abstract: Studies have demonstrated that anthocyanins can function as antioxidants, reduce inflammation, and improve dyslipidemia. Tart cherries are anthocyanin-rich, making them particularly attractive as a functional food to improve cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. There have been few published studies to date examining the impact of tart cherries on biomarkers of dyslipidemia and inflammation, particularly in overweight and obese individuals at high risk for these conditions. This study evaluated the effect of consuming 100% tart cherry juice daily on blood lipids including total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), calculated very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C), triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and the CVD risk ratios, as well as the inflammatory biomarkers interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 10 (IL-10), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), C-reactive protein (CRP), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) following a 4-week period. Based on the high anthocyanin content of tart cherries, it was hypothesized that the lipid and inflammatory profiles would be significantly improved following the intervention. A total of 26 men and women completed this 4-week randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. Participants were randomized to drink either 8 ounces of placebo beverage or tart cherry juice daily for 4 weeks. Following a 4-week washout period, the alternate beverage was consumed. Ultimately, this investigation demonstrated no statistically significant alterations in any of the lipid or inflammatory biomarkers when analyzed across time and between interventions (p > 0.05). As expected, glucose and insulin parameters remained stable over the duration of the study, as well as self-reported physical activity level, total calorie consumption, and macronutrient intake. However, trans-fat was reported to be significantly higher during the cherry arm of the study as compared to the placebo arm (p < 0.05), potentially confounding other results. Although the results of this study were equivocal, it is feasible that a higher dose, longer treatment duration, or more susceptible target population may be required to elicit significant effects. Consequently, further investigation is necessary to clarify this research. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Nutrition 2012

Orientador: Sarita Leonel / Banca: Aloísio Costa Sampaio / Banca: Simone Rodrigues da Silva / Resumo: A aceroleira é uma planta de clima tropical que produz frutos ricos em vitamina C. Esta fruta é comercializada principalmente na forma de polpa congelada e fruto in natura. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a fenologia, produção e qualidade dos frutos da aceroleira cv. Olivier. Para tanto foi implantado um experimento em pomar comercial no município de Junqueirópolis-SP, no ano agrícola de 2009/2010. Foram avaliados dois ciclos reprodutivos: setembro e janeiro. Para avaliação fenológica, em cada época foram marcados 40 botões florais em 10 plantas, totalizando 400 botões. O ciclo foi dividido em estádios fenológicos, sendo avaliada a duração dos estádios, taxa de frutificação e crescimento dos frutos. Na avaliação da produção os frutos maduros foram colhidos e pesados. Para análise qualitativa foram coletadas amostras de frutos e avaliados o peso médio de fruto, cor de fruto e as características químicas da polpa: teor de sólidos solúveis, pH, acidez titulável, açúcares redutores, 'ratio' e teor de ácido ascórbico. Os resultados obtidos permitiram concluir que a duração dos estádios é influenciada pela temperatura ambiente, sendo mais curto em condições de altas temperaturas. A elevada incidência de precipitações interfere negativamente na fixação dos frutos da aceroleira, prejudicando a produção. Também pode-se observar que o maior índice de abortamento ocorre no estádio de perda de pétala. Com relação ao desenvolvimento dos frutos, apesar da diferença na velocidade de crescimento e tamanho dos frutos, em ambas as avaliações pode-se observar que houve um mais acentuado nos primeiros 8 dias, seguindo depois um padrão linear. Para os dados de produção e qualidade dos frutos pode-se concluir que houve influência da época... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The barbados cherry tree is a tropical plant that produces fruits rich in vitamin C. This fruit is marketed mainly in the form of frozen pulp and fresh fruit. The present study aimed to evaluate the reproductive phenology, production and fruit quality of barbados cherry trees cv. Olivier at different times. Thus an experiment was deployed in the city of orchard Junqueirópolis-SP, in the agricultural year 2009/2010. Were evaluated two reproductive cycles: September and January. To evaluated of phenology in each times were marked 40 buds on 10 plants, totaling 400 buttons. The cycle was divided at different phenological stages, were evaluated for the duration of the stage, rate of fruit and fruit growth. Measuring the output ripe fruits were harvested and weighed. For qualitative analysis of fruit samples were collected and evaluated the average fruit weight, fruit color and chemical characteristics of pulp: soluble solids, pH, acidity, reducing sugars, 'ratio' and ascorbic acid. The results showed that the duration of the stages is influenced by temperature, being shorter in high temperature conditions. The high incidence of rainfall impacts negatively on fruit set of barbados cherry trees, hurting production. One can also observe that the highest rate of abortion occurs the stage of petal loss. In relation to fruit development, despite the difference in growth rate and fruit size in both assessments can be observed that there was a more pronounced during the first 8 days and then follows a linear pattern. For data production and fruit quality can be concluded that there was influence of the time, with production in September was higher, but the fruits harvested in January showed a higher average fruit weight. There were differences in pulp quality parameters of two times, with the fruits of the harvest in September... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Blueberry, Cherry and Raspberry (berry) production is a potential alternative land use opportunity in the Limpopo Province (LP) of South Africa (RSA). RSA based site selection criterion and literature is limited. Haenertsburg and an area near Pietersburg (Polokwane) were identified for berry production potential. In Haenertsburg, most viable land is held by the timber industry. In Pietersburg, soil and climatic conditions vary greatly, representing a site selection risk. Using accepted site selection processes, a study was conducted which identified the need to select land qualities and characteristics (QC’s) appropriate to berry production. The study revealed key QCs’ and secondary QCs’. Key QCs’ must be adhered to for site selection, while secondary QCs’ have site-specific application. The key land qualities are climate, soil, water, topography and management. In order to design a land rating system (LRS), specific characteristic values were cataloged per quality and per berry. Characteristic values were assigned to a land rating system where S1 (highly suitable), S2 (moderately suitable), S3 (marginally suitable), N1 (currently not suitable) and N2 (not suitable). To test the LRS, a real, but non-representative resource assessment (RA) took place. The RA revealed the further need to incorporate land limits into site selection. QCs’ and land limit data was collected from existing sources and measured in situ where the data was insufficient. Finally the RA data was applied to the LRS through the process of matching. The matching precipitated the formation of a site selection process or tool, presented on tables. Each table represents a land quality. Water and soil criteria varied per berry, while topography, water and management were common to all three berries. Additionally, the site selection tool enabled the assessment of secondary QCs’. The assessment process is conservative, allocating the lowest land rating as the overall rating. This allows for the land user to address the most limiting factor from worst to least, thereby ensuring sustainable and good land use. / Dissertation (MInstAgrar (Land-Use Planning))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Plant Production and Soil Science / unrestricted

X-disease, caused by phytoplasmas, is one of the destructive diseases in stone fruit trees, causing yield loss and poor fruit quality. So far no effective methods are available to control X-disease. X-disease resistance has been first discovered in chokecherry (Prunus virginiana, 2n=4x=32), which is a native woody species of North America. To identify molecular markers linked to X-disease resistance, simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were used to construct genetic linkage maps for chokecherry and to identify markers associated with X-disease resistance in chokecherry. In this research, three segregating populations of chokecherry were developed by crossing one X-disease resistant (CL) with three susceptible chokecherry lines (a, c, and d), of which the progenies were 101, 177, and 82, respectively. In order to construct a genetic map for chokecherry, 108 pairs of SSR primers were employed from other Prunus species. Additionally, a set of 246 SSRs were developed from chokecherry sequencing by Roche 454 sequencing technology. A total of 354 pairs of SSR primers were used to screen individuals of all three populations. Two software programs, TetraploidMap and JoinMap, were used to construct linkage map based on single-dose restriction fragments (SDRFs) and two parental linkage maps were generated for each population from both software programs. Bulked segregant analysis (BSA) was applied for identification of X-disease resistance markers. As a result, one SSR marker was found to be linked to the X-disease resistance. The set of 246 chokecherry SSRs was later used to test transferability among another 11 rosaceous species (sour cherry, sweet cherry, wild cherry, peach, apricot, plum, apple, crabapple, pear, june berry, and raspberry). As a result, chokecherry SSR primers can be transferable in Prunus species or other rosaceous species. An average of 63.2% and 58.7% of amplifiable chokecherry primers amplified DNA from cherry and other Prunus species, respectively, while 47.2% of amplifiable chokecherry primers can be transferable to other rosaceous species. The genetic information, including genetic map, disease linked marker, chokecherry sequence, and confirmed transferability of the identified chokecherry SSRs to other species, will benefit the genetic research in Prunus and other rosaceous species.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the level of nitrate contamination in the water in Cherry Valley. It examines the theory that human effluent is the source of the nitrate and evaluates the role of politics in the nitrate issue.

Dans cette thèse nous donnons une description complète de la dynamique d’une classe L de fonctions de degré un du cercle, supposées de classe (deux fois dérivable) C^2 à l’exception de deux points où seule la continuité est exigée, et telles qu’elles soient constantes sur un des intervalles délimité par ces derniers. De plus sur des demi-voisinages ouverts de ces points elles s’écrivent sous la forme x^l où l est un nombre réel positif appelé l’exposant critique de la fonction. Dans le chapitre 2 nous montrons pour la sous-classe de L des fonctions dont le nombre de rotation est de type borné, l’existence d’une transition dans la géométrie du système lorsque l’exposant critique traverse 2. Le cas plus général de fonctions en L avec nombre de rotation infinie est considéré dans le chapitre 3. Il devient pourtant plus délicat d’émettre des conjectures ; on rencontre parfois des surprises dues à laprésence de phénomènes paraboliques. De plus, nos résultats sur les applications du cercle nous permettent d’étudier l’intéressante théorie des flots de Cherry (chapitre 4). En particulier, on construit un exemple de tel flot qui a ensemble quasi-minimale métriquement non trivial. Nous donnons également une description complète des mesures physiques sur ce flot. Dans le chapitre 5 nous construisons un contrexemple de Denjoy qui est un difféomorphisme (indéfiniment dérivable) C^∞ partout sauf dans un point qui est demi-critique plat pour la fonction. / The principal purpose of this thesis is to give a complete description of the dynamics of a class L of circle maps of degree one, supposed to be (two times differentiable) C^2 everywhere with the exception of two points where the maps are continuous. Moreover the maps are constant on any of the two intervals delimited by this two points. In particular, on a half open neighborhood of this two points the maps can be written as an x^l where the real positive number l is called the critical exponent of the function. In Chapter 2 we prove the existence of a global phase transition when the critical exponent passes through l = 2, for functions of L with rotation number of bounded type. The more general case of function in L with rotation number of unbounded type is studied in Chapter 3. In this case it becomes more delicate to make conjectures ; in fact it often hides surprises due to the presence of underlying parabolic phenomena. Moreover, our results on circle maps give us the opportunity to study the interesting theory of Cherry flows (Chapter 4). In particular we construct an example of such a flow with a metrically non-trivial quasi-minimal set and we give a complete description on the physical measures for this kind of flows. In Chapter 5 we construct a Denjoy counterexample which is a (smooth) C^∞ diffeomorphism away from a half-critical point.

Aerial lifts are used to elevate people and material to high heights. There are many different types of aerial lifts which have vastly different dynamics characteristics. Thus, a new categorization for aerial lifts was created and organizes them by their kinematics. Many accidents occur while using aerial lifts. Hazards of aerial lifts and current solutions to those hazards were reviewed to understand the causes of the accidents. Some major accidents are due to the complex dynamics and flexibility of aerial lifts, such as oscillations and tip-overs. Oscillations of full-size aerial lifts were experimentally tested to determine frequencies in different configurations. Machine-motion induced oscillations of an articulating aerial lift were simulated and analyzed for both non-overcenter and overcenter configurations. Input shaping was used to achieve reduction in machine-motion induced oscillations. Tip-over stability margin was used to simulate and analyze the stability of both non-overcenter and overcenter configurations. The effect of increased platform mass on tip-over stability margin was also analyzed. The results in this thesis are a categorization of aerial lifts including their hazards and methods of reducing those hazards, an experimental verification of the dynamic response of full-size aerial lifts, a fully dynamic tip-over prediction model of double-boom articulating aerial lift by applying flexibility in the joints and realistic velocity profiles, and a detailed study of the dynamics of a double-boom articulating aerial lift.

Phylogenetic trees capture the relationships between species and can be investigated by morphological and/or molecular data. When focusing on macroevolution, one considers the large-scale history of life with evolutionary changes affecting a single species of the entire clade leading to the enormous diversity of species obtained today. One major problem of biology is the explanation of this biodiversity. Therefore, one may ask which kind of macroevolutionary processes have given rise to observable tree shapes or patterns of species distribution which refers to the appearance of branching orders and time periods. Thus, with an increasing number of known species in the context of phylogenetic studies, testing hypotheses about evolution by analyzing the tree shape of the resulting phylogenetic trees became matter of particular interest. The attention of using those reconstructed phylogenies for studying evolutionary processes increased during the last decades. Many paleontologists (Raup et al., 1973; Gould et al., 1977; Gilinsky and Good, 1989; Nee, 2004) tried to describe such patterns of macroevolution by using models for growing trees. Those models describe stochastic processes to generate phylogenetic trees. Yule (1925) was the first who introduced such a model, the Equal Rate Markov (ERM) model, in the context of biological branching based on a continuous-time, uneven branching process. In the last decades, further dynamical models were proposed (Yule, 1925; Aldous, 1996; Nee, 2006; Rosen, 1978; Ford, 2005; Hernández-García et al., 2010) to address the investigation of tree shapes and hence, capture the rules of macroevolutionary forces. A common model, is the Aldous\\\' Branching (AB) model, which is known for generating trees with a similar structure of \\\"real\\\" trees. To infer those macroevolutionary forces structures, estimated trees are analyzed and compared to simulated trees generated by models. There are a few drawbacks on recent models such as a missing biological motivation or the generated tree shape does not fit well to one observed in empirical trees. The central aim of this thesis is the development and study of new biologically motivated approaches which might help to better understand or even discover biological forces which lead to the huge diversity of organisms. The first approach, called age model, can be defined as a stochastic procedure which describes the growth of binary trees by an iterative stochastic attachment of leaves, similar to the ERM model. At difference with the latter, the branching rate at each clade is no longer constant, but decreasing in time, i.e., with the age. Thus, species involved in recent speciation events have a tendency to speciate again. The second introduced model, is a branching process which mimics the evolution of species driven by innovations. The process involves a separation of time scales. Rare innovation events trigger rapid cascades of diversification where a feature combines with previously existing features. The model is called innovation model. Three data sets of estimated phylogenetic trees are used to analyze and compare the produced tree shape of the new growth models. A tree shape statistic considering a variety of imbalance measurements is performed. Results show that simulated trees of both growth models fit well to the tree shape observed in real trees. In a further study, a likelihood analysis is performed in order to rank models with respect to their ability to explain observed tree shapes. Results show that the likelihoods of the age model and the AB model are clearly correlated under the trees in the databases when considering small and medium-sized trees with up to 19 leaves. For a data set, representing of phylogenetic trees of protein families, the age model outperforms the AB model. But for another data set, representing phylogenetic trees of species, the AB model performs slightly better. To support this observation a further analysis using larger trees is necessary. But an exact computation of likelihoods for large trees implies a huge computational effort. Therefore, an efficient method for likelihood estimation is proposed and compared to the estimation using a naive sampling strategy. Nevertheless, both models describe the tree generation process in a way which is easy to interpret biologically. Another interesting field of research in biology is the coevolution between species. This is the interaction of species across groups such that the evolution of a species from one group can be triggered by a species from another group. Most prominent examples are systems of host species and their associated parasites. One problem is the reconciliation of the common history of both groups of species and to predict the associations between ancestral hosts and their parasites. To solve this problem some algorithmic methods have been developed in recent years. But only a few host parasite systems have been analyzed in sufficient detail which makes an evaluation of these methods complex. Within the scope of coevolution, the proposed age model is applied to the generation of cophylogenies to evaluate such host parasite reconciliation methods. The presented age model as well as the innovation model produce tree shapes which are similar to obtained tree structures of estimated trees. Both models describe an evolutionary dynamics and might provide a further opportunity to infer macroevolutionary processes which lead to the biodiversity which can be obtained today. Furthermore with the application of the age model in the context of coevolution by generating a useful benchmark set of cophylogenies is a first step towards systematic studies on evaluating reconciliation methods.

I aktiebolagslagen finns ett antal skyddsregler för att säkerställa att ett bolags bundna eget kapital stannar kvar i bolaget. Enligt reglerna om tvångslikvidation är styrelse och aktieägare skyldiga att genast upprätta en kontrollbalansräkning vid misstanke om att aktiekapitalet håller på att förbrukas. En kontrollbalansräkning upprättas med utgångspunkt i en ordinarie årsredovisning, med ett antal justeringar. Bland annat får tillgångar tas upp till ett högre värde än i den ordinarie redovisningen under förutsättning att de värderingsprinciperna är förenliga med god redovisningssed. Vad som utgör god redovisningssed framgår inte av lagtexten. Myndigheten BFN har en lagstadgad uppgift att utveckla god redovisningssed, men ingen föreskriftsrätt. Enligt BFNs uttalanden och allmänna råd är blandning av K-regelverken inte tillåten, vilket begränsar företagen i deras möjlighet att påvisa fortlevnadsförmåga i kontrollbalansräkningen. Studiens syfte är att undersöka möjligheten att, med god redovisningssed som grund, blanda regelverken K2 och K3 för att kunna visa ett företags fortlevnadsförmåga i en kontrollbalansräkning.För att uppfylla studiens syfte tillämpas ett hermeneutiskt synsätt. Relevanta lagtexter, propositioner, rättsfall, brevsvar från BFN, RedR2 samt regelverken K2 och K3 analyseras för att få fram innebörden av begreppet god redovisningssed.De omständigheter som föranleder upprättande av kontrollbalansräkning är helt andra än de som råder vid ordinarie redovisning. Vår slutsats är därför att det finns olika former av god redovisningssed beroende på den situation som företaget befinner sig i. Med detta som utgångspunkt anser vi att cherry-picking vid upprättande av kontrollbalansräkning bör vara tillåtet. / There are a number of safeguards to ensure that a company’s equity remains in the company. These are included in the Swedish Companies Act. According to the rules for compulsory liquidation, directors and shareholders must immediately establish a balance sheet for liquidation purposes when the share capital is suspected to be consumed. A balance sheet for liquidation purposes is drawn up on the basis of a regular annual report, with permissions for a number of adjustments. One of these allowed adjustments include that assets can be valued to a higher worth, provided that the valuation principles are in accordance with the term “god redovisningssed”, which can be translated into Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The term “god redovisningssed” is not clearly defined in the wordings of the law. The Swedish Accounting Standards Board, also known as the agency BFN, has the statutory responsibility to develop and clarify what is meant by “god redovisningssed”. BFN, however, does not have any regulatory powers. According to BFNs statements and general advice a mixture of their own regulations, “K-regelverken”, is not allowed. This limitation hinders companies in their ambition to show the ability of future survival. This study aims to examine the possibility of mixing the regulations of K2 and K3 in order to prove a company’s ability of going concern.To fulfill the purpose of this study, a hermeneutic approach is applied. Relevant laws, bills, court cases etc. are analyzed to derive the meaning behind the term “god redovisningssed”.The circumstances that warrant the establishment of a balance sheet for liquidation purposes are vastly different from those prevailing at ordinary accounting. Our conclusion is, therefore, that there are different forms of “god redovisningssed”, depending on the company’s situation. Given this reasoning, it is our belief that cherry-picking when preparing a balance sheet for liquidation purposes should be allowed.This paper is written in Swedish.

A website with a good e-commerce design will positively influence a customer’s attitude, strengthen the trust of the customers towards the organisation, increase the satisfaction of the customer, draw consumers, and bring forth purchases/repeat purchases from them. The purpose of this study was to determine viable e-commerce opportunities for the Ficksburg Cherry Festival website. The study endeavoured to ascertain how the Ficksburg Cherry Festival could improve its website by identifying e-commerce opportunities for the Ficksburg Cherry Festival website. In this study a non-random self-administered survey approach was used where attendees were intercepted at the venue of the Ficksburg Cherry Festival and the exhibitors in their stalls. The existing Ficksburg Cherry Festival website was analysed for e-commerce features that are present and opportunities for further implementation of e-commerce features were identified with help from the attendees and exhibitors. The findings of this study presented a demographic profile and attendance characteristics of both the attendees and exhibitors, which the management team of the Ficksburg Cherry Festival can use to better market the festival using traditional and online communication for both attendees and exhibitors. The recommendations will assist the management of the festival to improve the website and to progress from a straightforward information-only website to a fully-developed e-commerce site, with positive effects for all the stakeholders. Similar South African festivals could find the research findings and recommendations of value for their own website development as well. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)