Thesis (M.S.)--Baylor University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 65-72).

Orientador: Fernando Tadeu de Carvalho / Banca: Sergio Luis de Carvalho / Banca: Alexandre Ninhaus Silveira / Banca: Marcelo Rocha Correa / Banca: Eduardo Negrisoli / Resumo: Com a poluição hídrica a importância do estudo dos efeitos das populações de plantas aquáticas sobre os corpos aqüíferos vem ganhando notoriedade no campo das pesquisas. Quantidades excessivas desse tipo de vegetação têm trazido vários prejuízos aos ecossistemas aquáticos, entre eles, perdas de água ocasionadas pelas intensas taxas de transpiração dessas plantas. Esse trabalho teve como objetivo estimar a quantidade de água perdida por evapotranspiração de plantas aquáticas flutuantes, utilizando a espécie Eichhornia azurea (Swartz) kunth (aguapé), em reservatórios controlados. O experimento foi conduzido durante o mês de novembro do ano de 2011, em ambiente aberto, no Campus II da Faculdade de Engenharia de Ilha Solteira - UNESP, na cidade de Ilha Solteira/SP. Os tratamentos constaram de duas caixas d'água com volumes idênticos de água de 150 L, sendo que uma delas recebeu posteriormente uma população de E. azurea. Para obtenção dos dados de perda de água, foi utilizado um sensor capaz de medir a altura de coluna de água, com precisão milimétrica, variando de 0 a menos 2000 mm. Para a aquisição e leitura dos dados, foi acoplado aos sensores um sistema de coleta de dados em tempo real, ligados a um módulo de aquisição e registro de dados do tipo "datta logger". Os dados utilizados no presente trabalho correspondem aos valores obtidos entre 00 horas (zero horas) do dia 02/11/2011 até às 10 horas do dia 12/11/2011, que depois de dispostos na forma de tabelas e figuras comparativas, possibilitaram verificar que a diferença de perda absoluta de água entre as caixas é de pelo menos 179% no tratamento com plantas, o que equivale a uma relação de evapotranspiração/evaporação (ET/E) de 2,79, influenciado pelas variáveis climáticas, em especial, a temperatura / Abstract: With water pollution is important to study the effects of populations of aquatic plants on the bodies aquifers has gained notoriety in the field of research. Excessive amounts of this type of vegetation have brought many damages to aquatic ecosystems, including, water losses caused by intense transpiration rates of these plants. This study aimed to estimate the amount of water lost by evapotranspiration floating aquatic plant, Eichhornia azurea (Swartz) Kunth water hyacinth species in controlled reservoirs. The experiment was conducted during the month of November of the year 2011, in an open environment, Campus II of the Faculty of Engineering of Ilha Solteira - UNESP, in the city of Ilha Solteira/SP. The treatments consisted of two water tanks with identical volumes of 150 L of water, one of whom subsequently received a population of E. azurea. To obtain the data from loss of water, a sensor capable of measuring the height of water column, with pinpoint accuracy, ranging from 0 to about 2000 mm was used. For the acquisition and reading of data, was coupled to a system of sensors collecting data in real time, connected to a data acquisition and data logging type "datta logger". The data used in this paper correspond to the values obtained between 00 hours (zero hour) of the day 02/11/2011 until 10am on 12/11/2011, that after arranged in the form of comparative tables and figures, check enabled the absolute difference between the loss of water boxes is at least 179% in treatment plants, equivalent to a ratio of evapotranspiration/evaporation (ET/E) 2.79 influenced by climate variables, in particular temperature / Doutor

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:37:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:56:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 04493.pdf: 2790902 bytes, checksum: ccbb6f01f8446ab22fe94eafa59c73a6 (MD5) / Dissertacao (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN/CNEN-SP

In the manufacturing sector, despite the vital role it plays, the consumption of energy is rarely considered as a manufacturing process variable during the scheduling of production jobs. Due to both physical and contractual limits, the local power infrastructure can only deliver a finite amount of electrical energy at any one time. As a consequence of not considering the energy usage during the scheduling process, this limited capacity can be inefficiently utilised or exceeded, potentially resulting in damage to the infrastructure. To address this, this thesis presents a novel schedule optimisation system. Here, a Genetic Algorithm is used to optimise the start times of manufacturing jobs such that the variance in production line energy consumption is minimised, while ensuring that typical hard and soft schedule constraints are maintained. Prediction accuracy is assured through the use of a novel library-based system which is able to provide historical energy data at a high temporal granularity, while accounting for the influence of machine conditions on the energy consumption. In cases where there is insufficient historical data for a particular manufacturing job, the library-based system is able to analyse the available energy data and utilise machine learning to generate temporary synthetic profiles compensated for probable machine conditions. The performance of the entire proposed system is optimised through significant experimentation and analysis, which allows for an optimised schedule to be produced within an acceptable amount of time. Testing in a lab-based production line demonstrates that the optimised schedule is able to significantly reduce the energy consumption variance produced by a production schedule, while providing a highly accurate prediction as to the energy consumption during the schedules execution. The proposed system is also demonstrated to be easily expandable, allowing it to consider local renewable energy generation and energy storage, along with objectives such as the minimisation of peak energy consumption, and energy drawn from the National Grid.

abstract: In 2010, a monthly sampling regimen was established to examine ecological differences in Saguaro Lake and Lake Pleasant, two Central Arizona reservoirs. Lake Pleasant is relatively deep and clear, while Saguaro Lake is relatively shallow and turbid. Preliminary results indicated that phytoplankton biomass was greater by an order of magnitude in Saguaro Lake, and that community structure differed. The purpose of this investigation was to determine why the reservoirs are different, and focused on physical characteristics of the water column, nutrient concentration, community structure of phytoplankton and zooplankton, and trophic cascades induced by fish populations. I formulated the following hypotheses: 1) Top-down control varies between the two reservoirs. The presence of piscivore fish in Lake Pleasant results in high grazer and low primary producer biomass through trophic cascades. Conversely, Saguaro Lake is controlled from the bottom-up. This hypothesis was tested through monthly analysis of zooplankton and phytoplankton communities in each reservoir. Analyses of the nutritional value of phytoplankton and DNA based molecular prey preference of zooplankton provided insight on trophic interactions between phytoplankton and zooplankton. Data from the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) provided information on the fish communities of the two reservoirs. 2) Nutrient loads differ for each reservoir. Greater nutrient concentrations yield greater primary producer biomass; I hypothesize that Saguaro Lake is more eutrophic, while Lake Pleasant is more oligotrophic. Lake Pleasant had a larger zooplankton abundance and biomass, a larger piscivore fish community, and smaller phytoplankton abundance compared to Saguaro Lake. Thus, I conclude that Lake Pleasant was controlled top-down by the large piscivore fish population and Saguaro Lake was controlled from the bottom-up by the nutrient load in the reservoir. Hypothesis 2 stated that Saguaro Lake contains more nutrients than Lake Pleasant. However, Lake Pleasant had higher concentrations of dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus than Saguaro Lake. Additionally, an extended period of low dissolved N:P ratios in Saguaro Lake indicated N limitation, favoring dominance of N-fixing filamentous cyanobacteria in the phytoplankton community in that reservoir. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Biology 2011

The Wilderness lakes system represents a segmented barrier lagoon and comprises three interconnected lakes; Rondevlei, Langvlei and Eilandvlei. The latter is further linked by the Serpentine channel to the Touw river and Wilderness lagoon. The role of these channels, as well as a sluice in the Serpentine, in structuring certain aspects of the ecology of the system was investigated. An analysis of the salt budget of the lakes suggests that the Serpentine dampens tidaI processes to such an extent that they play only a minor role in the overall budget. Furthermore, the channel between Eilandvlei and Langvlei prevents any tidal salt input to the upper lakes. Their estuarine environments are however maintained by salt inputs which occur when the mouth is closed. This unusual phenemenon means that the sluice may have a minimal effect on the salt budget of the system because it is only closed when the mouth of the lagoon is open. Environmental conditions in each of the lakes, the Touw river and Wilderness lagoon were compared in terms of their physico-chemical characteristics and submerged macrophyte communities. A principal components analysis suggests that the physico-chemical environment of each lake is similar. The Touw river however has a very different environment, whilst that of Wilderness lagoon has some similarities to both the lakes and the river. During the study macrophyte communities recovered from a major recession which occurred between 1979 and 1981 . Biomasses in excess of 1000g m⁻² were recorded in both Langvlei and Eilandvlei. In the latter however, macrophyte growth was less prolific than in the former, as some areas of the littoral supported no growth at all. Macrophyte encroachment in the channels is a major factor inhibiting water flow between the lakes. This encroachment is most severe in the Eilandvlei/Langvlei channel where macrophytes covered 80% of the channel's area.The dominant fish fauna throughout the system is composed of a marine/estuarine migratory component. In the lakes the Mugilidae and Sparidae are the most common families, whilst in the lagoon and Touw river predators such as Lichia amia and Argyrosomus hololepidotus also commonly occur. Eilandvlei serves as the initial nursery area for most migratory species. An estimated 52000 fish migrated up the Serpentine towards Eilandvlei during February 1984 . Most fish do not penetrate as far as Langvlei, and this can be related to macrophyte encroachment in the Eilandvlei/Langvlei channel. However, it is argued that should this channel be dredged and the macrophytes removed, the nursery potential of the system would not be greatly enhanced . This is because environmental heterogeneity, in association with an abundance of food in Eilandvlei, make this lake the most attractive nursery area to juvenile marine/estuarine fish.

The Cache River, located in southern Illinois, faces a unique set of restoration challenges due to multiple anthropogenic modifications to the watershed. In 1915 the Cache River was disconnected and divided into two sub-watersheds, the upper Cache River (UCR) and the lower Cache River (LCR). This alteration has led to impairments in both sections of the Cache River. The UCR currently suffers from channel incision and wetland loss due to an increase in channel slope, while the LCR experiences decreased flows and related habitat degradation. Currently, watershed managers are proposing to restore a more natural flow regime to the LCR through some degree of hydrologic reconnection. I quantified the effects of small-scale differences in flow velocities on snag-dwelling aquatic macroinvertebrates in the UCR and LCR. My study was designed to provide critical information on potential ecological responses to proposed reconnection of the Cache River by examining the effects of flow on elements of ecosystem structure (macroinvertebrate community structure, diversity, richness, evenness, biomass, and abundance) and function (secondary production). Total snag-dwelling macroinvertebrate abundance was higher in the LCR (p < 0.001), and both total biomass and total production did not differ between the UCR and LCR. Passive filter-feeders (families Hydropsychidae and Simuliidae), EPT taxa (orders Ephmeroptera Plecoptera and Trichoptera), and Elmidae were more abundant and had higher biomass on snags in the UCR compared to the LCR. Due to high variability in estimates, only Elmidae production was higher in the UCR (p < 0.05), with non-significant trends of higher production of passive filter-feeders and EPT taxa in the UCR. Non metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) ordinations showed different communities on snags in the UCR and LCR, and analysis of similarity indicated these differences were significant (ANOSIM Global R = 0.98, p < 0.05). This UCR community was more diverse (p < 0.05) and composed of larger-sized individuals than the LCR (p < 0.001). In contrast, the LCR community was composed mainly of taxa that are associated with very low flows (e.g., zooplankton), tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g., Isopoda and Chironomidae), and generally smaller in body size. Although not statistically significant, there was a trend for higher total production in the LCR (28.90 ± 54.51) (mean ± 95% CI) than the UCR (10.22 ± 6.43). This trend was driven primarily by a patchily distributed Chironomidae, which were highly productive on some LCR snags. However, given the degraded water quality in the LCR, the ultimate fate of this production is not clear. The more natural flow regime in the UCR is likely driving many of the differences between the UCR and LCR that I observed, but relationships may be complex, as flow influences biota in numerous direct and indirect ways. This study is the first I know of to examine the structure and function of macroinvertebrate communities prior to hydrologic restoration of a river. Results will assist resource managers in the justification, planning, and execution of hydrologic restoration in the Cache watershed. Given that many river restoration projects are not based on sound ecological information and principles, this project can also serve as a model for future river restoration efforts.

Estimating the risk of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in aquatic systems requires evaluation of exposure, usually based on exhaustive chemical extraction of sediment and potentially exposed organisms and an assessment of toxicity. Remediation can then focus on areas where the exposure leads to the highest risk. Although effective, an approach that estimates exposure, which accounts for bioavailabilty, bioaccumulation, trophic transfer potential, and transport of materials within and out of the waterway, should serve as a more comprehensive environmental assessment. The current study examined exposure of PCBs in several different trophic levels within the Campus Lake ecosystem, Carbondale, Illinois. The source of contamination and the distribution of PCBs among ecosystem components demonstrated contamination within the aquatic portion of Campus Lake and transport out of the aquatic environment to the riparian area. Several media were collected including sediment, emergent insects, spiders, and three species of fish. Sediment extractions demonstrated that PCBs were localized to one small cove and this area served as the source for transfer of PCBs to both aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Single-point 24-h Tenax extractions formed the basis for evaluating the bioavailable component of the sediment-associated PCBs with strong correlations to laboratory-based bioaccumulation assays for oligochaetes and chironomid larvae. Stable isotope data suggested that the source of carbon to the food web was relatively constant. Food web samples of emerging insects, fish, and spiders revealed that the PCBs in Campus Lake were bioavailable and the pattern of the PCB signature among food web components followed typical food web processes. The PCB congener pattern was consistent between emergent midges and spiders demonstrating the transfer of PCBs from aquatic to terrestrial species. The PCB concentrations detected in emerging insects from the contaminated area were on average 25 times greater than those detected in emerging insects from reference sites outside the area of greatest sediment contamination. High PCB concentrations found in several species of fish suggested that despite the localized sediment contamination, fish throughout the lake were exposed. These levels also exceeded the fish consumption advisory criteria. The PCB pattern comparisons suggested that the contaminated sediment was the source of exposure throughout the food web. This approach identified the scope of exposure to organisms, demonstrated bioavailability, and provided a basis for future PCB remediation and subsequent monitoring of Campus Lake. In comparison to studies focused solely on limited sampling of fish for consumption advisory purposes, this approach demonstrated the importance of more comprehensive studies to examine the range of ecosystem exposure even from very limited contamination sources.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:32:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-02-19Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:42:58Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 arca_ea_dr_botfm.pdf: 1044660 bytes, checksum: 0fce8dd210cd1da0f10aedd10a8511d0 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O propósito deste trabalho foi comparar os efeitos do treinamento aquático com o treinamento físico realizado no solo sobre a pressão arterial, medidas antropométricas, variáveis bioquímicas e hormonais em hipertensas. Foram avaliadas 52 mulheres hipertensas, randomizadas em três grupos: grupo água (GA; n=19), grupo solo (GS; n=19) e grupo controle (GC; n=14). Em todos os grupos foram realizadas análises da atividade da renina plasmática (APR) e do peptídeo natriurérico do tipo B (BNP) antes e após as 12 semanas de programas de exercícios. Os dados paramétricos foram expressos em média e desvio-padrão, sendo utilizada a análise de variância de duas vias para medidas repetidas. Para a variável BNP foi ajustado um modelo para medidas repetidas assumindo distribuição gamma baseado em equações de estimações generalizadas. Em ambos os testes, o nível de significância foi de 5%. No GA, houve aumento de peso corporal (de 67,6±13,4 kg para 68,4±13,8 kg) e IMC (de 27,0±5,1 Kg/m2 para 27,7±5,3 Kg/m2), diminuição da PAS (mercúrio) de 136 ± 16 mm Hg no momento zero (M0) para 124±18 mm Hg no M11 e 124±15 mm Hg no M12 e da PAS (automático) que se reduziu de 132 ± 18 mm Hg no M0 para 124 ± 14 mm Hg no M8, 124 ±16 mm Hg no M10 e 125 ± 16 mm Hg no M12. No GS, houve diminuição do VLDL (de 32,1±15,2 mg/dl para 25,8±12,5 mg/dl), da PAS (mercúrio), de 138 ± 15 mm Hg no M0 para 125 ± 10 mm Hg no M7, 127 ± 10 mm Hg no M10 e 126 ± 9 mm Hg no M12 e da PAS (automático) de 135 ±20 mm Hg no M0 para 125 ± 11mm Hg no M10. O grupo controle não teve modificações estatísticas em quaisquer das variáveis avaliadas. Os grupos não diferiram quanto às pressões basais e diferiram quanto à pressão no fim do seguimento, sendo que a pressão arterial do grupo controle foi superior à dos grupos experimentais que foram semelhantes entre si. Nenhuma outra variável... / The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of aquatic training with physical training carried out on the floor on blood pressure, anthropometric measurements, biochemical and hormonal variables in hypertension. A total of 52 hypertensive women were randomized into three groups: Water Group (WG, n = 19), Land Group (LG, n = 19) and Control Group (CG, n = 14). In all groups analysis of plasma renin activity (PRA) and peptide natriuretic type B (BNP) were performed before and after 12 weeks of exercise programs. Parametric data were expressed as mean and standard deviation. Comparison between groups and moments was performed using two-way analysis of variance for repeated measures. For the variable BNP was set a model for repeated measures assuming gamma distribution based on generalized estimation equations. In both tests, the level of significance was 5%. In WG, there was an statistically significant increase of body weight (67,6 ± 13.4 kg to 68,4 ± 13,8 kg) and BMI (27,0 ± 5,1 kg/m2 to 27,7 ± 5,3 kg / m2), a decrease in SBP (mercury) from 136 ± 16 mm Hg at the baseline (M0) to 124 ± 18 mm Hg in M11 and 124 ± 15 mm Hg in M12. Measurements obtained by automatic device was reduced from 132 ± 18 mm Hg in M0 to 124 ± 14 mm Hg in M8, 124 ± 16 mm Hg in M10 and 125 ± 16 mm Hg in M12. In LG, there was a decrease of VLDL (from 32,1 ± 15,2 mg / dl to 25,8 ± 12,5 mg / dl), BP (mercury) of 138 ± 15 mm Hg in M0 to 125 ± 10 mm Hg in M7, 127 ± 10 mm Hg in M10 and 126 ± 9 mm Hg in M12. Measurements obtained with automatic device 135 ± 20 mm Hg in M0 to 125 ± 11 mm Hg in M10. The CG had no statistical changes in any of the variables. The groups did not differ in baseline pressures and differ in terms of pressure at the end of follow-up, the pressure in the control group was higher than that of the experimental groups. The response of blood pressure were similar in both ...(Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:35:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-07-19Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:47:07Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 alves_rcp_dr_botib.pdf: 4373370 bytes, checksum: 868dbf433604bb75f86e445787dedfc8 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Os organismos planctônicos são a base das cadeias alimentares no ecossistema aquático e os herbívoros zooplanctônicos, em particular, são importantes para o fluxo de energia nos ecossistemas aquáticos, sendo um elo entre os produtores primários e níveis tróficos mais elevados. Este estudo se propôs a ampliar o conhecimento da herbivoria do zooplâncton sobre o fitoplâncton em uma lagoa marginal ao rio Paranapanema. Foi realizado um experimento in situ, com instalação de enclosures com paredes de polietileno fechados no fundo que permitiram a realização de quatro tratamentos: 0% da densidade natural de zooplâncton (apenas fitoplâncton), 50 % (metade da densidade natural), 100% (densidade natural) e 150% (densidade acima da natural). A variação da densidade do zooplâncton foi conseguida por meio de filtração da água por rede de abertura de malha de 50μm. Água da lagoa também foi coletada. Todos os tratamentos foram realizados em tréplica. O experimento durou 18 dias. As coletas foram realizadas a cada seis dias (quatro coletas). A temperatura foi obtida em campo e água foi coletada para análise de oxigênio dissolvido, saturação, pH, condutividade elétrica, concentrações de fósforo total, nitrogênio total, material em suspensão total, material em suspensão orgânico, material em suspensão inorgânico, clorofila-a e feofitina-a. Foram coletadas também amostras de zooplâncton e fitoplâncton que foram contadas e identificadas, normalmente, até ao nível de espécie. Rotifera teve sua abundância relativa alterada em todos os tratamentos, com o favorecimento de Keratella cochlearis e Polyarthra vulgaris provavelmente porque o enclosure as protegeu de predadores. Cladocera foi dominado em todos os tratamentos por Bosmina freyi e B. hagmanni, bioindicadores de eutrofização... / The planktonic organisms are the basis of food chains in the aquatic ecosystems, and the grazer zooplankton, specifically, are very important to energy flow in the aquatic ecosystems, being a link between primary producers and higher trophic levels. The aim of this study is enhance the knowledge of zooplankton grazing over phytoplankton in a lateral lake by Paranapanema River, Brazil. The experiment was conducted in situ, with installation of enclosures of polyetilene walls, closed at the bottom, which allowed the manipulation of four treatments: 0% of the natural density of zooplankton (phytoplankton only); 50% (half of natural density); 100% (natural density) and 150% (a higher density than the natural). The zooplankton density range was obtained by water filtration in zooplankton web with 50μm mesh. The water of the lake was collected either. All the treatments were made using three replications each one. The experiment was carried out for 18 days. The samplings were made each six days (four samplings). The water temperature was measured at field, and a water sample was collected for dissolved oxygen, saturation, pH, conductivity, and concentrations of total phosphorus, total nitrogen, total suspended matter, organic suspended matter, inorganic suspended matter, chlorophyll-a and pheophytin-a analyses. Samples of zooplankton and phytoplankton were also taken. They were counted and identified until specie level, mostly. Rotifera had its relative abundance changed in all treatments, showing the increasing of Keratella cochlearis and Polyarthra vulgaris, probably because the enclosures protected them from predators. Cladocera dominated all treatments by Bosmina freyi and B hagmanni, which are bioindicators of water euthophication. The absolute abundance of this group was the one that best responded... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)