A Thermotoga marítima (Tm) é uma bactéria que vive em temperaturas na faixa dos 65 até 90°C, com temperatura ótima do redor dos 80°C. A proteína TM1030 de Tm, é um regulador transcricional da família TetR (Tetracycline repressor protein) reguladores da expressão génica das proteínas TetA e TetB (Tetracycline resistance protein). Neste trabalho se rodarem 200ns de trajetória de dinâmica molecular a três temperaturas (293, 323 e 353K) da proteína TM1030 (PDB-1Z77) usando o pacote GROMACS com o potencial Amber99 e solvente explicito numa caixa cúbica com 90Å de comprimento, observando que RMSD da estrutura média da trajetória é menor em relação à estrutura cristalográfica, além disso que num primer momento esse RMSD tem uma mudança grande e que se estabiliza com uma maior velocidade nas maiores temperaturas. Também foi feito um analise de modos normais na mesma estrutura usando o mesmo potencial, mas com solvente implícito, usando o modelo GBSA, minimizando a estrutura até ter um coeficiente de força média de 6,4x10-8J·mol-1·cm-1 que assegura um bom mínimo local. Das trajetórias simuladas a partir das 6 menores frequências se achou uma relação com os movimentos observados nas dinâmicas moleculares e os esperados na transição alostérica entre as duas estruturas cristalográficas. Finalmente se calculam os fatores de temperatura das três trajetórias de dinâmica molecular, observando que seus esses fatores de temperatura aumentam com o aumento da temperatura, contrario do esperado da cristalografia onde diminuam com o aumento da temperatura do sistema. / The Thermotoga maritima (Tm) is a bacterium who can lives at temperatures of 65 to 90°C, with optimum temperature around of 80°C. The TM1030 protein of Tm is a transcriptional regulator from TetR family (Tetracycline repressor protein) regulators of gene expression of the TetA and TetB protein (Tetracycline resistance protein). In this work 200ns of molecular dynamics trajectory was run at three temperatures (293, 323 and 353K) of TM1030 protein (PDB-1Z77) using GROMACS package with Amber99 potential and explicit solvent in a cubic box with length 90A, noting that RMSD of the average structure of the trajectory is smaller with respect to the crystallographic structure, in addition, in a first time this RMSD have a large change and stabilizes at a higher speed at higher temperatures. There was also an analysis of normal modes on the same structure using the same potential, but with implicit solvent, using the GBSA model, minimizing the structure to have a medium force coefficient of 6,4x10-8J·mol-1·cm-1which ensures a good local minimum. Of the trajectories simulated from 6 lower frequencies was found a relationship with the movements observed in molecular dynamics and expected the allosteric transition between the two crystal structures. Finally was calculate the temperature factor of the three trajectories of molecular dynamics, observing their temperature factors increase with increasing temperature, contrary to expectations of crystallography which decrease with the increase of the system temperature.

Submitted by Deyse Queiroz (deysequeirozz@hotmail.com) on 2018-05-30T18:32:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 LUCIANA ROCHA DE LIMA - DISSERTAÇÃO PPGSA PROFISSIONAL 2017..pdf: 983248 bytes, checksum: 57452632c520590aad123ff5ddc65a52 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-05-30T18:32:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LUCIANA ROCHA DE LIMA - DISSERTAÇÃO PPGSA PROFISSIONAL 2017..pdf: 983248 bytes, checksum: 57452632c520590aad123ff5ddc65a52 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-06-20 / O consumo de água utilizado nas instituições de Educação Infantil pública do município de Aparecida, Estado da Paraíba, é proveniente de fontes como: poços profundos, abastecimento de água por carro pipa, bem como pelo uso de água proveniente de cisternas. Com o objetivo de analisar a qualidade da água utilizada nessas escolas, e verificar até que ponto essas águas podem ou não causar doenças veiculada por uso de água de baixa potabilidade, optou-se em fazer esse estudo, bem como, estabelecer a que ponto a falta de utilização de meios de informações e proteção, manutenção dos mananciais e possíveis doenças relacionadas e veiculadas com o uso e consumo de água às vezes imprópria para consumo humano, pode causar ao ser humano, em especial as crianças, e sabendo que a água é um elemento essencial a vida, mas que pode trazer riscos à saúde humana se houver comprometimento de sua qualidade. Pensando nisso o estudo abrange as escolas públicas de educação infantil do Município de Aparecida, sertão paraibano. Nesse aspecto as crianças são as que mais sofrem com os problemas da ingestão de água contaminada, uma vez que são mais vulneráveis devido à imaturidade de seu sistema imunológico. Nesse contexto destaca a importância de um levantamento da qualidade da água para consumo em instituições do ensino infantil, uma vez que a escola representa um importante ambiente no qual está inserida a criança. Foram coletadas amostras em reservatórios de água em nove escolas e duas creches municipais, nos seguintes pontos: reservatórios, bebedouros, torneira da cozinha e ponto de entrada da água, as amostras foram coletadas no período de estiagem, de julho a agosto do ano de 2016, e posteriormente, transportadas e analisadas no Laboratório de Microbiologia e de Análises de Solos, Água e Plantas, ambos do Campus de Sousa do Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia da Paraíba - IFPB. O presente trabalho objetivou- se analisar os padrões físico-químicos e microbiológicos da água utilizadas nas escolas e creches da Educação Infantil do ensino público do município de Aparecida, Sertão paraibano. Com os resultados, verificou-se ser imprópria para consumo humano, de acordo com os parâmetros microbiológicos analisados da água, com presença de Coliformes e Encheria Coli. A pesquisa serviu para fornecer informações para comunidade escolar da real situação da potabilidade, destacando a importância de evitar consumir água imprópria, bem como, orientar a respeito da conservação dos recursos hídricos no processo de Educação Ambiental. / The consumption of water used in public infant education institutions in the city of Aparecida, State of Paraíba, comes from sources such as: deep wells, water supply by car kite, as well as the use of water from cisterns. In order to analyze the quality of the water used in these schools, and to verify the extent to which these waters may or may not cause illnesses caused by the use of low drinking water, it was decided to do this study, as well as to establish the Lack of use of means of information and protection, maintenance of water sources and possible related diseases and transmitted with the use and consumption of water sometimes unfit for human consumption, can cause to the human being, especially the children, and knowing that the water is An element essential to life, but which can pose risks to human health if its quality is compromised. With this in mind, the study covers the public schools of early childhood education in the Municipality of Aparecida, in the Sertão of Paraíba. In this aspect, children are the ones who suffer most from the problems of drinking contaminated water, since they are more vulnerable due to the immaturity of their immune system. In this context it highlights the importance of a survey of the quality of drinking water in institutions of early childhood education, since the school represents an important environment in which the child is inserted. Samples were collected in water reservoirs in nine schools and two municipal nurseries, in the following points: reservoirs, drinking fountains, kitchen faucet and water entry point, samples were collected during the dry season, from July to August, 2016 , And later transported and analyzed in the Laboratory of Microbiology and Analysis of Soils, Water and Plants, both of the Campus de Sousa of the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Paraíba - IFPB. The objective of this study was to analyze the physicochemical and microbiological patterns of water used in the schools and kindergartens of the Early Childhood Education in the city of Aparecida, Sertão, Paraíba. With the results, it was found to be unfit for human consumption, according to the microbiological parameters analyzed of the water, with presence of Coliformes and Encheria Coli. The research served to provide information to the school community about the real situation of drinking water, highlighting the importance of avoiding the consumption of inappropriate water, as well as guiding the conservation of water resources in the process of Environmental Education.

[pt] O crescimento populacional descontrolado e o desenvolvimento urbano desordenado têm testemunhado danos severos em assentamentos humanos no mundo. Fenômenos naturais extremos, como consequência de uma mudança climática abrupta, como o intenso aumento do índice pluviométrico, provocaram incidentes de deslizamentos de taludes que dificilmente seriam ignorados desde as últimas décadas. Pilhas feitas de materiais convencionais como a madeira, aço e concreto têm sido tradicionalmente utilizados para a estabilização de taludes, com a finalidade de evitar incidentes de desabamentos de aterros. O presente trabalho estuda o uso de um material não convencional, o bambu da espécie Dendrocalamus Giganteus (DG) para estabilidade de taludes, como uma alternativa de material para pilha mais amigável ao ambiente graças a sua disponibilidade geográfica e capacidade de absorção de gases de efeito estufa. Suas dimensões e mais importantes suas propriedades mecânicas, são totalmente compatíveis com as de um elemento de estaca estabilizadora de taludes. Uma análise do Método dos Elementos Finitos (FEM) foi desenvolvida no software PLAXIS para testes em 2 e 3 dimensões. Usando um modelo de encosta instável reforçada com estacas de bambu para observar a interação do solo-estaca e avaliar o fator de segurança (FS). Os resultados mostraram que as capacidades das pilhas de bambu são uma alternativa promissora para a estabilidade de taludes. / [en] Uncontrolled population growth and disorderly urban development had witnessed severe human settlement damages worldwide. Extreme natural phenomena consequence of abrupt climate change such as intense rainfall index increment had provoked landslides incidents hardly to ignore since last decades. Piles made of conventional materials such as timber, steel and concrete have traditionally been used for slope stabilization in order to prevent landslides incidents. The present paper studies the use of a non conventional material, the bamboo of the Dendrocalamus Giganteus (DG) species as bamboo-pile for slope stability, to become a more environmental friendly pile material alternative. Its dimensions and more important its mechanical properties, besides its geographical availability and greenhouse gases absorbing capabilities totally matches for an ecologic slope stabilizing pile element. Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis of bamboo-pile was developed on PLAXIS software for 2 and 3 dimensional tests. An unstable slope model condition was reinforced with bamboo-piles to observe the soil-pile interaction and evaluate the safety factor (SF). The results showed that the capabilities of the bamboo-piles are a promising alternative for slope stability.

[pt] A poluição do ar é um dos sérios problemas que o mundo enfrenta atualmente. Sua compreensão é muito complexa devido à estreita relação dos poluentes com as variáveis meteorológicas e o uso da terra os quais influenciam sua composição. Atualmente, existem duas abordagens tradicionais para a coleta de amostras relevantes para a deposição atmosférica e estudos atmosféricos relacionados aos estudos de monitoramento. A primeira abordagem envolve a coleta direta de material particulado (PM) transportado pelo ar que objetivou estudos quantitativos em forma local, de curto/médio alcance ou de transporte global de poluentes, incluindo estudos relacionados à saúde relacionados ao tamanho de material particulado: PM2.5 e PM10. Sua aplicação em grande escala implica em investimentos caros devido a altos custos de manutenção e problemas logísticos para instalar o equipamento instrumental em todos os locais necessários de amostragem. A segunda abordagem usa um biomonitor para avaliar a poluição do ar que é considerado como não custoso, mas confiável e relativamente simples. Portanto, monitorar a qualidade do ar usando organismos vivos como biomonitores recebeu atenção crescente nos últimos anos, porque certos tipos de organismos biológicos fornecem uma medida de exposição integrada em determinado período de tempo e enriquecem a substância a ser determinada para que a acessibilidade analítica seja melhorada e a incerteza das medições reduzida. Neste trabalho, a maioria dos estudos foi abordada no uso de biomonitores como ferramenta adequada para avaliar a qualidade do ar de diferentes locais. Esta tese teve seis objetivos principais: 1) biomonitoramento passivo com líquens; 2) biomonitoramento da qualidade do ar próximo a área industrial; 3) biomonitoramento ativo com espécies de Tillandsia; 4) uma comparação do biomonitoramento usando três espécies diferentes de Tillandsia; 5) qualidade do ar nos Jogos Olímpicos de 2016; 6) correção de sobreposição espectral. Os biomonitores foram coletados do local de controle, transplantados e expostos na área de estudo de interesse por um período de tempo determinado para acumular oligoelementos. Os oligoelementos foram medidos por espectrometria de massa com plasma indutivamente acoplado (ICP-MS) e os resultados das concentrações foram tratados com ferramentas quimiométricos. Os resultados mostraram a capacidade dos líquenes e das espécies de Tillandsia de acumular elementos traço e ferramentas quimiométricos ajudaram para identificar possíveis fontes de emissão. No primeiro objetivo foram identificadas três possíveis fontes de emissão: fontes veiculares, re-suspensão do solo (origem natural) e práticas agrícolas. No segundo objetivo foi provado que partículas negras foram emitidas principalmente da indústria do couro. O terceiro objetivo mostra as emissões veiculares como principal fonte de poluição nas áreas urbanas, uso de agroquímicos nas áreas peri-urbanas e ressuspensão do solo representada pelas áreas rurais. O quarto objetivo mostra que todas as espécies de Tillandsia provaram ser bons biomonitores. O quinto objetivo demonstrou que o controle de estratégias e a regulação do tráfego implantado pelo governo do Rio de Janeiro influenciaram na redução de poluentes durante o período olímpico. No sexto objetivo, Lasso mostrou os melhores resultados quando os valores preditivos de elementos de terras raras foram analisados. / [en] Air pollution is one of the serious problems that the world currently facing. Their understanding it is very complex due to the close relationship of the pollutants, meteorological variables, and land uses influence their composition. Actually, there are two traditional approaches for collecting samples relevant to air and atmospheric deposition which are related to monitoring studies. The first approach involves the direct collection of airborne particulate matter (PM) which aimed quantitative studies at local, short/medium range or global transport of pollutants, including health-related studies related to size fractionate airborne particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10). Their application on large-scale implied expensive investments due to both high costs of maintenance and logistic problem to install the instrumental equipment at all needed locations. The second approach uses an air pollution monitor which is considered as a non-expensive, yet reliable, and relatively simple. Therefore, monitoring air quality by using living organisms as biomonitors has received increasing attention in recent years because certain types of biological organisms provide a measure of integrated exposure over certain amount of time and enrich the substance to be determined so that the analytical accessibility is improved and the measurements uncertainty reduced. In this work, the most of studies were approached in the use of biomonitors as tool suitable to assess the air quality of different locations. This thesis had six principal objectives: 1) passive biomonitoring with lichens; 2) biomonitoring of air quality near industrial area; 3) active biomonitoring with Tillandsia species; 4) a comparison of biomonitoring using three different species of Tillandsia; 5) air quality in 2016 Olympic Games; 6) correction of spectral overlap. Biomonitors were collected from control site, transplanted and exposed into the study area of interest for a time period determined to accumulate trace elements. Trace elements were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and the concentrations results were treated with chemometric tools. Results show the ability of lichens and Tillandsia species to accumulate trace elements and chemometric tools helped to identify possible emission sources. In the first objective were identified three possible sources of emission: vehicular sources, soil resuspension (natural origin) and agricultural practices. In the second objective was proved that black particles were emitted mainly from leather industry. The third objective shows the vehicular emissions as the main source of pollution in the urban areas, use of agrochemicals in the peri-urban areas and soil resuspension represented by rural areas. The fourth objective shows that all Tillandsia species proved to be good biomonitors. The fifth objective demonstrated that strategies control and traffic regulation implanted by the government of Rio de Janeiro influenced in the reduction of pollutants during the Olympic period. In the sixth objective, Lasso shows better results when predict values of rare earth elements were analyzed.

A Thermotoga marítima (Tm) é uma bactéria que vive em temperaturas na faixa dos 65 até 90°C, com temperatura ótima do redor dos 80°C. A proteína TM1030 de Tm, é um regulador transcricional da família TetR (Tetracycline repressor protein) reguladores da expressão génica das proteínas TetA e TetB (Tetracycline resistance protein). Neste trabalho se rodarem 200ns de trajetória de dinâmica molecular a três temperaturas (293, 323 e 353K) da proteína TM1030 (PDB-1Z77) usando o pacote GROMACS com o potencial Amber99 e solvente explicito numa caixa cúbica com 90Å de comprimento, observando que RMSD da estrutura média da trajetória é menor em relação à estrutura cristalográfica, além disso que num primer momento esse RMSD tem uma mudança grande e que se estabiliza com uma maior velocidade nas maiores temperaturas. Também foi feito um analise de modos normais na mesma estrutura usando o mesmo potencial, mas com solvente implícito, usando o modelo GBSA, minimizando a estrutura até ter um coeficiente de força média de 6,4x10-8J·mol-1·cm-1 que assegura um bom mínimo local. Das trajetórias simuladas a partir das 6 menores frequências se achou uma relação com os movimentos observados nas dinâmicas moleculares e os esperados na transição alostérica entre as duas estruturas cristalográficas. Finalmente se calculam os fatores de temperatura das três trajetórias de dinâmica molecular, observando que seus esses fatores de temperatura aumentam com o aumento da temperatura, contrario do esperado da cristalografia onde diminuam com o aumento da temperatura do sistema. / The Thermotoga maritima (Tm) is a bacterium who can lives at temperatures of 65 to 90°C, with optimum temperature around of 80°C. The TM1030 protein of Tm is a transcriptional regulator from TetR family (Tetracycline repressor protein) regulators of gene expression of the TetA and TetB protein (Tetracycline resistance protein). In this work 200ns of molecular dynamics trajectory was run at three temperatures (293, 323 and 353K) of TM1030 protein (PDB-1Z77) using GROMACS package with Amber99 potential and explicit solvent in a cubic box with length 90A, noting that RMSD of the average structure of the trajectory is smaller with respect to the crystallographic structure, in addition, in a first time this RMSD have a large change and stabilizes at a higher speed at higher temperatures. There was also an analysis of normal modes on the same structure using the same potential, but with implicit solvent, using the GBSA model, minimizing the structure to have a medium force coefficient of 6,4x10-8J·mol-1·cm-1which ensures a good local minimum. Of the trajectories simulated from 6 lower frequencies was found a relationship with the movements observed in molecular dynamics and expected the allosteric transition between the two crystal structures. Finally was calculate the temperature factor of the three trajectories of molecular dynamics, observing their temperature factors increase with increasing temperature, contrary to expectations of crystallography which decrease with the increase of the system temperature.

[pt] A contaminação do meio ambiente de subsuperfície com resíduos perigosos e tóxicos tem se tornado um dos maiores problemas ambientais em vários países, com muitos locais apresentando contaminação da água subterrânea. A dissertação visa a caracterização de propriedades de transporte em solos residuais do estado do Rio de Janeiro; em especial será focalizado o comportamento e a mobilidade neste solo de metais pesados como o cádmio, zinco, cromo e chumbo. O conhecimento do comportamento dos metais no solo é importante para a previsão de acidentes ambientais e para a avaliação de possíveis soluções. Mudanças no ambiente, como variação do pH, podem interferir no comportamento do metal, desta forma o conhecimento das condições locais é importante para previsão do comportamento do contaminante. Foram realizados ensaios de batelada e de coluna com diferentes metais, para entender como se comportam nos solos residuais caracterizados. Para complementar o estudo uma modelagem geoquímica foi feita a partir dos dados experimentais com o programa computacional PHREEQC. / [en] The contamination of the underground environment by hazardous and toxic wastes has become one of the main environment problems in several countries where many sites present groundwater infection. The project purpose is the characterization of the transport properties in residual soils of the Rio de Janeiro state. Mainly it will be focused the behaviour and the mobility of heavy metals, for example, the cadmium, the zinc, the chromium and the lead in this kind of soil. To know the behaviour of the metals in the soil is important for the prevision of environmental accidents and for the evaluation of possible solutions. Changes in the environment, as the pH variation, may interfere in the metal conduct thus the knowledge of the local conditions is essential for the prevision of the contamination procedure. Batch and column tests were made using different metals in order to understand how they act in the characterized residual soils. To complement the studies a geochemical modeling was made using the experimental data with the compute program, PHREEQC.

Soil is an important ecosystem that supports a wide variety of organisms such as bacteria, fungi, arthropods and nematodes. This sensitive ecosystem may be influenced by various factors, including agricultural management practices. With the introduction of genetically modified (GM) glyphosate-tolerant (RoundUp ® Ready: RR) crops, herbicides such as glyphosate have been increasingly used. However, little is known about the effect of glyphosate on the biological communities in these herbicide-sprayed soils. With the intimate proximity that microorganisms and nematodes have with the roots of plants, these organisms can be used to assess changes that may occur in the soil surrounding roots of RR crops. The aim of this study was to determine microbial community structure and nematode diversity, with emphasis on that of non-parasitic nematodes, in soil samples from conventional soybean (CS) - and RR- soybean fields compared to that in adjacent natural veld (NV) areas. Samples were collected from twenty three sites at six localities that are situated within the soybean-production areas of South Africa. These sites represented fields where RR and CS soybean grew, as well as surrounding NV. All RR fields have been treated with glyphosate for no less than five years. Microbial community structures of the twenty three sites in the RR, CS and NV ecosystems were determined by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analyses. Nematode diversity was determined by extracting the nematodes from soil samples and conducting a faunal analysis. Soil physical and chemical properties were determined by an independent laboratory, Eco-Analytica (North West University, Potchefstroom) according to standard procedures. Results from this study indicated differences in microbial community structure between the various localities. However, there were no significant (p ≤ 0.05) differences in microbial community structures between RR- and CS ecosystems. Soils of both RR- and CS crops were primarily dominated by bacteria. Nematode identification and faunal analysis also indicated no significant (p ≤ 0.05) differences between the different non-parasitic/beneficial nematodes that were present in soils of these two ecosystems during the time of sampling. Non-parasitic nematode communities were primarily dominated by bacterivores. A faunal analysis indicated that most of the sites contained enriched, but unstructured soil food-webs. However, four of the sites showed enriched and structured food webs due to the presence of non-parasitic nematodes with high coloniser-persister (cp) values. Relationships between non-parasitic nematode – and microbial communities showed that there was a positive relationship between nematode functional groups and their corresponding microbial prey. From the results obtained in this study, it can be concluded that the community structures of both non-parasitic nematodes and microorganisms shared similarities. These community structures showed no long-term detrimental effects of glyphosate application in the soils surrounding roots of RR soybean crops. Relationships existed between non-parasitic nematode and microbial communities in the rhizosphere of soybean crops and natural veld. For example, bacterivore nematodes had a strong positive relationship with gram-negative bacteria. Similar but weaker relationships also existed between carnivores, omnivores, plantparasitic nematodes and gram-negative bacteria. A positive relationship also existed between fungivores and fungal fatty acids. This emphasises the value of these organisms as indicators of soil health and also the impact that agricultural practices can have on soils. / MSc (Environmental Sciences), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Soil is an important ecosystem that supports a wide variety of organisms such as bacteria, fungi, arthropods and nematodes. This sensitive ecosystem may be influenced by various factors, including agricultural management practices. With the introduction of genetically modified (GM) glyphosate-tolerant (RoundUp ® Ready: RR) crops, herbicides such as glyphosate have been increasingly used. However, little is known about the effect of glyphosate on the biological communities in these herbicide-sprayed soils. With the intimate proximity that microorganisms and nematodes have with the roots of plants, these organisms can be used to assess changes that may occur in the soil surrounding roots of RR crops. The aim of this study was to determine microbial community structure and nematode diversity, with emphasis on that of non-parasitic nematodes, in soil samples from conventional soybean (CS) - and RR- soybean fields compared to that in adjacent natural veld (NV) areas. Samples were collected from twenty three sites at six localities that are situated within the soybean-production areas of South Africa. These sites represented fields where RR and CS soybean grew, as well as surrounding NV. All RR fields have been treated with glyphosate for no less than five years. Microbial community structures of the twenty three sites in the RR, CS and NV ecosystems were determined by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analyses. Nematode diversity was determined by extracting the nematodes from soil samples and conducting a faunal analysis. Soil physical and chemical properties were determined by an independent laboratory, Eco-Analytica (North West University, Potchefstroom) according to standard procedures. Results from this study indicated differences in microbial community structure between the various localities. However, there were no significant (p ≤ 0.05) differences in microbial community structures between RR- and CS ecosystems. Soils of both RR- and CS crops were primarily dominated by bacteria. Nematode identification and faunal analysis also indicated no significant (p ≤ 0.05) differences between the different non-parasitic/beneficial nematodes that were present in soils of these two ecosystems during the time of sampling. Non-parasitic nematode communities were primarily dominated by bacterivores. A faunal analysis indicated that most of the sites contained enriched, but unstructured soil food-webs. However, four of the sites showed enriched and structured food webs due to the presence of non-parasitic nematodes with high coloniser-persister (cp) values. Relationships between non-parasitic nematode – and microbial communities showed that there was a positive relationship between nematode functional groups and their corresponding microbial prey. From the results obtained in this study, it can be concluded that the community structures of both non-parasitic nematodes and microorganisms shared similarities. These community structures showed no long-term detrimental effects of glyphosate application in the soils surrounding roots of RR soybean crops. Relationships existed between non-parasitic nematode and microbial communities in the rhizosphere of soybean crops and natural veld. For example, bacterivore nematodes had a strong positive relationship with gram-negative bacteria. Similar but weaker relationships also existed between carnivores, omnivores, plantparasitic nematodes and gram-negative bacteria. A positive relationship also existed between fungivores and fungal fatty acids. This emphasises the value of these organisms as indicators of soil health and also the impact that agricultural practices can have on soils. / MSc (Environmental Sciences), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The worldwide economic downturn and recession in the second half of 2008 were mainly the result of the crises that influenced the world‟s financial markets. After the financial crisis, the extended period of rapid credit growth that was driven by asset price increases, especially property prices, came to an end. This identified two problems central to the theme of this study. The first problem was illustrated through the recent crisis, which showed that problems in the financial sector have a potentially destabilising effect on the economy, to such an extent that they also affect the real economy. The second problem highlighted by the recent financial crisis pertains to the current macroeconomic framework, which indicates policy failure to detect and deal with financial sector instabilities. The objective of this study was to develop a framework in which the influence that rapidly growing credit and asset prices have on financial stability could be determined. Two distinct empirical models were estimated in order to reach the main objective of this study. The first model established the influence that asset prices and credit growth have on the real economy. It concluded that a long-run relationship exists between inflation, real GDP, credit extended to the private sector, house prices and share prices. A bi-directional relationship was found between house and share price, which indicates the interdependence of asset prices in SA. The transmission channels assume that credit is influenced by interest rates, but the results also found that interest rates are largely influenced by credit. The second model determined the influence of asset prices and credit on financial stability. A significant long-run relationship was found between financial stability, share and house prices, and between share prices, credit and financial stability. It was found that credit and share prices can be used to signal financial instability, and share prices can help to determine future credit extended to the private sector. In addition, the empirical analysis indicated that a credit market squeeze will be experienced after a decrease in financial stability. Lastly, credit extended will increase as a result of shock to house and share prices and financial stability will decrease when there is a shock to share and house prices. / MCom (Economics), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

The worldwide economic downturn and recession in the second half of 2008 were mainly the result of the crises that influenced the world‟s financial markets. After the financial crisis, the extended period of rapid credit growth that was driven by asset price increases, especially property prices, came to an end. This identified two problems central to the theme of this study. The first problem was illustrated through the recent crisis, which showed that problems in the financial sector have a potentially destabilising effect on the economy, to such an extent that they also affect the real economy. The second problem highlighted by the recent financial crisis pertains to the current macroeconomic framework, which indicates policy failure to detect and deal with financial sector instabilities. The objective of this study was to develop a framework in which the influence that rapidly growing credit and asset prices have on financial stability could be determined. Two distinct empirical models were estimated in order to reach the main objective of this study. The first model established the influence that asset prices and credit growth have on the real economy. It concluded that a long-run relationship exists between inflation, real GDP, credit extended to the private sector, house prices and share prices. A bi-directional relationship was found between house and share price, which indicates the interdependence of asset prices in SA. The transmission channels assume that credit is influenced by interest rates, but the results also found that interest rates are largely influenced by credit. The second model determined the influence of asset prices and credit on financial stability. A significant long-run relationship was found between financial stability, share and house prices, and between share prices, credit and financial stability. It was found that credit and share prices can be used to signal financial instability, and share prices can help to determine future credit extended to the private sector. In addition, the empirical analysis indicated that a credit market squeeze will be experienced after a decrease in financial stability. Lastly, credit extended will increase as a result of shock to house and share prices and financial stability will decrease when there is a shock to share and house prices. / MCom (Economics), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013