Signal extraction in tree-ring research is considered as a general time series decomposition problem. A linear aggregate model for a hypothetical ring-width series is proposed, which allows the problem to be reduced to the estimation and extraction of five discrete classes of signals. These classes represent the signals due to trend, climate, endogenous disturbance, exogenous disturbance, and random error. For each class of signal, some mathematical/statistical techniques of estimation are described and reviewed. Except for the exogenous disturbance signal, the techniques only require information contained within the ring-width series, themselves. A unified mathematical framework for solving this decomposition problem has not yet been explicitly formulated. However, the general applicability of ARMA time series models to this problem and the power and flexibility of state space modelling suggest that these techniques will provide the closest thing to a unified framework in the future.

The thesis is a summary and discussion of six papers. The purpose of the investigation was to study the influence of (i) environmental factors and (ii) the physiological condition of the thallus on nitrogen fixation in the lichen Stereocaulon paschale (L.) Fr. The nitrogen input to the site, a sparsely stocked pine forest in northern Sweden, was also studied. Nitrogen fixation (nitrogenase activity) was measured as acetylene reduction both in the field and in the laboratory. Usually intact lichen thalli were used, but also excised cephalodia were studied. All nitrogenase activity was located in the external cephalodia containing the blue-green alga Stigonema sp. There was always a reduction in nitrogenase activity when the cephalodia were quantitatively excised from the thallus. Moisture was found to be the most important environmental factor in the field during the snow free part of the year. At the site, with 14 % of the ground covered by S. paschale3 the yearly nitrogen fixation was estimated to c. 0.1 g nitrogen per m^. The lichen thalli could withstand several months in a very dry condition and at a low temperature without significant decrease in nitrogenase activity. A higher capacity for nitrogenase activity was found in lichen thalli collected from bare ground than in thalli collected under the snow. The light conditions before as well as during the nitrogenase activity measurements affected the nitrogenase activity. Thalli incubated with acetylene in the dark had only c. two thirds of their activities in the light. Lichen thalli pretreated in the light showed increased nitrogenase activities, probably due to raised content of carbohydrates available for nitrogenase activity. The necessary energy for nitrogenase activity is supplied by either oxidative phosphorylation or photophosphorylation. / digitalisering@umu

The number of children living in the context of relative poverty in western industrialized countries is increasing, while at the same time a little amount of research is conducted about the impact of relative poverty on the child’s participation and development; focused on the socio-emotional development. This systematic literature review therefore investigates the impact of environmental factors, focused mainly on structural factors, in poverty settings in western industrialized countries on children´s peer relations. The focus will be laid on children´s participation in peer relations in school activities.  Current literature published from 2012 or more recent was searched and results found were linked to theories. The findings of the articles covered several environmental aspects regarding the impact of poverty on the child and its peer relations. The results, in relation to theories, show the interwoven influences of several factors and environments. They indicate the big influence poverty has on several aspects of the child´s life. Both in this systematic literature review researched hypotheses – that the poverty setting influences the child´s development negatively and that the child shows difficulties to develop and participate in positive peer relations - can be confirmed. Future research should aim at generating knowledge about the impact of relative poverty on the child´s development and perceptions of holistic wellbeing. This is necessary to enhance the understanding of the impact of relative poverty on the child´s participation.

Rivers are a significant source of particulate and dissolved organic carbon (POC, DOC) into inland waters and coastal systems and provide a fundamental linkage between the terrestrial, oceanic, and atmospheric carbon reservoirs. Recent studies have examined the relationship between the quantity and form (POC vs. DOC) of carbon delivered to the aquatic system; however, little is known about the age of POC and DOC exported and how the radiocarbon age may vary with latitude, topographic gradient, vegetation, and land use. I provide the first global synthesis of published radiocarbon values of POC and DOC (∆14C). Inclusion of DOC and POC parameters (µM, δ13C, ∆14C) reveal significant driving forces of DOC (µM), latitude, and elevation (m) as capable of explaining 25% of the variability in DO14C in rivers and POC (µM) and latitude accounting for 15% of the variability in PO14C. When δ13C of DOC and POC and latitude were incorporated with ∆14C of DOC observations, 61% of the variability in DOC age was explained revealing the necessity to include dissolved and particulate fractions of organic carbon to yield the most robust predictive models. This study found a global trend of increasing age of DOC and increasing δ13C of DOC and POC with increasing latitude. My study suggests future research should incorporate both particulate and dissolved OC parameters along with elevation, vegetation, land cover, and climate zones to increase understanding of what drives the age of carbon exported in riverine systems.

The aim of this thesis is to give information about asthmatic disease, to evaluate the situation in Czech children's population and to analyze the impacts of selected environmental factors on the occurrence of the bronchial asthma in selected age group. In the first part of this thesis are the information about bronchial asthma. In the second part of this thesis are description of the data of selected children group and characteristics of the environment (the source of data was from Czech National Health Institute). There are verifications of the null hypotheses about the risk effect of the environmental factors on the occurrence of the bronchial asthma among 5-years-old children in selected towns of the Czech Republic. The selected towns are České Budějovice, Hodonín, Hradec Králové, Jablonec nad Nisou, Jihlava, Karviná, Kladno, Mělník, Most, Olomouc, Sokolov, Ústí nad Labem, Ústí nad Orlicí and Žďár nad Sázavou.

Truffles are economically important fungi that are naturally present in the territory of the Czech Republic. Their geographical distribution is traditionally documented by the field incidence of fruitbodies. Advanced detection methods, however, enabled us to detect the presence of Tuber spp. at localities without a need for finding the underground fruitbodies. In this work, a molecular genetic detection method based on the polymerase chain reaction with specific primers was used. It enables us to determine the occurrence of members of the genus Tuber including Tuber aestivum in the studied samples. Members of the genus Tuber were detected in 67 cases out of a total of 190 samples. Highly probably, Tuber borchii, Tuber foetidum, Tuber rufum, Tuber dryophilum, Tuber umbilicatum, Tuber huidongense, Tuber oligospermum and Tuber aestivum have been detected. Since the sequence similarity with the closest species is relatively low in some cases, some of the obtained sequences might belong to hitherto unknown truffle species. Environmental factors analyzed explain only a small portion of the variability, acted weakly and cannot be taken as decisive for the presence or the absence of a species in a sample. The occurrence of truffles in the slopes of the study area was noted and it seems to be still more...

Membrane assisted passive sampler (MAPS) is an informative, cost-effective and environmentally friendly approach for monitoring of ionisable organic compounds in water bodies. The sampler uses no organic solvent. By adjusting the pH of the acceptor phase, both acidic chlorophenols and basic triazine model compounds were extracted. The sampler was optimized under laboratory conditions followed by field applications on the same compounds. The optimised parameters were temperature of the water body, turbulence, protective cover, biofouling, matrix effects such as humic substances, degree of trapping in the acceptor phase and exposure time. It was found that the sampling kinetics of most of the tested analytes are dependent on temperature and on the hydrodynamic conditions. Also, a strong dependence of the sampling rates reduction on sample matrix and protective cover used was noted. The chemical uptake of both the acidic chlorophenols and basic triazine compounds into the passive sampler remained linear and integrative through out the exposure periods. The amounts quantified in the MAPS had relative standard deviations mostly between 10 % and 20 % (from repeat determinations) and did in no case exceed 30 %. The behaviour of the MAPS to monitor ionisable triazine compounds in dam water of the Hartebeespoort was compared to Chemcatcher and solid phase extraction technique with C18 sorbents of spot samples. Similarly, the behaviour of the MAPS to monitor ionisable chlorophenol compounds in wastewater of the Goudkoppies Wastewater Treatment Plant was compared to solid phase extraction technique. There were no triazine and chlorophenol compounds detected in any of the deployed passive samplers in the field applications. The same results were obtained in grab samples extracted with solid phase extraction under laboratory conditions. However, data from laboratory studies support the feasibility of MAPS to measure the freely dissolved fraction of ionisable organic chemicals in water. Using water from the Hartebeespoort dam spiked with 50 μg L-1 triazine, the detection limits of triazine compounds ranged from 11.38 to 61.86 μg L-1 for direct injection, 1.082 to 23.077 μg L-1 for MAPS, 0.892 to 5.769 μg L-1 for Chemcatcher and 1.482 to 7.410 μg L-1 for SPE. While using water from Goudkoppies Wastewater Treatment Plant spiked with 100 μg L-1 chlorophenols, the detection limits of the passive sampler were comparable with that of solid phase extraction and were around 1.5 μg L-1. Estimation and interpretation of enrichment factors in the passive samplers and SPE were generally comparable ranging from 46 to 295 for chlorophenol compounds. Also, for triazine compounds, the obtained enrichment factors in the passive samplers and SPE are generally comparable with the exception of enrichment factors of propazine, ametryn terbuthylazine, prometryn and terbutryn compounds which were higher for the MAPS ranging from 46 to 65.

Várias metodologias têm sido propostas com o intuito de medir a influência que a interação GxE exerce sobre os mais diversos caracteres de interesse e, dentre essas, as abordagens via modelos mistos utilizando REML/BLUP têm sido mencionadas como vantajosas. Ainda, o uso de informações ambientais pode ser útil para encontrar os fatores que estão por trás da real diferença entre os genótipos. O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar a resposta da produtividade de grãos em feijão-caupi frente às variações espaciais, e as variáveis ambientais mais relevantes para a interação GxE. Foram avaliados 20 genótipos em 47 locais entre os anos de 2010 a 2012 sob delineamento DBC. Após a análise conjunta, os padrões de adaptabilidade dos genótipos foram testados pelas metodologias GGE Biplot e MHPRVG e a estratificação ambiental foi feita via Análise de Fatores sobre a matriz dos efeitos aleatórios GGE. A importância das variáveis ambientais na produtividade foi verificada pela associação entre os efeitos da matriz GGE e cada variável ambiental. Após decomposição SVD, os componentes principais foram plotados em Covariáveis-Biplots. Os efeitos de genótipos e da interação tripla apresentaram elevada significância (p ≤ 0,01 e p ≤ 0,001, respectivamente) indicando forte influência desta última no desempenho dos genótipos avaliados. O modelo fixo GGE Biplot apresentou baixa eficiência, explicando apenas 35% da variação total, sendo os genótipos MNC03-737F-5-1, MNC03-737F-5- 4, MNC03-737F-5-9, BRS Tumucumaque, BRS Cauamé e BRS Guariba considerados os mais estáveis, e MNC03-737F-5-9 e BRS Tumucumaque apontados como amplamente adaptados. Já a estatística MHPRVG destacou os genótipos MNC02-676F-3, MNC03-737F-5-1, MNC03- 737F-5-9, BRS Tumucumaque e BRS Guariba, com adaptação ampla, e MNC02-675F-4-9, MNC02-676F-3 e MNC03-737F-5-9 como especificamente adaptados a alguns ambientes. O ajuste para o modelo aleatório revelou efeitos de genótipos e interações GxE significativos (p ≤ 0,001) e foram obtidas correlações significativas (p ≤ 0,01 e p ≤ 0,001) entre PROD e as variáveis IT, NDP, Ptotal, Tmax, Tmin, Lat, Lon, e Alt. Os genótipos MNC03-737F-5-1, MNC03-737F-5-9, BRS Tumucumaque e BRS Guariba associaram elevada produtividade de grãos à rusticidade, sendo as variáveis \"Temperatura\", \"Insolação\" e \"Precipitação\", bem como \"Latitude\" e \"Altitude\", os mais importantes para a interação GxE. A análise MHPRVG foi adequada para a identificação dos genótipos superiores e o modelo Biplot-Covariável mostrou-se como uma ferramenta útil na identificação das variáveis ambientais importantes para a produtividade de grãos em feijão-caupi. / Several methods have been proposed to measure GxE interaction influence on various traits of interest, and among these, mixed models approaches using REML/BLUP have been mentioned as advantageous. Moreover, the use of environmental information can be useful to find factors that are behind the real difference between genotypes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the response of grain yield in cowpea to spatial variations, and the most important environmental factors for GxE interaction. Twenty genotypes were evaluated at 47 locations between the years 2010 to 2012 under RCB design. After joint analysis, genotypes adaptability patterns were tested by GGE Biplot and MHPRVG methods, and an environmental stratification was performed through factor analysis on the random effects GGE matrix. The impact of environmental factors on yield was verified by the association between the effects of the GGE matrix and environmental variables. After SVD decomposition, the principal components were plotted in Covariables-Biplots. Genotype effects and triple interaction were highly significant (p ≤ 0.01 and p ≤ 0.001, respectively) indicating strong GxE influence on genotypes performance. The fixed model GGE Biplot exhibits low efficiency, explaining only 35% of the total variation, and genotypes MNC03-737F-5-1, MNC03-737F-5-4, MNC03-737F-5-9, BRS Tumucumaque, BRS Cauamé, and BRS Guariba were considered the most stable, and MNC03-737F-5-9 and BRS Tumucumaque identified as widely adapted. MHPRVG method highlighted MNC02-676F-3, MNC03-737F-5-1, MNC03-737F-5-9, BRS Tumucumaque, and BRS Guariba as genotypes with broad adaptation and MNC02-675F-4-9, MNC02-676F-3, and MNC03-737F-5-9 as specifically adapted to certain environments. The fitted random effects model revealed significant genotype effects and GxE interactions (p ≤ 0.001) and significant correlations were obtained (p ≤ 0.01 and p ≤ 0.001) between PROD and IT , NDP, Ptotal, Tmax, Tmin, Lat, Lon, and Alt variables. Genotypes MNC03-737F-5-1, MNC03-737F-5-9, BRS Tumucumaque, and BRS Guariba presented high grain yield associated with rusticity, and environmental factors \"Temperature\", \"Insolation\" and \"Precipitation\", as well as \"Latitude\" and \"Altitude\", were the most important for GxE interaction. MHPRVG analysis was adequate to identify superior genotypes, and Covariate-Biplot model proved to be a useful tool for identifying key environmental factors for grain yield in cowpea.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-10T10:55:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ANA CAROLINA DIAS VILA.pdf: 321510 bytes, checksum: 6c026abb0d1e2ef6cc2b79d143f68f08 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-02-14 / Scientific evidences show that our health is more related to our life style than to the hegemonic idea of its genetic and biological determination. Other factors that directly influence the existence of the so-called modern diseases include sedentarism, an unhealthy diet, the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, the competition and the frenzy imposed by our daily life. One of the diseases that have affected an increasing number of women is infertility. Infertility and its consequences are correlated not only to some biological factors, but also to psychological factors. Endometriosis is one of the factors related to female sterility. There are risk factors: life style, habits (use of alcohol, tabacco), lack of some vitamins (vitamin C, E) and fibers, childbearing age, pre-existing dieseases, exposure to determined chemical products. The purpose of this investigation was to try to identify some environmental factors that influence the existence of endometriosis and to detect the feelings women have when facing the diagnosis and treatment. This was a longitudinal study, developed according to the descriptive and qualitative-quantitative approach through the selection of patient s medical records and registration and the use of questionnaires. Forty women with endometriosis participated in the study. Results showed that: the average age was 35 years; 45% had college degree all of them were employed, 60% have faith/ are religious; 62,5% never achieved a pregnancy; 45% had menstrual cramps; 15% had difficult in conceiving; 52,5% made biopsies in order to confirm the diagnosis; 80% had been exposed to chemical disinfectants; 72,5% had been exposed to bleaching solution and 57,5% do not exercise; 69% do not use vitamins C, 55% do not use vitamin E; 75% do not use fibers. Therefore, it is important to support them, offer help, security and information to continue the treatment and provide them a better quality of life. / Evidências mostram que a saúde está mais relacionada ao modo de viver das pessoas do que à idéia hegemônica da sua determinação genética e biológica. O sedentarismo e a alimentação não saudável, o consumo de álcool, tabaco e outras drogas, o frenesi da vida cotidiana, a competitividade, são condicionantes diretamente relacionados à produção das ditas doenças modernas. Entre elas, uma que tem acometido um número crescente de mulheres é a infertilidade. Além dos fatores biológicos, os fatores psicológicos e emocionais estão presentes nas origens e conseqüências de infertilidade. A endometriose é um dos fatores relacionados à esterilidade feminina. Estão relacionados aos fatores de risco: estilo de vida, hábitos (uso de bebidas alcoólica, tabagismo), carência de determinadas vitaminas (vitamina C, E) e fibras, idade reprodutiva, doenças pré-existentes, exposição a determinados produtos químicos. Este estudo buscou identificar alguns fatores ambientais que influenciam no aparecimento da endometriose e detectar o sentimento feminino perante o diagnóstico e tratamento. O estudo foi longitudinal, desenvolvido sob aspecto descritivo e quali-quantitativo, por meio de seleção de prontuários, cadastramento de pacientes e aplicação de questionários; foi realizado com 40 mulheres com diagnóstico de endometriose. Os resultados mostraram que: a idade média encontrada foi 35 anos; 45% tem 3º grau completo; 60% se apegou à fé; 62,5% nunca gestou; 45% referiu cólicas; 15% tem dificuldade de engravidar; 52,5% fez biópsia para confirmar o diagnóstico; 80% está exposta à desinfetante; 72,5% à água sanitária; 57,5% não pratica atividade física; 65% não usa vitamina C,55% não usa vitamina E e 75% não faz uso de fibras na alimentação. Sentese a necessidade de apóia-las, oferecer segurança e informação para continuar o tratamento e ter melhor qualidade de vida.

Dans le contexte actuel des changements globaux, les êtres vivants sont soumis à de nouvelles pressions sélectives dans des environnements modifiés par les activités anthropiques, et nous assistons à l’émergence de pièges évolutifs. Se déplacer peut être appréhendé comme une conséquence de ces changements, mais aussi comme l’opportunité pour un individu, une population ou une espèce, de s’adapter, à diverses échelles spatio-temporelles, en changeant de site d’alimentation, de domaine vital ou d’aire de répartition. Dans mon travail de thèse, je me suis intéressée aux comportements de prospection alimentaire du vautour fauve (Gyps fulvus), appartenant à la guilde fonctionnelle des nécrophages stricts, qui est la plus menacée parmi les oiseaux à l’échelle mondiale. Des plans de conservation ont été mis en place pour enrayer leur déclin, dont certaines mesures de gestion comme le soutien alimentaire (SA) peuvent néanmoins constituer de véritables pièges évolutifs (des sites attractifs sous-optimaux) pour les vautours. A partir de l’analyse des déplacements journaliers à fine échelle d’individus équipés de balises GPS, et par l’étude des domaines vitaux, j’ai mis en évidence des différences intra- et inter-populationnelles en termes de stratégies d’occupation de l’espace et de recherche alimentaire chez les vautours fauves présents dans deux régions françaises où le SA est élevé (Causses) ou faible (Pyrénées). Grâce à de nouvelles méthodes pour quantifier les routines comportementales, j’ai démontré que les visites des vautours aux sites de SA sont peu stéréotypées et routinières dans les Causses, tant au niveau spatial que temporel. Malgré une utilisation de l’espace à large échelle très différente entre les Causses et les Pyrénées, ainsi qu’un budget temps différent (plus longue durée de vol dans les Causses), le budget énergétique diffère peu entre les deux populations. Au-delà du niveau de prévisibilité des ressources – inhérent au SA - j’ai identifié d’autres facteurs influençant vraisemblablement les prises de décision comportementales des individus : l’état motivationnel de l’individu lié à son statut de reproduction, et les conditions aérologiques locales. Inscrit à l’interface entre écologie comportementale et biologie de la conservation, mon travail de doctorat participe à une meilleure compréhension des patrons d’utilisation de l’espace et des processus en jeu à différentes échelles spatio-temporelles chez une espèce nécrophage stricte. Les acteurs de la conservation pourront s’appuyer sur mes résultats et propositions de gestion pour maintenir les comportements naturels des vautours, et à termes, la viabilité des populations. / In the current context of global change, organism are exposed to new selective pressures in their environments modified by human activities, and we observe the emergence of evolutionary traps. Moving can be interpreted as a consequence of these global changes, but also as the opportunity for an individual, a population or a species to adapt, at different spatio-temporal scales, by modifying their feeding sites, home range or distribution area. During my PhD, I was interested in studying the foraging of Griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) belonging to the functional guild of obligate scavengers, which are the most threatened birds worldwide. Conservation plans have been carried out to limit their decline, proposing management practices such as supplementary feeding (SF) that may constitute an ecological trap (attractive but suboptimal sites) for vultures. Analysing of fine-scale daily movements and home ranges of individuals equipped with GPS devices, I found significant differences of foraging strategies and space use patterns in vultures from two French regions with low vs high SF (Pyrenees vs Causses). Using recent methods to quantify behavioral routines, I demonstrated that vultures visited SF stations in the Causses with low level of routine, both spatially and temporally. In spite of the distinct large-scale movement patterns between the individuals in the Causses and the Pyrenees, as well as different time-budgets (birds spending more time in flight in the Causses), energy expenditure estimated at the population level are quite similar. Beyond the level of resource predictability - inherent to SF - I highlighted other factors likely to influence individuals’ behavioral decision-making: the individual’s motivational state related to its breeding status, and local aerological conditions. At the interface between behavioral ecology and conservation biology, my work should contribute to a better understanding of the space use patterns in an obligate scavenger and the processes involved at different spatio-temporal scales. Conservationist will be able to use my results and management recommendations to maintain the natural behavior of vultures and, finally, populations’ viability.