Biosignatures have been extensively studied at hot springs sites, such as Yellowstone, because liquid water is fundamental to the existence of life but also owing to the influx of mineral nutrients in these environments. However, some hot springs have upper temperatures exceeding the boundaries capable of sustaining life in all the spring facies, particularly those nearest the vent. Cold springs provide the same nutrient-rich environment with more ambient temperatures potentially capable of sustaining a diverse consortium of microorganisms across the entirety of the system. Ten Mile Graben Cold Springs, located in Southern Utah, is one such site known for its biota and preservation potential. This study aimed to observe the possible effects of the microorganisms on aragonite and calcite precipitation. Scanning electron microscope imagery observed biogenic fabric such as botryoidal aragonite and aragonite microspheres; however, the δ13C enrichment values of +2.80‰ to +7.30‰ imply the springs were dominantly precipitated through CO2 degassing. This discrepancy in the chemical and morphological data has been observed at other astrobiology analog sites such as Yellowstone; therefore, travertine and tufa seemingly do not preserve isotopic chemical biosignatures.

The Arab Spring marked a new age of international political participation and support, facilitated by the wide circulation of imagery via social and mass media. Many in the West found themselves in ideological agreement with the political efforts of the protests, upholding the U.S. rhetorical tenets of democracy and freedom of speech. The visual framing of the Arab Spring in U.S. news media played a crucial role in forging this ideological consensus. My thesis focuses specifically on the visual framing of women in the Egyptian uprising by exploring the Western news portrayal of the presence of women in the Egyptian political sphere. In order to ground my assessment of Western perceptions, I conduct a content analysis of coverage of the Egyptian uprising protests from Getty and AP photography databases. My analysis is also supported and influenced by a rigorous theoretical foundation in framing theory, Orientalism, and postcolonial feminist theory.

"Arab World" is the only region in the world that lacks democratic values. However, back in December 2010, the authoritarian regimes of the Middle East had faced rapid and remarkable political change under the dynamics of the so-called "Arab Spring". The existing regimes in some of the Arab countries have met the popular opposition that demanded for the changes towards democratization processes, which was perceived by many scholars as a positive factor to the emergence of democracy. Since then, the question of the perspective of democratization of the Arab world has come to the agenda of most political debates. Thus, the aim of this thesis is to discuss and analyze whether democracy is able to develop in Arab region, what are the main challenges to it and whether in the past four years Arab Spring has facilitated the transformation of the political regimes.

Dollar spot, caused by the pathogen S. homoeocarpa (F.T. Bennett), is a common disease that infects a wide variety of turfgrasses all over the world. Yet it is significant problem on golf course putting greens and fairways consisting of creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) and annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.). It is active in a wide variety of environmental conditions ranging from 16-30˚C but favors warm, humid days, followed by cool nights. Sclerotinia homoeocarpa overwinters as dormant mycelium in dead plant tissue. In the spring, germinating mycelia begin to infect leaf blades causing foliar lesions, which then spread via mycelium by means of wind, rain, animals and equipment. While there are a number of cultural practices that can reduce disease severity, frequent fungicide applications are required to maintain acceptable playing conditions on a golf course. The repeated use of fungicides with the same mode of action has led to the development of fungicide resistance of S. homoeocarpa to certain fungicide classes. Most notably, demethylase inhibitor (DMI) fungicides have been found to have varying levels of inefficacy against S. homoeocarpa across North America. The cause for reduced efficacy is suspected to the shifted sensitivity levels of many S. homoeocarpa populations, which are resulted from repeated use of the DMI fungicide. Recently, “early-spring fungicide applications” targeting to reduce initial inoculum density of dollar spot have gained popularity in an attempt to reduce dollar spot severity. In addition, preventative fungicide applications (from late October through mid-November) containing DMI fungicides have been traditionally practiced to target snow molds (caused by Microdochium nivale, Typhula spp.) in the northeastern United States. To date, there is not a clear understanding as to what effect, if any, these applications have on S. homoeocarpa DMI sensitivity or residual dollar spot control the following year. Traditional preventative snow mold applications were also investigated on the effect of S. homoeocarpa DMI sensitivity and early-season dollar spot control. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of early-spring dollar spot application and late-fall snow mold application on S. homoeocarpa population with a bimodal distribution of DMI sensitive and insensitive isolates.

The balance of improving hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L. emend Thell) yield while maintaining grain protein concentration continues to be a challenge in agriculture. The objective of the field research was to evaluate N fertilizer types, additives, rates, and application timing to find N management strategies that improved the efficiency of the applied N with regards to both grain protein and yield. Another aspect of this study was to determine if ground-based active sensor data can predict grain yield and/or protein content. Fertilizer treatments consisted of 2 application timings, 3 sources of N, 3 rates of N, and 2 additive types. Spring applications improved grain protein and yield compared to fall applications. Polymer coated urea shows promise in improving grain protein over urea alone. However, profitability is dependent on environmental factors that may influence N availability, as well as prices at the time that the grain is marketed. / Minnesota Wheat and Promotion Council

The goal of this thesis is to analyse communication possibilities between Java programming language and MATLAB enviroment and then to design and implementate a system using this communication. First of all this thesis focuses on overview and comparison of methods accesing MATLAB enviroment. In the next step there is a design of the system that mediates remote computations in MATLAB enviroment using the most effective method from previous step. Next chapter leaves a short description of Spring framework, which is used in implementation of application. The last step folows description of possibilities, instalation and configuration of the system.

Scope of this graduating work is a project of robotic automation of manual cambering and heat treatment line for processing of spring leaves. Main focus is on automation of manual work between heating furnace and cambering and quenching machine. The work contains complete design of robotic workplace, which satisfies condition given by Hanácké železárny a pérovny, a. s. and which is going to be put into the operation soon.

Emphysema is a progressive disease characterized by irreversible tissue destruction and airspace enlargement, which manifest as low attenuation area (LAA) on CT images. Previous studies have shown that inflammation, protease imbalance, extracellular matrix remodeling and mechanical forces are collectively playing a role in the progression of emphysema. Elastic spring network models have been applied to investigate the pathogenesis of emphysema from the mechanical perspective. However, all existing models include random removal of springs to mimic the initial locations of LAA clusters from which emphysema progression is initiated. This approach is generically lacking patient specificity of CT scans that precisely reflect the location of LAA in an emphysematous lung. The aim of this work is to develop a novel approach that provides an optimal spring network representation of emphysematous lungs based on apparent density in CT images. The results suggest that the personalized elastic spring network can be used to predict the propagation of structural destruction during emphysema progression. Thus, our approach has the potential to predict disease progression that should be verified by clinical data

This master thesis deals with optimization of processes inside of a~system for managing internship experiences at PEF MENDELU. After analysis of current state of the system, new features and improvements are introduced for providing better user experience for students and faculty employees. After presenting these improvements to faculty management new web application is implemented with Java programming language and Spring Framework. After implementing and testing the application will be used for supporting the system for managing students working experience.

Twenty springs in the central parts of Vallentuna municipality have been studied to determine their present water qualities and suggest actions that could be taken to improve the water quality and availability of the springs. The measured parameters are the water volume, the water flow, the water temperature, the pH-value, the electrical conductivity, the chloride concentration, the alkalinity and the CODMn. The sensory properties of the springs were also examined, which include odour, colour, clarity and precipitation. Measurements of the water flows, the water temperatures, the pH-values and the electrical conductivities were performed during a field trip in Vallentuna. During this field trip, two water samples were taken from each spring. Thereafter, the alkalinity, the chloride concentration, the CODMn and the sensory properties were determined in the laboratory. Four of the springs, which were wells, have water of high quality and can easily be restored. Some of the twenty springs have not been cared for or have even disappeared. The water from the spring horizon near Arkels tingstad is unfortunately mixed with stormwater, which runs off the nearby roads. This contamination is examined by measuring the chloride flows of the different streams.  The roads also contribute with metal pollution, with metals such as cadmium. Therefore, metal speciations of cadmium were examined. A simple solution is suggested to remove the metal pollution. The measured water flows of all of the spring waters in Vallentuna were quite small. The results of the measurements of the spring waters were compared with the values recommended by Livsmedelsverket and Socialstyrelsen. Most of the values were between the recommended limits for drinking water. Suggestions are given to improve the springs concerning water quality and availability. / Tjugo källor i centrala Vallentuna studerades för att bestämma deras vattenkvalitet och för att föreslå åtgärder i avsikt att förbättra vattenkvaliteten och tillgängligheten av källorna. De mätta parametrarna är vattenvolym, flödeshastighet, vattentemperatur, pH-värde, elektrisk konduktivitet, kloridkoncentration, alkalinitet och CODMn. Dessutom undersöktes källvattnens sensoriska egenskaper, vilka innefattar lukt, färg, klarhet och utfällning. Mätningar av flödeshastigheterna, vattentemperaturerna, pH-värdena och elektriska konduktiviteterna gjordes under en exkursion i Vallentuna. Två vattenprover togs från varje källa. Därefter undersöktes kloridkoncentrationen, alkaliniteten, CODMn och de sensoriska egenskaperna på laboratoriet. Fyra av källorna, vilka var brunnar, har vatten av hög kvalitet och kan relativt enkelt restaureras. En del av de tjugo källorna har inte vårdats under lång tid och har till och med försvunnit. Vattnet från källhorisonten vid Arkels tingstad har olyckligtvis blandats med dagvatten, vilket rinner från de närliggande vägarna. Denna förorening analyseras genom att mäta kloridflödet i olika strömmar. Vägarna bidrar också med metallföroreningar, t.ex. kadmium. Därför har också metallförekomstformer för kadmium modellerats. En enkel metod föreslås för att avlägsna metallföroreningarna. Vattenflödena från källorna i centrala Vallentuna är relativt små.  Resultatet av mätningarna av källvattnen jämfördes med de rekommenderade värdena för dricksvatten enligt Livsmedelsverket och Socialstyrelsen. De flesta värdena låg inom gränserna för de rekommenderade värdena för dricksvatten. Förslag ges till förbättring av källorna med avseende på vattenkvalitet och tillgänglighet.