Den snabba utvecklingen och urbaniseringen i stora delar av Kina har ett flertal konsekvenser för miljön. Yangtzedeltats ytvatten är till stor del eutrofierade, delvis p.g.a. diffusa förluster från jordbruket. I denna studie har kväve- och, till viss del, fosforflöden och förluster från två odlingsrutor i ett intensivt odlat grönsaksfält i ett tätortsnära område i Nanjing, med hög tillförsel av organiskt gödsel, undersökts med hjälp av den fältskaliga simuleringsmodellen GLEAMS. GLEAMS parametriserades och kalibrerades mot mätvärden av jordens vatten- och kväveinnehåll. Ett scenario med minskad kvävetillförsel simulerades sedan. Simuleringen av vattenhalten i de olika horisonterna var inte utmärkt. Den simulerade mängden mineralkväve i marken var avsevärt lägre än den uppmätta. Detta kan bero på en felaktig simulering av mineraliseringen av organiskt kväve eller en för långsam nedbrytning av gödsel. Det är också möjligt att felen i vattensimuleringarna bidrog till underskattningen av mängden mineralkväve i marken. Simuleringarna på de båda odlingsrutorna gav liknande resultat, förutom att ruta B hade 20% större förluster av N via simulerad erosion och läckage. För fortsatt simulering av alternativa odlingsmetoder bör modellens parametrisering förbättras, särskilt vad avser parametrar kopplade till gödselns mineralisering. / Many parts of China are going through a rapid development and urbanization resulting in various environmental impairities. The Yangtze Delta Region surface water bodies are affected by eutrophication, partly caused by diffuse losses from agriculture. In this study, nitrogen, and to some extent also phosphorus, flows and losses from two plots in an intensively cultivated vegetable field in a peri-urban area of Nanjing, with a high input of organic fertilizer, were analysed by the use of the field-scale simulation model GLEAMS. The GLEAMS model was parameterized and calibrated against measurements of soil water and nitrogen content in two plots. A scenario with a reduced input of nitrogen was then simulated. The resemblance between simulated and measured water content in the different soil layers was quite poor. The simulated inorganic nitrogen content in the soil was significantly lower than the measured during great parts of the simulation period. This could be due to an inappropriate simulation of the mineralization of organic N under these conditions, or an underestimated decomposition rate of manure. It is also possible that the poor water simulations contributed to the underestimated inorganic N content in the soil. There were similar results for the two plots, except for an unexplained 20% increase in leaching and erosion losses of N in Plot B. For simulation of scenarios to find best management practices, the model parameterization should be further refined.

<p>An investigation to assess the anthropogenic pollutant loads, transport and impact on shallow groundwater in one of Kampala’s peri-urban areas (Bwaise III Parish) was undertaken. Bwaise III is a densely populated informal settlement with a high water table (<1.5 m) and inadequate basic social services infrastructure (e.g, sanitation, safe water supply, roads, etc).</p><p>Field surveys were undertaken to identify, locate and quantify various pollutant sources. Information on the usability and operational aspects of the excreta and solid waste management systems was obtained from consultations with the residents. Water from installed monitoring wells and one operational protected spring and wastewater (sullage) characteristics (quality, discharges for drains and spring, water levels for the wells) as well as soil characteristics (soil stratigraphy, physical and chemical) were determined through field and laboratory measurements. Laboratory batch experiments were undertaken to estimate phosphorus sorption potential of the soils.</p><p>The results reveal that excreta disposal systems, solid waste and sullage are the major contributors to shallow groundwater contamination. High contaminant loads from these sources accumulate within the area resulting in widespread contamination. The water table responds rapidly to short rains (48hr) due to the pervious and shallow (<1 m) vadose zone, which consists of mostly organic fill material. Rapid water quality deterioration (increased thermotolerant coliforms, organic content in the form of total kjedahl nitrogen, phosphorus) following rains potentially follows from leaching, desorption and macropore flow. Spatial variation of the water quality in the area is largely related to anthropogenic activities within the vicinity of the well sources. Animal rearing, solid waste dumps and latrines are seen to result in increased localised microbial and organic content during the rains. The spring discharge with high nitrate levels does not respond to short rains suggesting that this source is fed by regional baseflow. The corresponding high microbial contamination in this case is a result of observed poor maintenance of the protection structure leading to direct ingress of contaminated surface runoff. Natural attenuation of contaminants is very limited. Estimated bacteria die-off rates are very low, about 0.01hr-1, suggesting a high risk for microbial contamination. The soils still have potential to retain additional phosphorus, whose sorption is largely a function of iron, available phosphorus and moisture content of the soils. This is also seen with the model results in which the phosphorus contaminant plume sticks to the surface irrespective of the rainfall infiltration rates. Simulation results show that continuous heavy intense rains (> 0.25mm/min) result in rapid flooding occurring within 1hr to 2 days. With lower rains, the water table does not rise to the surface, and no flooding takes place.</p><p>Protection of the shallow groundwater in the area requires socio-technical measures targeting reduction of pollutant loads within the area as well as a wider spring catchment. Re-protection of the spring, coupled with awareness creation, should be immediately addressed so as to reduce microbial contamination. Community participation in solidwaste management should be encouraged. Resource recovery systems such as composting of the mostly organic waste and use of ecological sanitation toilet systems should be piloted in the area. Successful operation of the systems however depends on continuous sensitisation of the communities.</p><p>An investigation to assess the anthropogenic pollutant loads, transport and impact on shallow groundwater in one of Kampala’s peri-urban areas (Bwaise III Parish) was undertaken. Bwaise III is a densely populated informal settlement with a high water table (<1.5 m) and inadequate basic social services infrastructure (e.g, sanitation, safe water supply, roads, etc).</p><p>Field surveys were undertaken to identify, locate and quantify various pollutant sources. Information on the usability and operational aspects of the excreta and solid waste management systems was obtained from consultations with the residents. Water from installed monitoring wells and one operational protected spring and wastewater (sullage) characteristics (quality, discharges for drains and spring, water levels for the wells) as well as soil characteristics (soil stratigraphy, physical and chemical) were determined through field and laboratory measurements. Laboratory batch experiments were undertaken to estimate phosphorus sorption potential of the soils.</p><p>The results reveal that excreta disposal systems, solid waste and sullage are the major contributors to shallow groundwater contamination. High contaminant loads from these sources accumulate within the area resulting in widespread contamination. The water table responds rapidly to short rains (48hr) due to the pervious and shallow (<1 m) vadose zone, which consists of mostly organic fill material. Rapid water quality deterioration (increased thermotolerant coliforms, organic content in the form of total kjedahl nitrogen, phosphorus) following rains potentially follows from leaching, desorption and macropore flow. Spatial variation of the water quality in the area is largely related to anthropogenic activities within the vicinity of the well sources. Animal rearing, solid waste dumps and latrines are seen to result in increased localised microbial and organic content during the rains. The spring discharge with high nitrate levels does not respond to short rains suggesting that this source is fed by regional baseflow. The corresponding high microbial contamination in this case is a result of observed poor maintenance of the protection structure leading to direct ingress of contaminated surface runoff. Natural attenuation of contaminants is very limited. Estimated bacteria die-off rates are very low, about 0.01hr-1, suggesting a high risk for microbial contamination. The soils still have potential to retain additional phosphorus, whose sorption is largely a function of iron, available phosphorus and moisture content of the soils. This is also seen with the model results in which the phosphorus contaminant plume sticks to the surface irrespective of the rainfall infiltration rates. Simulation results show that continuous heavy intense rains (> 0.25mm/min) result in rapid flooding occurring within 1hr to 2 days. With lower rains, the water table does not rise to the surface, and no flooding takes place.</p><p>Protection of the shallow groundwater in the area requires socio-technical measures targeting reduction of pollutant loads within the area as well as a wider spring catchment. Re-protection of the spring, coupled with awareness creation, should be immediately addressed so as to reduce microbial contamination. Community participation in solidwaste management should be encouraged. Resource recovery systems such as composting of the mostly organic waste and use of ecological sanitation toilet systems should be piloted in the area. Successful operation of the systems however depends on continuous sensitisation of the communities.</p>

Inaug.-Diss.--Berlin. / Lebenslauf. "Literaturverzeichnis": p. [v]-vii.

The importance of water as a mechanism for the spread of disease is well recognized. This study conducted household surveys and measured several physical, chemical, and microbial water quality indicators in 37 elevated storage tanks constructed of different materials (polyethylene, fiberglass, cement) located in a peri-urban community near Cochabamba, Bolivia. Results show that although there is no significant difference in physical and chemical water quality between polyethylene, fiberglass and cement water storage tanks there is a difference in microbial contamination as measured by E. Coli counts (p = 0.082). Evidence points toward elevated water temperatures that increase along the distribution system (from 10.6°C leaving the treatment plant) to within the black polyethylene storage tank (temperatures as high as 33.7°C) as the most significant factor in promoting bacterial growth. Results indicate that cleaning frequency may also contribute to microbial water quality (p = 0.102).

In the last decade there has been a substantial increase of new migrants into large cities in Việt Nam, changing the social, cultural, and political fabric of Hồ Chí Minh City. Rapid urbanization and land use changes in Hồ Chí Minh City have occurred alongside mass internal migration. The movement of people has become an important piece in the 1986 economic reforms of đổi mới and a main focus of Vietnamese public policy from the late 1990s until today. With the influx of new actors comes a new set of social interactions and negotiations between people in daily life that are embedded within a broader socio-economic framework. New liberal policies on internal migration have spurred great mass internal migration into cities which has several implications for not only the entire country, but specific to this research, for the social dynamics of how Bình Trị Ðông ward is managing the influx of migrants. Not only did this field research seek to explore the social relationships and integration among migrants living on the urban fringe but the issue of local governance and infrastructure provisions in the form of migrant housing is central to this research. In short, this thesis asks: what are the social experiences of migrants living in Bình Trị Ðông? What is the role of local government, if any, in managing the social and cultural changes among migrants? My research finds that migrants are each striving towards their own individual goals of economic gains, treating Bình Trị Ðông as a temporary living space, thus preventing a strong sense of community and social bonds from flourishing. Meanwhile, more equitable planning policies of prioritizing the needs of ordinary citizens over economic development signal a shift in local development policies. Yet the government’s shift towards greater participation has not necessarily changed the lived experiences of residents. Migrants here are oriented towards their own goals thus stunting interpersonal relationships and deepening social segregation, leading one to question what ties, if any, unite people in this neighborhood.

The majority of the world’s population now lives in urban areas, and the peri-urban has grown simultaneously, creating new Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) where development comes into contact – and intermingles with – wildlands. WUI has an elevated wildfire risk. This study examines current and future wildfire risk in the Acadian Forest Region, and consists of two papers. The first manuscript of this thesis describes a model to delineate WUI at a site-scale for municipal risk management, using fire behaviour modelling. The second manuscript uses climate and fire behaviour modelling, projecting an increase in fire weather severity in the Acadian Forest Region under climate change, indicating increased future fire susceptibility. Shifts in tree species composition may offset this risk, as tree species become a negative fire risk driver. The relative importance of fire risk drivers was solicited from experts to assess the net impact on fire risk. Together these papers identify an increasing fire risk in the region under climate change, depending on site-level tree species composition dynamics, and an opportunity for municipal management of fire risk. Delineation of WUI and risk management are necessary, given increasing future fire risk and uncertainty under climate change.

<p>The study explored the comparison of grade 8 to 10 urban and peri-urban learners&rsquo / contexts preferences in mathematical literacy. There is currently a strong emphasis on the use of contexts for school mathematics. This has been also the case for South Africa when grade 10 learners have to make a choice between mathematics and mathematical literacy as one of their compulsory subjects for grade 10. This study focused more on the use of mathematics in real life situations. Data was collected by using questionnaires developed as part of the Relevance of School Mathematics Education (ROSME) project. The questionnaire dealt with contexts preferred by grade 10 learners from urban and peri-urban areas. The data were analysed using non-parametric statistical techniques. The findings radicate that there were contexts highly preferred by learners from both urban and peri-urban areas / least preferred by learners from both areas, highly preferred by learners from periurban areas but not by learners from urban areas and least preferred by learners from urban areas but not by those from peri-urban areas and vice versa. It is recommended that contexts highly preferred by learners should be incorporated in the learning experiences of learners.</p>

This thesis examines localities in the vicinity of cities, starting with Ekeby- Almby which is situated near Örebro. In the past twenty years, Ekeby- Almby has experienced vast sociodemographic changes. These lines of development give rise to a number of questions. For example, does the socioeconomic change of Ekeby-Almby reflect a general trend for this kind of locality? What are the perspectives and concepts that characterise the planning of these localities, and what is the significance of these suburban areas for the urban development as a whole? The purpose of this thesis is to examine the peri-urban localities, their role in, and their significance to, the development of cities. The thesis is made up of three empirical parts. Some of the main results are that the peri-urban localities can bedescribed as continuously growing, even during periods of shrinking towns and growing countryside (70s and 80s), and re-urbanisation (90s and 00s). Other results from the study are that layers of peri-urban localities with partially separatesocioeconomic profiles become apparent. Together these localities are, in various ways, part of the city’s socioeconomic differentiation. Finally, the result from the study indicates that the development of localities is shaped by a series of structures, and actors operating in relation to these. The development of the peri-urban localities can, theoretically, be seen as an urban counter- urbanisation, but perhaps primarily as a Swedish periurbia, and thus as an extension of the city, often described as an urban sprawl. This study also discusses the role of the peri-urban locality in the city’s social geography, where it among other things can be described as the ”hidden” space of the segregated city. Another aspect of the peri-urban locality is that it can be seen as a place which is important in an intermunicipal competition in population growth.

The process of osseointegration described by Brånemark (Brånemark et al 1969, 1977) and Schroeder (Schroeder et al 1981) plays an integral role in dental rehabilitation. Since the first observation 40 years ago, osseointegrated titanium implants have been used predictably in the dental rehabilitation of fully edentulous patients. The application of dental implants has evolved, and from the 1980s dental implants have been used increasingly in the treatment of partially edentulous patients, with equal or better long-term success (Buser et al 1990, 1997, Lekholm et al 1994, Behneke et al 2000, Bornstein et al 2005). The surgical procedures for the placement of endosseous dental implants are based on the original work by Brånemark and colleagues approximately 40 years ago. The two-stage surgical procedure was originally advocated to obtain an optimal process of new bone formation and remodelling after implant placement (Brånemark et al 1977). Osseointegration and good long-term success was also found to be achievable with non-submerged implants (Buser et al 1990, 1992, 1997, Ericsson et al 1997) with the added advantage of avoiding a second surgical procedure (Buser et al 1999). Implant dentistry has evolved over the last 15 years and has benefited from significant progress made in associated treatment protocols and the development of bone augmentation procedures (guided bone regeneration (GBR) and sinus floor elevation) allowing for correction of alveolar bone deficiencies. Additionally, improved osteophilic microtextured implant surfaces have been developed to accelerate healing, significantly reducing treatment time. Research and clinical focus in dental implantology in the last two decades has primarily concentrated on the bone-to-implant interface of osseointegrated implants. The soft tissue profile and seal around implants have been investigated to a much lesser degree. This interest has been largely due to the fact that a successfully osseointegrated implant depends on anchorage in bone and requires a direct bone-to-implant interface to provide long-term support for a prosthesis. Both bone and soft tissue integration onto dental implants are wound healing processes whereby several stages of tissue formation and degradation are involved (Berglundh et al 2003, Abrahamsson et al 2004). Osseointegration is the result of the modelling and remodelling of bone tissue that occurs after implant placement whilst the wound healing that occurs following the closure of mucoperiosteal flaps during implant surgery results in the establishment of a mucosal attachment (transmucosal attachment) to the implant. The establishment of the mucosal barrier around the implant is characterised by the gradual shift from a coagulum to granulation tissue followed by the formation of a barrier epithelium and the maturation of the connective tissue (Berglundh et al 2007). Like natural teeth, osseointegrated implants are transmucosal “masticatory devices” that penetrate the oral mucosa with the periodontal and peri-implant tissues expected to perform a protective function (Weber & Cochran 1998). Background: Peri-implant tissues form a crucial but fragile seal between the oral environment, the bone and the implant surface. Enhancing the seal formed by the peri-implant soft tissues at the titanium/connective tissue interface may be an important factor in implant survival. Additionally, enhancing soft tissue adherence to the implant surface when implants are placed in dehiscence type defects may mean that simultaneous osseous grafting procedures will not always be required. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of implant surface modification with either platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) or enamel matrix derivative (EMD) on the connective tissue attachment to moderately roughened titanium implants. Material and Methods: 18 moderately roughened titanium implants were subcutaneously implanted into 14 rats. 6 implants each were coated with PDGF and EMD immediately prior to implantation and 6 implants were left uncoated. The implants were retrieved with a sample of surrounding tissue at 4 and 8 weeks. The specimens were resin-embedded and sections viewed under confocal microscopy for collagen autofluorescence and prepared for qualitative and histomorphometric analysis under light microscopy. ANOVA and t-tests were used to compare the thickness of fibroblast encapsulation on the implant surface and the depth of connective tissue penetration onto the implant grooves. Results: Qualitative analysis under confocal and light microscopy showed encapsulation of all implants by fibroblasts and good soft tissue integration at the end of 4 and 8 weeks. Coating of the implants with growth factors did not alter the orientation of fibroblasts and collagen fibres. Histomorphometric analysis demonstrated that the depth of connective tissue penetration into the implant grooves was significantly greater for the implants coated with PDGF at 4 weeks (ANOVA, P value 0.0014). The thickness of the fibroblast encapsulation on the implant surface was significantly less for the implants coated with PDGF at 8 weeks (ANOVA, P value 0.0012). Conclusion: Good soft tissue integration can be achieved on a moderately roughened titanium implant surface. Coating the implant surface with rhPDGF-BB could increase the speed of soft tissue healing around an implant surface but this increased rate of healing with rhPDGF-BB coating could also result in a less robust titanium/connective tissue interface. / Thesis (D.Clin.Dent.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Dentistry, 2010

Inaug.-Diss.--Berlin. / Lebenslauf. "Literaturverzeichnis": p. [v]-vii.