Criteria used to characterize lotic salmonid habitat are often based on observed correlations between physical habitat characteristics and salmonid abundances. A focus on physical habitat features ignores other habitat components, such as an adequate supply of food that set the physiological limitations on salmonid growth and survival. This study outlines the development of a habitat assessment approach that focuses on how invertebrate food availability interacts with stream temperatures to determine salmonid growth potentials. Abundances of benthic and drifting invertebrate communities, stream temperatures, and juvenile steelhead trout (Onchorhynchus mykiss gairdneri) summer growth rates and abundances were measured within 10 distinct stream segments in central Oregon. Stream temperatures and growth rates were used as inputs for bioenergetics model simulations to produce estimates of O. mykiss summer consumption rates. Measures of invertebrates providing the best description of food availability were chosen based on their ability to explain observed variation in salmonid consumption. Much of the variation in O. mykiss consumption estimates was explained by measurements of total drift biomass along a type II predator response curve. A random effects analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to partition variation in invertebrate abundances across spatial and temporal scales. Quantification of variation at multiple scales allowed identification of a relevant spatial scale at which to assess macroinvertebrates relevant to salmonid populations, and compare the precision associated with measures of benthic and drifting invertebrate abundances. Results suggested that spatial variation in drifting and benthic invertebrate abundances are greatest at the scale of streams. Total drift biomass and total benthic biomass were more precise at the stream and stream reach scale than drift and benthic density. The information provided by this study will be used to guide the development of sampling approaches that describe invertebrates in a manner more directly related to salmonid production.

Les systèmes de production et de sûreté de fonctionnement sont d'une importance majeure dans l'industrie des procédés. Leurs performances impactent directement les intérêts de l'industrie. Ces systèmes ont des comportements similaires. Ces comportements peuvent être conceptualisés dans des modèles via des patterns de modélisation. La réutilisation de ces patterns permet de rendre le processus de modélisation à la fois simplifiée et plus efficace.Dans cette thèse, nous proposons un ensemble varié de patterns de modélisation. Ils sont classés en fonction de leur usage, ce qui reflète le fonctionnement d'un pattern de modélisation. Les patterns sont présentés sous forme d’un catalogue. Sur la base de l'étude de nombreux systèmes de production et de sécurité, vingt-quatre (24) patterns de modélisation sont introduits. Chaque pattern est représenté par un ensemble d'éléments structurés. Nous proposons une méthodologie basée sur les patterns pour l'analyse des performances des systèmes de production et de sûreté de fonctionnement.Pour tester la pertinence des patterns de modélisation suggérés, nous avons mené des études expérimentales sur un ensemble de systèmes de production et de sûreté. Tous les systèmes de validation sont extraits de la littérature. Ces systèmes traitent la majorité des difficultés de modélisation détectées auparavant. Une comparaison est effectuée entre les résultats obtenus en utilisant la modélisation basée sur les patterns et ceux rapportés dans la littérature. / Production and safety systems are crucial in the process industry. Their performances affect significantly the industry interests. These systems have common behaviors. Such behaviors can be captured in models via modeling patterns. By reusing modeling patterns, the modeling process can be simplified and made more efficient.In this thesis, we propose a versatile set of modeling patterns. They are classified according to their purpose, which reflects what a modeling pattern works for. Modeling patterns are exhibited as a catalog. Based on reviewing numerous production and safety systems, twenty-four (24) modeling patterns are introduced. Each pattern is illustrated with a set of structured items. We propose a pattern-based methodology for performance analysis of production and safety systems.To test the applicability of proposed modeling patterns, we conducted experimental studies on a set of production and safety systems. All systems are extracted from the literature. These systems are declared to cover most of modeling difficulties. Comparisons are performed between the results obtained using modeling patterns and those reported in the literature.

The access dimensions to the local, urban food environment of adults in the eastern suburbs of the Tshwane metropolitan are explored and described. The study further determined how the food access dimensions contribute to the food choices and food consumption patterns of the study group. South Africa has the highest rate of urbanisation in the world. Moving to and living in urban areas usually result in major shifts in people’s food consumption patterns and lifestyles which are associated with non-communicable diseases. Intervention strategies aimed at changing consumers’ food behaviour often fail to recognise the complexities associated with the local urban food environment and the contribution of the food access dimensions. This study fills the gap on the limited information on the food access dimensions and food choices of white South African urban adults. A mixed methods approach was followed in this cross-sectional study that consisted of two phases. In the first quantitative phase, an electronic survey questionnaire was used to gather information on respondents’ usual food shopping and eating patterns, together with aspects related to the local urban food environment. The questionnaire was completed by a total of 230 white adults residing in regions 3, 4 and 6 of the Tshwane metropolis. The second qualitative data collection phase used Geographic Information System (GIS) measurement to identify, describe and map all the food retail outlets in the eastern suburbs of Tshwane. From the mapped food stores in regions 3, 4 and 6, stores were purposively selected and in-store observations were conducted to gain information and insight into the variety, quality and price of food products on offer in these food retail stores. A food basket was developed to obtain and compare the price of certain food products. Food prices between food stores were compared, as well as with the Consumer Price Index. Results indicated a minimal difference in price and it is concluded that most of the food products seemed to be affordably-priced to adults in Tshwane. Results confirm that urban consumers in Tshwane have easy, adequate access to food stores and purchase most of their food at supermarkets at least once or more times a week. The results also prevailed that a variety of good quality, affordable food products are available and accessible at food stores close to them and that they find the stores accommodating and food products acceptable. Although the Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) of 6.20 reflected that the majority of the respondents daily consumed a variety of food, they do not follow all the guidelines of the Food-Based Dietary Guidelines for South Africa, which might have an impact on their future health. This research contributes to a better understanding of how the access dimensions in the local urban food environment contribute to urban consumers’ food choices. By exploring the local urban food environment of urban consumers in Tshwane, this study contributed to fill the knowledge gap on this topic in South Africa. / Dissertation (MConsumer Science)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Consumer Science / MConsumer Science / Unrestricted

This thesis examines the effects of product composition, reactant temperature, reactant pressure, fuel-air equivalence ratio, diluent addition, and fuel composition on entropy generation in a constant internal energy/constant volume combustion process. Equilibrium product composition is shown to produce less combustion-generated entropy than frozen product composition. Using methane as the fuel, it is found that increasing reactant temperature by 100 K decreases entropy generation by 6 to 9 percent, while reactant pressure has little effect on entropy generation. Total entropy generation is increased with excess air and increased diluent addition. For the three fuels considered in this analysis (CH4, C2H5OH, C8H18), iso-octane uniformly exhibits the highest entropy generation, indicating the strong effect of fuel type and structure on combustiongenerated entropy.

I rapporten presenteras designkonceptet iTry. Genom intervjuer, möten, research och workshops undersöks e-handlens problematik med returer. Att få rätt storlek och att produkten ska leva upp till kunders förväntan när vi handlar online har synliggjorts vara omfattande problemområden. Därför utformas en designlösning med fokus påatt minimera returer orsakade av fel passform. Projektet klargör fördelarna med en app för kunder och smartspegel i butik för minskat antal returer. Konceptet är tillgängligt för kunder som handlar kläder online och i butik. Arbetet synliggör designprocessen från research, idégenerering och visualisering. / The report presents the design concept iTry. Through interviews, meetings, research and workshops, the problems of e-commerce with returns are investigated. Getting the right size and that the product should live up to customers' expectations when shopping online has been shown to be extensive problem areas. Therefore, a design solution is designed with a focus on minimizing returns caused by the wrong fit. The project clarifies the benefits of an app for customers and a smart mirror in the store for a reduced number of returns. The concept is available to customers who shop for clothes online and in stores. The work makes the design process visible from research, idea generation and visualization.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(情報学) / 甲第23550号 / 情博第780号 / 新制||情||133(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院情報学研究科通信情報システム専攻 / (主査)教授 大木 英司, 教授 原田 博司, 教授 湊 真一 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Informatics / Kyoto University / DFAM

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Biochar’s high porosity and negative surface charge allows for numerous soil and plant benefits such as increased water retention, high nutrient availability, and plant growth. By analysing biochar’s effect of all of these factors, a system can be put in place in which soils can be remediated with the proper soil amendments. This report discusses and tests the effects of varying rates of biochar on pH levels, cation exchange capacity, and nutrient exchangeability (of calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium) in soil. Corn plants were also grown in soils of varying amendment types and analysed for plant growth and germination to determine soil effects on the plant. Testing showed significant differences between treatment types in all areas tested except plant germination. A 2:1 ratio of biochar to compost produced the best overall results for the soil used in testing. This treatment maintained acceptable levels of exchangeable nutrients while raising pH and cation exchange capacity, and also raised the plant growth in the soil by 30%. However, for added soil health, gypsum or calcium fertilizer should be added to the soil to remediate low calcium exchangeability. This testing confirmed that biochar does have a strong positive influence on soil and plant health when used in combination with compost.

Cloud computing is in current demand and widely used for businesses because of its scalability and flexibility. An agreement is signed between cloud providers and customers to guarantee the level of services are available as promised, it is called Service Level Agreement (SLA). To assess if the services are compliant with SLA, availability of the cloud services is important to be monitored. There are some existing monitoring tools provided by the cloud service providers. However, those can be often biased that leads to calls for independent SLA evaluation. This study aims to solve the problem of verifying service availability parameters in terms of uptime/downtime against SLA by proposing a monitoring tool. This paper focuses on reliable assessment of SLA for both customers and service providers. Furthermore, this research discusses the challenges of SLA tracking and consequences of not assessing it. This study also explores that automated monitoring systems minimizes human-effort, time and the potential risk of errors. This approach is even more essential for organizations that use multiple cloud services from different vendors. The proposed monitoring tool can automatically verify the SLA by monitoring the availability of the cloud services. To avoid business losses and maintain reputation for customer trust, it is crucial to validate the SLA. The research problem related to SLA monitoring is challenging in terms of relevant previous studies of this area. Using experiment-based research strategy and quantitative data analysis method, the results have shown that the proposed solution is able to monitor the service availability and validate with SLA. The recommended solution is of significant interest to organizations as they are migrating and using single or multiple cloud services by different vendors as per the business need. The monitoring system serves as a valuable tool for both customers and service providers to solve issues related to availability monitoring of the cloud services and ensure the SLA commitment is met.

Water is key in climate change adaptation. The impacts of climate change will primarily manifest themselves through water, with changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme hydroclimatic events such as floods and droughts. Understanding climate change influence is crucial for assessing future water availability and developing sustainable management plans. Vulnerability to these changes differs by region and community, geographic location, nature of climate change impacts, and human factors. The Nunavik region in northern Canada is experiencing some of the most rapid changes in climate in the world, with disproportionately large temperature increases, alterations in precipitation regimes, and thawing of permafrost, among others. This investigation aims to evaluate the impact of climate change on water availability in the Umiujaq community (Nunavik) and propose strategies to reduce the effects of these impacts. In order to achieve these goals, a hydrological model of the basin has been developed and calibrated using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), satellite and local data, and the SWAT Calibration and Uncertainty Programs (SWAT-CUP). Due to a lack of data, a model was first developed for the Grande Riviere de la Baleine watershed (Kuujjuarapik) and then transposed to Umiujaq. The hydrological model was successfully calibrated and validated (NSE = 0.81, RSR = 0.43, PBIAS = 5.2: NSE = 0.68, RSR = 0.56, PBIAS = 0.9). Then, the model was forced with Canadian downscaled climate data (CMIP5) under three emission scenarios (RCP 2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5) to develop a quantitative analysis of the future water cycle's evolution. The results showed a slight increase in precipitation with global warming and a considerable reduction in snow content due to the higher temperatures. A faster and easier snow melting would happen yearly, bringing an earlier streamflow peak in the river. In the worst-case scenario (RCP8.5), the peak streamflow will move from June 17 to May 8 (40 days), which could result in lower water availability during the summer. To address these impacts, two strategies were analyzed: increase the storage capacity of the community and resort to an alternative water source, i.e., groundwater. The first one could be a solution in the short term, while the second one would be more reliable in the long term. However, the community is already facing difficulty in providing a reliable water supply throughout the year, so swift and concerted action from both the community and relevant authorities is of the essence in tackling this issue head-on.