valeurs plus élevées. Les (SR) et la susceptibilité magnétique ont permis de repérer la chronologie d’événements volcaniques du Volcan Colima. Finalement la distribution des (SR), le cadre géologique et la morphologie du fond du lac indiquent que probablement le bassin Chapala correspond à une aire de rift dans son étape finale d'évolution. Une subsidence régionale relative influence les (SR), qui sont plus élevés sur un axe apparemment parallèle à la direction du rift
The lake Chapala is the most important lake of Mexico. The bottom is however poorly bumped ; the average depth oscillates of 4 in 7,7m. The catchment area is located in a vast graben of the orientation E-W, related to the volcanic transmexicain axis (MVB). After the study of 35 physico-chemical parameters of the lake water during the 90’s, the main factor of the short-term variation is the alternance seasons, dry and rainy. The most significant parameter in the evolution in the long-term is due to the overuse of Rio Lerma water. The comparative analyses of the 3 bathymetric maps suggests that the average rate accumulation of sediments was higher between 1981-1997 that during the time of 1929-1981. The sedimentological analyses show the dominant fraction is consisted by the silts, followed by the clayey fraction and very few sands. Mineralogically the composition is characterized by smectites, quarts, feldspars, calcite and hematite. Stronger concentration in Ni, pB, As and Cu is observed in the first 25 cm of the cores ; this suggests an anthropic influence, related to the industrial development. The analyses of diatoms and phytolithes allow highlighting the biogenic dissolution of silica and the magnetic analyses the presences of titanomagnetite of volcanic origin. The radiochemistry of the Cs, Pb and Pu isotopes allow to estimate rates of sedimentation (SR) vary between 1 and 7 mm/a. The Eastern part and especially the deltaic zones of the rivers Lerma and Pasion show higher values. The (SR) and the magnetic susceptibility allow locating the chronology of the volcanic events of the Volcano Colima. Finally the distribution of the (SR), the geological framework, and the flat morphology of the bottom of the lake indicate that probably the Chappala basin corresponds to area of rift in its final stage of evolution. A relative regional subsidence influences the (SR), higher on an axis apparently parallel with the rift direction

The Large Hadron collider (LHC) is a 7\,TeV per beam proton-proton collider. The high stored beam energy of the LHC (361.6\,MJ) requires unprecedented machine protection systems. As demonstrated in September 2008, failure of any one of these systems can lead to considerable damage, and hence delays in the physics schedule. In addition to various quench protection systems and interlocks, a beam collimation system is installed to protect against regular and irregular beam loss, with the aim of protecting against superconducting magnet quenches. The high 8.33T magnetic field of the main arc bending magnets leads to a quench when exposed to beam energy leakage of $5\,\textrm{mW cm}^{-3}$. In order to ensure accurate running of this system, computer simulations must be created. A tracking code, Merlin, has been adapted to simulate the features of the collimation system. New physics models for the simulation of protons interacting in a collimator jaw have been created, and these have been fitted to all experimental scattering data for the first time. Merlin has been used to simulate beam loss in the LHC, and a comparison of the effect of these different physics models have been made. Finally, a luminosity upgrade, the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider is to be installed in the 2020s. Merlin has also been used to simulate the collimation system for this upgrade in order to ensure reliable future operation of this upgrade.

There are several ways to virtualize machines from the different closed source variants as VMware ESXi and Windows Hyper-V virtualization to open source varies as Xen and Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM). There is also another way to virtualize parts of an operating system to increase versatility and be able to use more of the system’s resources in a more efficient way. LXC (Linux Containers) is a lightweight virtualization that is run on top of the existing operating system by encapsulating applications that is inside the container. LXC works so the kernel of the Linux system is shared by the containers that run next to each other without much knowledge of each other. In that way it can be more resource efficient than virtualizing the entire Linux kernel several times for different applications in a traditional guest to host environment. Many data centers today are already using some variant of virtualization in their production environment, it may then be interesting to examine if there are some other methods that result in better performance for chosen application and power savings when hosts can be turned off. That is why this project has carried out a field study to examine how LXC performs when the host system is virtualized in a hypervisor environment. An organization might want to migrate from a hypervisor environment to a lightweight virtualization environment that is based on containers. The work has been done by doing experiments using two different software to examine I/O to determine if LXC is affected by being nested inside ESXi. The study begins with a small background study to obtain information that will give relevant information from previous done work in relevant fields. The study was conducted with the use of the experimental method to be able to answer the hypothesis and the projects questions. The questions that was answered in the project was: How much degradation of the file system's read and write speeds arises when LXC is nested in ESXi? Does it affect the file system's ability to read and write to disk when there are restrictions on available resources? The result of the experiments show that LXC performs close to equal of the bare metal systems, with a 2 percent loss as a minimum and a maximum of 11 percent in write and read ability to/from disk. When LXC is intertwined with ESXi there is an up to 15 percent loss in write and read ability excluding the loss the hypervisor adds. When restricting the resources for a container down to one processor core and two gigabytes of primary memory experiments show that there was a 3 to 15 percent loss in write and read ability from the disk

One line pitch: Capitalize on the decentralization of filmed entertainment production from California by rebuilding the Tucson film production infrastructure capable of supporting continuous production and augment the arts schools of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Arizona.

Many of today's power converters use pulse-width modulation(PWM) techniques to regulate the circulating currents and voltages. A significant problem with most dc-dc converters is the increased power loss during switching. These devices typically operate in hard-switching mode which results in switching losses. Resonant converters have been used to minimize or even eliminate this problem. Although LLC resonant converters have shown significant gains in terms of efficiency, their modeling is still a challenge. LLC converters are designed to function in a specific mode and region of operation. It has been difficult to design a stable and robust controller with consistent bandwidth and disturbance rejection for every application. The complexity of the control design is magnified when the LLC converters are controlled using embedded digital control techniques. Recent developments in micro-controllers, including processing speed, power, and memory management, make possible the use of innovative non-linear or adaptive control algorithms, in order to produce high performance LLC circuits. Accurate modeling of the hardware is the key to an effective solution. This thesis presents several modeling techniques of the LLC resonant converter. Previous research is discussed and relevant techniques are used as reference for deriving the models presented here. A new approach will be used to describe the characteristics of the LLC within the operating region. This approach is derived using the method of Least Squares of errors. The method estimates the coefficients of the plant transfer function, which then help to calculate control coefficients in the instantaneous operating condition of the LLC resonant power converter.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2008.
Includes bibliographical references.
The primary goal of this research was to determine if Micronotes, a start-up company based on an electronic bill-pay service that enables customers to prepay and discount their bills, is a viable business proposition. Here is how Micronotes works: On April 15th, a customer receives a $1,000 insurance bill due on May 15th. She enters the bill amount and due date into the Micronotes server, accessible via cell phone, handset, or the internet, and determines that she can pay Micronotes $996.12 today to settle that bill and Micronotes will pay her $1,000 bill, in full, on May 15th. Micronotes aggregates her $996.12 payment on April 15th with millions of other customer payments, and invests it into short-term, low-risk, institutional-grade securities which mature just before the due date of her bill; Micronotes then pays her $1,000 insurance bill on May 15th. The idea is to get people to think about paying bills incrementally earlier as a discount opportunity, rather than a burden to avoid - and by doing so, create perfect ontime payments for customers which will eliminate late fees, yield higher credit scores, and ultimately lower credit costs. The research design comprised qualitative and quantitative market research to understand the level of customer interest in the concept, creation and maintenance of customer trust, the firm's system of innovation as a competitive advantage, the regulatory and tax environment in which this business will operate, system and financial modeling to understand business drivers and sensitivities, market timing, international expansion, and routes to liquidity for investors.
(cont.) Our results reveal that Micronotes (Mnotes) is an electronic bill-pay service that will enable 24.8 million U.S. small businesses to quickly, conveniently, and securely discount and pay any of the $5 trillion dollars in bills they pay annually via handset or internet and by connection to the institutional-grade money markets. Our market research suggests that 27% of the 7.7 million female-owned small businesses, our initial target market, would use the Mnotes service yielding $486B/year in shortduration investment volume for the firm. 13.3% target market penetration, or 320,155 customers are needed to reach break-even operations under present assumptions.
by Devon Andrew Kinkead.
S.M.

Radiation oncology has evolved as an advanced tool in treating chronic diseases from a mere experimental application of X-rays. These advances were made possible due to combined efforts of physicians, clinicians and information technology professionals. The Radiation Oncologist depends on clinical and information technology disciplines to solve complex health conditions. This creates demand for consulting work for information technology professionals who can design, customize and deploy software applications that are used in radiation oncology departments at hospitals. Hri-Tech Consultants, LLC a consulting firm, intends to offer consulting services to medium sized hospitals in Orange County area in design, development and deployment of radiation oncology software applications. The firm’s unique strength in Radiation Oncology workflow coupled with Lean Six Sigma and ITIL processes will be rarely matched by other providers in the target market.

Future upgrades of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) may demand improved cleaning performance of its collimation system. Very efficient collimation is required during regular operations at high intensities, because even a small amount of energy deposited on superconducting magnets can cause an abrupt loss of superconducting conditions (quench). The present collimation system has accomplished its tasks during the LHC Run I very well, where no quench with circulating beam took place with up to 150 MJ of stored energy at 4 TeV. On the other hand, uncertainty remains on the performance at the design energy of 7 TeV and with 360 MJ of stored energy. In particular, a further increase up to about 700 MJ is expected for the high luminosity upgrade (HL-LHC), where improved cleaning performance may be needed together with a reduction of collimator impedance. The possibility to use a crystal-based collimation system represents an option for improving both cleaning performance and impedance compared to the present system. A bent crystal can in theory replace primary collimators and steer all halo particles onto one single absorber, providing better cleaning with reduced impedance than the present multi-stage collimation system, which is based on massive amorphous blocks of material that surround the beam. Although promising results on the principle of crystal collimation were obtained during experimental tests at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS), feasibility studies at the LHC are mandatory before relying on this approach for future upgrades. The main goal of this Ph.D. thesis is the design of an optimised prototype crystal collimation system for these tests in the LHC, which has been installed during April 2014.

Thesis (MA. (African Languages)) -- University of Limpopo, 2014
This research focuses on the use of derogative language in Tshivenḓa discourse. Derogative language is the language used in a society in showing critical or disrespectful attitude. In each and every society, people use derogative language or words in addressing different unacceptable behaviours. Derogative language is used in schools, churches, homes, to mention but a few places. There are factors compelling Vhavenḓa people to use derogative language. In this regard, one may mention social, political, and economic factors. For instance, hardworking people who have amassed wealth through their efforts are sometimes labelled scornful names such as madyavhathu (cannibals) and keepers of maḓuxwane (zombies). Ultimately, the use of derogatory language affects people socially and psychologically.

Luc, en rapportant quatre récits de retours à la vie (Lc 7,11-17 ; 8,40-56 ; Ac 9,36-43 ; 20,7-12), renvoie aux revivifications d’Elie (1 R 17,17-24) et d’Elisée (2 R 4,8-37). L’étude débute par une lecture relationnelle des deux récits vétéro-testamentaires, l’examen de leurs traductions dans la LXX, les Antiquités Juives de Josèphe et le Targum des prophètes. La stratégie narrative de l’auteur qui tout au long de Lc-Ac fait mémoire des prophètes Elie et Elisée est ensuite envisagée. L’étude des revivifications évangéliques, puis des Actes est alors menée successivement et conclue par une synthèse des enjeux théologiques et herméneutiques des 4 réécritures. Quelques aspects de la théologie lucanienne (l’accomplissement des Ecritures et de l’histoire, la christologie, les revivifications et la résurrection) et du travail rédactionnel de l’évangéliste (l’imitatio) sont ainsi mis en évidence. La méthodologie, basée sur l’intertextualité, articule approches diachronique et synchronique
Luke, telling four accounts of returns of life (Luke 7,11-17 ; 8,40-56 ; Acts 9,36-43 ; 20,7-12), cross-refers to the restoring to life by Elijah (1 Kgs 17,17-24) and by Elisha (2 Kgs 4,8-37). The study begins with the relational reading of the two accounts from the Old Testament as well as the scrutiny of their “translations” in the LXX, Josephus’s Jewish Antiquities and the Prophet’s Targum. Then, Luke’s restorings to life are placed in the narrative strategy of the writer who, all along the Luke-Acts, alludes to the prophets Elijah and Elisha. The study of the restorings to life in the Gospel, then in the Acts is successively lead and concluded by a synthesis of the theological and hermeneutic stakes of the four rewritings : the fulfilment of the Writings and history, christology, the restorings to life and the resurrection, as well as enlightenment on the evangelist’s writing work (Luke’s imitatio). The methodology links together diachronic and synchronic approaches of texts

Après avoir rapidement rappelé les objectifs de la modélisation du système lémanique, et étudié ses propriétés principales, le choix de la modélisation s'est porté sur la réalisation d'un modèle unidimensionnel vertical thermique couplé à un modèle biogéochimique du cycle du phosphore, et d'un modèle bidimensionnel vertical longitudinal, hydrodynamique et thermique. Le modèle unidimensionnel vertical permet de décrire un comportement moyen du lac. Il a été calibré sur une année et vérifié sur les trois années suivantes. Il a été nécessaire afin d'obtenir un bon ajustement pluriannuel d'étudier en détail la formulation du coefficient de dispersion verticale. Les résultats rendent alors bien compte de l'évolution saisonnière en surface et de l'augmentation lente de la température des couches profondes (0,2°C sur 4 ans). Sur la base de ce modèle, une étude approfondie de l'évolution de la couche mélangée en hiver a été effectuée qui a permis de déboucher sur un premier modèle prédictif stochastique de la hauteur de la couche mélangée annuelle en fonction du profil thermique au début de l'hiver. Le modèle bidimensionnel élaboré sous différentes versions dépendant d'hypothèses influant sur la durée d'exécution, permet de prendre en compte l'hétérogénéité horizontale du lac. Les résultats en température montrent la plus faible inertie du petit lac, qui se traduit par des températures hivernales plus froides et des variations de température plus importantes en été. Sur le plan hydrodynamique, le modèle permet d'évaluer l'ordre de grandeur des flux d'eau au cours de l'année à divers points du lac, point important dans l'objectif d'un établissement d'un modèle écologique par boites. Un modèle biogéochimique du cycle du phosphore a été couplé au modèle unidimensionnel thermique. Comprenant deux compartiments, le phosphore minéral dissous, et le phosphore organique particulaire, ce modèle reprend les principales étapes du cycle : Production, Décomposition, Sédimentation et Relargage. Les résultats obtenus sont dans l'ensemble en bon accord avec les mesures, sur les quatre années de la simulation. Des simulations, prenant en compte les apports de différentes manières ont montré la faible sensibilité, sur un an. du modèle à ce terme. En particulier, considérer l'ensemble des apports en phosphore total comme directement assimilable par le milieu, n'influe pas sensiblement sur les résultats. On met ainsi en valeur la grande inertie du lac vis à vis des nutriments.

Les régions arctiques sont soumises à une augmentation des températures atmosphériques de deux à trois fois plus rapide que celle de la moyenne planétaire, occasionnant une contraction rapide de la cryosphère, y compris une diminution de l’épaisseur, de l’étendue et de la durée du couvert de glace lacustre. Bien que plusieurs effets de la dégradation du couvert de glace soient documentés, peu d’observations ont été recueillies sur les lacs polaires couverts de glace pérenne. Le lac Ward Hunt, le lac le plus nordique du Canada, était jusqu’à récemment caractérisé par un couvert de glace qui a persisté au moins depuis 1953. Ce dernier s’est récemment rapidement dégradé faisant du lac Ward Hunt un lac sentinelle du réchauffement climatique dans l’Arctique. L’objectif de cette thèse était de définir la structure et le fonctionnement de ce lac comme modèle permettant de mieux comprendre la nature et les implications des changements subis par les lacs polaires ainsi que d’évaluer une série de questions et d’hypothèses concernant leurs gradients horizontaux et verticaux affectés par ces changements. Une approche spatio-temporelle a permis d’évaluer l’influence du couvert de glace sur la structure physicochimique et biologique du lac Ward Hunt. Des enregistrements à haute fréquence s’échelonnant sur 2 ans ont été obtenus à l’aide d’un mouillage installé dans la section profonde du lac Ward Hunt. Ces informations ont permis de comparer la dynamique saisonnière de température de l’eau, de fluorescence de la chlorophylle a et d’oxygène dissous entre une année où le couvert de glace a complètement fondu (2016) et une année où il a persisté (2017). La disparition du couvert de glace a provoqué un mélange, occasionnant une perte de chaleur, la température chutant de 6,5°C au fond à moins de 1°C sur toute la colonne d’eau. Le mélange a équilibré la concentration d’oxygène dissous dans l’eau (140% de saturation sous la glace) avec celle de l’air. En absence de glace, le mélange a diminué le rayonnement incident dans la colonne d’eau en remettant en suspension des sédiments et en favorisant une plus grande production de chlorophylle a telle que révélée par la fluorescence. La disparition du couvert de glace pourrait avoir stimulé la production primaire avec un maximum de fluorescence plus élevé et précoce en 2016. L’échantillonnage le long d’un transect reliant le littoral et le large a révélé deux patrons de variation des variables limnologiques physiques et biologiques, qui impliquaient un changement abrupt en marge du couvert de glace qui agissait comme démarcation entre la zone littorale et le large. Les résultats mettent en évidence le rôle écologique de l’étroite bande d’eau libre qui se forme autour du couvert de glace des lacs polaires en été (moat). Une analyse de la composition en acide gras des composantes du réseau alimentaire a permis d’identifier la source principale de nourriture pour le zooplancton des zones pélagique et littorale comme étant, respectivement, le seston et les communautés liées aux mousses. L’analyse de la structure verticale de la colonne d’eau en été a révélé que le couvert de glace, limitant les échanges directs avec l’atmosphère, favorise une stratification thermique inverse de la colonne d’eau et permet l’accumulation de chaleur malgré qu’il bloque de 40 à 60% de la lumière incidente. La radiation incidente qui atteint le fond du lac a tout de même permis la prolifération d’une luxuriante communauté benthique dont les stocks de pigments photosynthétiques étaient 10 à 100 fois supérieurs à ceux de la colonne d’eau. La stabilité de la colonne d’eau permet aussi une sursaturation d’oxygène pouvant atteindre 180% de l’équilibre atmosphérique et une accumulation de dioxyde de carbone, d’oxyde nitreux et de méthane. L’analyse optique de la colonne d’eau indique la présence de matière organique colorée qui a influencé le régime spectral de l’éclairement sous l’eau. Cette thèse apporte une vision intégrée de la structure des lacs couverts de glace pérenne au moment où ils amorcent une transition vers un couvert de glace saisonnier. Elle souligne l’importance du couvert de glace sur les variables limnologiques de la colonne d’eau en contrôlant l’éclairement disponible pour la photosynthèse et en limitant les échanges avec l’atmosphère induits par le vent, favorisant la stabilité de la colonne d’eau et l’établissement de forts gradients écologiques entre le littoral et le large.
Arctic regions are experiencing increases in atmospheric temperature at rates that are two to three times faster than the global mean. A rapid contraction of the cryosphere has resulted from this warming, with a decrease in lake ice cover thickness, area and duration. Several effects of degradation of the ice cover on lakes have been documented, but there is a lack of information concerning polar lakes covered by multi-year ice. Ward Hunt Lake, Canada’s northernmost lake, was until recently characterized by a perennial ice cover that remained in place from at least 1953 onwards. This ice cover degraded rapidly in the past few years, making Ward Hunt Lake a far northern sentinel of Arctic climate change. The main objective of this thesis was to define the structure and function of this lake as a model to better understand the nature and implications of changes that polar lakes are undergoing now and in the future, and to address a series of questions and hypotheses about their horizontal and vertical gradients in the face of these changes. The influence of the ice cover on the physicochemical and biological structure of Ward Hunt Lake was evaluated with a spatiotemporal approach. A 2-year, high-frequency record was obtained with a mooring installed in the deepest point of Ward Hunt Lake. This allowed comparison of the seasonal dynamics of water temperature, chlorophyll fluorescence and dissolved oxygen concentrations between a year where the ice cover completely disappeared (2016) and a year where it remained (2017). The seasonal disappearance of the ice cover resulted in the loss of heat in the water column due to mixing throughout the water column. Water temperatures, which reached 6.5°C at the bottom before mixing, dropped to 1°C in the whole water column. Complete mixing also caused dissolved oxygen concentration in the water column to reach equilibrium with the atmosphere whereas it rose to 140% saturation under the ice cover. During open water conditions, incident radiation declined in the water column due to sediment resuspension and increased chlorophyll a fluorescence. The loss of ice cover may have stimulated primary productivity, with a higher and earlier chlorophyll a fluorescence peak in 2016 than in 2017. Sampling along an inshore-offshore gradient revealed two patterns of physical and biological variation. Both patterns included an abrupt shift at the ice cover margin, which acts as a demarcation between the littoral and offshore zones. The results underscored the ecological role of the narrow ice-free water area (moat) that forms around the ice cover of polar lakes each summer. Principal food sources for zooplankton were identified through the analysis of fatty acid composition of the different components of the food web. The pelagic zooplankton diet was mainly composed of seston whereas communities associated with mosses dominated their diet in the littoral zone. High populations of chironomids in the genus Metriocnemus occurred in the benthos. Analysis of the vertical structure of the Ward Hunt Lake water column in summer showed that the ice cover, by limiting direct exchange with the atmosphere, allowed the onset of inverse thermal stratification and the accumulation of heat despite blocking 40 to 60% of incident radiation by reflection and attenuation. Incident radiation reaching the lake floor allowed the development of a rich benthic community, with photosynthetic pigment stocks that were one to two orders of magnitude above those in the overlying water column. The stability of the water column also limited gas diffusion, resulting in oxygen supersaturation up to 180% of air equilibrium and the accumulation of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane. Optical analysis of the water column indicated the presence of weakly colored dissolved organic matter that influenced the underwater spectral radiation regime. This study provides an integrated view of perennially ice-covered lakes at a turning point as they undergo transition towards a seasonal ice-cover regime. It highlights the importance of ice cover as a driver of limnological variables in the water column by controlling the availability of solar radiation for photosynthesis, and by limiting wind-induced exchanges with the atmosphere, thereby favoring water column stability and strong inshore-offshore gradients in many ecosystem features.

Le but de cette these est de definir la personnalite geographique de deux lacs, un grand lac siberien d'importance mondiale, le baikal, et un lac moyen du piemont nord des alpes, le leman, aboutissant a un decoupage regional de ceux-ci , fonde sur cette identite geographique. Pour ce faire, on etudie d'abord l'histoire des recherches limnologiques sur le s deux lacs, en essayant d'y determiner la place de la geographie. Puis on utilise les atouts de la geographie, la carto graphie, la globalite, les changements d'echelle. Une quarantaine de cartes analytiques des deux lacs sont l'etape preli minaire a la construction d'une carte synthetique resumant la problematique de chaque lac. Les processus a l'oeuvre dans les deux lacs sont ensuite etudies aux echelles de la planete (role de la longitude sur le brassage des deux lacs, de la tectonique des plaques sur l'origine de la cuvette, des glaciations sur le modele, de l'evolution biogegraphique vers l'endemisme ou non, du developpement des techniques humaines), du basin-versant (regime hydrologique, comblement sedimen taire, pollution, eutrophisation) et de la region (decoupage du baikal en cinq regions, du leman en trois regions)
The aim of the thesis is to define the geographical personality of two lakes, a siberian lake of planetary importance, l ake baikal, and a lake of medium size of the piedmont of the alps, the lake of geneva, in order to effect a regionalizat ion of the two lakes, which is built on their geographical identity. The first part is the study of the limnological research about the twolakes, to determine the importance of the geography. Then, assets of the geography, cartography, globality, studies at different scales are used. Some forty analytic maps describe the lacustrine basins, waters and organisms, and, in a second time, two synthetic maps define the problematics of the lakes. Finally, the pkanetary-scale study of lake baikal and the lake of geneva includes the influence of the longitude, the plate tectonics, the biological evolution and endemism, the development of the human technologies, the drainage basin-scale study includes hydrological balances, sedimentary filling up, pollution and eutrophication, and the regional-scale study confirms the definition of the geographical personality of the lake

La nature de la matière noire est l'une des plus importantes énigmes de la physique des hautes énergies, aussi bien du point de vue de la cosmologie que de la physique des particules. Dans ce rapport, je présente mes travaux de recherche sur la question de la matière noire dans le cadre de l'extension supersymétrique minimale du Modèle Standard (MSSM). En particulier, je m'intéresse à des scénarios dans lesquelles le neutralino est la particule supersymétrique la plus légère, et les confronte à des données expérimentales issues de différents secteurs, tels que les mesures cosmologiques de la densité de matière noire, la détection directe de matière noire, les données expérimentales du LEP et de Tevatron, les contraintes de physique des saveurs, les résultats expérimentaux des recherches de Higgs et de Supersymétrie au LHC. Je montre que le MSSM propose des solutions compatibles avec toutes les contraintes considérées.

ABSTRACT

Background: The current condition of the U.S. housing market has created a

possible shift in the way people are purchasing homes today.

U.S. housing statistics show that the average person moves

every five years, but now with a cooling market people are no

longer making quick capital gains off of their property. This

means that people are now becoming more conscious of what

they buy and why they are buying. People are realizing that

home ownership may be moving towards a long term

investment rather than a quick flip.

Housing is the Seattle, Washington area is expensive.

Environmentalists are urging U.S. residents to research ways

they can make their homes more efficient and friendlier to the

environment. However, the problem really lies in the

construction techniques of the U.S. housing industry. People

pay enough for their poorly constructed homes as it is, most

families are unwilling to pay the extra expense that is necessary

to increase the efficiency of their home. StålbroHouse noticed

this gap in the U.S. market and wants to bring Swedish

prefabricated homes that are superior in construction and

design elements. They also require a fraction of the energy

U.S. homes consume and are affordable for the average middle

class family.

Before beginning operations, to get some initial knowledge

about the industry, trends, customers etc., we contacted the

Washington State Housing Finance Commission. In addition,

an informal interview was conducted to enhance our

knowledge on the typical customer and what customers

commonly base their purchasing decisions on. In order to get

an even better understanding about the customers, we visited

the annual Home Show at the Seattle Convention Center in

January of 2008. We distributed feasibility surveys to get an

even better understanding for what people want in a home.

This enabled us to get closer to the target group. To get a better

idea of competitors and in particular their marketing efforts, we

called a couple of them directly. In some cases, we spoke with

their marketing managers.

Purpose: The purpose of this Thesis/Business Plan is to outline the

direction StålbroHouse plans to take in its first years of

operation as well as explain why we think this is a viable

business. This document will also serve to communicate the

companies ideas and projections to future investors and (or) so

that we can obtain a bank loan to assist in the capital necessary

to begin operations.

Method: We used a combination of relevant theory that was applicable

to the desired outcomes of the Thesis/Business Plan. Relevant

industry statistics, charts, and information was incorporated

with the theory that enabled us to produce a business plan that

was backed up by academic findings as well as market

research. This aided in the creation of a Businesss Plan that

would allow StålbroHouse to demonstrate their projections for

the first years of operations.

However, as with any business plan, it is important to

remember that outside factors, market changes etc. can mean

the need to deviate from the initial plan.

Sonna Stålbro & Yanko Todorov

The telecommunications market is one of the large rapidly growing fields in today’s power supply industry due to the increasing demand for telecom distributed power supply (DPS) systems. The half-bridge LLC (Inductor-Inductor-Capacitor) resonant converter is currently the most attractive topology for the design and implementation of 24V/48V DC telecom power converters. The current doubler rectifier (CDR) converter topology was invented and described in the early 1950s which can offer the unique characteristic of halving the output voltage while doubling the output current compared to a standard rectifier. In this thesis, the current doubler converter topology with its unique characteristic is evaluated as a complementary solution to improve the LLC resonant converter performance, especially for the low output voltage and high output current telecommunication applications. A novel half-bridge LLC resonant current doubler converter (LLC-CDR) is proposed in this thesis which can offer several performance benefits compared to conventional LLC-standard rectifier design . The unique characteristics of the LLC-CDR topology can offer significant improvements by transformation of a 48V converter into a 24V converter with the same power density. This thesis introduces a new SPICE-based simulation model to analyse the operation of this novel LLC-CDR converter circuit design. This model can be used to define the critical component parameters for the LLC -CDR circuit output inductor values. It can also be used to predict the circuit overall performance under different load conditions. Both time-domain based transient simulation analysis and frequency-domain based AC analysis provided by this simulation model showed favourable results in comparison to bench measurement results on a prototype. The model provides a valuable insight to reveal some of the unique characteristics of this LLC -CDR topology. It demonstrates a proof of concept that the conventional LLC resonant converter can be easily redesigned for low voltage, high current applications by using the LLC-CDR topology without requiring a new design for the LLC resonant stage components and the power transformer. A new magnetic integration solution was proposed to significantly improve the overall performance in the LLC-CDR topology that had not been published before. The LLC-CDR converter hardware prototypes with two output inductors coupled and uncoupled configurations were extensively modelled, constructed and bench tested.Test results demonstrated the suitability of an integrated coupled inductors design for the novel LLC-CDR converter application. The integrated coupled inductors design can significantly improve the LLC-CDR converter frequency-domain based AC simulation analysis results. In addition, these results also illustrate the potential benefit of how the magnetic integration design in general could reduce the magnetic component size, cost, and weight compared to the uncoupled inductors design. Finally, a hardware prototype circuit was constructed based on a commercial 1800 W single phase telecom power converter to verify the operation of this novel half bridge LLC-CDR topology. The converter prototype successfully operated at both no load and full load conditions with the nominal output voltage halved from 48VDC to 24VDC, and doubled the output current to match the same output power density. It also demonstrates that the efficiency of this novel half bridge LLC –CDR is 92% compares to 90% of EATON’s commercial 24VDC LLC resonant converter, which can fulfill the research goals.

The food industry has experienced changes in the past several years that include the awareness of food choices. Recently, national advertising campaigns have focused on efforts to increase the public awareness of healthy food choices and calorie intake. The healthy food choice campaigns may prove to be effective with a specific population. However, research studies revealed that residents living in disadvantaged areas lacked the income and/or transportation to access the healthy food options.

The intent of the Livin’ the Food Life, LLC organic mobile market/café is to introduce and provide hot prepared, organic foods and fresh organic produce at affordable prices to the low-income children and their families. Livin’ the Food Life, LLC organic mobile market/café will increase awareness through monthly food demonstrations and the distribution of samples to educate the low-income residents of East and South Los Angeles with the benefits of cooking and consuming organics food products.

The investigation of the host galaxies of BL Lac objects (BL Lacs) is a promising new field made practical in recent years by advances in detector technology and improved telescope siting. By better understanding the nature of these host galaxies we can test the standard beaming and lensing models for BL Lacs. This thesis describes the techniques that we have developed for studying the host galaxies of BL Lac objects, and presents the results of a survey of BL Lac host galaxies that we have undertaken with the 4.2m William Herschel Telescope. This survey successfully resolved many new host galaxies, determined the morphology of three BL Lac host galaxies for the first time, and confirmed the morphology of an additional three objects. One BL Lac object, PKS1413+135, displayed a number of surprising properties, and was consequently studied in greater detail at multiple wavelengths. These observations are also presented in this thesis. We conclude with a description of Monte-Carlo simulations that we have undertaken in order to better determine the uncertainty in the results from our survey, and to assess the promise of future telescope/instrumentation combinations for host galaxy imaging.

Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Physics, 2018.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 215-245).
Run II at the LHC is pushing the energy and luminosity frontiers, and challenging the theory community to develop new tools both to increase the precision of our predictions and to expand their scope to match measurements of a more diverse set of observables. In this work, we describe the use of a new class of non-perturbative functions called Generalized Fragmentation Functions (GFFs) as a step towards these goals. This theoretical framework enables the calculation of a broad set of semi-inclusive jet observables. We explore known observables whose distributions can now be calculated using GFFs, and construct a new class of non-associative "fractal observables" which can be described with GFFs. As an important application, we calculate the spectrum of track-assisted mass, which can be measured experimentally with much better angular resolution than ordinary jet mass, including the effect of Soft-Drop grooming. In order to make connections to frameworks for describing Quantum Chromodynamics, we discuss the relationship between GFFs and the Generating Functional Approach (GFA).
by Benjamin T. Elder.
Ph. D.

Orientador : Fabio Violaro
Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Eletrica
Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-13T23:59:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Martins_JoseAntonio_M.pdf: 6784204 bytes, checksum: 4e9df50ca8f72e1710d541924b76a67c (MD5) Previous issue date: 1991
Resumo: Neste trabalho são descritos os princípios do vocoder LPC, sendo mostrados os métodos para cálculo dos parâmetros do mesmo. Também são apresentados os resultados de simulações de vocoders LPC usando quantização escalar, quantização vetorial e interpolação dos parâmetros quantizados. Inicialmente foi projetado um vocoder LPC não quantizado, o qual serviu de padrão para a avaliação dos vocoders quantizados. Usando a quantização escalar dos coeficientes razão log-área foi obtido um vocoder à taxa de 2200 bit /s, assegurando uma boa qualidade e alta inteligibilidade da voz sintetizada. Com o uso da quantização vetorial obteve-se um bom desempenho em taxas da ordem de 1000 bit/s. Essas taxas foram reduzidas em 50% com o uso da interpolação linear, transmitindo apenas os parâmetros dos quadros ímpares. Assim, conseguiu-se vocoders com taxas ao redor de 500 bit/s, apresentando voz sintetizada com degradação em relação aos sistemas anteriores, mas ainda assegurando uma boa inteligibilidade
Abstract: Not informed.
Mestrado
Eletronica e Comunicações
Mestre em Engenharia Elétrica

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
Este trabalho apresenta um estudo da dupla difração dura nas condições do CMS para baixa luminosidade (5x1032cm-2s-1). O processo foi simulado com o gerador PHOJET v1.12 [27], juntamente com o código de simulação FAMOS [28], versão 1.4.0, do CMS. Com o fundo (background) dominante temos a superposição de eventos não difrativos e difrativos. Para selecionar os eventos difrativos, usamos o corte na separação entre os jatos, isto é, selecionamos os eventos com grande lacuna (gap) de rapidez. Além disso, usamos o método de procura de eventos com lacuna de rapidez usando os calorímetros. Para uma luminosidade integrada de 1fb-1, obtém-se da ordem de 1010 eventos para o fundo, e de 108 eventos de sinal difrativo.
The subject of this dissertation is to study the hard double diffraction for CMS low luminosity running (5x 1032 cm-2s-1). The process was simulated with the generator PHOJET v1.12 [27], to get her with the fast CMS simulation code FAMOS [28], version1.4.0. The dominant background is the overlap of diffractive and non-diffractive events. We use the jet pseudo rapidity separation to tag the diffractive events. Otherwise, we use the calorimeters to tag the events with gap. For an integrated luminosity of 1fb-1 we obtain a number of events of 1010 for the background, while108 for the diffractive signal.

Projekt Long Range CAN är ett examensarbete utfört åt Electrum Automation AB. Det är ett företag som utvecklar elektronikprodukter till framförallt mobila maskiner. De flesta av deras produkter använder CAN-buss. De har bland annat produkter för trådlös radioöverföring av CAN-bussmeddelanden. De saknar däremot en liknande produkt för trådlös radioöverföring som klarar avstånd över 1 km. Projektet går ut på att ta fram en prototyp för en sådan produkt och utvärdera om det är lämpligt att använda trådlös CAN-buss över större avstånd. Projektet har tagit fram en produkt som kan kommunicera på mer än 1 km. Kvalité på enkelriktad datatrafik är över 99 % vid en hastighet som är över 0.5 av den teoretiskt maximala hastigheten (ungefär 10 meddelanden per sekund). Vid dubbelriktad trafik levereras över 93 % av CAN-meddelanden med en hastighet på 2 x 1 meddelande per sekund. Det europeiska regelverket begränsar radiokanalens tidsutnyttjande till mindre än 2 CAN-meddelanden per sekund. Slutsats när det gäller lämpligheten av långdistans-CAN, är att det är lämpligt för tillämpningar som inte kräver överföring av mer än ett meddelande per sekund.
Project Long Range CAN is a thesis project for the company Electrum Automation AB. Electrum Automation AB is a company which developes electronics mostly for machine equipment and vehicles. Most of their products involve CAN-bus. They have products for wireless radiotransfer of CAN-messages. They however lack a product which can handle ranges over 1 km. The goal of the project is to develop a prototype for long range CAN-message transfer. How suitable CAN-bus is longer distances will then be evaluated. The project have developed a product which can communicate over a distance of more than 1 km. The quality of one-way data traffic is over 99 %, at a data rate faster than 0.5 of the maximum theoretical data rate (about 10 messages per second). Two-way traffic delivers 93 % of the CAN-messages at a speed of 2 x 1 messages per second. European regulations on ”air time”, limits the use of the radio channel to less than 2 CAN-messages per second. The conclusion to be drawn is that long distance CAN-bus can be suitable, if the application doesn’t require more than one CAN-message per second.

Mental health-related cases in the United States today are largely attributed to employment. Healthcare professionals in particular are at increased risk for mental health adversities due to stress, burnout, and chronic fatigue. As a result, healthcare workers become an occupational hazard and a hindrance to an organization’s service delivery. The lack of adequate job resources and positive work climate and conditions have been found to contribute to employee stress and burnout. Organizations can then increase the health and wellness of their employees with the adoption of green and environmentally conscious workplace setting designs and expect a significant economic return annually. Having an all-inclusive green business plan such as that of GreenSpace, LLC’s consulting company will supplement and fill in the gaps of existing research regarding the benefits of exposure to greenery and mental health in the healthcare workplace. GreenSpace, LLC, adopts the concept of green building by designing sustainable and health-conscious work spaces within the healthcare sector that seek to improve employee wellness, fuel environmental sustainability, and thus increase its clients’ profit. The company intends to distribute its services within the Orange County area; where over 10% of its working population belongs to healthcare, to the largest healthcare industries and employers. GreenSpace, LLC is poised for success and promises to target this industry. In what follows is GreenSpace, LLC’s business plan which includes an analysis of the market, feasibility, SWOT, legal and regulatory issues, and assumptions for expenses under which the company will distribute its services.

The aim of this diploma thesis is to study the resonant converters operation. This paper is concretely specialized to design and implementation the LLC resonant converter with output power about 350 watts. LLC resonant converter is prospective solution for similar applications. The general advantages are that the power MOSFETs are working on zero voltage switching condition, which reduce the switching loss and improve EMI performance. The detailed design for the LLC resonant tank characteristics presented in this paper, which fully guarantees the ZVS condition. This study is based on replacing the rectifier and load by an equivalent resistance applies the first harmonics approximation and the assumption that the current trough the diodes of the output rectifier has a sinusoidal waveform.

A determination of Parton Distribution Functions (PDFs) from a global fit to a dataset including measurements from the LHC has been performed for the first time. The determinations have been performed according to the NNPDF methodology, leading to a fit relatively free of parametrisation bias and with an accurate account of PDF uncertainty. In this thesis the importance of QCD measurements at the LHC to PDF extraction are discussed, and we summarise some of the technical difficulties in their inclusion into PDF fits. A number of methods are presented that permit the efficient inclusion of these observables into PDF determinations. Firstly a Bayesian reweighting procedure taking advantage of the Monte Carlo representation of PDF uncertainties in NNPDF sets is discussed. The utility of the Bayesian reweighting method is demonstrated by a study of the impact of early W production asymmetry measurements from ATLAS, CMS and LHCb upon an earlier PDF set. A package for the fast computation of observables in an automated NLO framework is presented, providing an interface between Monte Carlo event generators and NLO interpolation tools. Finally, a new method of combining PDF evolution with interpolating codes for hadronic observable computation is also described. This method largely overcomes the computational difficulties in performing fast perturbative QCD predictions for collider observables. The method has been applied to the determination of PDFs from a global dataset including electroweak vector boson production data from LHCb, ATLAS and CMS along with inclusive jet data from ATLAS. The resulting set, NNPDF2.3 provides the most accurate determination of parton distributions via the NNPDF methodology to date. Finally, the method of closure testing is introduced, and the method is applied to the study of the NNPDF methodology. A number of improvements are found in the minimisation and stopping procedures, which are adopted for the development of the next NNPDF release, NNPDF3.0. Alongside the sounder methodological basis, the NNPDF3.0 PDF set will provide a determination based upon an expanded datfits.

Biochemistry
Ph.D.
The objective of this study was to unveil a novel area of gene regulation in breast cancer and breast cancer prevention through the study of a recent discovered class of genetic regulators named long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). LncRNAs are RNA molecules longer than 200 nucleotides that are not translated into proteins, but regulate the transcription of genes involved in different cellular processes, including differentiation, cancer initiation and progression. The link between lncRNAs and cancer is well documented in the literature. More recently, their relevance in the transcription field is beginning to be explored and their roles have been found to vary from guiding proteins to the genome to scaffolding proteins complexes needed for the transcription of a specific gene. Initial transcriptome analysis of normal breast of parous and nulliparous postmenopausal women revealed that several lncRNAs are differentially expressed in the parous breast. This observation provided evidence of a potential role of lncRNAs in the regulation of transcription and their function in pregnancy’s preventive effect in reducing the lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. Specifically, RNA sequencing of healthy postmenopausal breast tissue biopsies from eight parous and eight nulliparous women using Illumina platform was performed. The sequencing results showed that there are 42 lncRNAs differentially expressed between parous and nulliparous breast tissue. These data led to the hypothesis that these novel lncRNAs may be drivers in the process of development that occurs in the mammary gland during pregnancy, providing protection against breast cancer. After analysis of these 42 lncRNAs using bioinformatics tools, review of the scientific literature, and real-time PCR analysis, two lncRNAs (lncBHLHE41 and lncEPCAM) were selected to be tested in vitro, using different molecular techniques in human epithelial breast cell lines to determine their relevance in breast cancer. This project provided novel information on lncRNAs induced by pregnancy in the breast tissue, and identified two lncRNAs as potential key regulators in breast differentiation and cancer progression. The manipulation of these lncRNAs led to evidence of their function in vitro and, using xenograft studies, we determined their relevance in vivo. Although treatment for cancer using lncRNAs as targets is in its infancy at the clinic, the advancement in knowledge and technology to study their relevance in disease could lead to the development of therapeutics for breast cancer and breast cancer prevention in the near future.
Temple University--Theses

La reproduction fidèle de la locomotion humaine est une problématique d'actualité concernant les robots humanoïdes. Les travaux présentés dans ce mémoire ont pour objectif de définir une procédure permettant l'imitation par les robots humanoïdes du mouvement humain. Dans un premier temps les techniques de l'analyse du mouvement humain sont présentées. Le protocole de mesure adopté est exposé, ainsi que le calcul des angles articulaires. La problématique de la détection des évènements de contact est abordée en proposant l'adaptation des méthodes existantes pour des mouvements complexes. Les algorithmes sont validés par une série de mesures effectuées sur une trentaine de sujets sains. La deuxième partie traite de la transposition du mouvement humain aux robots. Une fois la problématique générale et le processus de transposition définis, le critère d'équilibre des robots marcheurs est présenté. A partir des données du mouvement humain capturé, les trajectoires de référence des pieds et du ZMP sont définies. Une modification de ces trajectoires est ensuite effectuée dans le cas de risque de collision entre les pieds notamment dans le cas de l'exécution d’un slalom. Finallement un algorithme de cinématique inverse, développé pour cette problématique est utilisé pour déterminer les angles articulaires du robot associés aux trajectoires de référence des pieds et du ZMP. Plusieurs applications sur les robots HOAP-3 et HPR-2 sont présentées. Les trajectoires sont validées vis-à-vis du maintien de l'équilibre grâce à des simulations dynamiques du mouvement ainsi que vis-à-vis des limites des actionneurs
The true reproduction of human locomotion is a topical issue on humanoid robots. The goal of this work is to define a process to imitate the human motion with humanoid robots. In the first part, the motion capture techniques are presented. The measurement protocol adopted is exposed and the calculation of joint angles. An adaptation of three existing algorithms is proposed to detect the contact events during complex movements. The method is valided by measurements on thirty healthy subjects. The second part deals with the generation of humanoid trajectories imitating the human motion. Once the problem and the imitation process are defined, the balance criterion of walking robots is presented. Using data from human motion capture, the reference trajectories of the feet and ZMP are defined. These paths are modified to avoid collision between feet, particularly in the case of executing a slalom. Finally an inverse kinematics algorithm developed for this problem is used to determine the joint angles associated with the robot reference trajectories of the feet and ZMP. Several applications on robots HOAP-3 and HRP-2 are presented. The trajectories are validated according to the robot balance through dynamic simulations of the computed motion, and respecting the limits of actuators

L'influence de différentes méthodes de préparation de surface sur la microstructure et les propriétés électriques des contacts à base Co sur n-Ge a été étudiée. Il a été montré que les nettoyages thermiques s'accompagnent de la diffusion d'impuretés métalliques dans le substrat. Lors du recuit, ces impuretés sont piégées par la formation des germaniures de cobalt. Un nettoyage à 700°C ou une attaque au HF permettent d'éliminer l'oxyde de germanium natif à l'interface M/SC, contrairement à un nettoyage thermique à 400°C qui cependant modifie la nature chimique de l’oxyde. Pour tous les échantillons, une microstructure complexe est observée après formation des germaniures. Les échantillons présentent une augmentation de la rugosité de l'interface M/SC et la coexistence des phases Co5Ge7 et CoGe2. Après un nettoyage à 400°C, une microstructure particulière, attribuée à l'oxyde restant après "nettoyage" est observée. Dans tous les cas, le modèle thermoïonique ne suffit pas à expliquer le comportement des diodes Schottky. En particulier, les valeurs obtenues pour la constante de Richardson sont très en deçà de la valeur attendue. Par une analyse en température des hauteurs de barrières, nous avons montré la nécessité de raisonner en terme d'inhomogénéités de barrière, ces dernières étant influencées par la microstructure. De plus, un fort ancrage du niveau de Fermi est observé pour les contacts directs M/SC alors qu'il est partiellement levé par l'oxyde de germanium natif présent à l'interface M/SC. Finalement, nous avons montré que ce désencrage du niveau de Fermi est lié à la nature chimique de l’oxyde
The influence of various surface cleaning procedures on both electrical properties and microstructure of Co based n-Ge Schottky contacts has been studied. In-depth diffusion of metallic impurities into the Ge substrate has been reported after thermal pre-treatments. After germanidation, gettering of the metallic impurities by the germanide phases has been observed. While no more oxide interlayer is observed after HF etching and thermal pre-treatment at 700°C, a temperature of 400°C has been found to be not enough to remove the oxide interlayer. However, it modifies the chemical nature of the oxide interlayer. A complex microstructure is reported for all the samples after germanidation. For most of the samples, the coexistence of Co5Ge7 and CoGe2 structures and an increase of the roughness of the M/SC interface have been observed. The particular microstructure observed, after germanidation, for the sample pre-treated at 400°C has been ascribed to the remaining oxide interlayer. Whatever the pre-treatments, the behaviours of all the Schottky diodes could not be explained by the thermionic model only. This model leads to a large underestimation of the Richardson’s constant. By a detailed analysis of the temperature dependence of the Schottky barrier heights, we have pointed out the necessity to reason in term of barrier inhomogeneity, these last being strongly influenced by the microstructure. The electrical results have been explained in the framework of the Fermi level pinning concept. While a strong Fermi level pinning is observed for intimate contacts, the presence of the native Ge oxide at the M/SC interface yields a depinning of the Fermi level. However, this depinning has been found to be dependent on the chemical nature of the oxide interlayer

Kiekvienas, kuris kuria aparatūrinę įrangą, nori, tai atlikti kiek įmanoma greičiau ir už kuo mažesnius kaštus. Gaminys turi greitai patekti į rinką, nes egzistuojanti konkurencija yra labai didelė. Tai galima padaryti naudojant specialią programinę įrangą, vadinamus aukšto lygio sintezės įrankius. HLS įrankiai automatiškai generuoja HDL RTL aprašą bei padeda projektuotojams turėti visas galimas projekto architektūras. HLS įrankiai naudoja algoritminį C aprašą kaip įvesties duomenis. Čia atsiranda galimybė PĮ inžinieriams taip pat projektuoti aparatūrinę įrangą. Nors atrodo, jog HLS technologija yra labai gera, bet šie įrankiai šiandien plačiai nėra naudojami. Turi būti surasti problemu sprendimai. Šioms problemoms spręsti atliekamas eksperimentas. GSM LPC algoritmas rankiniu būdu perrašomas iš C kalbos aprašo į VHDL RTL. Eksperimentas paaiškina aukšto lygio sintezės problemas. Norint, kad HLS įrankiai būtų plačiai naudojami, aukšto abstrakcijos lygio C/C++ aprašas turi būti rašomas su atitinkamais apribojimais. Neturi būti naudajami rodyklės tipo kintamieji, rodyklės tipo kintamųjų aritmetikos, rekursijos, sudėtingų operacijų, dinaminio atminties rezervavimo. Projektuotojai turi mąstyti taip kaip aparatūrinė įranga.
Everyone who develops hardware wants to do this as fast as possible and for low costs. Time to the market must be shortened because the competition is very substantial. This can be done by using special development software called high level synthesis tools. HLS tools automatically generate HDL RTL code and helps developers to get all possible architectures of project. HLS tools use an algorithmic C code as input information. There is the possibility for software engineers to develop hardware too. It seems that HLS is very good technology, but HLS tools are not widely used today. It must be found the reasons of this problem and opportunities how this problem can be solved. An experiment is made by solving this problem. A GSM LPC algorithm is written by hand from C description to VHDL RTL. This experiment explains problems of high level synthesis. With the purpose HLS tools to use widely, high level of abstraction (C/C++) code must be written with restrictions. There must be no pointer variables and pointer arithmetic, no recursion, no difficult operations, no dynamic memory allocation. Engineers have to think like hardware.

STACEE is an atmospheric Cherenkov telescope that was built to detect gamma-rays of cosmic origin. By using a large primary mirror area we have reduced the detector's energy threshold to below 200 GeV. The present work continues STACEE's investigation of BL Lac objects, focusing on Markarian 421, 3C 66A and OJ 287. An important part of this work has been the development of software techniques for the correction of systematic biases and the improvement of background rejection. As a result of these improvements, STACEE made a convincing detection of Markarian 421 during the 2002-2004 seasons. The statistical excess was 3.9sigma for the 2002-2003 season and 10.9sigma for the 2003-2004 season; the latter represents the strongest single season detection ever achieved by STACEE. We compare our measured Mrk 421 rates to those of other instruments and present spectral measurements during various flaring states in 2003-2004. The LBLs 3C 66A and OJ 287 were not detected. We discuss the significance of our flux upper limits in the context of emission models for these two sources.