The vine mealybug, Planococcus ficus (Signoret) (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae) is a pest with significant economic impact on the grape growing industry in South Africa and other parts of the world. With the isolation and synthesizing of the vine mealybug sex pheromone in 2001, new control options for the integrated management of the vine mealybug have been created. The status of sex pheromone monitoring as a tool in the integrated management of the vine mealybug has been evaluated from different perspectives. A significant quantitative difference in male vine mealybug trap catch numbers has been observed between wine and table grape vineyards and results indicated that there were differences in the susceptibility of grape cultivars to vine mealybug. Currently, the delta trap design is the accepted trap design for vine mealybug monitoring. No studies have yet been conducted to determine the optimum trap parameters like size or design. Population pressure may have an influence on the qualitative efficiency of various trap designs. The basis for degree-day forecasting models has been established adequately. However, refinements need to be done and the incorporation of factors such as humidity and regionality also need to be considered. Daily maximum temperatures fluctuating around the upper developmental threshold temperature for prolonged periods of time seemed to suppress population numbers. Different vineyard management practices exist for wine and table grape production. While an action threshold of 65 vine mealybug males per trap per two-week period seems an acceptable threshold for table grape production, it may not be appropriate for wine grape (or raisin grape) production. Using sex pheromone traps for population monitoring is a valid technique in the arsenal of management tactics against the vine mealybug. However, refinements and validation of research results must be done further to build credibility into the monitoring system. / Thesis (M. Environmental Science)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

This thesis presents the results of recent sampling of the Q’umu?xs Village site (DkSf-19) at Comox Harbour, British Columbia. Bucket auger and column sampling was undertaken to ascertain resource use patterns associated with the unique abundance of wooden stake fish traps located in Comox Harbour through zooarchaeological analysis of fish remains. Fish remains were identified and quantified to trace changes in resource use and linked to the chronology of fish trap use. Incorporating the theoretical frameworks of human behavioural ecology (optimal foraging models), intensification, household archaeology, and the archaeology of complex hunter-gatherers, this thesis discusses the use of fish traps in Comox Harbour in relation to larger questions of Northwest Coast social and economic complexity, in particular the emphasis on herring seen in the fish remains.

The Canadian Penning Trap mass spectrometer located at Argonne National Laboratory has been built for the purpose of studying the masses of both stable and unstable nuclides. For this thesis 18 proton-rich unstable nuclides of elements Nb, Mo, Tc, Ru and Rh have been measured with this apparatus to an average precision of 7.8 x10^−8. The masses of 6 of these nuclides had not been measured when this thesis was undertaken, and 4 more were not known to the precisions required for use in astrophysical nucleosynthesis models. The masses of these nuclides were of particular interest as the reaction paths of two proposed nucleosynthetic processes, the rp and νp processes, pass through this region. The rp process is thought to occur in X-ray bursts and directly affects the X-ray luminosity which is emitted from these objects. The νp process is thought to occur in the inner regions of the material ejected during a core-collapse supernova explosion and is of particular interest as it may answer some outstanding questions about the origins of the chemical elements in the Universe. The Canadian Penning Trap and associated apparatus were used to determine the masses of 18 nuclides, some for the first time ever. Our measurements improve the precision on all of the masses, by a factor of 70 in some cases. Our results are necessary to determine the proton-separation energies for these nuclides which are critical for determining the paths and reaction rates of the rp and νp processes. In particular, the effect of our measurements of 92Ru and 93Rh on the expected production ratio of 92Mo to 94Mo in the νp process, and the effect of our measurement of 87Mo on the path of this process will be discussed.

As part of the ongoing world-wide effort in improving time and frequency references, a high accuracy optical frequency standard was developed using the electric quadrupole allowed clock transition at 445 THz (674 nm) in a trapped and laser cooled 88Sr+ion. An ion trap system of the endcap design has been recently evaluated with a fractional frequency uncertainty which surpasses the accuracy of the current realization of the SI second. This thesis seeks to further evaluate the limiting systematic shifts of the device by optimizing a second ion trap reference based on a rf Paul trap design, which was then compared with the endcap trap reference frequency. The comparison of the two ion traps' reference frequencies confirmed an overall offset of -0.36 pm 0.08 Hz at the 445 THz reference frequency corresponding to a fractional frequency offset of 8 x 10^-16.

The pericellular matrix (PCM) is a voluminous polymer network adhered to and surrounding many different types of mammalian cells, and which extends out into the environment outside the cell for distances ranging up to twenty microns. It is comprised of very long flexible polymers (hyaluronan) which are tethered to the cell surface and which have binding sites for large, highly charged bottle brush proteoglycans (aggrecan). The PCM plays an important role in many cell functions such as cell proliferation, cell adhesion, cell migration, and cancer development, however the precise way it influences these processes remains unclear. Three original biophysical tools are developed in this thesis in order to study the PCM: the quantitative particle exclusion assay (qPEA), optical force probe assay (OFPA), and exogenous fluorescent aggrecan mapping assays. These tools are used to measure the polymeric and biophysical properties of the matrix in order to make further advancements in the understanding the PCMs role in adhesion, transport to and from the cell surface, its purported function as a chemical micro-reservoir, as well as basic studies on the kinetics of its formation, turnover and maintenance. The qPEAs measure the penetration and distribution of sub-micron particles after they diffuse into the cell coat, where their distribution maps the interior structure of the PCM. The qPEA assays reveal that the PCM acts a sieve, separating incoming particles by their size, preventing micron sized particles from entering the PCM while allowing sub 100 nm particles to pass to the cell surface. The OFPA uses an optically-trapped bead to study the force response of the matrix as it encounters the probe. The assay not only reveals new details about the PCM such as the fact that it is larger than initially thought, having a two layer structure, but when combined with a polymer physics model which relates the observed equilibrium forces to an existing osmotic pressure gradient within the PCM, the OFPA studies produce the first discovery and measurement of the correlation length distribution in the cell coat. The OFPA and qPEA assays are also performed on cells modified with exogenous aggrecan, resulting in a model for possible proteoglycan mediated cell coat transformations. The fluorescent exogenous aggrecan assays measure the dynamics of the exogenous aggrecan binding to and releasing from the coat, revealing that the PCM can be rapidly modified by a changing environment, and quantitatively measure how the exogenous aggrecan modifies the existing PCM. Together, these assays provide an unprecedented look into the interior structure of the PCM, and the mechanisms responsible both for this structure and its modification.

Various needle trap devices (NTDs) with different designs for different applications have been developed during the past decade. A theoretical model on the fundamentals of the NTD was recently proposed, which employed the theory of frontal (gas-solid) chromatography to describe the sampling process, where a gaseous sample was continuously introduced into the sorbent bed. In this investigation, different types of sorbent particles with different dimensions were packed into the needle as adsorbents. The effect of particle dimension, which would affect the packing density and consequently the capacity, the extraction efficiency, and desorption efficiency of the NTD were experimentally investigated and the proposed theory was validated. The results demonstrated that NTDs packed with small particles possess higher extraction capacity and efficiency but much higher resistance to flow as well. The higher resistance did not necessarily result in poor desorption efficiency, because desorption efficiency was affected by both the sorbent bed structure and the desorption gas flow. The relationships observed among those physical parameters provide valuable guidance on how to design an NTD with high performance potential for future applications. For particulate sampling, it was found that NTDs packed with different particles presented high collection efficiency of the particulates being investigated, and the collection efficiency was dominated by the pore size and distribution of the sorbent bed packed inside the needle. Collection efficiency also increased with increase in solidity of the sorbent bed; the increase in humidity of the aerosol sample; and the decrease of sampling rate. The results also provide valuable guidance on the optimisation of needle trap for particulate collection.

ABSTRACT ELECTROCHEMICAL HYDRIDE GENERATION AND ATOM TRAPPING ATOMIC ABSORPTION SPECTROMETRY FOR DETERMINATION OF ANTIMONY Menemenlioglu, ipek M.S., Department of Chemistry Supervisor: Prof. Dr. O. Yavuz Ataman June 2004, 82 pages Electrochemical hydride generation is a suitable alternative to common hydride generation by NaBH4 which is widely used for the detection of volatile elements such as As, Se, Sb, Sn, Bi, Ge, Te and Pb. In this study, a thin-layer flow through electrochemical cell was designed. Lead and platinum foils were employed as cathode and anode materials, respectively, for the generation of antimony hydride. Argon was used as the carrier gas. The inlet arm of the conventional quartz tube atomizer was used for on-line preconcentration of generated hydrides. A portion of the inlet arm was heated externally to the collection temperature for trapping the analyte species which were generated electrochemically. For the revolatilization of the trapped species, the trap was further heated to the revolatilization temperature and hydrogen gas was introduced into the system 10 seconds afterwards. The experimental operation conditions for electrochemical hydride generation which include the acidities and flow rates of catholyte and anolyte solutions, carrier gas flow rate and the applied electric current, were optimized. For trapping, collection and revolatilization temperatures and hydrogen flow rates were optimized. Analyses of standard reference materials were performed to check the accuracy of the proposed method. 3&amp / #963 / limit of detections were found as 1.03 ng ml-1 and 0.053 ng ml-1 with and without employing the trap, respectively. The trap has provided 20 fold sensitivity improvement.

I investigated the value of under-road tunnels as a conservation strategy to protect a long-toed salamander population, in south-west Alberta, whose overwintering sites and breeding habitat (Linnet Lake) are separated by a road. I conducted a mark-recapture study from 2008-2009, capturing salamanders using roadside fences and pitfall traps. Four tunnels were monitored in 2009 using traps and cameras. A 2008 estimate indicated that the population declined by 60% since 1994, however, road mortality was dramatically reduced following installation of fences and tunnels. Camera and trap data documented 130 salamanders navigating tunnels in 2009. I found little evidence of juvenile recruitment from Linnet Lake, likely because of predation by lake chub. Experiments showed that lake chub consumed salamander larvae, and fish presence altered larval behaviour. Continued monitoring is needed to determine if reduced road mortality translates into population gains, and whether fish predation threatens the persistence of the long-toed salamander population. / Ecology

In Cambodia, over 80% of the population is engaged in agricultural production, mostly in rice cultivation. The country, however, faces a lot of problems of rice crop damage. In Cambodia, rodents are considered to be one of the most important pests of rice, with the potential to cause severe damage during periodic plague events. As is seen in other developing countries, physical methods of rodent control are probably the most commonly used approaches. In general, the choice of methods varies with the availability of resources, season, the participation of farmers, the condition of the rice field, weather conditions, experience with the success of the techniques, likely level of rodent attack and other considerations. However, effective rodent control methods suiting farmers’ needs and applicable to the agricultural production environment in Cambodia are yet to be assessed. The aim of this research was to examine the socio-economic factors impacting on the implementation of several rodent control methods in comparison to the Trap-Barrier System (TBS) in order to improve rodent pest control in Cambodia. The research employed a constructivist approach in which the researcher played a role as a participant observer, to study the social setting and realities as constructed by the participants in the study sites. Rodent management was studied as a complex phenomenon, occurring within the milieu of family, village and commune life in rural Cambodia. The study looks into the beliefs and behaviours of the farming community and examines how Cambodian traditions affect the implementation of rodent management techniques and the management of rodents as a community activity. Participatory techniques were employed to gather information concerning the farmers’ assessments of the effectiveness of various rodent management options practiced in Samrong Commune. The level of adoption and adaptation of TBS in the commune was observed over a period of several years. This study is the first detailed study of farmer perceptions of alternative rodent control methods in Cambodia, especially the TBS. The study was based on long term trials involving a TBS application on a commune scale and investigations after the removal of all subsidies for purchase of materials. It was apparent that TBS use declined and eventually become limited to a few individuals who had worked closely with the project. The study also demonstrates how BBNs and Netica software can be applied as participatory tools to develop and explore the decision making structure of farmers. These tools can also be used as extension tools and can contribute to better decision making by communities. The study also shows how an understanding of traditional aspects of public goods management by communities can contribute to the design of effective contemporary solutions to problems involving the community and public goods management. In this sense its significance goes well beyond the specific context of rodent control, pest management and rice production and takes on wider significance in the field of community development generally. The study applied a mixed qualitative and quantitative approach to data collection and analysis, involving interviews, surveys, modelling, workshops, field notes, observations and document review. Five rodent control methods (TBS, rodenticide, electric fencing, netting and hunting) were found to be the most common rodent control methods used in the study sites. Some common factors were found to influence the effectiveness of these methods. Farmer participation was found to be the most widely influential factor affecting the rodent management techniques. Netting method was considered the most effective method of rodent control by farmers, as well as the method that had the best benefit-cost ratio. This technique was only found to be applicable in the wet season. In general, the effectiveness of TBS and its benefit-cost ratio was ranked fourth of the five methods, because it required high farmer participation, monitoring and maintenance as well as high material expense. Improvement of TBS can be made when it can be clearly demonstrated to farmers that TBS is an applicable method, being safe and able to catch more rats. To suit the farmers’ requirements for an effective rodent control method, TBS must be able to deal with migrating rats, situations of high rat abundance and the planting problems associated with an irregular rain regime. To achieve these conditions, some intervention policies are required in terms of research and extension support.

Microparticle experiments conducted using a newly commissioned quadrupole ion trap (QIT) are reported. Single polystyrene microparticles are confined using three dimensional electrodynamic quadrupole fields and characterised by their fluorescence emission and secular frequency measurements. The advantages of this confinement technique are that single particle properties can be measured free from ensemble averaging effects and unperturbed by solvents and (or) substrates. (For complete abstract open document)