Background: Over the relatively short period of its evolutionary history, Boechera (Brassicaceae) has undergone rapid radiation that has produced 70+ morphologically distinct, sexual diploids. However, reproductive isolation has moved more slowly than morphological divergence in this group and the diploids appear to hybridize frequently where they coexist. Boechera duchesnensis appears to be the result of hybridization between its putative parents Boechera thompsonii and Boechera formosa. Objectives: The objectives of this study are to (i) analyze and document genetic diversity patterns in the population structure, - including allelic and heterozygosity frequencies - of B. thompsonii and B. formosa in concert with their geographic distribution to determine clustering relationships within these populations, (ii) confirm and expand the morphological characteristics of B. thompsonii and B. formosa, as initially proposed in the literature, including pollen and trichome structure using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to confirm ploidy level and to determine whether both putative parent species share morphological characteristics with their apomictic diploid offspring, and (iii) use genetic and morphologic evidence to show that B. thompsoii and B. formosa are, in fact, the parents of B. duchesnensis by comparing the genetic diversity patterns, population structure, and morphological characteristics of B. duchesnensis, to those of its proposed putative parents (B. thompsonii and B. formosa) and to confirm that B. duchesnensis shares characteristics of Boechera. Methods: Microsatellite data from 14 loci previously identified in Boechera were used to reexamine the current classifications and taxonomic foundations of three Boechera spp. GenAlEx 6.501 (Peakall and Smouse, 2006, 2012) was used to analyze genetic population structures of two divergent sexual diploids in the genus Boechera: B. thompsonii and B. formosa and to later compare those with the population structure of B. duchesnensis. Geographicaldata were plotted using ArcGIS 10.1 (Esri, 2012) to map heterozygosity distribution. Cluster analysis was run with STRUCTURE 2.3.3 (Pritchard et al., 2000; Falush et al., 2003, 2007) and distribution of allelic diversity and heterozygosity was subsequently compared within each taxon and correlated with geographic distribution characteristics. Resultant data were then compared with B. duchesnensis data to document genetic diversity patterns, population structure, and morphological characteristics. Key Results: Analysis of genetic diversity patterns, allelic distribution of the populations, and heterozygosity of B. thompsonii and B. formosa across their geographic range identified four genetically distinct clusters within B. thompsonii, and one genetically distinct cluster in B. formosa. Allelic frequencies in all four discrete population clusters of B. thompsonii and in one discrete population cluster of B. formosa were close to values found in species on the decline. Reproductive isolation, genetic variability, and allelic frequencies were determined, specimen elevations reported, and morphological characteristics reported in the literature were confirmed and expanded. A codominant genetic analysis performed for 14 different loci for B. duchesnensis against those of its parents showed that B. duchesnensis inherits alleles from both putative parents and confirms B. thompsonii and B. formosa as the parents of B. duchesnensis. Observed levels of heterozygosity of B. thompsonii and B. formosa were lower than expected levels and lower than those of other outcrossing diploids. The mean overall observed heterozygosities for each cluster were determined and documented by geographic location. A substantially higher level of observed heterozygosity in B. duchesnensis (Ho = 0.908) consistent with genetic fixation of a heterozygote and apomixis, supports hybridization as a speciation mechanism and apomixis as a mode of reproduction accounting for genotypic and phenotypic diversity. Morphological characteristics, especially those of pollen and trichomes were confirmed, expanded, and documented with SEM imagery. Discussion: This study provides an analysis of the genetic diversity patterns inherent in the population structure, allelic frequencies, allelic variation among individuals of the rare sexual diploids B. thompsonii, B. formosa, and the apomictic diploid B. duchesnensis in correlation with their geographic distribution. There is an implication of a reproductive barrier, within populations of the same species, that contributes to genetic isolation between clusters. I analyze the tendency of reduced heterozygosity to lead to genetic fixation, reproductive isolation, and how the heightened heterozygosity supports the classification of B. duchesnensis as an apomict. Assessing potential populations that might exist based on similar characteristics could possibly provide inferences about where future research might find similar examples of this hybridization. Reproductive isolation is hypothesized to limit gene flow between identified clusters of B. thompsonii and B. formosa exacerbating low observed heterozygosity levels and low allelic frequency levels. Population studies and cluster analysis have implications for offering future conservation strategies for both taxa.

Confined farm animals generate large amounts of excrement on-site. Many toxic substances emitted from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) emanate from that manure including hydrogen sulfide. There is growing concern that these pollutants, including hydrogen sulfide, may lead to adverse health effects among people living close to these operations. Iowa law mandates that separation distances be established from CAFOs to residences, public areas, and public buildings to protect human health. The primary objective of this study was to assess the adequacy of current separation distance requirements established in Iowa to protect for the Health Effects Standard (HES) and Health Effects Value (HEV) of hydrogen sulfide concentrations emanating from swine CAFOs in Iowa. Specifically, the research examined: 1) the characteristics of swine weight dense areas, 2) if current CAFO setback distance regulations in Iowa protect for the HES and HEV of hydrogen sulfide nearest the largest swine weight CAFO, and 3) if current CAFO setback distance regulations in Iowa protect for the HES and HEV of hydrogen sulfide for an area of Iowa which has the greatest swine weight density. The results suggest that the highest swine weight dense areas generally have a greater median and average swine weight per CAFO than is observed for all active swine CAFOs in Iowa. The high swine weight areas are also generally influenced greatly by a few very large swine CAFOs. Additionally, these areas tend to have a high CAFO density but are not located in the highest CAFO dense areas of Iowa. The HEV level of hydrogen sulfide is estimated to be exceeded in a total area of 423,568 m2 beyond the associated separated distance for the largest active swine CAFO alone in 2004. This indicates that the 914.4 m (3,000 ft) separation distance does not protect against the HEV of hydrogen sulfide for the largest swine CAFO in Iowa. The HES of hydrogen sulfide was not exceeded in this area. Additionally, the estimated concentrations of hydrogen sulfide in the highest swine weight dense area did not exceed the HES or HEV beyond the minimum separation distances.

<p>School bus routing and scheduling are among the major problems because school bus transportation needs to be safe, reliable and efficient. Hence, the research question for this thesis is to answer how to transport students in the safest, most economical and convenient manner. The objective of this thesis is to create a GIS based school transport management system which helps in bus-stop allocation, design fastest and safest bus routes with AVL facility. This thesis also aims to investigate how a school transportation management system may improve the transportation security. The result from this study has helped to develop a school bus routing and scheduling prototype model for Sujatha High School, Hyderabad. This prototype model will help the school transportation management to design shortest and fastest school bus routes and they can also allocate bus stops, which will help them in selecting the pick-up stops for the students and staff, according to their concentration in the areas. This thesis has also, through literature study, investigated how a school transport management system can improve the transportation security. For the time being, there is a general belief that ICT contributes to improving the security, although a quantification of such improvements are lacking. The user interface application has been developed by using VBA and ArcGIS 9.1 Network Analyst provided by Environmental Science Research Institute and it has been evaluated by GIS users.</p>

Pinellas County is located on a peninsula in Florida that experiences daily patterns of sea breeze associated rainfall mainly during the summer months of June through August. Previously, rainfall patterns, amounts and timing and severe weather in Pinellas County have not been examined considering dominant wind flow patterns, sea breeze circulations and other atmospheric variables. To improve forecasting of local mesoscale phenomena, this project examined the rainfall patterns, amounts and timing and severe weather occurrences that occur as a result of sea breezes and associated prevailing wind regimes within Pinellas County for the months of June, July and August for the years 1995-2009. Other atmospheric variables are also considered. Through the use of sounding data from the Ruskin, FL National Weather Service (NWS) Station, Pinellas County rainfall station data, and radar-estimated rainfall totals data from the NWS Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service, the following meteorological parameters were examined: dominant wind direction and speed, stability (convective available potential energy, CAPE and CAPEV; CAPEV is CAPE calculated using virtual temperature). Composites were made of radar-derived rainfall estimates to show where the dominant rainfall occurs in relation to the sounding classifications of dominant wind flow for that day using ArcGIS as an analysis tool. Composite maps of precipitation indicate that the largest range of precipitation across Pinellas County occurs when winds are from the 241-300° direction category. The soundings were also used to classify days by CAPE, wind speed, and precipitable water. Precipitable water had a significant positive correlation with precipitation amounts in four of the five wind direction categories. Wind speed had significant positive relationships with a southerly wind direction. In order to examine the timing of rainfall associated with each wind direction category, Gr2Analyst was used. Gr2Analyst indicated rainfall occurred earlier in days featuring a westerly flow, and later in days with an easterly flow. Severe weather is also influenced by wind regimes and other atmospheric variables. Wind direction, wind speed, CAPE, precipitable water, and the United States Air Force Severe Weather Threat Index (SWEAT) indices were examined in relation to severe weather. The likelihood of severe weather was related to wind direction, with more events occurring during days with a more easterly flow than westerly. Atmospheric parameters were also examined in relation to each severe weather event.

Central New York is located in one of the snowiest regions in the United States, with the city of Syracuse, New York the snowiest metropolis in the nation. Snowfall in the region generally begins in mid-November and lasts until late-March. Snow accumulation occurs from a multitude of conditions: frontal systems, mid-latitude cyclones, Nor'easters, and most notably lake-effect storms. Lake effect snowfall (LES) is a difficult parameter to forecast due to the isolated and highly variable nature of the storm. Consequently, studies have attempted to determine changes in snowfall for lake-effect dominated regions. Annual snowfall patterns are of particular concern as seasonal snowfall totals are vital for water resources, winter businesses, agriculture, government and state agencies, and much more. Through the use of snowfall, temperature, precipitation, and location data from the National Weather Service's Cooperative Observer Program (COOP), spatial and temporal changes in snowfall for Central New York were determined. In order to determine climatic changes in snowfall, statistical analyses were performed (i.e. least squares estimation, correlations, principal component analyses, etc.) and spatial maps analyzed. Once snowfall trends were determined, factors influencing the trends were examined. Long-term snowfall trends for CNY were positive for original stations (~0.46 +/- 0.20 in. yr-1) and homogenously filtered stations (0.23 +/- 0.20 in. yr-1). However, snowfall trends for shorter time-increments within the long-term period were not consistent, as positive, negative, and neutral trends were calculated. Regional differences in snowfall trends were observed for CNY as typical lake-effect areas (northern counties, the Tug Hill Plateau and the Southern Hills) experienced larger snowfall trends than areas less dominated by LES. Typical lake-effect months (December - February) experienced the greatest snowfall trend in CNY compared to other winter months. The influence of teleconnections on seasonal snowfall in CNY was not pronounced; however, there was a slight significant (5%) correlation (< 0.35) with the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. It was not clear if changes in air temperature or changes in precipitation were the cause of variations in snowfall trends. It was also inconclusive if the elevation or distance from Lake Ontario resulted in increased snowfall trends. Results from this study will aid in seasonal snowfall forecasts in CNY, which can be used to predict future snowfall. Even though the study area is regionally specific, the methods may be applied to other lake effect dominated areas to determine temporal and spatial variations in snowfall. This study will enhance climatologists and operational forecasters' awareness and understanding of snowfall, especially lake effect snowfall in CNY.

The classic time geography concept (space-time path) provides a powerful framework to study travel survey data which is an important source for travel behavior studies. Based on the space-time concept, this research will present a visualizing approach to analyze travel survey data. By inputting the data into GIS software such as TransCAD and ArcGIS and editing the needed information, this study will explain how to create 3D images of travel paths for showing the variation of trip distribution in relation to different social-economic factors deemed as the driving forces of such patterns. Also, this report will address the technical challenges involved in this kind of study and will discuss directions of future research. / text

Ekoparti AB är ett grossistföretag som idag har cirka 480 kunder runt om i mellersta Sverige. Idag omsätter Ekoparti AB 165 miljoner kronor per år och har resurser som uppgår till 30 heltidsanställda personer, samt att man äger ett lager på 3000 kvadratmeter, varav 500 av dem är frys. Företaget har även sex stora lastbilar och två skåpbilar. På senaste tid har Ekoparti AB insett att det finns brister i distributionen mot kund. De har tagit fram två punkter som de anser vara bristerna i företagets logistiksystem. Dessa är att kundernas ordermönster behöver förändras, samt att vissa kunder avviker från leveransrutterna som går från företagets lager, samtidigt som de beställer för lite. Utifrån dessa punkter har de tagit fram ett nytt förslag för hur distributionen mot kund borde ske i företaget. Projektets uppgift blev då att undersöka de nuvarande leveranserna samt det nya förslaget och jämföra dessa två för att se vilket som blir mest kostnadseffektivt och varför. För att lösa problemet valde vi att använda programmet ArcMap som en bas för analysen av rutterna. Med hjälp av programmet kunde kostnader för att köra de olika rutterna i nuläget och i förslaget tas fram. Resultatet av analysen blir att det nya förslaget är mer kostnadseffektivt än hur distributionen hanteras i nuläget, med en minskning av kostnaderna med 614 950 kronor per år. För framtagning av resultatet används två huvudsakliga kostnadsfaktorer, vilket är tidskostnader och distanskostnader. När vi granskade resultatet var det tydligt att den variabel som har störst påverkan på kostnaderna är tidskostnaderna. Med tidskostnader menas lönekostnader för chauffören och hans medpassagerare. Dessutom tar vi även i rapporten upp att förändringen inte enbart påverkar transporterna, utan förändringarna skulle även kunna påverka andra delar av logistiksystemet, vilket i sin tur kan påverka andra delar av företaget. Slutsatsen av projektet är att det nya förslaget för rutter är mer kostnadseffektivt för Ekoparti AB än de nuvarande rutterna. I och med att tidskostnaderna utgör majoriteten av totalkostnaderna bör man för att minska totalkostnaderna ta fram lösningar som minskar den spenderade tiden vid distributionen till kunderna. Dessutom får man inte bortse från helhetsperspektivet då transportförändringar inte bara påverkar transporterna utan även resterande delar av företaget. Detta för att undvika oönskade negativa effekter i andra delar av verksamheten när man genomför en förändring

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are useful in analyzing and visualizing database information. Specifically, the field of geotechnical engineering stands to benefit from a database encompassing GIS; as, geotechnical data varies spatially. The City of Austin Water Utility realized the advantages of a geotechnical database utilizing GIS which led to the motivation of designing a database for Austin, Texas. The main objective is to provide a detailed explanation of the design of a GIS-relational geotechnical database for Austin, Texas. In addition, several examples of useful methods of analyzing geotechnical data spatially are included. The examples show the identification of faults, the uses of structural contour maps, summarization of data through plots and tables, and analyzing temporal piezometric conditions. The idea of a database is to organize and store data in a basic efficient format so that information is not duplicated. Database queries are then used to combine and rearrange the data within the database through relationships. The queries are then connected to GIS for intelligent visualization. This process is designed specifically for the geologic conditions that exist in Austin, Texas. Understanding the geotechnical engineering state of practice is important when designing a database that will encompass geotechnical data for a given region. The City of Austin relies on experience and the geotechnical report filing systems to initially plan future projects around geologic conditions. With the help of a geotechnical database, the information from geotechnical reports is a “computer click” away. Also, the geotechnical data from multiple reports is viewable at one time in both a 2 and 3 dimensional environments through GIS. Database features coupled with GIS tools proves to be an effective way for engineers and geologists to use geotechnical data. / text

School bus routing and scheduling are among the major problems because school bus transportation needs to be safe, reliable and efficient. Hence, the research question for this thesis is to answer how to transport students in the safest, most economical and convenient manner. The objective of this thesis is to create a GIS based school transport management system which helps in bus-stop allocation, design fastest and safest bus routes with AVL facility. This thesis also aims to investigate how a school transportation management system may improve the transportation security. The result from this study has helped to develop a school bus routing and scheduling prototype model for Sujatha High School, Hyderabad. This prototype model will help the school transportation management to design shortest and fastest school bus routes and they can also allocate bus stops, which will help them in selecting the pick-up stops for the students and staff, according to their concentration in the areas. This thesis has also, through literature study, investigated how a school transport management system can improve the transportation security. For the time being, there is a general belief that ICT contributes to improving the security, although a quantification of such improvements are lacking. The user interface application has been developed by using VBA and ArcGIS 9.1 Network Analyst provided by Environmental Science Research Institute and it has been evaluated by GIS users.

Zugl.: Freiburg (Breisgau), Univ., Diss., 2004.