This study examined leaf area index (LAI) and relationships with corresponding tree growth, climate and soil characteristics across New Zealand forest plantations. The aim of this study was to determine if quick measures of projected leaf area across environmental gradients of New Zealand were an accurate indicator of site quality. Projected leaf areas of Pinus radiata D Don and Cupressus lusitanica Mills seedlings were measured using a Li-Cor LAI-2000 plant canopy analyser at 22 locations representing the soil and climatic diversity across New Zealand plantation forests. Seedlings planted at 40 000 stems per hectare were used to test treatment effects of fertiliser, site disturbance and species over a 4 year period. It was hypothesised that collected climate and soil information would explain differences in LAI development patterns across sites as the canopies approached site and seasonal maxima. Averaged across sites Cupressus lusitanica 7.28 (± 2.59 Std.) m2 m-2 had significantly (p = 0.0094) greater projected LAIs than Pinus radiata 6.47 (± 2.29) m2m-2. Maximum site LAI (LAImax) varied from 2.9 to 11.8 m2 m-2 for Pinus radiata and from 3.1 to 12.6 m2 m-2 for Cupressus lusitanica. LAImax of both species was significantly and positively correlated with vapour pressure deficit, soil carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous and CEC, but negatively with solar radiation, temperature and soil bulk density. A seasonal model of LAI across sites illustrated an 8.5% fluctuation in LAI of established canopies over the course of a year. Despite considerable variation in climate and soil characteristics across sites the combined effects of LAI at harvest and temperature were significantly correlated with site productivity (r2 = 0.84 and 0.76 for Pinus radiata and Cupressus lusitanica respectively). A national model of LAImax (r2 = 0.96) was proposed for Pinus radiata across climate and soil environments and the significance of LAImax as a component of site quality monitoring tools is discussed.

No description available.

In the catalytic cycle of the glycine cleavage system (GCS), the major physiological pathway for glycine degradation, the lipoic acid-containing hydrogen carrier protein (H-protein) plays a pivotal role as a mobile carrier of reaction intermediates. and as a regulator for glycine decarboxylase (P-protein). Defects in the GCS lead to the accumulation of glycine in all body tissues, resulting in the genetic disease glycine encephalopathy (GE). Defects in P-protein lead to more than 80% of reported cases of GE, therefore. routine biochemical analysis only tests P-protein for activity. Unlike other amino acid decarboxylases, P-protein is itself inactive, and requires H-protein for biochemical activity. Currently. researchers use H-protein purified from chicken liver extracts for the P-protein activity assay. However. extraction and purification of chicken H-protein is laborious. costly. and has poor yield, making the expression and purification of H-protein from an alternate source desirable. We have overexpressed recombinant human H-protein in the methylotropic yeast Pichia pastoris by utilizing the inducible alcohol oxidase (AOX1) promoter and the Saccharomyces cerevisiae a-mating factor secretion signal. Enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) was used as a fusion partner to aid detection of H-protein during expression and purification. Secreted H-protein was detected from 24-96 hours post induction, and constituted the major protein species in the culture medium. H-protein was purified to apparent homogeneity in a single step using nickel-chelating affinity chromatography, and lipoylated using lipoate protein ligase from E. coli. Functional analysis of holo-H-protein using the NAD+ lipoamide dehydrogenase assay demonstrated biochemical activity with the artificial substrate, suggesting that human H-protein produced in P. pastoris may be an appropriate replacement for the chicken H-protein currently used in the biochemical diagnosis of GE.

A comprehensive worldwide review and revision of the genus Sternaspis (Polychaeta: Sternaspidae) is presented based on type material, or material collected from type localities. The phylogeny was reconstructed using morphological characters and PAUP* with maximum parsimony set as the criterion. The more important characters were: the form of pharyngeal spines or their apposition to each other within a row; the form or distribution of cuticular papillae; number of chaetal fascicles associated with the margins of the ventral shield; and the presence or position of the peg chaetae. Sternaspis scutata (Ranzani. 1817) is synonymised with three other species; S. costata Marenzeller, 1979 is synonymised with one other species. S. affinis Stimpson, 1864 and S. spinosa Sluiter, 1882 are emended. S. fossor var. africana Augener, 1918 is raised to species status as S. africana. Two new species, S. andamana and S. gudmundi are also described. Comments on all valid species are provided.

No description available.

We prove a Fedosov index formula for the index of Toeplitz operators connected with the Hardy space of solutions to an elliptic system of first order partial differential equations in a bounded domain of Euclidean space with infinitely differentiable boundary.

No description available.

No description available.

Numerical simulation method is used in this work to solve the problem of transient and pseudosteady-state flow of fluid in a rectangular reservoir with impermeable boundaries. Development and validation of the numerical solution for various well-fracture configurations are the main objectives of this research. The specific case of horizontal well intersected by multiple transverse fractures is the focus of the investigation. The solutions for different operating conditions, constant rate and constant pressure, are represented in the form of transient – peudosteady-state productivity indices. The numerical simulator is validated by comparing results to known analytical solution for radial flow, existing models of productivity for vertical well intersected by vertical fracture, and also with published tables of shape factors. Numerical simulation is a powerful tool to predict well performance. The complexities of well-fracture configurations can be modeled in a truly 3-dimensional system and the pressure and productivity responses for all of the flow regimes can be computed efficiently, enabling optimization of the well-fracture system.

Today’s construction industry consists of fierce competition and low margins, resulting in companies focusing on cost risk awareness. The aim of this thesis was to investigate how construction companies manage their market risks, with a special focus on commodity risks. In addition, the thesis purpose was also to explore the composition of commodity exposures within a few selected construction companies. A financial index of commodity exposures was generated out of Statistiska Centralbyråns’ totala faktorprisindex for multi-residence housing projects. Furthermore, a fictional case was combined to test the risk management effect of the financial index, using Sweden’s four largest construction companies’ commodity exposures. In summary, the construction companies were all aware of their commodity exposures although most of them did not actively manage them or know their exposures extent. Moreover, financial risk management of commodities is not easy or straightforward, resulting in difficulties in choosing the right management tool. Therefore, this thesis created and illustrated how a financial index could be used as a way to stabilize the profitability in construction projects.