The first objective of this thesis was to predict the future success of selected tree species under low (B1, 550 CO2 ppm) and moderate (A1B, 720 CO2 ppm) climate change scenarios as defined in the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES). This was accomplished through the creation of radial-growth forecasts for eastern hemlock (Tsuga Canadensis (L.) Carr.), sugar maple (Acer saccharum L.), white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench.) Voss), and white pine (Pinus strobus L.) in the Grand River Watershed of Ontario, Canada. The forecasts were founded on historic growth-climate relationships between standardized regional dendrochronologies for each species and past climate data from the Guelph OAC weather station. These species-specific growth-climate relationships were then extended to 2100 using modeled climate data from the Third Generation Coupled Global Climate Model (CGCM3) to project radial-growth under both emissions scenarios. Results indicated that eastern hemlock radial-growth will remain stable throughout the 21st-century, sugar maple and white spruce growth will start to decline, and white pine growth will increase. While the radial-growth forecasts were limited by the length of the past climate data, the accuracy of the modeled climate data, and the number and type of variables used in the forecast model, the results were statically significant and strongly supported in the literature. The second thesis objective was to assess the potential impact of the radial-growth forecasts on environmental planning policy and forest management strategy in the Grand River Watershed. Examples of how the forecasts could influence basic management strategies in the watershed were provided to display the conceptual linkages between the results and policy formulation. Next, the radial-growth forecasts were presented to four forest managers working in the watershed to gage the practical implications, perceptions and limitations of the radial-growth forecasting method. While the managers found the radial-growth forecasts interesting, they also noted that the results were of limited use since they could not account for other factors important to the future success of the study species, such as seedling dispersal and establishment rates, as well as the potential effects of pathogens, insects and invasive species. Therefore, it was recommended that future research should work to extrapolate the results of the radial-growth forecasts to other tree species and types in the region, as well as incorporate more variables into the models, so that more accurate and applicable growth projections could be constructed in the watershed.

The first objective of this thesis was to predict the future success of selected tree species under low (B1, 550 CO2 ppm) and moderate (A1B, 720 CO2 ppm) climate change scenarios as defined in the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES). This was accomplished through the creation of radial-growth forecasts for eastern hemlock (Tsuga Canadensis (L.) Carr.), sugar maple (Acer saccharum L.), white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench.) Voss), and white pine (Pinus strobus L.) in the Grand River Watershed of Ontario, Canada. The forecasts were founded on historic growth-climate relationships between standardized regional dendrochronologies for each species and past climate data from the Guelph OAC weather station. These species-specific growth-climate relationships were then extended to 2100 using modeled climate data from the Third Generation Coupled Global Climate Model (CGCM3) to project radial-growth under both emissions scenarios. Results indicated that eastern hemlock radial-growth will remain stable throughout the 21st-century, sugar maple and white spruce growth will start to decline, and white pine growth will increase. While the radial-growth forecasts were limited by the length of the past climate data, the accuracy of the modeled climate data, and the number and type of variables used in the forecast model, the results were statically significant and strongly supported in the literature. The second thesis objective was to assess the potential impact of the radial-growth forecasts on environmental planning policy and forest management strategy in the Grand River Watershed. Examples of how the forecasts could influence basic management strategies in the watershed were provided to display the conceptual linkages between the results and policy formulation. Next, the radial-growth forecasts were presented to four forest managers working in the watershed to gage the practical implications, perceptions and limitations of the radial-growth forecasting method. While the managers found the radial-growth forecasts interesting, they also noted that the results were of limited use since they could not account for other factors important to the future success of the study species, such as seedling dispersal and establishment rates, as well as the potential effects of pathogens, insects and invasive species. Therefore, it was recommended that future research should work to extrapolate the results of the radial-growth forecasts to other tree species and types in the region, as well as incorporate more variables into the models, so that more accurate and applicable growth projections could be constructed in the watershed.

abstract: The formation of dendrites in materials is usually seen as a failure-inducing defect in devices. Naturally, most research views dendrites as a problem needing a solution while focusing on process control techniques and post-mortem analysis of various stress patterns with the ultimate goal of total suppression of the structures. However, programmable metallization cell (PMC) technology embraces dendrite formation in chalcogenide glasses by utilizing the nascent conductive filaments as its core operative element. Furthermore, exciting More-than-Moore capabilities in the realms of device watermarking and hardware encryption schema are made possible by the random nature of dendritic branch growth. While dendritic structures have been observed and are well-documented in solid state materials, there is still no satisfactory theoretical model that can provide insight and a better understanding of how dendrites form. Ultimately, what is desired is the capability to predict the final structure of the conductive filament in a PMC device so that exciting new applications can be developed with PMC technology. This thesis details the results of an effort to create a first-principles MATLAB simulation model that uses configurable physical parameters to generate images of dendritic structures. Generated images are compared against real-world samples. While growth has a significant random component, there are several reliable characteristics that form under similar parameter sets that can be monitored such as the relative length of major dendrite arms, common branching angles, and overall growth directionality. The first simulation model that was constructed takes a Newtonian perspective of the problem and is implemented using the Euler numerical method. This model has several shortcomings stemming majorly from the simplistic treatment of the problem, but is highly performant. The model is then revised to use the Verlet numerical method, which increases the simulation accuracy, but still does not fully resolve the issues with the theoretical background. The final simulation model returns to the Euler method, but is a stochastic model based on Mott-Gurney’s ion hopping theory applied to solids. The results from this model are seen to match real samples the closest of all simulations. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Electrical Engineering 2016

Since the 1950-ies, the dominating silvicultural system in Sweden has included establishment and management of even-aged stands, including final felling. Alternative systems such as continuous cover forestry are increasingly catching interest due the lower impact on stand structure and biodiversity advantages for shade-tolerant species. However it is unknown especially to southern Sweden how trees in a continuous cover forestry system react to common silvicultural measures such as thinning. Therefore the effect of different levels of thinning on the radial growth of larger trees was measured and compared to the ingrowth and proportion of live crown at a site in Östergötland. Unlike previous findings the radial growth was higher in the treatment that had been slightly thinned than in the one that had been heavily thinned. The ability to react with increased radial growth after thinning was not depending on the thinning regime but on the tree’s reaction to a previous thinning. Only trees that had not reacted to the previous thinning increased in radial growth. The radial growth varied more within a treatment than between treatments, which points at the difficulty to allocate growth to specific trees.

Melanoma remains an aggressive form of skin cancer with limited treatment options. Novel methods to treat primary tumors and prevent metastatic disease can lead to improved survival for those diagnosed with melanoma. Through this work, we have evaluated the antineoplastic effects of Rhodiola crenulata (R. crenulata) root extracts on B16-F10 melanoma both in vitro and in vivo. In this study, we observed that R. crenulata treatment resulted in an increased cell death as well as a reduced cell growth, proliferation and migration in vitro. Additionally, we observed that R. crenulata decreased the expression of integrin β1 and vimentin, and increased expression of E-cadherin upon in vitro treatment. Further, we observed in a topical R. crenulata based cream therapy, a more radial growth pattern of tumors as well as a reduced mitotic activity and increased tumor necrosis. Markedly, we observed that mice supplemented with R. crenulata orally in their drinking water also displayed reduced establishment of metastatic foci in a disseminated model of melanoma. Collectively, these findings reveal that R. crenulata exhibits striking anti-tumorigenic and anti-metastatic properties, and that this extract may increase survival and harbor potential novel adjuvant therapy for the treatment of melanoma.

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No description available.

Tirti Utenos miškų urėdijos pušynai, kuriuose 2003 ir 2006 m. buvo užfiksuoti pažeminiai miško gaisrai. Tyrimo tikslas nustatyti gaisrų padarytą poveikį metinio radialiojo prieaugo augimui. Duomenų surinkimui naudota dendrochronologinių tyrimų duomenų rinkimo metodika. Surinti duomenys išanalizuoti CHRONOL programa. Tyrimais įrodyta, kad gaisrai daro neigiamą įtaką pušynų radialiojo prieaugio augimui. / The research material for dendrochronological analysis was collected in forest area located in Utena Forest Enterprise. The objects of study were as follows: 40 year-old Vaccinium Pinetum one-layer stands, quality class – II. In two objects forest fires were in 2003 and in other two – 2006. Also, one object was selected as control where fire has not been observed. To estimate the influence made by fire to tree (Pinus sylvestris L.) radial increment, samples were taken ussing Pressler age borer in accordance with the methods for collecting experimental material of dendrochronological research work (Stravinskiene, 1994). To measure annual radial increment and estimate tree ring structure, the samples were examined by LINTAB tree-ring measurement system and TSAP computer programme. The COFECHA programm was used for analyzing obtained primary data. Using the COFECHA programme we performed cross-dating quality control. Annual tree-ring width series of asynchronous growth or lagged correlation were rechecked, corrected or eliminated from the next stages of the research with the master chronology approach. To determine impact of fire to stand growth conditions upon Pinus Sylvestris L. radial increment dendrochronological research work, dendrochronological scales of the stands with former observed fires and control stand was carried out. Well-defined decrease of radial increment was ascertained. Fire presence makes significant impact of annual radial increment dynamic after it’s... [to full text]

This research assesses whether a refinement of the temporal resolution of tree-ring data can improve our understanding of the radial growth-climate relationship. Two study sites in Northern Labrador were chosen, one coastal (Nain), and the other inland (Kamestastin). In Nain, microcore samples were taken weekly from the same five white spruce (Picea glauca) trees over the 2014 growing season. After cross sections were made and stained, the resulting 10µm thin radii provided a direct view of active ring development. In coastal Labrador, radial growth was initiated during the last week of June 2014, and ceased by August 25th. Circumference band dendrometers were installed on white spruce trees at both the Nain and Kamestastin sites. The dendrometers were used to measure micrometre-scale changes over the 2014 growing season. Analogous records of temperature were collected with equal temporal resolution, from an Environment Canada climate station (#8502800), and via a programmable data logger (UX120-006M, Onset HOBO). Correlation function analysis determined the relationship between daily temperature variables and daily variations in stem size. A strong relationship was found between minimum daily temperature and daily stem size at both sites over the eight week long growing season. Traditional dendrochronological sampling methods were utilized to retrieve tree cores from white spruce and eastern larch (Larix laricina) in Nain and Kamestastin. Site-specific master growth chronologies were created using crossdating and standardization techniques. After establishing long term records of monthly temperature and accumulated growing degree-days (GDD) at both study sites, a linear regression analysis was undertaken to determine the suitability of these two variables as predictors of annual-radial growth. An accumulated June/July GDD index was identified as an overall better predictor of annual ring-width than mean monthly temperature variables in northern Labrador. Exploring radial growth on an intra-annual scale helped to improve our understanding of the complex radial growth-climate relationship in Labrador. This allows for a strengthening of tree rings as a proxy climate indicator in remote regions of the northern boreal forest. The findings from this thesis provide the tools necessary to improve upon long-term climate reconstruction and forecasts of boreal forest structure in the face of climate change.

Growth release of trees following canopy disturbances is of interest to ecological scientists and forest managers. Using dendroecological techniques, I examined growth release of canopy and subcanopy trees following the formation of natural, fine-scale canopy gaps in old-growth, western red cedar-western hemlock forests of coastal British Columbia. I aimed to quantify detailed information on release of the three shade-tolerant tree species that constitute these stands: western red cedar (Thuja plicata), western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), and Pacific silver fir (Abies amabilis). As a first step, I calibrated the radial-growth averaging method to account for regional-scale variability and capture a more complete range of growth releases that may occur following the formation of fine-scale gaps in the study stands. A 25% threshold, 5-year moving average, and 10-year window emerged as appropriate parameters for detecting releases using radial-growth averaging. Basal area increment was also the most appropriate growth index for detecting releases. Establishing these empirically-based criteria was important for quantifying the magnitude and duration of releases. Tree diameter and growth rate prior to release were the most important predictors of the magnitude and duration of releases, but identity of the tree species and distance from the gap center were also important predictors. Western hemlock and Pacific silver fir were often growing slowly both in the canopy and subcanopy, giving them tremendous potential to release. For these species, releases were generally intensive and persistent. In contrast, western red cedar were often growing quickly both in the canopy and subcanopy, giving them less potential to release. Compared to western hemlock and Pacific silver fir, western red cedar releases were less intensive and persistent. Patterns related to distance from the gap center emerged for trees growing along the north-south axis of gaps. Regardless of species, increasing distance from the gap center resulted in decreasing magnitude and duration of releases. However, patterns for duration were complex, as the distance effect was greater for trees north of the gap center. Information on growth release of trees is useful for reconstructing the history of past canopy disturbances, elucidating mechanisms of tree species coexistence, and assessing and predicting stand changes due to forest management in coastal British Columbia.