White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is an intensively managed game species throughout Texas and the United States. Modeling is a tool that has been used to evaluate various management practices and their potential impacts on wildlife populations; however, many existing models are complicated for the average land manager, require a significant amount of demographic data that may not be readily available, or require expensive software. I developed a white-tailed deer (WTD) harvest model, Texas Deer Manager (TDM), using STELLA® (High Performance Systems, Inc., Version 7.0.3) and NetSim Creator® (High Performance Systems, Inc. Version 2.0), that incorporates the field data that are currently collected and/or can be easily collected, and can be used by interested landowners and state biologists. Unlike other population models specific for WTD, my TDM simulation model has an easy-to-use interface and is available on-line via the Internet. Age classes in the model are represented as fawns (<12 months), yearlings (1-2 years), and adults (>2 years) for each sex. Harvest is controlled by the model user. Currently the parameters such as survival and fecundity rates are set for an average year in the Edwards Plateau Ecological Region of Texas; however, model users can adjust survival and fecundity based on the specifics of their land management area. The website also provides general information about WTD biology and management. I conducted an on-line survey (n = 29) to evaluate the perceived usefulness and satisfaction of the TDM and website. I found that overall participants found the TDM and website were useful with 59% responding they would “probably” or “definitely” use it as a tool to help them determine their harvest plans. There seems to be a strong interest and need for a tool like the TDM and website. It would be beneficial to continue to develop the website and make it applicable for all the regions in Texas. Also, since the TDM model is easily accessible via the Internet and simple to use, it could be incorporated as a tool to teach population dynamics in the classroom.

The Yukon Umbrella Final Agreement was signed in 1993 and Chapter 16 allows Yukon First Nations to govern wildlife harvest on traditional territories. First Nation governments manage wildlife using traditional ecological knowledge and have started to collect harvest data to inventory wildlife use and incorporate in management. A workshop, hosted near Lake Laberge by Ta�an Kw�ch��n, facilitated discussion amongst First Nation delegates regarding wildlife harvest data collection was conducted November 5 and 6, 2009. A questionnaire was conducted prior to the workshop to provide guidance for discussion topics. The workshop had four objectives: 1) understand the importance of First Nation harvest data and how the data will be used during management decisions, 2) discuss methods used to collect harvest data and potential for a unified approach, 3) discuss potential methods for storing data, protecting confidentiality while allowing effective management, and 4) produce a document that can be used to implement or improve harvest data collection. This project will fulfill the fourth objective by summarizing the workshop content, explore the factors that promote and hinder data collection, and the intermediate and long-term objectives that will allow First Nation governments to become effective co-management partners while ensuring their traditional lifestyle and connection to the land is not lost.

The Yukon Umbrella Final Agreement was signed in 1993 and Chapter 16 allows Yukon First Nations to govern wildlife harvest on traditional territories. First Nation governments manage wildlife using traditional ecological knowledge and have started to collect harvest data to inventory wildlife use and incorporate in management. A workshop, hosted near Lake Laberge by Ta�an Kw�ch��n, facilitated discussion amongst First Nation delegates regarding wildlife harvest data collection was conducted November 5 and 6, 2009. A questionnaire was conducted prior to the workshop to provide guidance for discussion topics. The workshop had four objectives: 1) understand the importance of First Nation harvest data and how the data will be used during management decisions, 2) discuss methods used to collect harvest data and potential for a unified approach, 3) discuss potential methods for storing data, protecting confidentiality while allowing effective management, and 4) produce a document that can be used to implement or improve harvest data collection. This project will fulfill the fourth objective by summarizing the workshop content, explore the factors that promote and hinder data collection, and the intermediate and long-term objectives that will allow First Nation governments to become effective co-management partners while ensuring their traditional lifestyle and connection to the land is not lost.

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is an intensively managed game species throughout Texas and the United States. Modeling is a tool that has been used to evaluate various management practices and their potential impacts on wildlife populations; however, many existing models are complicated for the average land manager, require a significant amount of demographic data that may not be readily available, or require expensive software. I developed a white-tailed deer (WTD) harvest model, Texas Deer Manager (TDM), using STELLA® (High Performance Systems, Inc., Version 7.0.3) and NetSim Creator® (High Performance Systems, Inc. Version 2.0), that incorporates the field data that are currently collected and/or can be easily collected, and can be used by interested landowners and state biologists. Unlike other population models specific for WTD, my TDM simulation model has an easy-to-use interface and is available on-line via the Internet. Age classes in the model are represented as fawns (<12 months), yearlings (1-2 years), and adults (>2 years) for each sex. Harvest is controlled by the model user. Currently the parameters such as survival and fecundity rates are set for an average year in the Edwards Plateau Ecological Region of Texas; however, model users can adjust survival and fecundity based on the specifics of their land management area. The website also provides general information about WTD biology and management. I conducted an on-line survey (n = 29) to evaluate the perceived usefulness and satisfaction of the TDM and website. I found that overall participants found the TDM and website were useful with 59% responding they would “probably” or “definitely” use it as a tool to help them determine their harvest plans. There seems to be a strong interest and need for a tool like the TDM and website. It would be beneficial to continue to develop the website and make it applicable for all the regions in Texas. Also, since the TDM model is easily accessible via the Internet and simple to use, it could be incorporated as a tool to teach population dynamics in the classroom.

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) has the potential to be used as a cellulosic feedstock for ethanol production due to its diversity and wide adaptation to many different climates. With a wide range of diversity, this crop could be tailored specifically for use as a feedstock for ethanol production. Other factors such as water use efficiency, drought tolerance, yield potential, composition, and established production systems also make sorghum a logical choice as a feedstock for bioenergy production. The objectives of this study were to better understand the biomass potential of different types of sorghum that may be used for energy production, and determine the composition of these sorghums over the season to better understand biomass yield and composition over time. Six commercial sorghum cultivars or hybrids that represent sorghum types from grain to energy were evaluated near College Station, Texas during the 2008 and 2009 cropping years. An optimal harvest window (defined by maximum yield) was established for all genotypes, and significant variation was seen among the genotypes for fresh and dry biomass production. The later maturity genotypes, including the photo-period sensitive and modified photo-period sensitive type sorghums, produced the highest yields (up to 24 dry Mg/ha). Compositional analysis using near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIR) for lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose was performed on a dry matter basis for the optimal harvest window for each genotype. Significant differences were seen in 2009 between the genotypes for lignin, hemicellulose, cellulose, ash and protein; with the earlier genotypes having higher percentage of lignin, and the later genotypes having lower percentages of lignin. Genotype x Environment interactions were also seen, and show the significance that rainfall can have. Based on this research, grain sorghum could be harvested first, followed by photo-period insensitive forage varieties, then moderately photo-period sensitive forage varieties followed by dedicated bioenergy sorghums (that are full photo-period sensitive), allowing for a more constant supply of feedstock to processing plants. Sweet sorghums would also allow the end user to obtain biomass when needed, however these types of sorghum may be much better suited to a different end application (i.e. crushing the stalks to obtain the juice).

This thesis presents a high efficiency RF to DC converter for RFID applications. The proposed circuit has been designed in 90 nm CMOS technology using a single RF source. It exploits an internal Vth cancellation technique along with a leakage current reducer. The circuit operates in two phases: Phase 1, applies a DC voltage between gate and drain to reduce the VDS of the PMOS transistor; and Phase 2 removes this DC voltage meanwhile by pulling the drain and source terminals of the same transistor to the same potential, reducing the sub-threshold leakage current and enhancing the power conversion efficiency. The simulation results show that high DC power up to 8.1µA can be delivered to the load. The PCE has been measured 36.3% at -14.3dBm and can be improved to 54.5% providing an impedance matching network between the source and rectifier input.

No description available.

Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer in the world and the main component of paper. Modern society requires electronic devices to be more flexible and environmental friendly, which makes cellulose as a good candidate for the next generation of green electronics. However, lots of researches employed “paper-like” petroleum-based polymers to fabricate electronics rather than using real cellulose paper. Cellulose, as a representative of environmental friendly materials, caught into people's attention because of its sustainable nature, ease of functionality, flexibility and tunable surface properties, etc. There are some general challenges about using cellulose for electronics, such as its non-conductivity, porosity and roughness, but these features can be taken advantages of on certain occasions. This thesis focuses on the study of cellulose-based electronic devices by chemical or physical modification of microfibrillated cellulose (MFC). Particularly, three electronic devices were fabricated, including ionic diodes, electric double layer supercapacitors, pseudocapacitors. In addition, a rational design of dye-sensitized solar cell was investigated, although it was not directly cellulose-based, it led the way to the next generation of cellulose-based solar cells. The extraordinary physical and chemical properties of MFC were successfully leveled in those devices, in addition, inspiring and effective fabrication methods were proposed and carried out to solve the major problems faced by paper-based electronics, such as conductivity, flexibility, packaging and designs.

No description available.

No description available.