The aim with this study was to investigate factors that affect the occurrence of mycorrhizal fungi species of nature conservation concern in sand pine forests in Norrbotten County in Sweden. In 2019, the occurrence of fruit-bodies of the species in focus was inventoried in 21 forest stands in three different areas located in three municipalities on land that SCA Skog owns and manages in Norrbotten County. The fungi included in study had been noted in the studied areas in previous inventories between the years 2013–2016, which makes it possible to compare variation in fruit body production between years. Specifically, the study tested whether mean age and diameter of trees, and base area and size of forest stands affect the occurrence of fruit bodies of the studied mycorrhiza species in the forest stands. A multiple regression analysis found a positive significant relationship between the number of species that occurred and the size and base area in the forest stands, while there was no effect of mean age and mean diameter of the trees. This indicates that it is important to consider the size and base area of forest stands to maintain mycorrhizal fungi when planning management in dry sandy pine forests. However, because fruit body production is highly variable among years further research is required to get a better understanding of how tree structure affect mycorrhizal fungi.

<p>Zadatak ove doktorske disertacije je bio da se utvrdi uticaj različitih tehnolo&scaron;kih parametara na formiranje boje Petrovačke kobasice, kao i da se modelovanjem tradicionalne tehnologije utvrdi zavisnost između brojnih tehnolo&scaron;kih parametara i optimalnog kvaliteta boje ovog tradicionalnog proizvoda, radi standardizacije kvaliteta i bezbednosti, a u cilju dobijanja prepoznatljivog proizvoda vrhunskog kvaliteta koji bi se kontinuirano proizvodio.<br />U cilju realizacije postavljenih zadataka tokom tri proizvodne sezone je izrađeno 13 modela Petrovačke kobasice kako bi se ispitao uticaj sledećih varijabilnih tehnolo&scaron;kih parametara: proizvodne sezone, vremena otko&scaron;tavanja mesa post mortem, vrste upotrebljenog omotača (prirodni i ve&scaron;tački), ručnog i ma&scaron;inskog me&scaron;anja, dimljenja u tradicionalnim i kontrolisanim uslovima, su&scaron;enja i zrenja u tradicionalnim i kontrolisanim uslovima, dodatka izolovane autohtone starter kulture, vremena skladi&scaron;tenja i načina pakovanja (neupakovane, pakovane u vakuumu i modifikovanoj atmosferi) na proces formiranja boje.<br />Formiranje boje Petrovačke kobasice tokom procesa dimljenja, su&scaron;enja i skladi&scaron;tenja praćeno je određivanjem instrumentalnih pokazatelja boje (L*, a*, b*, h, C*, R, BI i &Delta;E) na povr&scaron;ini i preseku Petrovačkih kobasica. Utvrđeni su brojni tehnolo&scaron;ki parametri (vrednost pH, sadržaj vlage, sadržaj ukupnih masti, sadržaj ukupnog pepela i sadržaj hlorida), pokazatelji senzornog kvaliteta (spolja&scaron;nji izgled i stanje omotača, boja i održivost boje na preseku, ukupan senzorni kvalitet) i kvalitet ljute začinske paprike.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Analizom rezultata dobijenih u ovim ispitivanjima zaključeno je da su kobasice izrađene od ohlađenog mesa dimljene i su&scaron;ene u tradicionalnim uslovima (B1 i B2 grupe) imale optimalan kvalitet boje i bile vrhunskog (za&scaron;tićenog) senzornog kvaliteta. Niže temperature (8,30&deg;C-10,7&deg;C) tokom procesa dimljenja i su&scaron;enja, sporiji pad vrednosti pH, od 5,69 (nadev) do ~5,4 (na kraju procesa fermentacije) i sadržaj hlorida ~ 3% u gotovom proizvodu, uz dodatak kvalitetne ljute začinske paprike omogućili su formiranje optimalne boje ove grupe kobasica. Optimalnu boju preseka kobasica karakteri&scaron;u numerički manje vrednosti instrumentalnih pokazatelja boje (L*, a*, b*, h, C* i BI) u odnosu na kobasice sa nižim senzornim ocenama za boju. Tokom skladi&scaron;tenja (od kraja su&scaron;enja do 270. dana proizvodnje) utvrđene su manje promene instrumentalnih pokazatelja boje na povr&scaron;ini i preseku Petrovačkih kobasica kada su skladi&scaron;tene upakovane (vakuum i modifikovana atmosfera) u poređenju sa neupakovanim. Pakovanje u vakuumu i modifikovanoj atmosferi je dobro re&scaron;enje za očuvanje optimalnih karakteristika boje kobasica, jer su upakovane kobasice B1 i B2 grupe skladi&scaron;tene 4 meseca od zavr&scaron;etka procesa su&scaron;enja (od 90. do 210. dana od dana proizvodnje) bez promena senzornog kvaliteta boje, a zatim su do kraja perioda skladi&scaron;tenja (270. dana proizvodnje) promene bile neznatne.<br />Uzimajuću u obzir da su ova istraživanja deo &scaron;ire koncipitranih istraživanja razvoja tradicionalne tehnologije proizvodnje Petrovačke kobasice i standardizacije kvaliteta i bezbednosti, ispitan je uticaj varijabilnih tehnolo&scaron;kih parametara i na formiranje policikličnih aromatičnih ugljovodonika u Petrovačkoj kobasici, kao veoma važnih pokazatelja zdravstvene bezbednosti kobasica.<br />Jedan od najznačajnijih rezultata u ovim istraživanjima je da benzo[a]piren nije detektovan ni u jednom uzorku Petrovačke kobasice. Takođe je zaključeno da je Petrovačka kobasica dimljena na tradicionalan način, kao i u industrijskim uslovima bezbedna za potro&scaron;ače sa aspekta sadržaja policikličnih aromatičnih ugljovodonika, jer su svi ispitani uzorci kobasica ispunjavali uslove propisane domaćim i evropskim propisima.</p> / <p>The aim of this Ph.D. dissertation was to determine the influence of various technological parameters on the colour formation of Petrovačka kobasica, as well as to define correlation between number of technological parameters and optimal colour quality of traditional product (by modelling traditional technology), in order to standardize quality and safety, and consequently with the main goal to obtain a recognizable high quality product that could be continuously produced throughout the whole year period.<br />To achieve the defined tasks in three production season 13 models of Petrovačka kobasica were produced in order to examine the effect of the following variable technological parameters: production season, post mortem time of meat deboning, type of the casing (natural and artificial), manual or mechanical mixing, smoking in traditional and controlled conditions, drying and ripening in traditional and controlled conditions, the addition of isolated indigenous starter culture, and storage time and packaging (unwrapped, packed in vacuum and modified atmosphere) in the process of colour formation.<br />Colour formation of Petrovačka kobasica during smoking and drying processes and storage was followed by determination of instrumental colour parameters (L*, a*, b*, h, C*, R, BI and &Delta;E) on the surface and cut cross section of Petrovačka kobasica. The number of technological parameters (pH, content of moisture, total fat, total ash and chloride), indicators of sensory quality (sausage appearance and condition of casing, colour and colour stability at the cut cross section, the overall sensory quality) and quality of red hot paprika powder were determined.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Analysing the results obtained in these studies it was concluded that sausages produced from chilled meat and smoked in traditional conditions (sausages of B1 and B2 groups) had the optimal colour quality and superior (protected) sensory quality. Lower temperatures (8.30&deg;C-10.7&deg;C) during smoking and drying processes, slower decrease of pH value from 5.69 (raw sausage after stuffing) to ~ 5.4 (at the end of the fermentation process) and the chloride content ~ 3% in the final product, with the addition of high quality red hot paprika powder enable the formation of the optimal colour of these groups of sausages. Optimal colour of cut cross section of sausages was characterized with numerically smaller values of instrumental colour parameters (L*, a*, b*, h, C* and BI) in relation to sausages with lower scores for sensory evaluated colour. During storage (from the end of drying process up to 270 days of production), minor changes of instrumental colour characteristics on the surface and cut cross section of Petrovačka kobasica were noted when sausages were stored packed in vacuum or modified atmosphere, compared with unpackaged ones. Packing in vacuum and modified atmosphere is a good solution for the preservation of optimal colour characteristics, as packaged sausages of B1 and B2 groups stored for 4 months from the end of the drying process (from 90 to 210 days from the date of production) had no changes in sensory evaluated colour quality. Further, until the end of storage (270 days of production) just minor changes of this sensory parameter were noticed.<br />Considering that these investigations are a part of wider conceived researches of development of traditional technology of Petrovačka kobasica and standardization of quality and safety, the influence of variable technological parameters on the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Petrovačka kobasica, as a very important indicator of health safety of sausage, were also studied.<br />One of the most important results of these researches is that benzo[a]pyrene was not detected in any sample of Petrovačka kobasica. It was also concluded that Petrovačka kobasica smoked in traditional way, as well as in industrial conditions was safe for consumers in the terms of the content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, as all samples of analysed sausages meet the requirements defined by national and European regulations.</p>

Orientador: João Andrade de Carvalho Junior / Resumo: O nitrogênio (N) é um elemento fundamental para os seres vivos; contudo, o N disponível biologicamente é aquele conhecido como nitrogênio reativo (Nr). O presente trabalho propõe quantificar e analisar a variabilidade espacial da concentração e deposição atmosférica seca de nitrogênio reativo no estado de São Paulo, através de sua fase gasosa (HNO3; NH3; NO2) e particulada (NO3-; NH4+). Amostradores de coleta por Denuder (DELTA) foram distribuídos espacialmente em seis sítios de amostragem, abrangendo diferentes tipos de cobertura do solo e urbanização. As amostras foram coletadas ao longo de dois anos (2015-2017). A forma dominante de Nr inorgânico na atmosfera foi o NO2 gasoso em todos os locais de amostragem, o que representou 79% do total. As concentrações médias de NH3, HNO3, NH4+ e NO3− foram de 10%, 3%, 6% e 2% do total de Nr, respectivamente. A umidade relativa e a velocidade do vento foram significativas para explicar parte da variabilidade das concentrações de Nr na atmosfera, enquanto a precipitação foi importante apenas para a concentração de NO2. A deposição média de Nr seco no Estado de São Paulo foi de 8,9 kgN ha-1 ano-1. A maior deposição média de Nr foi encontrada no sudeste do Estado de São Paulo e está relacionada ao intenso tráfego de veículos, gerenciamento de resíduos e atividades industriais. Considerando a região onde a Mata Atlântica está localizada, este trabalho mostra que a deposição total de Nr seco por si só (sem considerar a deposição de espécie... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Nitrogen (N) is a fundamental element for living beings; however, the biologically available N is known as reactive nitrogen (Nr). The current work proposes to quantify and analyze the spatial variability of the concentration and dry atmospheric deposition of reactive nitrogen in the state of São Paulo, through its gas phase (HNO3; NH3; NO2) and particulate phase (NO3-; NH4+). Denuder collection samplers (DELTA) were spatially distributed in six sampling sites, covering different types of ground cover and urbanization. The samples were collected over two years (2015-2017). The dominant form of inorganic Nr in the atmosphere was gaseous NO2 in all sampling sites, what represented 79% of the total. The average concentrations of NH3, HNO3, NH4+ and NO3- were 10%, 3%, 6%, and 2% of the total Nr, respectively. The relative humidity and wind speed were significant to explain part of the variability of Nr concentrations in the atmosphere, while precipitation was important only for the concentration of NO2. The average of dry Nr deposition in the State of São Paulo was 8.9 kgN ha-1 year-1. The highest average deposition of Nr was found in the southeastern of São Paulo state and is related to the intense vehicle traffic, waste management, and industrial activities. Considering the region where the Atlantic Forest is located, this work shows that the total deposition of dry Nr by itself (without considering the deposition of wet or organic species) exceeded the critical load of Nr sugg... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Orientador: Marcos Valerio Ribeiro / Resumo: The development of new materials is extremely important, due to the need to obtain materials with good properties and low cost. There is a continuing need to improve tools for machining materials that have high strength at elevated temperatures that meet the vermicular cast iron. Small advances in the development of new tools could mean important aspects in the field of machining, in addition to making the market more competitive. The set of production and application of ceramic cutting tools in the machining processes of vermicular cast iron (GJV450) needs further advances, being an object of great industrial interest. In this context, the present work determined the best application condition of the ceramic tools based on Alumina (Al2O3), doped with magnesium oxide (MgO) on a laboratory scale, in the machining without cutting fluid of the vermicular iron class GJV450 in comparison with a commercial carbide tool coated with alumina, based on the need for machining vermicular cast iron in industries and foundries. For turning vermicular cast iron with a ceramic tool, the parameters used were cutting speeds of 300-350-400-450-500-550-600-650 m / min; feed of 0.1-0.3 mm / rev and machining depth of 0.5 -1.0 mm and for the carbide tool, cutting speeds of 150-250-350-450 m / min; feed rate of 0.1-0.3 mm / rev and machining depth of 0.5 -1.0 mm. The previously defined input variables (Vc, f, ap), were correlated with the output variables such as roughness (Ra and Rt), power, acous... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Doutor

Orientador: Salatiér Buzetti / Banca: Marcelo Andreotti / Banca: Ciniro Costa / Resumo: O nitrogênio é o nutriente que mais tem incrementado a produtividade e a qualidade das forrageiras. O trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o efeito de doses e fontes de nitrogênio nas características produtivas e qualitativas da Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o blocos ao acaso em esquema fatorial 5x3x3, 5 doses, 3 fontes de nitrogênio e 3 cortes, com 4 repetições. As doses de N foram: 0, 50, 100, 150, 200 kg ha-1 após cada corte), com as fontes: Entec, Sulfato de Amônio e Uréia, além de 3 cortes realizados em novembro/2006, dezembro/2006 e janeiro/2007. As coletas foram realizadas com intervalos entre corte de 30, 30 e 34 dias onde se determinou a produtividade de massa seca, teor de proteína bruta, fibra em detergente neutro e fibra em detergente ácido. Houve interação para a produtividade de massa seca (kg ha-1) quando se testaram doses de nitrogênio e época de corte. Para os teores de proteína bruta houve interação entre cortes e fontes nitrogenadas, assim como para cortes e doses de nitrogênio. Para fibra em detergente neutro houve efeito significativo para corte e para doses de nitrogênio. Houve interação significativa das doses de nitrogênio e corte para fibra em detergente ácido. Independente da fonte nitrogenada a aplicação de doses crescentes de até 200 kg de N ha-1 por aplicação na forrageira Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu proporcionou incremento na produção de massa seca melhorando a composição bromatológica por aumentar os teores de PB e NDT e, diminuição dos teores de FDN e FDA. / Abstract: Nitrogen is the nutrient that has more contributed to increase the productivity and quality of the pastures. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of doses and sources of nitrogen in the productivity characteristics of Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu. A randomized block design in a factorial scheme 5x3x3, with 4 repetitions was used. The treatments were constituted by 5 doses of nitrogen: 0, 50, 100, 150, 200 kg ha-1 after each cut, 3 sources: Entec, Ammonium sulfate and Urea, besides 3 cuts, accomplished with intervals of 30, 30 and 34 days to evaluate the production of dry mass, crude protein content, neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber. There was interaction of nitrogen doses and cut time to dry mass (kg ha-1). For crude protein content there was interaction between cuts and sources as well as for cut and doses of nitrogen. To neutral detergent fiber there was effect for cut and nitrogen doses and for acid detergent fiber interaction to nitrogen doses and cut. Independently of the source the application up to 200 kg of N ha-1 in each application in the forrageira Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu provided increment in the production of dry mass improving the quality composition for increasing the PB and NDT content and, decreasing the FDN and FDA content. / Mestre

The thesis evaluates anhydrous and dihydrate calcium hydrogen phosphate from the view point of the tensile strength, disintegration time of tablets depending on the compression force. Two firm products - Anhydrous Emcompress® and Di-Cafos® A 60 are used as anhydrate and Emcompress® is used as dihydrate. A compression force together with lubricants (magnesium stearate, sodium stearyl fumarate) and an addition of microcrystalline cellulose (Vivapur® 102) are the influential factors. In addition to the characteristics of tablets, the energy balance of compression is also evaluated. Used compression forces were 12, 16 and 20 kN. The compression force 12 kN was used for the mixtures containing Vivapur® 102. Total energy of compression, energy for friction and energy accumulated by tablet after compression increased with compression force. The highest values were at Anhydrous Emcompress® , an addition Vivapur® 102 increased these values. There weren't more significant differences among the values of decompression energy. Plasticity decreased with the growing compression force, the highest values were at Anhydrous Emcompress® , Vivapur® 102 increased that. Tensile strength increased with compression force, Emcompress® provided the strongest tablets, Di-Cafos® A 60 provided at least strong tablets. Vivapur...

Introduction Radioisotopes of bromine are of special interest for nuclear medical applications. The positron emitting isotopes 75Br (T½ = 1.6 h; β+ = 75.5 %) and 76Br (T½ = 16.2 h; β+ = 57 %) have suitable decay properties for molecular imaging with PET, while the Auger electron emitters 77Br (T½ = 57.0 h) and 80mBr (T½ = 4.4 h) as well as the β−-emitter 82Br (T½ = 35.3 h) are useful for internal radiotherapy. 77Br is additionally suited for SPECT. The isotopes 75Br, 76Br and 77Br are usually produced at a cyclotron either by 3He and α-particle induced reactions on natural arsenic or by proton and deuteron induced reactions on enriched selenium isotopes [1]. As target mate-rials for the latter two reactions, earlier ele-mental selenium [2] and selenides of Cu, Ag, Mn, Mo, Cr, Ti, Pb and Sn were investigated [cf. 3–7]. Besides several wet chemical separation techniques the dry distillation of bromine from the irradiated targets was investigated, too [cf. 2, 4, 5]. However, the method needs further development. Nickel selenide was investigated as a promising target to withstand high beam currents, and the dry distillation technique for the isolation of n.c.a. radiobromine from the target was optimized. Material and Methods Crystalline Nickel-(II) selenide (0.3–0.5 g) was melted into a 0.5 mm deep cavity of a 1 mm thick Ni plate covered with a Ni grid. NiSe has a melting point of 959 °C. For development of targeting and the chemical separation, natural target material was used. Irradiations of NiSe were usually performed with protons of 17 MeV using a slanting water cooled target holder at the cyclotron BC1710 [8]. For radiochemical studies a beam current of 3 µA and a beam time of about 1 h were appropriate. To separate the produced no-carrier-added (n.c.a.) radiobromine from the target material a dry distillation method was chosen. The apparatus was developed on the basis of a dry distillation method for iodine [cf. 9,10] and optimized to obtain the bromine as n.c.a. [*Br]bromide in a small volume of sodium hydroxide solution. Changing different components of the apparatus, the dead volume could be minimized and an almost constant argon flow as carrier medium was realized. Various capillaries of platinum, stainless steel and quartz glass with different diameters and lengths were tested to trap the radiobromine. Results and Conclusion Nickel selenide proved successful as target material for the production of radiobromine by proton irradiation with 17 MeV protons. The target was tested so far only at beam currents up to 10 µA, but further investigations are ongoing. The optimized dry distillation procedure allows trapping of 80–90 % of the produced radiobromine in a capillary. For this purpose quartz glass capillaries proved to be most suitable. After rinsing the capillary with 0.1 M NaOH solution the activity can be nearly completely obtained in less than 100 µL solution as [*Br]bromide immediately useable for radiosynthesis. So, the overall separation yield was estimated to 81 ± 5 %. The radionuclidic composition and activity of the separated radiobromide was measured by γ-ray spectrometry. Due to the use of natural selenium the determination of the isotopic purity was not meaningful, but it could be shown that the radiobromine was free from other radioisotopes co-produced in the target material and the backing. The radiochemical purity as well as the specific activity were determined by radio ionchromatography. Further experiments using NiSe produced from nickel and enriched selenium are to be per-formed. The isotopic purity of the produced respective radiobromide, the production yield at high beam currents and the reusability of the target material have to be studied.

Over the last 2000 years, climatic and anthropogenic factors have influenced vegetation in Madagascar, but the contribution of these two factors has been the subject of intense debate, a debate hampered by the scarcity of palaeoecological studies on the island. Southwest Madagascar is semi-arid and comprises fragmented tropical dry forests where human subsistence strategies are diverse. Therefore, it provides a perfect setting to generate new palaeoecological records and investigate vegetation response to changes in human land-use and rainfall variability. The aim of this thesis is to understand how and when land-use changed, and rainfall variability impacted the landscape in the southwest region, using dendroclimatological and palaeoecological approaches. Carbon isotopes in the rings of four baobab trees (Adansonia spp.), were compared with pre-existing palaeoclimate data to produce rainfall records for the past 1700 years. Pollen, carbon isotopes, and charcoal in sediment cores from two lakes namely Lake Longiza and Lake Tsizavatsy (located in the northern and southern sites respectively in southwest Madagascar) were analysed to produce vegetation and fire records during the late Holocene in the region. Combination of the four baobab isotope records yields a new 700-year record for the southwest, which suggests an aridity trend over time, associated with a long-term reduction and increase in the duration of wet and dry periods respectively. Drying was more pronounced for the southern site than the northern site. A comparison with a high-resolution record from the northwest region allowed the rainfall of the southwest to be extended back to the last 1700 years as follows: from AD 300-500, the southwest region experienced a dry period which was followed by a wet period until AD 1000. Subsequently, there was a dry period from AD 1000-1250, followed by a wet period in the southwest. The period from AD 1300-1400 represented the wettest period in the record, followed by a decreasing wet period until AD 1600. The period between AD 1600 and 1800 represented the driest period, peaking around AD 1700. This was followed by a relatively wet period of about 50 years and another 100-year dry period. The last period assessed, from AD 1985 to 2000, was a relatively wet period. Such variability of the rainfall might have affected ecosystems and human land-use in the region. The tropical dry forest biome of southwest Madagascar has taxa from the dry forest, riparian forest and savanna woodland in the pollen records of both sites. In the core from the northern site (Lake Longiza), the pollen record suggests a heterogeneous mosaic of dry forest and riparian forest that was present over the last 2400 years. In the earliest part of the record, the community was dominated by trees from both the dry forest and riparian ecosystems. The onset of changes was recorded around AD 420, with a decrease in dry forest and riparian trees and an increase in grasses and xerophytics, possibly driven by dry conditions. This was followed by a short recovery of trees and C3 plants around AD 870 punctuated by a decrease in dry forest taxa around AD 980, possibly associated with the suggested expansion of pastoralism. After this period, the landscape became more open and grassier, as indicated by the dominance of C4 plants in the stable isotope record. Similar patterns of change in the pollen record, with a further increase in grasses and pioneer taxa, were recorded around AD 1900. Charcoal influx also started to increase drastically at this time, suggesting fire and forest clearance associated with a shift to agriculture. These large shifts in human land-use (probably a combination of both pastoralism and agriculture) coincided with the decline of floral diversity of the landscape, as indicated by pollen rarefaction. However, the diversity of the floral community gradually recovered, because of the persistent heterogeneity of the landscape. The core from the southern site (Lake Tsizavatsy) had a basal date of approximately 700 years BP but presented a hiatus of about 500 years from AD 1420-1910. The preceding period of AD 1300-1420 was marked by a decrease in the abundance of trees during the wettest period in the region, which was most likely because of human activities (foraging and pastoralism), as inferred by the increase in charcoal influx and pioneer taxa. During the second period, from AD 1910- 2010, there was an increase in xerophytic taxa, which suggests a long dry climate, recorded prior to this period. In addition, from AD 1950, trees decreased while pioneer taxa increased, despite the stable influx of charcoal recorded during this period. This possibly indicates the effect of human activities that did not involve the use of fire, probably conducted by ethnicities other than the forager communities, which are still present in the area today. This thesis contributes significantly to the understanding of palaeoclimate, palaeoecology and the history of human subsistence in a biodiverse region of Madagascar, where no other record is currently available. Results from stable isotope analysis from baobabs showed a drying trend over the past 700 years, which has interacted with land-use to affect vegetation structure and composition over time. The pollen and charcoal results suggest the northern site, where vegetation was a mosaic of dry forest and riparian forest, experienced an impact of human activities through a shift to agriculture especially in the last 100 years. The savanna woodland of the southern site, however, was less affected by humans, probably as occupants were subsistence foragers, but the vegetation had a higher response to aridity. The results show that two distinctive human subsistence (pastoralism and foraging) were present simultaneously in the region until modern times. The northern site has evolved possibly from foraging into extensive agriculture, probably related to the fertility of the alluvial soil in the area, while the southern community remained dominated by foragers, while adopting today a seasonal practice of agriculture. From a conservation perspective, strategies of conservation for each ecosystem investigated here are proposed. In the northern site, monitoring and reducing fire-use within the dry forest ecosystem would allow tree recovery. In addition, restoring and establishing protected areas within the riparian forest would allow these ecosystems to act as refugia for regional biodiversity. Such measures will likely reduce the pressure on these ecosystems, where agriculture is a threat due to the availability of both water and fertile soil in their surroundings. Alternative livelihoods are required for the northern populace, for example through the exploitation of invasive aquatic plants such as Typha, which can be used in making of handcrafted artefacts, to reduce pressure on forest ecosystems through agricultural practices. For the southern site, maintaining the resilience of the savanna woodland through reforestation of functional species is also important to allow sustainability of services provided by these ecosystems. These strategies are applicable locally for Madagascar and for worldwide tropical dry forests, one of the globally most threatened vegetation types due to anthropogenic pressure and climate change.

Peepoo, self-sanitising, biodegradable toilet is characterized by low carbon to nitrogen (C-N) ratio and low dry matter (DM) content. Principal nutrients (nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K)) are also not in a balance as required by most crops. It was expected that the mixing of used Peepoos with other organic materials might balance its chemical characteristics. In this thesis, availability and suitability of common organic materials produced in Kenya has been investigated for mixing with used Peepoo bags to obtain a balanced fertilizer product from the crop nutrition aspect. Seven organic residues were selected from the list of 13 on the basis of their availability near the processing site in Nairobi. The selected residues were then chemically analyzed for their individual plant nutrient content. The analysis results were used subsequently to simulate the chemical composition of a wide range of Peepoo-Residue mixtures. The evaluation of the theoretical mixtures based on DM content, C-N ratio and NPK ratio showed that the majority of investigated mixtures had DM content below 60 %. Majority of the mixtures showed C-N ratio between 10-1:1. All the mixtures deviated from the common nutrient uptake ratio of crops (1:0.5:1.4). Composite mixtures with more than 2 ingredients resulted in a balanced fertilizer product. The study concludes and recommends that the composite mixtures with more than two ingredients should be considered for practical processing of Peepoos into a commercial fertilizer product.

Syftet med studien var att genom en litteraturstudie undersöka cigarettröknings påverkan på torra ögon och ögats främre delar. Har cigarettrökning en negativ inverkan på parametrarna för torra ögon? Litteraturstudien genomfördes utifrån sökningar via Web of Science och Pubmed på tidigare kliniska studier och vetenskapliga publikationer. Sökningarna utfördes mellan 2021-03-18 och 2021-03-26. För att specificera sökresultaten skulle artiklarna finnas i fulltext och vara publicerade från år 2016-2021. Sökorden som tillämpades var ”dry eye and smoking” och ”dry eye + smoking”. Studier med färre än 50 deltagare och litteraturstudier/reviews exkluderades. De fem mest relevanta artiklarna utifrån sökresultaten valdes ut för att ingå i studien. Totalt deltog 2692 personer i studierna. Mängden cigarettrökning varierade mellan studierna. Frågeformulären som utfördes var Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) och Mcmonnies Dry Eye Questionnaire (MDEQ), dessa visade en statistisk signifikant skillnad på symptompoäng mellan rökare och icke-rökare i två av fem studier. Det sågs en statistisk signifikant skillnad i Tear Break Up Time (TBUT) mellan testgrupperna i tre av fem studier. Studien visar att cigarettrökning påverkar torra ögon, torra ögonsymptom, ögats främre delar och meibomska körtlarna negativt. Dock ses stora variationer i vad som påverkas inom olika grupper, vilket gör det svårt att fastställa exakt vilken påverkan cigarettrökning har på torra ögon. Fler studier med fler deltagare, ett bestämt antal cigaretter per dag under en bestämd period samt tydliga riktlinjer för utvärdering av DED behövs för att fastställa cigarettröknings påverkan på torra ögon.