Displacement Green's function is the building block for some semi-analytical methods like Boundary Element Method (BEM), Distributed Point Source Method (DPCM), etc. In this thesis, the displacement Green`s function in anisotropic media due to a time harmonic point force is studied. Unlike the isotropic media, the Green's function in anisotropic media does not have a closed form solution. The dynamic Green's function for an anisotropic medium can be written as a summation of singular and non-singular or regular parts. The singular part, being similar to the result of static Green's function, is in the form of an integral over an oblique circular path in 3D. This integral can be evaluated either by a numerical integration technique or can be converted to a summation of algebraic terms via the calculus of residue. The other part, which is the regular part, is in the form of an integral over the surface of a unit sphere. This integral needs to be evaluated numerically and its evaluation is considerably more time consuming than the singular part. Obtaining dynamic Green's function and its spatial derivatives involves calculation of these two types of integrals. The spatial derivatives of Green's function are important in calculating quantities like stress and stain tensors. The contribution of this thesis can be divided into two parts. In the first part, different integration techniques including Gauss Quadrature, Simpson's, Chebyshev, and Lebedev integration techniques are tried out and compared for evaluation of dynamic Green’s function. In addition the solution from the residue theorem is included for the singular part. The accuracy and performance of numerical implementation is studied in detail via different numerical examples. Convergence plots are used to analyze the numerical error for both Green's function and its derivatives. The second part of contribution of this thesis relates to the mathematical derivations. As mentioned above, the regular part of dynamic Green's function, being an integral over the surface of a unit sphere, is responsible for the majority of computational time. From symmetry properties, this integration domain can be reduced to a hemisphere, but no more simplification seems to be possible for a general anisotropic medium. In this thesis, the integration domain for regular part is further reduced to a quarter of a sphere for the particular case of transversely isotropic material. This reduction proposed for the first time in this thesis nearly halves the number of integration points for the evaluation of regular part of dynamic Green's function. It significantly reduces the computational time.

The study was conducted to monitor pesticide residues in groundwater of two agriculturally intensive regions of Alberta, to determine the occurrence of pesticide residues in soil and groundwater of an experimental plot in southern Alberta, and to investigate the influence of land management factors and soil depth on pesticide residues in soil. A total of 440 groundwater samples were collected in three years (2013-2015) and analyzed for the presence of 142 pesticides using Liquid-liquid Extraction (LLE) in combination with Gas Chromatography- Mass Selective Detector (GC-MSD) and Gas Chromatography - Tandem Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). Ten herbicides, seven insecticides, and six fungicides were detected. Herbicides 2,4-D, MCPA, and clopyralid were the most frequently detected, and the only pesticides consistently detected every year in both regions. Pesticides were detected more frequently in summer and fall compared to spring. 4.5% of the samples were contaminated with more than one pesticides. No pesticides exceeded the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality. Similarly, a total of 213 groundwater samples (December 2014-November 2015) and 61 soil samples (in December 2014) in duplicates were analysed from the experimental plots in Lethbridge. Soil samples were collected at various depths (0-75 cm) and analyzed for the presence of 130 pesticides. A linear mixed effect model was fitted to determine the effect of soil depth, cropping systems and manure amendments on pesticide concentration in soil. In groundwater, bentazone, 2,4-D, and MCPA occurred most frequently and pesticide detection frequency varied seasonally with greater detections in July and September compared to other months. 37 different pesticide compounds were detected, and DDT isomers, 2,4-D, difenoconazole, MCPA and trans-heptachlor epoxide accounted for 85% of all detections. p,p’-DDE, 2,4-D, p,p-DDT, difenoconazole and MCPA occurred throughout the soil column and all of these except p,p-DDT were detected in underlying groundwater. Bentazone was found in groundwater throughout the year but not in soil. A greater number and higher concentrations of pesticides were found in soil. However, not all of them leached to groundwater. Soil depth and cropping system were significantly associated with total pesticide and total DDT concentration in the soil. Manure amendments had no affect pesticide concentrations. / May 2017

The majority of losses that take place in a day are not large, or sad, they are built almost entirely on behaviors and systems that have nothing to do with loss. Most of these, I discovered, are the result of deliberate carelessness. The word loss is as difficult to define as truth, but its variation is what makes it so interesting and evocative. It is not, and never has been, a definition of loss that I seek: it is not enough to simply say I lost this person or that place, we must consider what is left and what can still be lost. I am interested in the moments of transition that surround loss, when something is in danger of disappearing yet is not quite gone; this work focuses not on past losses, but future moments to be preserved. There is beauty and humanity that can be revealed in fugitive moments and events, and value in their documentation.

Master of Science / Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering / Balasubramaniam Natarajan / Space-time coding (STC) schemes for Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) systems have been an area of active research in the past decade. In this thesis, we propose a novel design of Space-Time Block Codes (STBCs) using Redundant Residue Number System (RRNS) codes, which are ideal for high data rate communication systems. Application of RRNS as a concatenated STC scheme to a MIMO wireless communication system is the main motivation for this work. We have optimized the link between residues and complex constellations by incorporating the “Direct Mapping” scheme, where residues are mapped directly to Gray coded constellations. Knowledge of apriori probabilities of residues is utilized to implement a probability based “Distance-Aware Direct Mapping” (DA) scheme, which uses a set-partitioning approach to map the most probable residues such that they are separated by the maximum possible distance. We have proposed an “Indirect Mapping” scheme, where we convert the residues back to bits before mapping them. We have also proposed an adaptive demapping scheme which utilizes the RRNS code structure to reduce the ML decoding complexity and improve the error performance. We quantify the upper bounds on codeword and bit error probabilities of both Systematic and Non-systematic RRNS-STBC and characterize the achievable coding and diversity gains assuming maximum likelihood decoding (MLD). Simulation results demonstrate that the DA Mapping scheme provides performance gain relative to a Gray coded direct mapping scheme. We show that Systematic RRNS-STBC codes provide superior performance compared to Nonsystematic RRNS-STBC, for the same code parameters, owing to more efficient binary to residue mapping. When compared to other concatenated STBC and Orthogonal STBC (OSTBC) schemes, the proposed system gives better performance at low SNRs.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Agronomy / Charles W. Rice / Biofuel feedstocks such as grains and cellulose are gaining increased attention as part of the U.S. portfolio of solutions to address climate change and improve energy security. As the future of biofuels unfolds, major concerns are emerging, including the sustainability of the soil resource in bioenergy cropping system. With a clear understanding of the sustainability risks that exist within the agricultural soil resources, it is now essential to develop metrics that document the soil health as well as the total biomass production of different cropping system. We tested the effectiveness of eight bioenergy plant species grouped between annual and perennial crops. Our main objective was to determine the sustainability of bioenergy cropping systems. There was significantly greater soil structural stability plus greater root biomass under the perennial crops but greater aboveground biomass in the annual crop. Differences in soil carbon measured to 1.2 m were not significant between energy crops after five years. A transparent, unbiased method to identify possible change in soil characteristics under bioenergy cropping practice was offered. Our next metrics were soil aggregate stability and microbial community structure as indicators of soil ecosystem health and environmental stability. The effects 24 years of differing levels of residue and fertilizer inputs on soil aggregate stability, aggregate C and microbial community structure were evaluated. A native, undisturbed prairie site, located nearby was used as a reference in this study. The results showed that greater inputs of inorganic N and increased returns of crop residues did not cause a proportionately greater increase in SOC. The abundance of microbial parameters generally followed their potential carbon pool in cultivated soils but a strong mismatch was observed in the native prairie site. Our results showed for the first time a clear disconnect between decomposers and macroaggregates; highlighting the role of soil structure in protecting organic matter. Soil carbon sequestration is one of the mechanisms that have been proposed as temporary measure to mitigate global climate change. However, there was a particularly large risk of negative effects of mitigation measures related to the increased removal of crop residues from cropping systems for use in bioenergy, if this means that soil carbon is reduced. Effective measurement of soil C at the field scale requires an understanding of the spatial variability of soil C on a landscape scale. Recent technological advances in soil C measurement offer new opportunities in this area. Our surface measurements of soil C by near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) provided a quick assessment of soil C and, soil C predicted by NIRS and measured by dry combustion laboratory measurements was correlated with and R-squared of 0.84.

Student Number : 9903549T - MSc dissertation - School of Process and Materials Engineering - Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment / Preliminary evaluations during flowsheet synthesis require simple effective tools for comparison and elimination of process alternatives. This work investigates three areas of interest in distillation. Column profile map theory has simplified complex column investigations. The predictions of the difference point equation at finite reflux were experimentally verified for the acetone, methanol and ethanol system in a continuous column apparatus. Residue curve analysis is usually limited to systems with four components for distillation system analysis. An alternative representation, based on combinatorial topology and temperature sequencing, is introduced for use in high level synthesis decisions for higher component order systems. Attainable region (AR) theory is applied to an ideal binary distillation system for a geometrically based method of cost analysis. A constrained attainable region is constructed from a series of equilibrium step compositions with varying reflux and corresponding cost associations. The AR is shown to be useful for costing and optimization.

Este trabalho apresenta o desenvolvimento, validação e aplicação de um método analítico para a análise multirresíduo de produtos veterinários em leite bovino in natura. Para a determinação dos analitos foi utilizada cromatografia líquida acoplada à espectrometria de massas sequencial (LC-MS-MS). Através do método cromatográfico desenvolvido, foi possível obter, em uma única injeção, a separação e detecção de 19 produtos veterinários (de diferentes classes) com ótima sensibilidade. Para o procedimento de preparo de amostra adotou-se uma modificação de um enfoque desenvolvido recentemente denominado QuEChERS. Este enfoque engloba características necessárias a uma metodologia analítica que será empregada para análises de rotina em diversos laboratórios do país: é rápida, barata, não gera volume excessivo de descartes, é fácil de executar, não requer treinamento extenso ou e equipamentos de custo elevado e é robusta. Através do processo de preparo de amostra empregado foi possível obter boa recuperação para 14, dos 19 compostos presentes na corrida cromatográfica. O método analítico foi validado - segundo os parâmetros descritos na Commission Decision 2002/657/EC, da União Européia - e aplicado em uma amostra real de leite bovino adquirida de produtor local. / This study describes the development, validation and application of an analytical method for the multi residue analysis of veterinary products in raw bovine milk. For determination of the analytes was used liquid chromatography coupled with tandem spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). Through the developed chromatographic method, it was possible to separate and detect, with a single injection, 19 veterinary products (of different classes) with optimal sensibility. For the sample preparation procedure it was adopted a new approach: the QuEChERS procedure. This approach presents all the characteristics required for a routine analytical procedure, to be applied in several laboratories across the country: it\'s quick, cheap, doesn\'t generates large residue material, it\'s easy to execute, doesn\'t requires training or the use of expansive equipments and it\'s rugged. Through the sample preparation procedure, it was obtained good recovery to 14 of the 19 compounds in the chromatographic run. The analytical procedure was validated according to the Commission Decision 2002/657/EC, of the European Union and a real sample of raw milk, from local producer, was tested.

A utilização frequente de glyphosate em sistemas de produção envolvendo as culturas de soja e milho, resistentes ao glyphosate, tem selecionado populações resistentes de plantas daninhas a este herbicida, sendo comum no Brasil a ocorrência de populações resistentes de capim amargoso (Digitaria insularis). Para manejo racional destas populações, há necessidade de medidas alternativas envolvendo herbicidas e práticas culturais, as quais somente podem ser empregadas adequadamente com o conhecimento da biologia da planta daninha, porém atualmente pouco se sabe sobre a biologia do capim amargoso. Portanto, este trabalho teve como objetivo obter informações básicas da biologia das populações de capim-amargoso suscetíveis e resistentes ao herbicida glyphosate. Para isso, foram conduzidos três ensaios no Departamento de produção Vegetal da ESALQ/USP, em Piracicaba - SP, durante o ano de 2012. Para isso foram coletadas sementes do biótipo resistente no município de Matão, São Paulo, e as sementes do biótipo suscetível no município de Piracicaba, São Paulo. A determinação do fator de resistência entre estes biótipos ao glyphosate foi determinas a partir da elaboração de curvas de dose-resposta no estádio de desenvolvimento de 3 a 4 perfilhos do capim amargoso. Em seguida, foram conduzidos experimentos para avaliar a germinação e quantificação de massa seca produzida sob efeito de diferentes volumes da cobertura do solo com resíduos de milheto. Também foram desenvolvidos ensaios para avaliar a longevidade das sementes dos biótipos resistentes e suscetíveis, conduzidas em diferentes profundidades no solo. Através do modelo de curva dose-resposta foi possível quantificar o fator de resistência (GR50) a partir do programa estatístico R obtendo o valor de 16,66, comparando-se o biótipo resistente ao suscetível. O aumento da quantidade de palha de milheto sobre as sementes proporciona diminuição do peso de matéria seca de plântulas de Digitaria insularis, tanto resistente como suscetível ao glyphosate, sendo percebida de forma mais acentuada nos tratamentos 4,0 e 8,0 ton ha-1. O biótipo resistente apresenta número de plântulas significativamente maior que o biótipo suscetível, independentemente da quantidade de palha. Não é possível concluir que as sementes dos biótipos resistentes possuem maior longevidade que as sementes dos biótipos suscetíveis, sendo que a presença de luz é indiferente para a sua germinação. / The frequent use of glyphosate in production systems that involve the crops soybean and corn, resistant to glyphosate, have selected weed populations resistant to this herbicide, being very common in Brazil the occurrence of resistant populations of bitter grass (Digitaria insularis). For the rational management of these populations, there is a need of alternative measures, that involve herbicides and cultural practices, which can be applied only with the knowledge of the weed biology, however little is known about the bitter grass biology. Therefore, this study aimed to obtain basic information of the biology of populations of bitter grass susceptible and resistant to the herbicide glyphosate. For that, three assays were conducted in the Department of Crop Science at ESALQ / USP, in Piracicaba - SP, during the year 2012. For that, it was collected seeds of the resistant biotype in Matão, São Paulo and seeds of the susceptible population in Piracicaba, São Paulo. The determination of the resistance factor for glyphosate between the biotypes was performed using dose-response curves at stage 3-4 tillers of bitter grass. Following, it was evaluated the germination and quantification of dry matter produced under the effect of different amounts of coverage with millet straw. It was also developed trials to see longevity of the resistant and susceptible biotypes, conducted at different soil depths. With the model of dose-response curve, it was possible to quantify the resistance factor (GR50) from the R statistical program by obtaining the value of 16.66, compared to the susceptible biotype resistant. The increased amount of millet straw on seed caused reduction in dry weight of seedlings of Digitaria insularis, for both biotypes, being more evident in treatments of 4.0 and 8.0 ton ha-1. The resistant biotype showed significantly higher number of seedlings than susceptible population, regardless of the amount of straw. It is not possible to conclude that the seeds of resistant biotypes have greater longevity than the seeds of the susceptible biotype, and the presence of light is indifferent to its germination.

Este trabalho consiste no desenvolvimento de um componente construtivo para alvenaria estrutural, utilizando o resíduo industrial escória de aciaria elétrica como matéria-prima em substituição a todos os agregados naturais. Para desenvolver este componente, inicialmente foram verificadas suas propriedades físicas, químicas e toxidade, para caracterizar o material e estabelecer metodologias de dosagens dos agregados. Nos ensaios para estabelecer dosagem, foi constatado que a matriz cimentícia estava contaminada, requerendo redução da fração de cimento para assegurar que o composto atendesse os parâmetros normativos ambientais. Uma linha experimental de fabricação foi implantada no laboratório para verificar a viabilidade técnica e econômica da industrialização das peças do componente construtivo. Foi observado que os custos de produção do novo componente são inferiores aos das unidades comumente produzidas no mercado. As propriedades físicas, mecânicas, dimensionais, de absorção de água e de retração das unidades de alvenarias ensaiadas com o componente construtivo demostraram desempenho satisfatório e viável para utilização em alvenaria estrutural. Uma vez que não existem parâmetros normativos específicos para o uso desta matéria-prima, foram utilizados os requisitos normativos de blocos de concreto como referência. O desempenho do novo componente de alvenaria, enquanto sistema construtivo, foi avaliado em aplicação experimental piloto, com resultados satisfatórios em relação ao processo de montagem das peças intertravadas, à viabilidade de automação da etapa de alvenaria, à relação de interface do componente construtivo com materiais de construção existentes no mercado, e ao seu desempenho térmico, estrutural e de estanqueidade. Os resultados permitem concluir que é viável a aplicação do resíduo de escória de aciaria como agregado em componentes construtivos de alvenaria estrutural. / This thesis describes the development of a constructive component for structural masonry, using the industrial residue slag of electrical steel shops as raw material, replacing all natural aggregates. To develop such component, its physical and chemical properties, as well as its toxicity, were verified, aiming at characterizing the material and establish methods to calculate the dosage of the aggregates proportion in the mixture. In the tests to define the dosage, it was found that the cement matrix itself was contamined, requiring decreasing its fraction to ensure the mixture was in accordance to environmental parameters. An experimental facility was installed at the laboratory, aiming at verifying the technical and economical feasibility of masonry parts manufactured with the component. It was observed lower costs compared with typically available parts. The properties of the masonry parts, such as physical, mechanical, dimensional, water absorption and retraction, were tested, with satisfactory performance results. Once there are no specific parameters to be applied to this particular raw material, it was used technical standards applied to regular concrete blocks. The performance of the new masonry component, as a constructive system, was evaluated in pilot application, with satisfactory results in terms of assembly of interlocked parts, masonry stage automation, interface with typical materials, as well as its termal, structural and leaking properties. The overall results allow the conclusion that using slag of electrical steel shops as aggregated raw material of masonry components are viable.

O objetivo da pesquisa foi avaliar os efeitos da AFB1 e FB1, isoladas e associadas e com ou sem a inclusão de um antioxidante (cúrcuma) em frangos de corte, utilizando-se os seguintes tratamentos (T): T1 (controle): 0 AFB1 + 0 FB1 + 0 Cúrcuma; T2: 0 AFB1 + 0 FB1 + 222 mg/kg Cúrcuma; T3: 0 AFB1 + 20 mg/kg FB1 + 0 Cúrcuma; T4: 0 AFB1 + 20 mg/kg FB1 + 222 mg/kg Cúrcuma; T5: 0,5 mg/kg AFB1 + 0 FB1 + 0 Cúrcuma; T6: 0,5 mg/kg AFB1 + 0 FB1 + 222 mg/kg Cúrcuma; T7: 0,5 mg/kg AFB1 + 20 mg/kg FB1 + 0 Cúrcuma; T8: 0,5 mg/kg AFB1 + 20 mg/kg FB1 + 222 mg/kg Cúrcuma. Os parâmetros avaliados incluíram: conversão alimentar, ganho de peso, consumo alimentar, proteínas séricas, hematologia, enzimas hepáticas, histopatologia de vísceras, resposta vacinal, resíduos de aflatoxinas e fumonisina em vísceras e músculos. Os dados foram analisados como um fatorial 2 x 2 x 2 por análise de variância. Não houve interação significativa para os três fatores analisados no desempenho zootécnico, porém houve diferença significativa nas dietas contendo aflatoxina, quando comparada com as outras dietas, para todas as variáveis analisadas. A AST e LDH foram as únicas variáveis significativas para a interação de todos os fatores (AFB1, FB1 e CMT), porém as outras variáveis, exceto a GGT, apresentaram diferença significativa nas dietas contendo aflatoxina, quando comparada com as outras dietas, para todas as variáveis analisadas. As lesões histopatológicas no fígado, rim e bursa de Fabricius foram aumentando gradualmente do tratamento controle até o tratamento contendo adição de aflatoxina e fumonisina, com ou sem cúrcuma, sendo que o efeito mais severo foi observado nos órgãos desses tratamentos. Não houve diferença significativa com a inclusão da cúrcuma. Não houve nenhuma variável significativa para a interação de todos os fatores avaliados para a biometria dos órgãos, porém fígado, rim e coração apresentaram diferença significativa nas dietas contendo aflatoxina, quando comparada com as outras dietas, para todas as variáveis analisadas. Nenhuma variável foi significativa para a interação de todos os fatores avaliados para o hemograma aos 21 dias, porém aos 42 dias, leucócitos, linfócitos e basófilos apresentaram diferença significativa para a interação de todos os fatores. Não houve diferença estatística para a interação dos três fatores analisados para os títulos de anticorpos para a doença de Newcastle. Os resíduos de FB2 no fígado e AFB2 no músculo peitoral foram as únicas variáveis significativas para a interação de todos os fatores analisados. Os resultados obtidos indicam que não houve efeito da cúrcuma na diminuição dos efeitos deletérios da aflatoxina e fumonisina. / The objective of this research project was to evaluate the effects of AFB1 and FB1, alone or in combination and associated or not with an antioxidant (turmeric) in broiler chickens, using the following treatments (T): T1 (control): 0 AFB1 + 0 FB1 + 0 Turmeric; T2: 0 AFB1 + 0 FB1 + 222 mg/kg Turmeric; T3: 0 AFB1 + 20 mg/kg FB1 + 0 Turmeric; T4: 0 AFB1 + 20 mg/kg FB1 + 222 mg/kg Turmeric; T5: 0.5 mg/kg AFB1 + 0 FB1 + 0 Turmeric; T6: 0.5 mg/kg AFB1 + 0 FB1 + 222 mg/kg Turmeric; T7: 0.5 mg/kg AFB1 + 20 mg/kg FB1 + 0 Turmeric; T8: 0.5 mg/kg AFB1 + 20 mg/kg FB1 + 222 mg/kg Turmeric. The parameters evaluated included: feed conversion, weight gain, food intake, serum proteins, hematology, liver enzymes, histopathology of viscera, vaccine response and residues of aflatoxin and fumonisin in tissues of viscera and muscles. Data were analyzed as a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial by analysis of variance. There was no significant interaction for the three analyzed factors on the performance, but there were significant differences in the diets containing aflatoxin when compared to the other diets, for all variables analyzed. AST and LDH were the only significant variables for the interaction of all factors (AFB1, FB1 e CMT), but other variables, with the exception of GGT, showed significant difference in diets containing aflatoxin when compared to other diets for all the variables analyzed. Histopathological lesions in the liver, kidney and bursa of Fabricius were gradually increased from the control treatment to aflatoxin and fumonisin treatment, with or without turmeric, with the most severe effect being observed in the organs of these treatments. There was no significant variable for the interaction of all factors evaluated for organ biometry, but liver, kidney and heart showed a significant difference in diets containing aflatoxin when compared to other diets for all variables analyzed. No variable was significant for the interaction of all factors evaluated for the blood test at 21 days, but at 42 days leukocytes, lymphocytes and basophils showed significant differences for the interaction of all factors. There was no statistical difference for the interaction of all factors analyzed for antibody titers to Newcastle disease. The residues of FB2 in the liver and AFB2 in the pectoral muscle were significant for the interaction of all the factors. The results showed no effect of turmeric powder in reducing the deleterious effects of aflatoxin and fumonisin.