The influence of nitrogen supply on relationships of relative growth rate (RGR) to leaf physiology, structural and non-structural carbon partitioning, and nitrogen- and water-use efficiencies were examined in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) clonal lines differing in growth potential. Nine 18-month-old loblolly pine clones were grown in a climate-controlled greenhouse for 20 weeks under two contrasting nitrogen (N) regimes (50 and 250 ppm) and a growth analysis was carried out. Higher nitrogen increased plant RGR and largely resulted in proportional shifts in biomass from roots and stems to needles. The RGR of plants receiving higher nitrogen was increased primarily through increased leaf area ratio (LAR), which was increased through higher leaf mass fraction (LMF) and not through changes in needle morphology. Although concentrations of needle glucose in plants receiving 250 ppm N were 22 percent higher than plants receiving lower N, total non-structural carbohydrate concentrations in needles of plants receiving 50 ppm N were nearly double that of clones receiving 250 pm N, primarily due to starch accumulation of the nitrogen-deficient plants. Plants receiving 250 ppm N also had 39 and 18 percent lower starch in the coarse and fine roots, respectively. Plants receiving higher nitrogen were also more water-use efficient, but had lower photosynthetic nitrogen-use efficiency. LAR, net assimilation rate (NAR), specific leaf area (SLA), and LMF were all positively correlated with RGR, but the main influence on RGR differences among clones was LAR. In addition, leaf-level rates of photosynthesis and respiration were positively correlated with RGR; however, faster-growing clones did not exhibit greater carbon economy at the leaf level. Both instantaneous water-use efficiency (A/E) and δ13C were positively correlated with RGR and photosynthetic nitrogen-use efficiency was negatively correlated with RGR. The identification of physiological and morphological traits underpinning differences in RGR among clones and how these traits are affected by nitrogen supply provides new information on trait correlations within species and parallels broader patterns observed among species.

Although fine granularity scalability (FGS) video coding based on matching pursuits and bit-plane coding have been proven to have better coding efficiency than discrete-cosine-transform-based FGS at low bit rates, it might not be the most efficient method in terms of rate-distortion optimization (RDO). We propose a rate-distortion optimization FGS video coding by dividing a frame into blocks to generate block-based embedded bit-streams and reorganize the bit-streams into several quality layers according to the rate-distortion slopes. The comparison between FGS matching pursuit video coding and RDO-FGS matching pursuit video coding is shown in the experimental results.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2009. / Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 135-138).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Thesis (M. Econ..)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.) in Forestry--University of Maine, 2001. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-84).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 42-45). Also available in electronic version. Access restricted to campus users.

Improving the system for how right-of-way (R/W) parcels are acquired for transportation projects in Texas can benefit the state. Currently, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is allowed to obtain a property through negotiation or condemnation, meaning going through the court system. However, gaining parcels through condemnation not only increases project durations but also project budgets, which are both detrimental to public interests. These monetary and time concerns justify the need to develop strategies to streamline how TxDOT acquires R/W properties. This thesis aims to identify strategies that have the most significant positive impact on reducing a state’s condemnation rate, costs, and durations, while still being viable for the agency to implement. As states around the nation have already realized the benefit and made significant progress to reduce their condemnation rates, they act as models for Texas. Thus, extensive interviews with 25 representatives from transportation agencies around the nation and an extensive literature review are used to gather and evaluate applicable strategies. Similarly, applicable national and state laws and court cases have been reviewed to ensure the feasibility of the strategies. / text

Measuring physiological parameters or vital sign using camera has become popular in recent years. Contact-less monitoring and extraction of vital signs can be important source of information in situations like medical care system and safety control system. This paper presents the implementation of real-time, non-contact method for extraction of vital signs, heart rate in this case. A better face tracking method is used for efficient face detection. This study extends some of the previous works done and have a comparison study with several methods. The developed system used filtering with window over the green channel of the signal and then Converted to frequency domain to analyze the signal to detect heart rate. The developed system achieved high correlation and showed small error while referencing with actual heart signal from ECG. This method delivers better result in better light condition but gives fairly good result on lower light as well.

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