Développer un matériau pour une application dans le domaine des lentilles de contact nécessite de satisfaire plusieursexigences, notamment sur la transparence optique, sur la stabilité chimique et thermique. En outre, puisque le matériauest directement en contact avec le tissu de l'oeil, il doit être mouillable, biocompatible, résistant à l'encrassementbiologique, et perméable à l'oxygène. La perméabilité à l'oxygène (Dk) est un paramètre important pour la conceptionde lentilles de contact. Ce paramètre représente la facilité qu’aura l’oxygène à diffuser à travers la lentille vers l’oeil.Dans ce contexte, nous décrivons deux voies de recherche sur une nouvelle formulation afin de répondre à ces critères. Dans une première approche, cette recherche est axée sur la synthèse d’hydrogels de morphologie spécifique, en particulier, sur la synthèse simultanée et/ou séquentielle de réseaux polymères interpénétrés (IPN) permettant d’obtenir unemorphologie à phases co-continues. Parmi les nombreux monomères biocompatibles, nous nous sommes focalisésinitialement sur la combinaison d'un acrylate fluoré (2,2,2 -trifluoroéthyl méthacrylate, TFEM) et de la 1 -vinyl-2 -pyrrolidone (NVP), ce système étant comparé à un IPN constitué d’un monomère siloxane (3-[tris (triméthylsiloxy)-silyle] méthacrylate de propyle], TRIS), bien connu dans le domaine des lentilles de contact en raison de ses bonnes propriétés de transport de l'oxygène. Dans une deuxième approche, ces systèmes sont considérés comme une référence et nous avons prospecté l’élaboration d’IPN à base d’alginate et d’acrylamide, ces hydrogels ayant démontré des propriétés attractives, en particulier les propriétés mécaniques. Plusieurs formulations de gels ont été préparées et l'influence de leur composition sur les propriétés d’intérêt est décrite. En effet, ces hydrogels sont caractérisés d’un point de vue chimique par spectroscopie IRTF, chromatographie couplée GC-MS et d’un point de vue morphologie par microscopie MEB afin de mettre en évidence une morphologie avec des phases co-continues. Les propriétés mécaniques sont aussi déterminées. La perméabilité à l’oxygène étant en partie liée aux propriétés de gonflement du gel, la calorimétrie différentielle à balayage (DSC) a permis de déterminer et de quantifier l’eau absorbée dans ses différents états thermodynamiques et ces données sont reliées aux mesures de perméabilité. Une autre partie de ce projet est centrée sur la simulation numérique des hydrogels et de leurspropriétés physico-chimiques telles que le gonflement dans l’eau et la diffusion de molécules de gaz. Nous avons utilisé la méthode de dynamique moléculaire (MD) avec le champ de force COMPASS afin de modéliser les polymères les plus communs dans le domaine des lentilles de contact. / To design a material for contact lens application, the candidate materials must satisfy several requirements, including theoptical transparency, the chemical and thermal stability. In addition, since the material is directly in contact with the eyetissue, it should be tear wettable, biocompatible, biofouling resistant and oxygen permeable. Oxygen permeability (Dk) isan important parameter for the contact lens design as it is representative of the lens ability to diffuse oxygen at the eye.In this context, we are following two ways for a new formulation answering to these constrains. First, this research is focusedon the simultaneous or two-step synthesis of IPNs (interpenetrating polymer network) as a means to obtain a cocontinuousphases structure. Among the available biocompatible monomers, the work was initially focused on the achievement of IPN's based on a fluorinated acrylate - TFEM (2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate) and the 1 -vinyl-2 -pyrrolidone (NVP). Such a system is compared to IPN's based on a siloxane monomer - TRIS (3 - [tris (trimethylsiloxy) silyl] propyl methacrylate]), well known in the field of contact lens thanks to its properties of oxygen transport. These systems are chosen as a reference. In a second part, our research was concentrated on the development of IPN based on alginate and polyacrylamide which have demonstrated attractive properties for biomedical applications, especially their mechanical properties. Several formulations of biocompatible hydrogels were prepared and the influence of their composition on the interest properties is described. These hydrogels are characterized from a chemical point of view by FTIR spectroscopy and GC-MS chromatography, from themorphological point of view by SEM microscopy in order to prove the presence of co-continuous phases. The mechanicalproperties were also investigated. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to determine and quantify theabsorbed water in its various thermodynamic states. The oxygen permeability was measured by polarographicelectrochemical method and relations between this parameter and gel swelling and structural properties discussed. Anotherpart of the project is computational simulation of hydrogel systems and its physico-chemical properties. Especially, wewere focused on modeling of various physic-chemical processes in hydrogels such as their swelling in water anddiffusion of gases molecules. We used molecular dynamics method (MD) with the COMPASS force field to be able tomodel polymer systems widely used in contact lens field.

Orientador: Carlos Alfredo Joly / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-27T11:49:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Silva_CinthiaAparecida_M.pdf: 9588877 bytes, checksum: dbff1b6c72dbd211b47263ed9583a74c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: As florestas tropicais estão entre os ecossistemas terrestres mais diversos e produtivos do planeta, embora ocorram sob solos pobres. Para superar essa condição as plantas adaptam a si mesmas para alocarem biomassa adicional a órgãos onde os recursos são limitantes. Alguns desses órgãos são as raízes finas, raízes responsáveis pela absorção de água e nutrientes do solo. Elas representam um elevado custo de produção para as plantas, mas importante fonte de carbono para o solo. Devido as variações na disponibilidade de recursos influenciarem o estoque e a produção de raízes finas, as expectativas foram de que: i) o estoque e a produção anual de raízes finas aumentariam com a elevação da altitude; ii) a produção de raízes finas seria maior nos períodos de menor umidade; iii) haveria maior biomassa de raiz fina na porção superficial do solo (0-10 cm); iv) o uso de menores tempos de coleta em porções de solo pequenas não afetaria a acurácia do método escolhido. Para testar essas suposições, foram selecionados cinco hectares de Floresta Atlântica conservada. As informações sobre estrutura, composição florística e características do solo foram obtidas de estudos prévios. Em cada um desses hectares, foram instalados 16 coletores para o monitoramento da produção trimestral de raízes finas. O menor estoque e produção total de raízes finas foi encontrado na Floresta Ombrófila Densa Submontana e o maior na Floresta Ombrófila Densa Montana. Os períodos das maiores produções coincidiram com os das maiores temperaturas e precipitações acumuladas e a maior biomassa de raízes finas foi observada na camada de 0-10 cm. A adaptação do método não influenciou significativamente na amostragem das raízes finas. A variável que mais explicou a produção anual foi o conteúdo de água no solo. Com base De acordo com tais resultados, a conclusão foi que as variações climáticas ao longo do gradiente altitudinal não determinaram diretamente o estoque de raízes finas, mas as variações sazonais influenciaram na produção. Quaisquer alterações que venham a ocorrer nas taxas de precipitação, poderão assim, desencadear mudanças significativas na maneira como a Floresta Atlântica aloca carbono, investindo mais em raízes finas do que nos demais órgãos / Abstract: Tropical forests are among the most diverse and productive ecosystems on the planet, however they occur in poor soils. To overcome this condition plants adapt themselves allocating additional biomass to organs where resources are limiting. Some of these organs are the fine roots, roots responsible for absorbing water and nutrients from the soil. They represent a high cost of production to the plants, but at the same time, they are an important source of carbon to the soil. Variations in the resources available can influence stock and production of fine roots and because of that, the expectation was that: i) fine root stock and annual production would increase with elevation; ii) fine roots production would be higher in periods of lower moisture; iii) a higher fine roots biomass would be found in the superficial soil layer (0-10 cm); iv) the use of a short time of sampling in smaller soil portions should not affect the accuracy of the chosen method. To test these hypotheses five plots located in Atlantic Forest along an elevation gradient were selected. The information about the forest structure, floristic composition and soil traits were known from previous studies. Each individual plot had 16 ingrowth cores were installed to monitor the quarterly production of fine roots. Submontane Forest had the smallest stock and annual production of fine roots, while Montane Forest had the highest ones. Periods of higher production coincide with higher temperatures and accumulated rainfall. The first layer of soil, from zero to 10 cm, had the highest fine roots biomass. The method adaptation did not significantly influence the fine roots sampling. The soil water content was the variable which best explained annual production. According to the research results, the conclusion achieved was that the fine roots stock is not directly influenced by climatic variation over elevation, but the seasonal variation influenced the fine roots production. Any possible changes in precipitation rates, may thus trigger significant changes in the way that Atlantic Forest allocates carbon, investing more in fine roots that in other organs / Mestrado / Biologia Vegetal / Mestra em Biologia Vegetal

Le géoradar, ou Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) en anglais, est une méthode non destructive couramment utilisée pour l'auscultation des ouvrages en béton. L'intérêt de cette méthode réside sur sa capacité à ausculter rapidement des très grandes surfaces, elle est de plus en plus employée en Génie Civil. Habituellement, cette méthode est utilisée en Génie Civil pour la localisation les aciers de renforcements, ou bien pour l'estimation de l'épaisseur d'enrobage du béton. Toutefois, la méthode GPR peut aussi être utilisée pour l'auscultation du béton. En effet, le béton est un matériau diélectrique poreux qui peut modifier la propagation des ondes électromagnétiques (EM). Les résultats les plus récents présentent la capacité du GPR à évaluer la teneur en eau. Cependant, le GPR pourrait très bien aussi être utilisé pour la détection des ions chlorure présents dans la solution interstitielle du béton, car comme les chlorures modifient la conductivité du béton ils sont susceptibles d'atténuer les ondes électromagnétiques. Néanmoins, seulement quelques études ont été menées dans ce domaine. Par conséquent, dans cette étude, nous proposons d'utiliser les ondes EM du géoradar pour estimer conjointement la teneur en eau et la teneur en chlorure du béton pour différents corps d'épreuves. Pour cela, plusieurs séries de corps d'épreuves sont utilisées avec des modes de contaminations par les chlorures différents. Une procédure de mesure de la vitesse à partir de l'analyse des signaux réfléchis est proposée. On démontre que la vitesse des ondes EM est essentiellement affectée par la teneur en eau alors que l'atténuation est sensible à la fois à la teneur en eau et à la teneur en chlorures. Ensuite, dans un second temps, nous testons différents modèles de permittivité pour prédire les mesures de constante diélectrique et du facteur de pertes évalués à partir des mesures par GPR ou de résistivité électrique. / Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is an usual nondestructive testing method for the assessment of concrete structures. The benefit of this method lies within its ability to assess quickly a large scale of concrete surface. Generally, GPR is used for the localization of reinforcements or for the thickness measurements. However, GPR can be also used for the diagnosis of concrete because concrete is a porous dielectric material which can modify the propagation of the electromagnetic (EM) waves. Most common results present the ability of GPR to assess moisture. But, GPR could be also used to detect the presence of chlorides into the interstitial concrete solution as chlorides can modify the concrete conductivity and altered the electromagnetic signal waves. However, only few studies have been carry-out on that field. Therefore, in this study, we propose to use GPR electromagnetic waves to evaluate both the water content and the chloride content inside the interstitial concrete solution of several tests concrete samples. So, several groups of concrete samples with the same formulation will be conditioned for different chloride contamination modes. Thereafter, a velocity measurement process will be proposed from the reflected signal wave analysis. In that process, we will show that the velocity is only affected by the water content while the attenuation strongly affected by both the water content and the chloride content. Furthermore, we will test several permittivity models to predict the dielectric permittivity and the loss factor estimated from the concrete samples measurements with the GPR device and the electrical resistivity device.

Understanding the spatial and temporal dynamics of soil water and crop water stress within a field is critical for effective Variable Rate Irrigation (VRI) management. Proper VRI can result in improved protection of the crop from early onset of crop water stress while minimizing runoff and drainage losses. The objectives of this study are (1) to examine zone delineation for informing irrigation recommendations from volumetric water content (VWC) and field capacity (FC) to grow similar or greater wheat yields with less water, (2) evaluate the ability to model soil and crop water dynamics within a season and within a field of irrigated winter wheat, and evaluate the sensitivity of crop water stress, evapotranspiration and soil water depletion outputs within a water balance model with Penman-Monteith evapotranspiration (ET) in response to adjusted soil properties, spring volumetric water content (VWC), and crop coefficient model input values. Five irrigation zones were delineated from two years of historical yield and evapotranspiration (ET) data. Soil sensors were placed at multiple depths within each zone to give real time data of the VWC values within each soil profile. Soil samples were taken within a 22 ha field of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum ‘UI Magic’) near Grace, Idaho, USA multiple times during a growing season to describe the spatial variation of VWC throughout the field, and to assist in modeling soil water dynamics and crop water stress through energy balance and water balance equations. Spatial variation of VWC was observed throughout the field, and on a smaller scale within each zone, suggesting the benefit of breaking portions of the field into zones for irrigation management purposes. Irrigation events were triggered when soil sensors detected low values of VWC, with each zone receiving unique rates intended to refill to zone specific FC. Cumulative irrigation rates varied among zones and the VRI approach saved water when compared to an estimated uniform Grower Standard Practice (GSP) irrigation approach. This method of zone management with soil sampling and sensors approximately represented the VWC within each zone and proved beneficial with effective reduction of irrigation rates in every zone compared to an estimated GSP. As such, there was a delay in the premature onset of crop water stress throughout some areas of the field. Variability in soil properties and spring soil moisture were key in giving accurate values to the model in order to make proper VRI management decisions. When assessing the model sensitivity, changing the inputs such as FC, wilting point (WP), total available water (TAW), spring VWC and crop coefficient (Kc) by -4 to +4 standard deviations away from their spatially average values, impacted the outputs of the model, with Kc having a large impact all three of the outputs. Further work is needed to improve the accuracy of representing VWC throughout a field, thus improving VRI management, and there is potential benefit in using a variable crop coefficient could to more accurate VRI management decisions from a soil water depletion model.

The diploma thesis deals with the use of the electrical impedance spectrometry method (EIS) and the devices Z-meter II, Z-meter III and Z-meter VI based on it for the monitoring earth-fill dams of small water reservoirs. The devices were developed in the Laboratory of Water Management Research of the Institute of Water Structures of the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the Brno University of Technology by solving international project of applied research in the EUREKA program. The analysis of monitoring of the dam of the small water reservoir Bezedník III, which is located in the cadastre of the village Kobeřice, was carried out. Monitoring was carried out from 2006 to 2012. One-off control measurements followed by analysis of achieved results were carried out in 2016, 2018 and 2019.

Moisture in a sandstone body plays a notable role in hydrological, weathering, biological and other processes. Knowledge about presence and movement of moisture within porous medium of natural sandstone exposures is, however, rather limited. Aim of the doctoral thesis was thus to quantify selected moisture characteristics of several natural sandstone exposures in Český ráj (Czech Republic). According to long-term logging, mean annual temperature at studied areas was between 8.5 řC to 11.5 řC, mean annual relative humidity was between 73 % to 85 %. Deforested area was found warmer and drier and amplitude of the values was higher there than at the forested areas. Values of water content (more than 400 measurements) and suction (more than 150 measurements) of the exposures including their spatial-temporal changes were obtained. Mean volumetric water content in zone from the sandstone's surface to 12 cm depth was from 3 % to 10 % and mean suction in depth 2-12 cm was from 2 kPa to more than 130 kPa. Using uranine powder coloring, spatial distribution of moisture near the sandstone's surface was visualized repeatedly for the first time. The coloring divided the surficial area of the sandstone into capillary (wet) and diffusion (dry) zone. The sharp transition between the two zones was represented by...

Irrigated agriculture is the largest user of freshwater in a world experiencing increased water scarcity and water demands. Variable rate irrigation (VRI) aims to use water efficiently in crop production, resulting in good yields and water conservation. With VRI, the grower is able to employ custom irrigation rates for different parts of a field. Adoption of VRI has been limited due to the complexity of matching irrigation to spatiotemporal crop water needs and the cost/benefit economics of VRI equipment. The goal of this study was to quantify spatiotemporal variability of VWC in a field that has uniform soil type and discuss the driving factors that contribute to that variability. Soil samples were acquired at 66 and 87 locations during the 2019 growing season at two study sites. Soil samples from 32 and 48 locations within each study site were selected to be analyzed for soil texture properties. The USGS Web Soil Survey was also referenced. Both, the USGS data and the data collected for this project showed very uniform soils across both fields. The objectives of this study were i) to show variability of VWC within fields that contain uniform soil texture using univariate Local Moran’s I (LMI) and ii) to compare static VRI zones based on spatial patterns of readily available field data that might serve as surrogates for VRI zones created from measured variation of soil volumetric water content (VWC). Management zones created using readily available field data had reasonable correlations with VWC. In both study sites, elevation was found to be the best variable for delineating VRI zones that imitate measured VWC.

<p>Multiple Signals of Opportunity (multi-SoOp) across different frequencies and polarizations</p> <p>offer a potential breakthrough for remote sensing of root-zone soil moisture (RZSM). Deeper penetration depths of existing communication transmissions in the frequency ranges of 137–138, 240–270, and 360–380 MHz enable the estimation of RZSM by complementing global navigation satellite system reflectometry (GNSS-R) in L-band. The small form factor of the multi-SoOp observatory allows for high spatiotemporal coverage of RSZM by a satellite constellation in a cost-effective manner. This study aims to develop models and tools to define mission requirements for various system parameters that affect observation accuracy and coverage, for the advancement of spaceborne multi-SoOp remote sensing. These parameters include frequency and polarization combinations, observation error, inter-frequency temporal coincidence, and configuration of the satellite constellation. We present the development of a retrieval algorithm and the sensitivity analysis of retrieval accuracy. The retrieval algorithm was evaluated using synthetic observations generated from multiyear time series of in-situ soil moisture (SM) and satellite-based vegetation data. The combined use of both high and low frequencies improves retrieval accuracy by limiting uncertainties from vegetation and surface SM and providing sensitivity to deeper layers. A bivariate model, derived from the sensitivity analysis, facilitates error prediction for future science missions. We introduce a framework for tradespace exploration of the multi-SoOp satellite constellation. A constellation design study indicates that a Walker constellation comprising 24 satellites with 3 orbital planes at 500 km and 50° inclination optimizes the coverage and mission cost under mission requirements. A tower-based field experiment validated the performance of a prototype antenna for multi-SoOp using the interference pattern technique. More field experiments with improved instruments are required to further advance the multi-SoOp technique.</p>

Water availability and arable lands are increasingly limiting resources in many parts of the U.S., particularly in semi-arid and arid regions. As a means of addressing food and fuel demands associated with burgeoning population growth, highly productive and water-use efficient crops need to be identified. One potential crop, Agave, merits consideration and evaluation due to its putative capability to provide sustenance and energy despite growing in water-limited regions and on marginal soils. However, little is known regarding the productivity these succulent plants will have under growing conditions of the Southwest, where high concentrated saline soils are abundant, and water is often limited. The objectives of these studies were to determine the effects of high levels of salinity and different volumetric water content levels (VWC) on plant growth, biomass accumulation, and nutrient uptake. I used a hydroponic study to compare the effects of four salinity treatments (0.5, 3, 6, and 9 dS m-1) on productivity of four Agave species (Agave parryi, Agave utahensis ssp. kaibabensis, Agave utahensis ssp. utahensis, and Agave weberi). In a second study, an automated irrigation system was established to examine four pre-determined VWC threshold set-points and simulated a gradient of well-watered to drought conditions, to evaluate how A. weberi would respond to varying levels of water availability. Salinity concentrations did not significantly affect root and plant dry weight accumulation in A. weberi, but all other agave plants experienced less biomass accumulation under high saline conditions (>6 dS m-1). Seedlings of A. utahensis were two times more likely to die in the two highest saline treatments (6 and 9 dS m-1) than the two lower treatments (0.5 dS m-1 and 3 dS m-1). Calcium, Mg, S, Mn levels decreased in both A. parryi and A. weberi at higher salinity levels. Agave weberi was able to tolerate salinity, but it also experienced lower biomass production ≤3 dS m-1. In the water-stress study, Agave weberi plants experienced a decrease of 2.11 g as compared to plants in the highest treatment. Plants in the intermediate VWC treatments had similar dry mass values as those in the highest treatment, which suggests that this species could have moderately high yields under limited water conditions, and consequently should be evaluated as a potential bioenergy crop for semi-arid regions, such as the U.S. Southwest. Agave shows considerable potential to be grown in arid and semi-arid regions that are moderately high in salinity and have limited water availability. Indeed, the cultivation of Agave as a crop appears to be a viable option for many areas of the Southwest. While some of the Agave species evaluated were quite productive under moderate salt and water stress, it is uncertain if growth will be significantly reduced if under these stress conditions for periods longer than 3 months.

Measuring soil moisture content (SMC) in mining waste rock is important for assessing and modelling hydrological processes which influence pollutant release. Here, an experimental setup containing mining waste rock is established to compare the performance of 4 Arduino capacitance moisture sensors to one single Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) sensor. Furthermore, the performance of these sensors is evaluated in both sieved and unsieved mining waste rock. Fitted calibration curves are provided for both the TDR- and Arduino-sensors individually and in combination. These calibration curves are evaluated using the RMSE and R 2 of each curve and compared between sensors and soil texture. It is concluded that using more capacitance sensors significantly improves the fit statistics of the calibration curves and that using at least 4 capacitance sensors can enhance calibration curve fitting. For both the TDR and capacitance sensors, the calibration curves in sieved soil provided the best fit, meaning that soil specific calibration of sensors is recommended. On a sensor individual basis, the temporal precision of the TDR sensor was superior to each individual capacitance sensor. Use of 4 or more Arduino capacitance sensors may especially be justified in circumstances where the spatial variability of SMC is addressed by executing a large number of measurements. Here, the feasibility of the Arduino sensor system means that the use of these low-cost sensors, despite their reduced temporal precision, can be upscaled at relatively small costs.