M. Tech. Construction Management / This dissertation is primarily concerned with the investigation of waste generation rates, the causes of waste and waste management strategies adopted in the construction industry in Tshwane, South Africa.

This dissertation describes the development of CAMBIUM, an agent-based forest sector model for large-scale strategic analysis. This model is designed as a decision support tool for assessing the effect that changes in forest product demand and resource inventories can have on the structure and economic viability of the forest sector. CAMBIUM complements existing forest sector models by modeling aggregate product supply as an emergent property of individual companies’ production decisions and stand-level ecological processes. Modeling the forest products sector as a group of interacting autonomous agents makes it possible to introduce production capacity dynamics and the potential for mill insolvencies as factors in modeling the effects of market and forest inventory based disturbances. This thesis contains four main manuscripts. In the first manuscript I develop and test a dispersal algorithm that projects aggregated forest inventory information onto a lattice grid. This method can be used to generate ecologically and statistically consistent datasets where high-quality spatial inventory data is otherwise unavailable. The second manuscript utilizes this dataset in developing a provincial-level resource dynamics model for assessing the timber supply effects of introducing weevil-resistant spruce. This model employs a stand-level approach to simulating weevil infestation and associated merchantable volume losses. Provincial-level impacts are determined by simulating harvest activities over a 350 year time horizon. In the third manuscript I shift the focus to interactions between forest companies. I analyze the effects of strategic decisions on sector structure by developing CAMBIUM as an agent-based model of competition and industry structure evolution. The forest sector is modeled as a group of autonomous, interacting agents that evolve and compete within the limitations posed by resource inventories and product demand. In the final manuscript I calibrate CAMBIUM to current conditions in the British Columbia forest sector. Industry agents compete for roundwood inputs, as well as for profits in finished product markets for pulp, panel products, and lumber. To test the relevance and utility of this model, CAMBIUM is used to quantify the cumulative impacts of a market downturn for forest products and mountain pine beetle induced timber supply fluctuations on the structure of the forest sector.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2009. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

The main aim of this study was to describe and compare communities of oribatid mites of selected areas in mountain spruce forests near Březník in the Šumava National Park, where different types of management were used after the spruce dieback caused by bark beetle gradation more than 15 years ago. Naturally regenerating and salvage logged areas were compared. Significant differences were found in the oribatid mite community composition between the areas with different types of used management. The oribatid mite community in naturally regenerating areas was in better shape and its abundance and species composition was similar to the community of a control area in a fully grown healthy spruce forest.

The theoretic part of my dissertation is devoted to the management by crisis and the integrated salvage system, their organization, single components and system of their management. Farther I occupy here with the chapter of supervision, namely with its function, course, role and position of supervisor and supervider. In the first part of my dissertation I mention a mediation and debriefing too as the possible options of supervision. The research objective in the practical part of my work is characterize the possibilities of a participation of supervisor or supervision into the system of the management by crisis. This part of my dissertation was worked up both by the quantitative and qualitative method. I have chosen data collection for the anonymous interrogatory. The workers of IZS in the South Bohemian Region formed the target group. 82 informants formed the total research set. The data processing was by the qualitative method by means of SWOT analysis. I surveyed two hypotheses. Hypothesis No.1 {--} The IZS workers have poor awareness of the supervision advantages and risk of its absence. In Hypothesis No.2 {--} I presumed that according to the IZS workers the supervision in the workplace is not important.

In today’s medical science studies, many tumor markers are being used to monitor cancer cell proliferation, but the number of assays for analysis of these markers are few. The aim of this study was to find an easier and more time-efficient way to measure the activity of a specific tumor marker called tymidine kinase 1 (TK1). This tumor marker is an important enzyme involved in cell proliferation and is a key enzyme in the salvage pathway. TK1 activity is related to the occurrence of hematological malignancies and cell activity and therefore have been used as a marker when monitoring this group of patients in treatment. Measurement of the enzyme activity in this study was performed by using an oligonucleotide assay. Detection of the enzyme activity in whole blood and in plasma has not previously been shown. The TK1 activity measured in whole blood and plasma correlated with TK1 activity measured in serum (R2=0,8651 and R2 =0,9845, respectively). It was found that it is possible to determine the TK1 activity in whole blood but only if the activity was measured on the same day as the blood samples were taken. The results shows that the activity measurement of TK1 in plasma and whole blood can be used as a marker to verify patients' therapy in cancer care. This study is only the beginning and further investigations should be made in the future to determine if the method that is subject to this study has the requested effects.

This dissertation describes the development of CAMBIUM, an agent-based forest sector model for large-scale strategic analysis. This model is designed as a decision support tool for assessing the effect that changes in forest product demand and resource inventories can have on the structure and economic viability of the forest sector. CAMBIUM complements existing forest sector models by modeling aggregate product supply as an emergent property of individual companies’ production decisions and stand-level ecological processes. Modeling the forest products sector as a group of interacting autonomous agents makes it possible to introduce production capacity dynamics and the potential for mill insolvencies as factors in modeling the effects of market and forest inventory based disturbances. This thesis contains four main manuscripts. In the first manuscript I develop and test a dispersal algorithm that projects aggregated forest inventory information onto a lattice grid. This method can be used to generate ecologically and statistically consistent datasets where high-quality spatial inventory data is otherwise unavailable. The second manuscript utilizes this dataset in developing a provincial-level resource dynamics model for assessing the timber supply effects of introducing weevil-resistant spruce. This model employs a stand-level approach to simulating weevil infestation and associated merchantable volume losses. Provincial-level impacts are determined by simulating harvest activities over a 350 year time horizon. In the third manuscript I shift the focus to interactions between forest companies. I analyze the effects of strategic decisions on sector structure by developing CAMBIUM as an agent-based model of competition and industry structure evolution. The forest sector is modeled as a group of autonomous, interacting agents that evolve and compete within the limitations posed by resource inventories and product demand. In the final manuscript I calibrate CAMBIUM to current conditions in the British Columbia forest sector. Industry agents compete for roundwood inputs, as well as for profits in finished product markets for pulp, panel products, and lumber. To test the relevance and utility of this model, CAMBIUM is used to quantify the cumulative impacts of a market downturn for forest products and mountain pine beetle induced timber supply fluctuations on the structure of the forest sector. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

M.Sc. (Environmental Management) / The University of Johannesburg (UJ) generates vast quantities of solid waste daily. One of the four campuses, Doornfontein campus, was chosen as study area, to calculate the amounts of waste generated and investigate changes in volume from 2009 to 2013. Waste collected from the campus was separated into recyclables and non-recyclables. The recyclable waste was then further divided into different categories, with each weighed separately. The discourse provides an overview of solid waste and the management thereof, in conjunction with a review of changes and updates to past and current legislation pertaining to waste management in South Africa. Furthermore, the study provides an assessment of waste management and recycling practices at international and national academic institutions and examines the UJ waste policy and policy implementation. Finally, the study provides recommendations for improving the management of waste at UJ.

Dietary supplementation of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) precursors has been suggested as a treatment for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and obesity. In the liver, NAD+ is primarily generated by nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT), and hepatic levels of NAMPT and NAD+ have been reported to be dependent on age and body composition. The aim of the present study was to identify time course-dependent changes in hepatic NAD content and NAD+ salvage capacity in mice challenged with a high-fat diet (HFD). We fed 7-week-old C57BL/6JBomTac male mice either regular chow or a 60% HFD for 6, 12, 24, and 48 weeks, and we evaluated time course-dependent changes in whole body metabolism, liver steatosis, and abundance of hepatic NAD-associated metabolites and enzymes. Mice fed a 60% HFD rapidly accumulated fat and hepatic triglycerides with associated changes in respiratory exchange ratio (RER) and a disruption of the circadian feeding pattern. The HFD did not alter hepatic NAD+ levels, but caused a decrease in NADP+ and NADPH levels. Decreased NADP+ content was not accompanied by alterations in NAD kinase (NADK) abundance in HFD-fed mice, but NADK levels increased with age regardless of diet. NAMPT protein abundance did not change with age or diet. HFD consumption caused a severe decrease in protein lysine malonylation after six weeks, which persisted throughout the experiment. This decrease was not associated with changes in SIRT5 abundance. In conclusion, hepatic NAD+ salvage capacity is resistant to long-term HFD feeding, and hepatic lipid accumulation does not compromise the hepatic NAD+ pool in HFD-challenged C57BL/6JBomTac male mice.

Background: Osteochondral allograft (OCA) transplantation is a useful treatment for posttraumatic ankle arthritis in young patients, but failure rates are high and reoperations are not uncommon. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of failed ankle OCA transplantation converted to ankle arthrodesis (AA) or total ankle arthroplasty (TAA). Methods: We evaluated 24 patients who underwent salvage procedures (13 AA and 11 TAA) after primary failed ankle OCA transplantation. Reoperations were assessed. Failure of the salvage procedure was defined as an additional surgery that required a revision AA/TAA or amputation. Evaluation among nonfailing ankles included the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Foot and Ankle Module (AAOS-FAM), pain, and satisfaction. Results: In the salvage AA cohort, 3 patients were classified as failures (2 revision AA and 1 amputation). The 10 nonfailing patients had a mean follow-up of 7.4 years. Eighty-eight percent were satisfied with the procedure, but 63% reported continued problems with their ankle (eg, pain, swelling, stiffness). Mean pain level was 1.9 and AAOS-FAM core score was 83±13. In the salvage TAA cohort, 2 patients were classified as failures (both revision TAA). The 9 nonfailing patients had a mean follow-up of 3.8 years. Fifty percent were satisfied with the procedure, but 40% reported continued problems with their ankle. The mean pain level was 1.3, and the median AAOS-FAM core score was 82±26. Conclusion: Revision and reoperation rates for salvage procedures following failed OCA transplantation of the ankle are higher compared to published data for primary AA and TAA procedures. However, we believe OCA transplantation can serve as an interim procedure for younger patients with advanced ankle joint disease who may not be ideal candidates for primary AA or TAA at the time of initial presentation. Level of Evidence: Level IV, case series.