This research describes and analyzes the behavior of free-living Uinta ground squirrels (Spermophilus armatus) temporally, spatially and with reference to differences in sex, age, population density and habitat. In addition, the relationships between local meteorological parameters and time spent above ground are described and analyzed. The frequency of eight behaviors, feeding, moving, encounters, upright, motionless, grooming, nest gathering and calling, among ground squirrels was found to be labile, varying in frequency with time of day, period of the season, sex, age, population density and habitat, and varying in spatial distribution within the home range. The dominant behavior, feeding, was most frequent during the first and last two hours of the day and tended to occur within the home range core during these hours. During the midday periods home range use became more general and the frequency of the other behaviors increased as feeding frequency decreased. During periods of sexual activity (the beginning and end of the homeothermic season), male ground squirrels displayed high frequencies of encounters, moving and calling behaviors.

Fresh beef was modified-atmosphere packaged in carbon monoxide or oxygen to prolong red surface color. After comparison of several packaging method using carbon monoxide, steaks pretreated with 5% carbon monoxide for 24 hours and then vacuum packaged had the best combination of color and microbial stability (5 weeks), with the least potential for carbon monoxide inhalation. In the evaluation of ground beef in high-oxygen, modified-atmosphere-packaging, thiobarbituric-acid numbers increased over time, and the flavor was disliked slightly after 6 or 10 days of storage at 2° Celsius. The antioxidant effect of milk-mineral was tested in raw and cooked ground pork stored refrigerated or frozen. Thiobarbituric-acid numbers were low for all raw treatments. For cooked ground pork, thiobarbituric-acid numbers were lower for samples with milk-mineral or sodium-tripolyphosphate, compared to control or samples with butylated-hydroxytoluene. Sodium-tripolyphosphate, a type 2 antioxidant (iron chelator), was also very effective in preventing heme degradation during refrigerated storage.

This study determined antioxidant and sensory effects of cinnamon, cloves, fennel, pepper, and star anise (Chinese 5-spice ingredients) in cooked ground beef. In experiment 1, thiobarbituric acid (TBA) values of cooked samples were measured during refrigerated storage. In experiment 2, trained panelists evaluated cooked samples for rancid, beef, and spice flavor intensity. Total aerobic plate counts were also measured. Mean TBA values were high (3.4) for control samples. In previous studies, TBA values >1.0 were associated with unacceptably rancid cooked meats. At the lowest spice level of 0.1% of meat weight, all spices except pepper had lower TBA values than controls. Thus, the minimum effective level was 0.1% for all spices except pepper. For all spices except cloves, increasing the use level to 0.5% significantly decreased TBA values (dose-response effect). Cloves did not exhibit a dose-response effect, since all clove levels were very effective, and not different, for maintenance of TBA values In experiment 2 (sensory evaluation), there was a high positive correlation (p < 0.01) between TBA values and panel scores for rancid odor and flavor (0.83 and 0. 78, respectively). Hence, TBA values were in good agreement with sensory panel scores as a measure of oxidation during storage. Spice flavor was inversely correlated (p < 0.01) with rancid odor and flavor (-0.57 and -0.61, respectively), suggesting that spices also decreased the perception of rancid flavor in these samples. The 5-spice blends did not inhibit microbial growth of cooked samples during storage, compared to controls, perhaps due to heat inactivation or loss of antimicrobial components from the spices during cooking. In conclusion, all spices and blends had a dual effect, reducing chemical oxidation as measured by TBA values, and also imparting a distinctive flavor to cooked ground beef.

Low grade heat sources have a large amount of thermal energy content. Due to low temperature, the conventional power generation technologies result in lower efficiency and hence cannot be used. In order to efficiently generate power, alternate methods need to be used. In this study, a supercritical organic Rankine cycle was used for heat source temperatures varying from 125°C to 200°C. Organic refrigerants with zero ozone depletion potential and their mixtures were selected as working fluid for this study while the cooling water temperature was changed from 10-25°C. Operating pressure of the cycle has been optimized for each fluid at every heat source temperature to obtain the highest thermal efficiency. Energy and exergy efficiencies of the thermodynamic cycle have been obtained as a function of heat source temperature. Efficiency of a thermodynamic cycle depends significantly on the sink temperature. At areas where water cooling is not available and ambient air temperature is high, efficient power generation from low grade heat sources may be a challenge. Use of passive cooling systems coupled with the condenser was studied, so that lower sink temperatures could be obtained. Underground tunnels, buried at a depth of few meters, were used as earth-air-heat-exchanger (EAHE) through which hot ambient air was passed. It was observed that the air temperature could be lowered by 5-10°C in the EAHE. Vertical pipes were used to lower the temperature of water by 5°C by passing it underground. Nocturnal cooling of stored water has been studied that can be used to cool the working fluid in the thermodynamic cycle. It was observed that the water temperature can be lowered by 10-20°C during the night when it is allowed to cool. The amount of water lost was calculated and was found to be approximately 0.1% over 10 days. The different passive cooling systems were studied separately and their effects on the efficiency of the thermodynamic cycle were investigated. They were then combined into a novel condenser design that uses passive cooling technology to cool the working fluid that was selected in the first part of the study. It was observed that the efficiency of the cycle improved by 2-2.5% when passive cooling system was used.

Tropical forests of the world are fast disappearing and there is a race to understand patterns of species distribution in space and time. Studying species distributions can provide better frameworks for conservation of these ecologically important patches of floral and faunal diversity. The island of Sri Lanka is a well known harbour of unique and highly threatened biodiversity. Tropical lowland forest is remnant in the south-west of the island now mainly existing in small patches. While most are small disturbed fragments, Sinharaja Forest Reserve represents one of the largest remaining patches of this important ecosystem. As a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a Man and Biosphere Reserve, it has a dual role as a conservation area and a historically important resource forest. While the distribution of vegetation diversity has been well documented, analyses of invertebrate species distributions are lacking. This thesis investigated a key arthropod group, ground dwelling ants, in relation to environmental gradients within the forest. Cumulative results demonstrate the high diversity of the forest patch. In an area representing less than half the reserve, over 173 ground dwelling ant species were found in distinct assemblages throughout the forest. Since the forest is located upon a series of parallel ridges, ant species distribution was first analysed in terms of this small elevation change. Species richness declined over a vertical incline from 430 m to 660 m, highlighting a possible small-scale, mountain mass effect. This section of the reserve is also characterised by a patch of once-logged forest (30 years previously). A study was undertaken to investigate whether there were residual effects of selective logging on the reserve. / Significant differences between species assemblages in once-logged forest and unlogged forest add to growing evidence that selectively logged forests continue to remain distinct from unlogged forest even after decades of regeneration. Ant distribution was then analysed for their relationship with habitat heterogeneity and tree species distribution. Long-term research on tree species in the SFR has demonstrated a close relationship to habitat complexity. Ant species appear to respond more to the structural heterogeneity of the vegetation than to actual topographic variation within the forest. From a conservation perspective, maintaining the integrity of this highly diverse forest is imperative. The impact of anthropogenic land uses surrounding the forest was investigated in terms of ant assemblages along the forest edges. Significant differences were found between assemblages within the edges bordered by different matrix types. Even relatively large forest remnants can be affected by the surrounding matrix land uses and encouraging the growth of structurally similar vegetation and maintaining low disturbance along the borders should attenuate the effect of the edge. Overall, the highly heterogeneous distribution of ant assemblages within the SFR demonstrates the potential for other small patches to be harbours of further species diversity. Future research should be undertaken to assess the diversity and distribution of ant species within this region and encourage the protection of this remnant diversity.

This thesis examines a method for estimating the daytime fluxes of heat, water vapour and carbon dioxide at regional scales by using simple models to combine spatially resolved surface properties with bulk meteorological quantities measured at a central location. The central themes of this thesis are that the spatial and temporal variability of regional scale fluxes are contained in the surface properties and meteorology respectively and that the surface properties can be interpolated across a heterogeneous landscape using remotely sensed data. The regional scale fluxes estimated using this technique are compared to the values from three other methods and this allows some conclusions to be made regarding the relative strengths and weaknesses of each method. The surface property approach yields robust estimates of the fluxes that will be useful in researching exchange processes at regional scales, providing input parameters for, and validation of, the biosphere components of General Circulation Models and testing inventory estimates of CO2 budgets. The surface properties are derived using data from 33 aircraft flights and eight ground-based sites along a 96 km transect established during the 1995 Observations At Several Interacting Scales experiment held near Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia. Surface properties examined are the evaporative fraction (ratio of evapotranspiration to available energy), the Bowen ratio (ratio of sensible heat flux to evapotranspiration), the maximum stomatal conductance (maximum stomatal opening under optimal conditions) and the water-use efficiency (ratio of CO2 flux to evapotranspiration). Maximum stomatal conductance is calculated using a simple model of the stomatal response to light and water vapour deficit assuming soil evaporation occurs at the equilibrium rate. The diurnal trend and day-to-day variability in the surface properties is found to be significantly less than the spatial variability. All of the surface properties examined show some sensitivity to the synoptic conditions. The relationships between the surface properties and the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) are examined using a 130 km by 50 km sub-scene from a Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) image obtained five days before the start of the experiment period. The ground-based and aircraft observations are used to calculate the source-area influencing each measurement and this is combined with the Landsat 5 TM data to produce an average, source-area weighted NDVI for each ground-based site and each aircraft location. The source-area model is important because it provides the link between the observations and the remotely sensed data by identifying the surface patch that influences the measurements. Linear relationships are found between the source-area weighted NDVI and the surface properties. The observed relationships are used to interpolate the surface properties over the region covered by the satellite image and spatial variations in water loss and CO2 uptake by the surface vegetation are identified that are not resolved by the ground-based network. Analysis of the ground-based data showed that the spatial variability of the bulk meteorological quantities used in the surface property approach was much less than the diurnal trend in these data. With the small temporal variation in the surface properties noted before, this confirms the utility of assigning the spatial and temporal variability of the fluxes to the surface properties and the meteorology respectively. The combination of surface properties derived from the aircraft data and meteorology measured at a single location at the centre of the transect shows good skill in predicting the observed fluxes. Furthermore, the discrepancies between the predictions and the observations are explained by the different source-areas of the aircraft and ground-based data and much of the bias is removed when the surface properties are scaled from the NDVI of the aircraft source-area to the NDVI of the ground-based sites. Regional scale fluxes of heat and water vapour calculated using the surface property approach agree with averages of the ground-based data and this indicates that the ground-based network was representative of the OASIS region. Estimates of regional scale CO2 fluxes are not available from the ground-based network due to the lack of measurements at the driest ground-based site but the surface property approach yields plausible values. The results demonstrate the utility of extrapolating surface properties across heterogeneous landscapes using remotely sensed data.

I address the geometric problem of the pendulum-like swinging of towed birds for AEM platforms. I establish a link between actual observed bird swing and its effect on survey data for two different systems and explain the link by a model that compares actual survey data to the calculated mutual inductance coupling of a dipole pair over an infinitely conductive half space, which pair is permitted arbitrary pitch, roll and altitude changes. I develop a non-linear filter that removes bird swing effects from survey data which successfully corrected data from 3 different AEM surveys. Calibration of several different time domain AEM systems is attempted using an accurately laid out and surveyed, closed, multi-turn loop of known resistance and self-inductance that is placed on - but insulated from - resistive ground. I derive a rigourous mathematical model that predicts airborne receiver's response to the coupling to the transmitter current waveform and total system geometry. The method was proven to be successful over resistive ground, with significant system problems identified such as: altimetry error, spatial averaging of data during postprocessing, error in the predicted horizontal position of the AEM platform, receiver windowing and timing errors and bird swing. I show that, although we can calibrate a time domain AEM system for a single flyover, it is impossible to calibrate an AEM system for geometry. As an intermediate step in the calibration process, I show that by monitoring the current induced in the ground loop we can obtain the waveform of the AEM transmitter current throu gh deconvolution in the Fourier domain. Simple and cost effective methods for the improvement of quantitative AEM data are presented in this thesis. However, until the geometry problem of AEM platforms is solved, full system calibration will not be obtained and filters will need to be applied to the data. I recommend the use of: GPS antennas mounted on all towed birds, able to be post-processed for accurate position recovery, reliable bird-mounted scanning altimeters that do not rely on range-finding technology but instead employ a shortest path algorithm, pitch and roll sensors mounted on the trailed bird and the measurement of airspeed of both the towed bird and the aircraft during surveys.

Native vegetation condition provides an indication of the state of vegetation health or function relative to a stated objective or benchmark. Measures of vegetation condition provide an indication of the vegetation's capacity to provide habitat for a range of species and ecosystem functions through the assessment of selected vegetation attributes. Subsets of vegetation attributes are often combined into vegetation condition indices or metrics, which are used to provide information for natural resource management. Despite their value as surrogates of biota and ecosystem function, measures of vegetation condition are rarely used to inform biodiversity assessments at scales beyond individual stands. The extension of vegetation condition information across landscapes, and approaches for achieving this, using remote sensing technologies, is a key focus of the work presented in this thesis. The aim of this research is to assess the utility of multi-spectral remotely sensed data for the recovery of stand-level attributes of native vegetation condition at landscape scales. The use of remotely sensed data for the assessment of vegetation condition attributes in fragmented landscapes is a focus of this study. The influence of a number of practical issues, such as spatial scale and ground data sampling methodology, are also explored. This study sets limitations on the use of this technology for vegetation condition assessment and also demonstrates the practical impact of data quality issues that are frequently encountered in these types of applied integrated approaches. The work presented in this thesis demonstrates that while some measures of vegetation condition, such as vegetation cover and stem density, are readily recoverable from multi-spectral remotely sensed data, others, such as hollow-bearing trees and log length, are not easily derived from this type of data. The types of information derived from remotely sensed data, such as texture measures and vegetation indices, that are useful for vegetation condition assessments of this nature are also highlighted. The utility of multi-spectral remotely sensed data for the assessment of stand-level vegetation condition attributes is highly dependent on a number of factors including the type of attribute being measured, the characteristics of the vegetation, the sensor characteristics (i.e. the spatial, spectral, temporal, and radiometric resolution), and other spatial data quality considerations, such as site homogeneity and spatial scale. A series of case studies are presented in this thesis that explores the effects of these factors. These case studies demonstrate the importance of different aspects of spatial data and how data manipulation can greatly affect the derived relationships between vegetation attributes and remotely sensed data. The work documented in this thesis provides an assessment of what can be achieved from two sources of multi-spectral imagery in terms of recovery of individual vegetation attributes from remotely sensed data. Potential surrogate measures of vegetation condition that can be derived across broad scales are identified. This information could provide a basis for the development of landscape scale multi-spectral remotely sensed based vegetation condition assessment approaches, supplementing information provided by established site-based vegetation condition assessment approaches.

<p>A new FPGA suitable for space applications has just reached the market. To investigate whether there are any possible flaws or limitations similar to those previously seen on FPGAs, an evaluation has to be done. This master thesis contains the evaluation of this new radhard FPGA with focus on possible design limitations and package related electrical phenomena.Areas evaluated: Ground-/VDD bounce, Cross talk, Rise time sensitivit, Power cycling, Power consumption, Place and route tool, Radiation hardnessThis report contains all steps in the evaluation. From method to measurements, comparisons, theory, results and conclusions. In the evaluation work, special effort has been made to develop designs that really stress the FPGA to find potential problems. All problems found are dealt with in this report.Results: Ground-/VDD bounce measurements showed that devices using a fast slew rate resulted in TTL-level violation. However, by separating sensitive signals and SSOs in different I/O banks it is possible to work around the problem. Cross talk measurements has shown that the phenomena causes problems when using a long rise time input with toggling outputs placed next to the signal. Power cycling did not result in any alarming inrush currents. Regular power up showed an unwanted behaviour with pulses on all I/Os right before power on reset kicked in. When comparing the tool value with measurements regarding power consumption it was clear that it differed as much as 40-50%. The FPGA consumes 40-50% more power than what the power calculator tool estimates.</p>

<p>With numerous applications in both military and civilian life, the demand for accurate 3D models of real world environments increases rapidly. Using an airborne laser scanner for the raw data acquisition and robust methods for data processing, the researchers at the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) in Linköping hope to fully automate the modeling process.</p><p>The work of this thesis has mainly been focused on three areas: ground estimation, image segmentation and classification. Procedures have in each of these areas been developed, leading to a new algorithm for ground estimation, a number of segmentation methods as well as a full comparison of various decision values for an object based classification. The ground estimation algorithm developed has yielded good results compared to the method based on active contours previously elaborated at FOI. The computational effort needed by the new method has been greatly reduced compared to the former, as performance, particularly in urban areas, has been improved. The segmentation methods introduced have shown promising results in separating different types of objects. A new set of decision values and descriptors for the object based classifier has been suggested, which, according to tests, prove to be more efficient than the set p reviously used.</p> / <p>Med många tillämpningar både inom det civila och militära, ökar efterfrågan på noggranna och korrekta omvärldesmodeller snabbt. Forskare på FOI, Totalförsvarets Forskningsinstitut, arbetar med att fullt ut kunna automatisera den process som genererar dessa tredimensionella modeller av verkliga miljöer. En luftburen laserradar används för datainsamlingen och robusta metoder är under ständig utveckling för den efterföljande databehandlingen.</p><p>Arbetet som presenteras i denna rapport kan delas in i tre huvudområden: skattning av markyta, segmentering av data samt klassificering. Metoder inom varje område har utvecklats vilket lett fram till en ny algoritm för markestimering, en rad metoder för segmentering samt en noggrann jämförelse av olika beslutsvärden för en objektbaserad klassificering. Markskattningsalgoritmen har visat sig vara effektiv i jämförelse med en metod baserad på aktiva konturer som sedan tidigare utvecklats på FOI. Beräkningsbördan för den nya metoden är endast en bråkdel av den förra, samtidigt som prestandan, särskilt i urbana miljöer, har kunnat förbättras.</p><p>De segmenteringsmetoder som introducerats har visat på lovande resultat vad gäller möjligheten att särskilja olika typer av objekt. Slutligen har en ny uppsättning deskriptorer och beslutsvärden till den objektbaserade klassificeraren föreslagits. Den har enligt de tester som presenteras i rapporten visats sig vara mer effektiv än den uppsättning som använts fram till idag.</p>