In the case of a radiological emergency it is of utmost importance that we can rapidly quantify theradionuclide content of a person or population to ensure that the right precautions or treatmentsare taken. In this project we investigate how well the Palmer geometry works to quantify the Cs-137 content of a test population. The aim is to find if this geometry could replace the currentmeasuring geometry. To begin with, we investigate the full energy peak efficiencies in the Palmer geometry formeasurements of whole body content of radioactive nuclides using Detective-X, a spectrometricgamma radiation detector produced by ORTEC. First, we perform an empirical efficiency cali-bration based on measurements with the phantom IRINA using both Cs-137 and Eu-152 to cover arange of energies. We employ two configurations of the IRINA phantom to represent the bodyof the average woman and man in Sweden. The detector is directed towards the abdomen of the phantom, which is in a crouched seated position, to emulate the Palmer geometry. Additionally, we construct a detector model in Monte-Carlo N-particle transport code (MCNP).To validate this model we calibrate the detector with a Cs-137 point source at various angles of in-cidence to determine its angular dependence, performing the measurements along two axes ofrotation. We find that the efficiency in the final MCNP model agree well with the empiricalcalibration. The detector model is then used alongside the MCNP models of two IRINA configurations to compare the simulated and empirical calibrations. We observe that the detector model agree well with our empirical calibrations. Finally, we measure the whole body content of Cs-137 in a group of residents around Umeå,Sweden. In these measurements, the Palmer geometry is employed, where the test person sitswith the detector in their lap, having the top cap against their stomach, and crouches over it. These measurement are compared to those taken in a low background setup (mobile whole body counter), where the test person lays down on their back in a lead cradle and have their legs and head above their chest and abdomen. We find that the signal in the Palmer geometry has a higherbackground level, preventing detection of low activities. Additionally, the Palmer setup tends to underestimate the activity compared to the current setup. More test subjects with higher activity is needed to test the setup, as the current data is not sufficient for definite conclusions. In conclusion, the simulation model is sufficient for future simulations of the Palmer geometry. The tests of the Palmer geometry are not sufficient to sufficiently prove if the geometry will be a good method to determine the whole body content of radionuclides. To test it further a larger test population with a higher activity is needed. The calibrations should also be done with other configurations of IRINA and activity distribution to better emulate an adult human.

La problématique à l’étude dans ce mémoire est la représentation et conceptualisation de la notion de posthumanité dans trois romans de Philip K.Dick : The Three Stigmata Of Palmer Eldritch, Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? et Ubik. L’analyse de ces romans nous permettra de montrer que l’auteur américain focalise sa réflexion sur le posthumain sur la subjectivité transcendante de personnages qui absorbent, et se substituent à la réalité d’autres personnages dans leur environnement. Nous montrerons également que l’écriture de Dick a évolué vers une vision plus spirituelle ou mystique en se détachant graduellement du récit de science-fiction traditionnel. Ce développement aura des répercussions significatives sur sa postérité cyberpunk. / This thesis examines the problematic of posthumanity in three novels by Philip K. Dick: The Three Stigmata Of Palmer Eldritch, Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep and Ubik. I shall argue that the notion of “transcendent subjectivity” is central to Dick’s conceptualization of the posthuman and that the novelist’s engagement with this notion enables a shift in his writing towards a more spiritual or mystical vision. Dick’s vision of the posthuman had a profound impact on cyberpunk authors such as William Gibson, Bruce Sterling and Neil Stephenson. The questioning of the posthuman is a recurring strategy in the work of these writers.

La problématique à l’étude dans ce mémoire est la représentation et conceptualisation de la notion de posthumanité dans trois romans de Philip K.Dick : The Three Stigmata Of Palmer Eldritch, Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? et Ubik. L’analyse de ces romans nous permettra de montrer que l’auteur américain focalise sa réflexion sur le posthumain sur la subjectivité transcendante de personnages qui absorbent, et se substituent à la réalité d’autres personnages dans leur environnement. Nous montrerons également que l’écriture de Dick a évolué vers une vision plus spirituelle ou mystique en se détachant graduellement du récit de science-fiction traditionnel. Ce développement aura des répercussions significatives sur sa postérité cyberpunk. / This thesis examines the problematic of posthumanity in three novels by Philip K. Dick: The Three Stigmata Of Palmer Eldritch, Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep and Ubik. I shall argue that the notion of “transcendent subjectivity” is central to Dick’s conceptualization of the posthuman and that the novelist’s engagement with this notion enables a shift in his writing towards a more spiritual or mystical vision. Dick’s vision of the posthuman had a profound impact on cyberpunk authors such as William Gibson, Bruce Sterling and Neil Stephenson. The questioning of the posthuman is a recurring strategy in the work of these writers.

Julia Palmer, a little-known religious poet, composed two centuries-collections of one hundred poems intended to be sung as hymns-in the two years between 1671 and 1673. Palmer's manuscript is unique in that its author was perhaps the only self-taught Nonconformist woman to have composed centuries during the Restoration period. Although religion shaped the lives of most British citizens at the time, the public literary expression of spiritual experiences-particularly by middle-class women-was uncommon within conventional Puritanism. The poetry's hybrid of forms, proliferation of religious themes, and undertones of political subversion offer an important glimpse into the way Puritan women writers of the seventeenth century manipulated literary discourse to meet their needs. Palmer negotiates contemporary sociopolitical issues by using poetic forms and themes consistent with biblical, puritan, and social standards. Palmer's centuries fuse the seventeenth-century spiritual journal with the eighteenth-century hymn. Applying the personal introspection of the journal to public worship would not become customary until the eighteenth century. This thesis analyzes Palmer's poetry in light of other Restoration writing as well as religious, sociopolitical, and gendered contexts in order to position it as an early form of eighteenth-century Dissenting poetry.

Harvest weed seed control (HWSC) methods concentrate, remove, or destroy weed seeds captured by the combine during harvest. Furthermore, chaff lining uses a chute fitted on the back of a combine to concentrate chaff and weed seed therein into a narrow line. Since chaff amount increases with crop yield, studies aimed to determine how varying crop yield and the associated chaff amount will affect chaff lining control of select weed species, while also examining subsequent crop performance. Objective 1 of this work focused on wheat chaff lining (WCL), and objective 2 studied soybean chaff lining (SCL). Weed species of interest included wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis L.) and Italian ryegrass (Lolium perenne ssp. multiflorum L. Husnot) in WCL and Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri S.) and common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) subject to SCL. Each weed species was evaluated in separate experiments, and the SCL experiment included an additional factor of with and without a cereal rye cover crop treatment. Chaff lines mimicked harvest across a range of wheat and soybean yields, with equal weed seed additions (based on existing fecundity and seed shatter phenology data) to each chaff line. A conventional harvest (control) and an outside-the-chaff-line treatment were included, where total fecundity or weed seed rain occurring prior to harvest based on weed species were broadcast respectively. Inhibition of crop and weed emergence as a function of yield and the associated chaff amount was also investigated in the greenhouse. Crop yield across treatments at the field scale (accounts for both chaff lines and outside-the-chaff-line), was not affected in double-crop soybean following WCL and full-season soybean following SCL. Field scale wheat yield in WCL compared to conventional harvest was not different, increased, or decreased in 8, 3, and 1 site-years, respectively. WCL reduced total weed emergence over the combined double-crop soybean and winter wheat growing seasons by 43-54% at the field scale. SCL reduced common ragweed emergence in cereal rye by 64% and 85% in 2 of 3 locations across the soybean growing season. The cover crop did not reduce common ragweed emergence while it was growing, but residual mulch in soybean reduced emergence by 39%. No differences were observed in Palmer amaranth emergence during cereal rye growth, however cereal rye decreased total emergence by 41%. In 6 of 7 Palmer amaranth location-years, SCL decreased field scale weed emergence in soybean by 81%. These results indicate chaff may create an unfavorable environment for weed seed emergence. In both WCL and SCL, greater amounts of chaff caused larger reductions in weed emergence. Objective 3 focused on quantifying the above-ground biomass breakdown of soybean plants into chaff, straw, and seed fractions as they are processed and dispensed by various harvesters. Depending on HWSC system, chaff and straw residues may also be destroyed, removed, or concentrated. Therefore, chaff and straw nutrient composition was analyzed to evaluate the nutrient and economic consequences of HWSC. Our results show average soybean harvest index is 0.57:1. Furthermore, chaff and straw residues equal 13.4% and 68.5% of the seed weight, respectively. Using 5-year average fertilizer prices (2017 – 2021), replacement of N, P, K and S in chaff, straw, and the combination of both residues costs USD 1.58, USD 5.88, and USD 7.46, respectively. / Master of Science in Life Sciences / In conventional wheat and soybean production, the primary means of weed control is herbicides. If herbicide use is not diversified, a repeated selection pressure drives weeds to evolve resistance to such chemistries. Producers and researchers alike are constantly looking for new ways to combat weeds and herbicide-resistant issues. Originally developed to control nuisance weeds in Australia, harvest weed seed control (HWSC) offers promise in aiding our current herbicide resistance crisis. To further explain HWSC, it is important to know the harvesting mechanism. Many of the row crops including corn, soybean and wheat are harvested using a combine. Combines cut below or tear off plant material to capture the grain or seed which is processed via a threshing system and separated into three fractions: the seed, chaff, and straw. The grain is allocated to a storage bin and eventually removed from the field. In conventional harvest, the remaining crop residue is spread evenly behind the combine across the field to ensure a balanced distribution of organic matter, nutrients, and residue across the field. There is however more than chaff and straw being dispersed. Weeds present in the field at harvest whose seed is retained at crop maturity and at an elevation above the combine header height will inherently end up inside the combine. HWSC are methods intended to capitalize on the combine capturing weed seeds during harvest. Many HWSC approaches to managing weed seed exist, including destruction, removal and concentration of weed seed. Most of this research focuses on only one method of HWSC, chaff lining. Chaff lining utilizes a chute fitted onto the back of the combine and concentrates weed seed and the chaff fraction only into a narrow line behind the combine. Although not directly known, chaff may inhibit future weed emergence within the line due to a mulching effect, intraspecific competition, a greater degree of rotting and increased seed predators. The chute is inexpensive to construct, and there are no additional labor requirements at harvest making it an appealing HWSC option. There is a limited amount of research on chaff lining in North American cropping systems making it a prime HWSC candidate for this thesis. We were curious if chaff lining could benefit wheat and soybean farmers and if crop yield and the associated chaff amount deposited in chaff lines would have any impact on crops planted and weeds placed in lines. Our results indicate chaff lining does not cause field scale yield consequence in double-crop and full-season soybean following wheat and soybean chaff lining, respectively. The effect of wheat chaff lining on wheat field scale yield was variable, but only caused a yield decrease in 1 of 12 experimental locations. Reductions in weed emergence in chaff lining systems compared to conventional indicate chaff may alter the environment to be unfavorable for weed seed emergence. The final objective of this thesis investigates the economic cost of nutrient loss among HWSC systems. Using average fertilizer prices, the cost to apply N, P, K and S concentrated or lost during HWSC in chaff, straw, and the combination of both residues is USD 1.58, USD 5.88, and USD 7.46, respectively.

Recent research has challenged the long-standing hypothesis that forests in the Upper Midwest of the United States developed during wetter periods and retreated during dry periods. We explored this debate by examining patterns of tree establishment on an oak savanna in east-central Minnesota within the context of variable moisture availability and fire suppression. We used superposed epoch analyses (SEA) to evaluate the mean moisture conditions for a 21-year window surrounding tree establishment dates. Before effective fire suppression (1809–1939), 24 of 42 trees with pith dates (62%) grew to 30-cm height during dry years (Palmer Drought Severity Index < -1), versus only 5 of 42 (12%) that established in wet years (PDSI > 1). Significantly more trees established during dry periods (negative PDSI values) than would be expected with the proportion of wet-to-dry years (x²= 10.738, df = 1, p-value = 0.001). Twenty of the complete sample of 74 trees with pith dates (27%) established during drought in the 1930s. We hypothesize that dry conditions limited plant productivity, which in turn decreased competition between grasses and tree seedlings and reduced rates of accumulation of fine fuels, enabling seedlings to grow tall enough to resist subsequent fires. We recommend SEA as a methodological approach to compare historical climate conditions with the timing of regeneration success in other regions of forest expansion.

<p>Acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitors are a widely used class of selective herbicides used to control grass and broadleaf weeds. The repeated use of ALS-inhibiting herbicides has selected for biotypes of weeds resistant to ALS inhibitors, especially in the weeds most problematic to growers in the Midwest. While ALS inhibitor use seems futile, new mechanisms of herbicide action are not predicted to be commercialized in the near future to solve this problem. This leads to the main objective of this research, determining what value ALS inhibitors provide in controlling populations of weeds with resistance to ALS inhibitors. </p> <p>Field experiments with soil-applied (PRE) applications of ALS inhibitors on horseweed (<i>Erigeron canadensis</i>) and tall waterhemp (<i>Amaranthus tuberculatus </i>var. <i>rudis</i>) exhibited higher efficacy than would be expected given the frequency of the ALS resistance trait in the population. Whereas control of these species with POST-applied applications was similar or less than the proportion of the population characterized as susceptible using molecular techniques. Soil-applied applications, therefore, resulted in relatively greater control than POST applications in populations with known ALS-inhibitor-resistance mechanisms.</p> <p>Greenhouse experiments showed that overall resistance ratios were higher for PRE applications of ALS inhibitors in horseweed, tall waterhemp, and Palmer amaranth (<i>Amaranthus palmeri</i>). However, GR₅₀ values decreased for both susceptible and resistant biotypes for the PRE applications compared to POST, suggesting the biologically effective dose of these herbicides is lower in soil residual applications. This research found that PRE applications of ALS inhibitors resulted in some level of control on horseweed and tall waterhemp classified as resistant to ALS inhibitors due to the higher efficacy of PRE herbicide applications.</p> <p>Genetic analysis assessing the amino acid substitutions that confer resistance to ALS inhibitors in tall waterhemp confirmed a difference in selection pressure between PRE and POST applications and between ALS active ingredients in tall waterhemp. Applications of chlorimuron PRE at 11 g ai ha^-1selected for 35% homozygous W574L genotypes and at 44 g ha^-1 selected for 70% homozygous W574L genotypes. An increase of homozygous W574L individuals along with a decrease in heterozygous individuals from 65 (11 g ha^-1) to 29% (44 g ha^-1) suggests that W574L is semi-dominant in tall waterhemp and that high labeled rates of chlorimuron applied PRE can partially overcome the heterozygous W574L-resistance mechanism. In horseweed, no difference in selection pressure was observed between application timing or between chlorimuron or cloransulam. A new mutation conferring ALS-inhibitor resistance in horseweed was discovered, a Pro197Leu amino acid substitution, with resistance ratios of 21X to chlorimuron and 8.6X to cloransulam. These resistance ratios are slightly less than those reported for the Pro197Ala and Pro197Ser amino acid substitutions in conferring ALS-inhibitor resistance in horseweed. </p> <p>Finally, a survey of 42 populations of tall waterhemp in Indiana counties with confirmed ALS-inhibitor resistant populations of tall waterhemp found that all populations contained at least 16% individuals with the W574L amino acid substitution, 35 populations contained at least 1% individuals with the S653N substitution, and 9 populations contained at least 1% individuals with the S653T substitution. Taking into consideration the three mutations tested, 8 of the 42 populations tested contained <50% ALS-inhibitor resistant individuals within the population. Using the same tall waterhemp populations as collected in the survey, Next-Generation Sequencing was used to determine if other amino acid substitutions conferring resistance to ALS inhibitors existed. Results from WideSeq revealed that 10 other amino acid substitutions in the ALS protein may be conferring resistance in tall waterhemp in Indiana: A122T, A122N, A122S, P197T, P197L, P197H, D376E, and G654F. Further research from this survey also suggests that metabolic resistance to ALS inhibitors is likely a contributor to resistance in tall waterhemp in Indiana.</p> <p>This research suggests that ALS-inhibiting herbicides, more specifically chlorimuron, would provide the greatest contribution to management of tall waterhemp. Chlorimuron would perform best when used in soil residual applications and in populations of tall waterhemp containing either individuals susceptible to chlorimuron or individuals heterozygous for ALS inhibitor resistance conferred by the W574L mutation. This research also demonstrates the specificity of the amino acid substitutions in the ALS protein and by weed species to realize the benefit of these herbicides for management of weeds resistant to ALS inhibitors. Molecular characterization of target site resistance to ALS inhibitors has traditionally been considered relatively simple. However, we found 11 new amino acid substitutions that confer resistance to ALS inhibitors in horseweed and tall waterhemp. The complexity of ALS inhibitor resistance calls for the use of methods such as NGS to detect all potential resistance mutations in a timely manner and for the use of tests detecting metabolic resistance. Overall, this research demonstrates that ALS inhibitors still provide some utility for management of weed populations classified as resistant to ALS inhibitors and that the resistance mechanisms in horseweed and tall waterhemp are more numerous than previously reported. </p>

Submitted by Marlene Aparecida de Souza Cardozo (mcardozo@pucsp.br) on 2017-01-24T17:27:45Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Selma Cosso Neves.pdf: 1151062 bytes, checksum: 885f0abf0b546e544a2857fec066b158 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-24T17:27:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Selma Cosso Neves.pdf: 1151062 bytes, checksum: 885f0abf0b546e544a2857fec066b158 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-13 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The aim of the present study is to investigate the context and some of the main sources resulting in Daniel David Palmer’s (1845-1913) formulation of chiropractic. Born in Canada, Palmer moved to the United States after the end of the Civil War, a period characterized by severe poverty. The precarious conditions extended also to medicine favoring the development of non-conventional practices, such as Thomson and magnetic therapy, in addition to homeopathic medicine, which had a strong presence in this period. Palmer met Paul Caster (1827-1881), a practitioner of magnetic therapy who treated patients without drugs, but through manipulation only. Interested in Caster’s successful methods Palmer became his disciple and worked for nine years with him. Palmer further founded a small journal, The Magnetic Cure, which served to divulgate his ideas on magnetic therapy. At the same time, strong hints indicate that Palmer devoted himself to a more thorough study of anatomy and physiology, including other sources, as e.g. osteopathy. Palmer finally presented his own healing method in 1895, which he called chiropractic. Also chiropractic dismissed pharmacological treatment, being that diseases were attributed to spine misalignment resulting in compression of nerves and blockade of the vital nervous flow. Many of the reasons that led Palmer to formulate chiropractic are poorly understood and are signaled out and analyzed in the present study / O presente estudo tem como objetivo verificar o contexto e algumas das principais fontes que levaram Daniel David Palmer (1845-1913) a desenvolver a quiropraxia. Nascido em território canadense, Palmer mudou-se para os Estados Unidos após o termino da guerra civil, período em que o país sofreu um forte empobrecimento. Essa precariedade também atingiu a medicina, facilitando o estabelecimento de práticas não convencionais, como as terapias tonsoniana e magnética, além da medicina homeopática, que tinha grande presença. Durante esse período, Palmer conheceu um terapeuta magnético chamado Paul Caster (1827-1881), que tratava dos enfermos, sem usar medicamento, apenas com manipulação. Interessado nos métodos bem-sucedidos de Caster, Palmer tornou-se seu discípulo e com ele trabalhou por nove anos. Ainda nessa época, Palmer fundou o pequeno jornal The Magnetic Cure, no qual passou a divulgar suas ideias e práticas em terapia magnética. Mas, tudo indica que, enquanto isso, Palmer teria começado a estudar anatomia e fisiologia mais profundamente, assimilando novas fontes, como as provenientes da osteopatia. Finalmente, em 1895, Palmer apresentou seu próprio método de cura, a que deu nome de quiropraxia. Esse novo método mantinha a cura das enfermidades sem o uso de medicamentos, e passava a creditar a causa das mesmas ao desalinhamento vertebral que pinçaria os nervos e impediria a passagem do fluxo nervoso vital. Todavia, muitos dos pontos que levaram Palmer ao desenvolvimento da quiropraxia continuam pouco ou mal esclarecidos, gerando questões que serão apontadas e, na medida do possível, elucidada ao longo de nosso estudo

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O presente trabalho pretende dissertar sobre a temática da escrita da história em geral e, em particular, sobre a maneira como um texto de história organiza, na unidade de uma narrativa, a pluralidade de uma experiência de tempo. Para tanto, a ênfase é colocada sobre a tarefa de conceituação na historiografia, especialmente na utilização do conceito de experiência histórica como articulador do tempo da ação humana e como organizador da narrativa historiográfica. Um diálogo é estabelecido entre os trabalhos de Paul Ricoeur, e sua compreensão poética da narrativa historiográfica, e de Reinhardt Koselleck, com sua concepção plural de tempo histórico. Analisam-se duas obras em particular, A formação da classe operária inglesa, de Edward Palmer Thompson, e História da sexualidade II: o uso dos prazeres, de Michel Foucault, nas quais o conceito em questão e utilizado. Além disso, esta dissertação procura delimitar precisamente um possível campo de atuação para a teoria da história, como uma análise tomando o texto como paradigma e a hermenêutica do discurso como modelo analítico. / The present work aims to discuss the general theme of the writing of history, and, in particular, the way an historical text organizes, in the unit of a narrative, the plurality of a temporal experience. For so, the emphasis is put on the task of conceptualization on historiography, especially on the utilization of the concept of historical experience as a temporal articulator of the human action, and as an organizer of the historiographical narrative. A dialogue is established between Paul Ricoeur, and his poetical comprehension of the historiographical narrative, and Reinhardt Koselleck, with his plural conception of historical time. Two works are analysed: The making of the English working class, by E. P. Thompson, and The history of sexuality II: the usage of pleasures, by Michel Foucault. Besides, this dissertation aspires to delimit precisely a possible theory of history, taking the text as a paradigm of analysis, and the hermeneutics of discourse as an analytical model.