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Atlantic Tarpon Megalops atlanticus support a catch-and-release fisheries in the United States and other territories such as Puerto Rico. Survival of angled fish is imperative to catch-and-release fishing yet numerous factors have yet to be looked at over a timescale to determine if laboratory and wild Puerto Rico tarpon experience increased stress and risk of mortality. To evaluate stress in simulated catch-and-release angling, laboratory trials were conducted over a 24-hour time scale with 2 varying intensities of simulated angling and various physiological parameters were explored. Blood samples concluded that simulating angling only had an interaction effect in time and fishing intensity in the factor of osmolality. In field studies, tarpon studied physiologically gave inconclusive results due to lack of a time scale. Field studies tracking mortality were completed by acoustic telemetry of angled fish in the San Juan Lagoon network. Studies resulted in a mortality that ranges from 4.5-20.5%.

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Traditional views of food web dynamics have characterized species interactions as linear and direct. However, modern food web theory suggests that interactions can also be nonlinear and indirect, so that disturbance at one trophic level is transmitted throughout the community. Many previous studies have demonstrated that the removal of top predators from terrestrial ecosystems can have broad-scale impacts on community ecology. I examined the direct and indirect effects of raccoon removal from sea turtle nesting beaches in east-central Florida during the summers of 2003 and 2004. Raccoon and ghost crab predation are among the highest causes of egg mortality for sea turtles in Florida and raccoons are intraguild predators of ghost crabs. Because of the damage done to sea turtle nests, raccoons have been removed from some beaches during the sea turtle nesting season. I compared the diet and demography of a raccoon population that had experienced two decades of raccoon removal to a population that had previously been unmanipulated. I found that long-term raccoon removal had created a significantly male-biased sex ratio in that population. I also examined the indirect effects of raccoon removal by comparing the abundances of raccoons and ghost crabs at four study sites using passive tracking plots. My data suggest intraguild predation by raccoons limits ghost crab abundance and that reduced raccoon abundance allowed ghost crab abundance to increase, resulting in a net increase in sea turtle egg predation. These results support my hypothesis that intraguild predation of ghost crabs by raccoons is an influential interaction on sea turtle nesting beach community dynamics.

Field assessments were performed to establish the performance capabilities of a new flotation technology for fine coal upgrading, known as StackCell flotation. Flotation release analysis was performed on all samples to determine the amount of hydrophilic material present in the streams around the flotation cell. Data from this work supported recommendations from the equipment manufacturer that the wash water distribution system should be changed to a drip pan and that the design of the slurry-air distributor from the mixing chamber should be altered. The experimental data showed that as froth depth, rotor speed, and wash water rate changed, the performance of the cell followed expected trends with respect to product quality, but diverged from expected trends with respect to carbon recovery and yield. Other work performed includes the development of a new carbon partitioning test, which uses a blender to provide a high shear environment and uses oil to partition the slurry into a carbon rich oil phase and an ash rich pulp phase. This test is capable of producing results comparable to those of a traditional release analysis. Lastly, a spreadsheet program was developed that can aid users in designing drip pans. This program is capable of producing custom designs or unit cell designs. A study of the effect that plate thickness has on flow rate was performed in order to develop a model for flow through an orifice plate. The results of this work showed that plate thickness has little to no effect on the flow rate. / Master of Science

The matrix cracking transverse to loading direction is usually one of the most common observations of damages in composite laminates. The initiation and propagation of transverse cracks have been a longstanding issue in the last few decades. In this paper, a three-dimensional stress analysis method based on the state space approach is used to compute the stresses, including the inter-laminar stresses near transverse cracks in laminated composites. The stress field is then used to estimate the energy release rate, from which the initiation and propagation of transverse cracking are predicted. The proposed method is illustrated by numerical solutions and is validated by available experimental results. To the best knowledge of the authors, the predictions of crack behaviour for non-symmetrical laminates and laminates subject to in-plane shearing are presented for the first time in the literature.

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative disease in elderly people, OA of the knee (KOA) makes up for a big part of all OA cases. Common KOA inconveniences are joint stiffness, pain and loss of muscle strength, which can have a negative impact on the quality of life. The OA process affects the kinematics of the knee joint and increases joint laxity, an impairment which can create more damage to the knee joint. Conservative treatment including exercise is the first option of choice in rehabilitation. Manual joint mobilization is another common treatment method which has effect on function and pain in patients with KOA. One muscle located in the hollow of the knee is the popliteal muscle and its function is to internally rotate the tibia, flex the knee joint and reduce ventral translation of the tibia; popliteal activity aims to maintain proper knee kinematics. Purpose: To investigate what effect myofascial release and exercise for the popliteus muscle have regarding pain, function and health related quality of life in people suffering from KOA. Method: A single subject experimental design study consisting of three participants with KOA was performed. The study started with a baseline phase measurement where the participants answered questionnaires about their pain, function and quality of life, followed by the intervention phase consisting of myofascial release (MFR) and exercise for the popliteal muscle. Result: There was not any concordant results for any of the outcome measurements even though each participant had positive changes in one or more of the different measurements mainly regarding pain, function in daily living or quality of life (QoL). Conclusion: MFR and exercise for the popliteus muscle might be effective as a treatment for people with KOA related inconveniences regarding mainly pain, function in daily living and QoL. Key words: Knee osteoarthritis, myofascial release, exercise, popliteus muscle.

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We propose a ratio estimator to determine population estimates using capture-recapture sampling. It's different than traditional approaches in the following ways: (1) Ordering of recaptures: Currently data sets do not take into account the "ordering" of the recaptures, although this crucial information is available to them at no cost. (2) Dependence of trials and cluster sampling: Our model explicitly considers trials to be dependent and improves existing literature which assumes independence. (3) Rate of convergence: The percentage sampled has an inverse relationship with population size, for a chosen degree of accuracy. (4) Asymptotic Attainment of Minimum Variance (Open Systems: (=population variance). (5) Full use of data and model applicability (6) Non-parametric (7) Heterogeneity: When units being sampled are hard to identify. (8) Open and closed systems: Simpler results are presented separately for closed systems. (9) Robustness to assumptions in open systems

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