Nas últimas duas décadas, tem-se, rotineiramente, observado o surgimento, em diferentes partes do mundo, de grupos de edifícios altos apresentados como sustentáveis ou ambientalmente corretos, merecendo especial destaque àqueles surgidos no contexto europeu. Há que se frisar, contudo, que elementos atinentes à Sustentabilidade estão, muitas vezes, intrinsecamente ligados a um elemento específico do edifício, como é o caso das fachadas, fator que, portanto, torna questionável a comentada atribuição. Destarte, com fulcro na tese de doutorado intitulada A Sustentabilidade do Edifício Alto: Uma nova geração de edifícios altos e sua inserção urbana, busca a presente pesquisa efetivar uma análise crítica acerca da geração de edifícios altos pautados em questões ambientais e de sustentabilidade. Para tanto, são apresentadas, inicialmente, discussões que circundam a utopia na arquitetura desde o início do século 20, as quais sempre estiveram atreladas à análise do edifício alto e do edifício alto verde. Não obstante, são expostos, na seqüência, os contextos urbanos nos quais o edifício alto, nas últimas décadas do século 20 e no início do século 21, possuiu grande destaque, seja por ter feito parte de um planejamento urbano, seja por motivos relacionados à sua imagem, ou seu desempenho ambiental. Além disso, mereceram realce os escritórios de arquitetura que, ao redor do mundo, exteriorizam-se como produtores dessa tipologia. Por derradeiro, demonstrou-se imprescindível a confecção de uma análise dos estudos de caso em consonância com critérios de desempenho ambiental, estudos estes que, não se restringindo a edifícios construídos, compõem-se de edifícios em operação, de aprovados para serem construídos e daqueles que foram projetados para concursos de arquitetura. Com efeito, trazendo a pesquisa um panorama geral no que tange à sustentabilidade do edifício alto, acaba ela por destacar os impactos ambientais de escala urbana, com ênfase nas questões relacionadas ao projeto de arquitetura. Enfim, propõe-se o presente estudo a revelar uma visão crítica acerca do projeto do edifício alto ligado às questões de sustentabilidade, cuja compreensão se dará por meio de uma ótica que, amplamente, aborde tudo aquilo que é proposto, aprovado, construído e alcançado por intermédio dos edifícios em operação. / In the last two decades it has been observed the rise groups of tall buildings presented as sustainable or environmental, in different parts of the world, deserving special attention those located in the European context. It should be stressed, however, that elements pertaining to sustainability are often intrinsically linked to a specific element of the building, such as facades, a factor which therefore makes it questionable. Thus, based in the PhD thesis entitled The Sustainability of Tall Building: A new generation of tall buildings and their integration into urban context, this dissertation seeks to present research a critical effect on the generation of tall buildings aligned with environmental issues and sustainability. Following this objective, discussions surrounding the utopia in architecture from the early 20th century are initially introduced, which have always been associated with analysis of tall building and the green tall building. Nevertheless, the urban contexts in which the tall building became a predominant typology and a interesting architectural object either for having been part of an urban planning, both for reasons related to his image, in recent decades of the 20th century and early 21st century, have been also presented and discussed. Moreover, a deserved highlight has been given to the architectural offices that, around the world, externalize themselves as producers of this typology. At last, it was shown essential to make an analysis of case studies aligned with environmental performance criteria. The case studies are not limited to buildings in operation, or approved to be built, they also include designs proposals for architecture competitions. Indeed, bringing the research an overview with regard to the sustainability of the tall building, it ends up bringing about issues of urban environmental impact, however, without losing the focus on the related environmental performance of the architectural design. Finally, this study brings a critical view on the design of the tall building with regards to issues of sustainability, which understanding is given through an optic that, broadly, addressing everything that is proposed, approved, built and achieved through the buildings in operation.

I ett samhälle med allt större fokus på miljön och användning av förnybara resurser så har efterfrågan på trä som material ökat. En ökad efterfrågan på material kan i sin tur leda till att det kan bli svårt att få tag i material och då gäller det att företagen kan utnyttja sina resurser på bästa sätt och på det viset även kunna minska sina kostnader. Trä är ett organiskt material och har därmed egenskaper som inte förekommer hos andra material. Egenskaperna varierar mellan olika trädslag, inom varje trädslag samt inom varje enskilt träd. Detta beror bland annat på cell och kviststrukturen samt hur träden har växt. Med materialutnyttjande i fokus växte detta examensarbete fram för att kartlägga en produktionslina för golvstommar. Syftet var även att studera möjligheterna att minska materialförlusterna genom att limma ihop materialet två och två innan de gick vidare i processen. För att studera detta genomfördes först en bakgrundsstudie kring trä som material samt limfogning av trä. Därefter genomfördes ett antal fallstudier för att kunna beräkna materialförlusterna i produktionen. Det följdes av en praktisk studie i en testmiljö där det studerades möjligheten att minska materialförlusterna genom att sammanfoga materialet med lim innan sönderdelning till lameller. Resultatet visade att det blev materialförluster både i form av sågspån, som är svårt att göra något åt, samt material som faller sönder till följd av främst kvistar. Materialförlusterna på grund av kvistar finns det möjlighet att minska på genom, vilket de partiska testerna av att sammanfoga materialet med lim innan sönderdelning visade. Att studera sina processer och dess materialutnyttjande är relevant för alla träförädlande företag så att råvaran utnyttjas på bästa möjliga sätt. Det går inte att eliminera alla materialförluster men en åtgärd för att minska materialförlusterna kan i detta fall vara att sammanfoga materialet innan sönderdelning. / In a society with an ever-growing focus on the environment and renewable recourses, the demand for wood as a material will increased. An increase in demand can, however, lead to a shortage in materials. This in turn puts pressure on companies to utilize their resources optimally to both conserve materials and to minimize the costs. Wood is an organic material which gives it unique properties compared to other materials. These properties are not however uniform and can change based on the type of wood. Differences in properties might occur between trees of the same wood species, and even in singular trees. This variety depends on the tree’s cellular and knots structure in addition to how it was grown. The focus of this bachelor thesis was the use of materials in a production line of flooring frames. The aim of this study was also to see if it was possible to minimize the loss of materials by gluing together two pieces of material before processing. The first step in completing this study was to perform a background study which focused on wood as a material and the usage of bonding agents for wood. The background study was then followed by a number of case studies where the loss of materials in the production line was calculated. The case studies were then in turn followed by a practical study performed in a test environment concerning the ability of minimizing material losses by adhering two pieces of material before processing them into lamina. The result showed a loss of materials in form of sawdust and materials breaking after processing, mainly due to knots. The sawdust is difficult to avoid but as the practical study showed, it was possible to reduce the loss of materials caused by knots, by adhering material together before processing it. To study the production and its use of materials is relevant for all wood manufacturing industries to ensure the optimal usage of the material. It is not possible to eliminate all material losses but one possible way to minimize it could be, in this case, to adhere material before it is processes.

Tall buildings have been constructed in many cities over the world to accommodate the demographic and economic growth in urban areas. These structures, however, have been widely discussed concerning their potential negative impacts on urban life. By drawing on concepts of urban morphology and the city image, this thesis aims to examine the impact of tall buildings on predominantly low-rise built urban environments and cities. Through a quantitative case study approach applying geographic information systems this thesis attempts to identify (1) the shadow impacts significantly taller buildings have on surrounding areas, (2) the visual impact and the potential for a proposed tall building to act as a new landmark, and (3) the impact tall buildings have on the skyline of a city dominated by low-rise buildings and a historic city centre. The thesis analysed two proposed buildings in Västerås, Sweden and found that the shadow impact of the analysed structures is concentrated on the winter months. The visibility of the buildings concentrates on open spaces and certain visible corridors but is not widely spread over the city. Therefore, the possibilities of the new structures becoming a new landmark of the city are questionable. Furthermore, the proposed planned structures would be visible in the skyline but would not obstruct the views to the other landmarks of the city. The thesis and its results contribute to the discourse around tall buildings and the research on the city image by showing the importance of the analysis of the potential impact of tall buildings in urban planning processes.

Background. Tall oil production at Södra Cell is an important byproduct produced at the facility in Mörrum. This process is monitored using a vast system of interconnected sensors that continuously monitor the system. At this time, these systems are operated under manual control without any guidance from data-driven analysis. Therefore, we propose an integrated alarm detection system based on the sensor data. Objectives. This study investigates the possibility of using a data-driven analysis system to detect decreases in the targeted variable. Three different approaches are investigated and evaluated on their performance to understand how these approaches can be used to improve the production process by predicting the changes of the target value.  Methods. Three quasi-experiments are conducted to understand how well different machine learning methods can predict and be used in the production process of tall oil. Each experiment is executed independently of each other with their own setup. Results. Out of three different machine learning methods that were tested, had neural network perform the best, while the two methods that observe the historical data trends seem to have problems with the specific data set. Conclusions. From this research, it can be stated that a neural network algorithm can accurately predict changes in the chemical production process. There are multiple machine learning algorithms that can further be used to improve production at Södra Cell.

Pinus Contorta was introduced to Sweden as a tree that would grow fast with a promising future, also a promise in increased production. What could not be anticipated was the common Swedish weather conditions, such as snow and wind, would have negative impact on Pinus contorta due to its instability connected to fast-growing trunk and wide crown. Those predictions were hard to estimate since these weather conditions also is common in Canada, where it has its origins. The overall damage caused by snow and wind generates an annual loss of approximately hundred million Swedish crowns (SEK), which has a great impact on the Swedish forestry economy. The awareness of the risks and damages on Pinus contorta makes it possible to both prevent and avoid these to some extent. A more detailed study has been done in the Swedish region Norrbotten, where the level of the damage on Pinus contorta was compared to the Swedish pine. The study included inventory of un-thinned stands and quantified data was collected. The conclusions indicated that the level of damage on Pinus contorta stands was more than twice the damage of the Pinus sylvestris stands. However, since Pinus contorta is relatively new in Sweden, the results regarding the future of the contorta pine are therefore insufficient. Furthermore, it is not possible to predict if the promised increase of production will ever be achieved. To achieved reliable results, further studies are suggested where both loss of profit, compared to the Pinus sylvestris stands, but also the full turnaround time of Pinus contorta are included.

Pastures have been typically dominated by monocultures, only allowing herbivores access to one food type with unbalanced nutrient content and in some instances with single plant secondary compounds (SCs), which can be toxic if ingested at high concentrations. By establishing diverse pastures animals can select from a variety of plants with different concentrations and types of nutrients and SCs. The objectives of my study were to (a) determine if the type of plant diversity - tall fescue with either tannin-containing sainfoin or saponin-containing alfalfa − affects cattle preferences for these forages, (b) evaluate how readily fall-born calves reach finish body condition on these grass-legume pastures, and (c) determine the effects of sainfoin/tall fescue versus alfalfa/tall fescue pasture on meat quality and consumer acceptance. Foraging behavior, body weight, and pasture biomass before and after grazing was monitored when cattle strip-grazed 3 replications of 2 treatments repeated for 2 years (from May through September 2010 and from June through September 2012). Animals were allowed a choice between tall fescue and sainfoin [SAN] or alfalfa [ALF]) applied randomly in strips (fescue, legume, or fescue-legume mixture). No differences in average daily gains (~ 1 Kg/day) were detected between the 2 groups of cattle. I used scan samples at 5-min intervals from 0730 to 0930 to record foraging behavior. Animals spent most of the time grazing legumes and scans on legumes increased from the beginning to the end of the study. Scans and assessments of pasture biomass removal revealed greater use of sainfoin than alfalfa, whereas cattle in the ALF treatment removed more fescue than cattle in the SAN treatment. The presence of tannins in sainfoin likely contributed to these effects. Beef carcasses were very lean (select or standard quality grade), with 4-6% mean fat content. There were no differences between treatments regarding meat color, oxidative stability, fatty acid analyses, or consumer acceptance. Only 2 volatiles (nonanoic and decanoic acids) were greater in meat from the ALF treatment. Thus, cattle offered choices reached finish body weight at pasture and incorporated fescue into their diets even when legumes were available. The type of legume influenced foraging behavior but this effect did not impact animal performance, meat quality, or consumer acceptance.

The potential of basin wildrye (Elymus cinereus Scribn. & Merr. 'Magnar') and tall wheatgrass [Agropyron elongatum (Host) Beav. 'Jose '] to establish on saline, arid rangelands in the Great Basin in relation to soil water and salinity was compared in field and laboratory experiments. Tall wheatgrass had higher emergence and establishment on a nonsaline and a saline soil (electrical conductivity of the saturation extract of 7 dS·m-1) over a range of spring precipitation as simulated by sprinkler irrigation. Basin wildrye will require supplemental irrigation to establish on soils of similar salinity. In the absence of precipitation, soil salinity increases and matric and osmotic potentials rapidly decrease as the surface soil dries in late spring. Germination and growth responses in relation to salinity and drought in laboratory experiments were consistent with emergence and establishment results in the field experiments. Tall wheatgrass had higher total germination, rate of germination and radicle growth under decreasing osmotic potentials and higher emergence under decreasing matric potentials than basin wildrye. Tall wheatgrass had greater root and shoot yield than basin wildrye when osmotic potentials in sand cultures were decreased by solutions of NaCl, Na2SO4 and CaCl2.Tall wheatgrass is more tolerant of salt and boron than basin wildrye, but basin wildrye is highly salt tolerant compared to most forage species. Tall wheatgrass had more rapid root elongation and more extensive root growth than basin wildrye seedlings grown in 60-cm soil columns filled with nonsaline and saline soil. Germination and growth of both species was reduced by ions in addition to the effects of water stress due to low osmotic potentials. Rate of germination and radicle growth of both species was less in salts than in isosmotic polyethylene glycol solutions. Seedlings exhibited less growth in saline than nonsaline soil even when plant water stress was minimal or when leaf water potentials were low but turgor was maintained by osmotic adjustment. Germination at low osmotic and matric potentials and root elongation in relation to salinity may be important plant responses to use in evaluating the potential for establishment of new plant materials on saline, arid rangelands.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil Engineering, 1982. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Robert Erik Grip. / M.S.

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Sustainable farming is an integrated practice of crop and livestock production system (integrated crop-livestock system; ICLS) that aims to reduce the environmental impacts of agricultural practices while maintaining the productivity and profitability. The use of one step's byproducts by another is a crucial component of this practice. The continuity and effectiveness of sustainable farming greatly rely on deep understanding of each component and good management strategy. One essential aspect involved in all farming components is the role of microorganisms in mediating the biological processes therein. Thus, understanding the composition and activities of these communities would open up ways to engineer them and optimize the respective processes for better sustainable farming practices. The research presented in this dissertation aimed to characterize the microbial metabolism involved in the ICLS with a broader goal of manipulating these systems to improve sustainable agriculture. We focused on two systems that are widely used in the United States, and employed the analysis of 16S rRNA-V4 element for this purpose. In our first system, we characterized the rumen microbiomes of beef cattle alternately grazing nontoxic MaxQ and toxic KY-31 tall fescue pasture, to understand how these cultivars shape the rumen microbiome and identify microbial species potentially capable of degrading ergot alkaloids for better feed utilization. We found that KY-31 grazing remodeled the rumen microbiome substantially at the cellulolytic and saccharolytic guilds. It suppressed the abundances of Fibrobacter, a major ruminal cellulolytic bacterium, as well as those of Pseudobutyrivibrio and Butyrivibrio, and these losses were compensated by increased occurrences of Eubacterium species. Parts of these new communities lingered once developed, and a different guild composition surfaced upon transfer to MaxQ. We also discovered that most of the observations were not evident at the whole microbiome levels but was identified by analyzing the sessile and planktonic fractions separately. Thus, it showcased the need for analyzing sessile and planktonic segments separately while interrogating a heterogenous microbiome. Finally, we identified several potential ergovaline degrading bacteria such as Paraprevotella and Coprococcus. In our second system, we studied the microbiome composition and associated transformation pathways mediating nitrogen loss in two dairy manure storage systems, the clay-lined Earthen Pit (EP) and aboveground concrete storage tank (CS) on two commercial dairy farms, to develop strategies to minimize these losses. We first developed a catalog of the archaea and bacteria that were present therein based on the 16S rRNA-V4 amplicons from manure samples collected from several locations and depths of the storages. Then, we inferred the respective metabolic capabilities via PICRUSt2 and literature curation, and developed schemes for nitrogen and carbon transformation pathways operating at various locations of EP and CS. Our results showed that the stored manure microbiome composition was more complex and exhibited more location-to-location variation in EP compared to CS. Further, the inlet and a location with hard surface crust in EP had unique consortia. With regards to nitrogen transformation, the microbiomes in both storages had the potential to generate ammonia but lacked the organisms for oxidizing it to nitrate and further to gaseous compounds such as anammox and autotrophic nitrifiers. However, microbial conversion of nitrate to gaseous N2, NO, and N2O via denitrification and to stable ammonia via dissimilatory nitrite reduction (DNRA) seemed possible. Minor quantity of nitrate was present in manure, potentially originating from oxidative processes occurring on the barn floor. Higher prevalence of nitrate-transforming microbes at the near-surface locations and all depths of the inlet were found as a result of this instance. These findings suggested that ammonia oxidation to nitrate started on the barn floor and as manure is being stored in EP and CS, nitrate was lost to the environment via denitrification. For carbon transformation, hydrogenotrophic Methanocorpusculum species were the primary methane producers, and it exhibited higher abundance in EP. / Doctor of Philosophy / Sustainable farming is an integrated practice of crop and livestock production systems that aims to reduce the environmental impacts of agricultural practices while maintaining the productivity and profitability. The use of one step's byproducts by another such as the utilization of arable land to grow forages for livestock grazing or the use of manure as organic nitrogen amendments for crops is a crucial component of this practice. The continuity and effectiveness of sustainable farming greatly rely on deep understanding of each component and good management strategy. One essential aspect involved in all farming components is the role of microorganisms in mediating the biological processes therein. Thus, understanding the composition and activities of these communities would open up ways to engineer them and optimize the respective processes for a better sustainable farming practice. The research presented in this dissertation aimed to characterize the microbial metabolism involved in the integrated crop-livestock system with a broader goal of manipulating these to improve sustainable agriculture. We focused on two systems that are widely used in the United States, and employed bioinformatic analysis of a genetic marker for this purpose. In our first system, we characterized the rumen microbiomes of beef cattle grazing alternately on KY-31 tall fescue, a major grass used in Virginia that carry a toxin-producing fungi, and nontoxic MaxQ tall fescue pasture, to understand how these cultivars shape the rumen microbiome and identify potential microbial species capable of degrading the toxin for better feed utilization. We found that KY-31 grazing remodeled the rumen microbiome substantially, especially affecting microbes responsible for degrading cellulose and starch. Some of these communities lingered once developed, and a different microbial population surfaced upon transfer to MaxQ. Several potential toxin-degrading bacteria were also identified. In our second system, we studied the microbiome composition and associated transformation pathways mediating nitrogen loss in two dairy manure storage systems, the clay-lined Earthen Pit (EP) and aboveground concrete storage tank (CS), to develop strategies to minimize these losses. We first develop a catalog of the archaea and bacteria that were present in the manure samples collected from several locations and depths of the storages based on a genetic marker. Then, we inferred the respective metabolic capabilities and developed schemes for nitrogen and carbon transformation pathways operating at various locations of EP and CS. Our results showed that the stored manure microbiome exhibited more location-to-location variation in EP compared to CS. Oxygen exposure, continuous addition of fresh manure, and the presence of crust at the storage surface gave rise to these unique populations. With regards to nitrogen transformation, the microbiomes in both storages had the potential to generate ammonia but lacked the organisms for oxidizing it to nitrate and further to gaseous compounds. However, microbial conversion of nitrate to gaseous N2, NO, and N2O seemed possible. These observations showcased that ammonia is stable during storage. Nitrate, on the other hand, can be converted into volatile nitrogen compounds via various processes. Thus, it is imperative to limit the level of nitrate in manure prior to placement in the storage, which is potentially originating from oxidative processes occurring on the barn floor.