Typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1984. / Bibliography: leaves 319-329. / Microfiche. / lMaster negative: Microfiche MS33170. / xxiii, 329 leaves, bound ill., maps 29 cm

Thesis (M.Sc.)--Acadia University, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-64). Also available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (MScFor (Forest and Wood Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A lab scale combustion unit was designed, in order to characterise the performance of various woody and wood-based biofuels commonly used for energy production, cooking and heating. The unit was constructed in a way that it could be repeatedly reused and provide similar testing conditions, such as airflow for all samples. The requirements were that it was big enough to contain a fire large enough to yield good time/temperature profiles and at the same time easy to handle, operate and clean. It also had to allow the insertion of the thermocouples and flue gas probe. Time / temperature profiles were obtained and O2, CO2 and CO levels in the flue gas determined for each biofuel. The samples consisted of the five most commonly used fuel wood species in the Western Cape, namely Rooikrans, Camelthorn, Bluegum, Black wattle and vine stumps and five processed products, namely wood pellets, wood briquettes, commercial charcoal, commercial briquettes and handmade briquettes. Combustion time/temperature profiles were obtained for all samples and characteristic values, such as the maximum temperature and coal temperature compared. This allowed an indication of which product performed better than others in the different combustion phases and is more suitable for different requirements, such as industrial heating, or domestic cooking. Even though Bluegum and Camelthorn performed best overall they were not necessarily suited, for example, for large scale industrial use. It was found that wood pellets and charcoal were the best biofuel for industrial purposes, whereas Rooikrans was found to be the best option for small scale use. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: ‘n Laboratoriumskaal verbrandingseenheid was ontwerp vir die toets en karakterisering van verskeie houtgebaseerde biomassa soorte algemeen in gebruik vir energie opwekking, kook en verhitting. Daar was besluit om ‘n eenheid te bou vir herhaalde gebruik wat die omstandinghede vir elke toets konstant kan hou, bv. ‘n damper om lugvloei deur die sisteem the beheer. Die eenheid moet groot genoeg wees om veilig ‘n groot genoeg vuur the bevat waarmee ‘n goeie tyd/temperatuur profiel verkry kan word, maar terselfdetyd klein genoeg wees om te hanteer, operateer en skoon te maak. Die eenheid moes ook voorsiening maak vir die insteek van die termostate en gas peilstif. Tyd/temperatuur profiele is verkry en O2, CO2 en CO vlakke in die uitlaatgas is bepaal vir elke bio-brandstof. Die monsters was saamgestel uit vyf van die mees algemeen gebruikte brandhout spesies in die Wes Kaap, naamlik Rooikrans, Kameeldoring, Bloekom, Swartwattel en wingerdstompies, asook vyf geprosesseerde produkte naamlik houtpille, houtbrikette, kommersiële steenkool, kommersiële brikette and handgemaakte brikette. Verbranding tyd/temperatuur profiele is verkry vir al die monsters en verteenwoord waardes is daarvan afgelees, bv. die maksimum temperatuur wat bereik is of die temperatuur waar die vlamme uitgesterf het en slegs koolhitte gemeet word. Hierdie profiele het dit moontlik gemaak om te identifiseer watter produk het beter gevaar as ander gedurende die verskillende verbrandingsfases en is beter gepas vir verskillende gebruike, bv. huishoudelike kook en verhitting. Resultate het gedui dat die Bloekom en Kameeldoring die beste gevaar het oor all die toetse heen, maar was nie noodwendig ideaal vir elke spesifieke doel nie. Dit was bevind dat die steenkool en houtpille die beste gepas is vir industriele gebruik en dat die Rooikrans beter geskik is vir huishoudelike en kleinskaalse gebruik.

[pt] O método GPR Ground Penetrating Radar foi empregado nesta pesquisa visando estimar suas potencialidades como uma metodologia viável para os estudos geológicos, geotécnicos e ambientais em condições brasileiras.Para o alcance deste objetivo foram realizados ensaios em campo procurando avaliar a capacidade deste método na detecção das alterações provenientes da ação intempérica na formação do solo residual, ou seja, estimar a profundidade e espessura dos horizontes pedológicos, e o topo rochoso em um perfil geotécnio. Foram também realizados ensaios em laboratório onde fez-se o monitoramento do efeito da contaminação por hidrocarbonetos em blocos indeformados de solo residual, tanto em condições não saturadas, quanto na zona de saturação, procurando avaliar a aplicabilidade do método GPR na detecção deste tipo de contaminante.Os resultados obtidos permitiram imagear com boa resolução os contrastes bruscos, como o topo da rocha sã e blocos inclusos no solo, mas não a detecção nítida dos horizontes no perfil; e pela análise do monitoramento da contaminação, ainda é recente afirmar que o método GPR possa ser empregado com grande eficiência na detecção de contaminantes orgânicos em solo residual. / [en] The GPR method Ground Penetration Radar was used in this work, aiming at estimating its potentialities as a viable methodology to geological, geotechnical and environmental studies of Brazilian soil-rock conditions.In order to reach this objective, in situ tests have been carried out to evaluate the capability of the method in the detection of characteristics of weathering profiles in residual soils. In this case, the aim was to estimate the depth and width of pedological horizons and the bedrock in a geotechnical profile. Laboratory tests were also carried out in blocks of undisturbed residual soil of gnaissic origin. In these blocks, the effects of contamination by petroleum hydrocarbons were monitored. Both the unsaturated and the vadose zones have been monitored. The main objective in relation to the GPR was to evaluate the applicability of the method in the detection of such contaminants.The results obtained allowed to image gross contacts with good resolution such as soil-intact bedrock contacts and blocks inside soils. However, the clear detection of profile horizons were not well imaged. Regarding the contamination monitoring, it is early to affirm that the GPR method might be employed efficiently in the detection of organic contaminants in residual soils.

abstract: Arizona has an abundant solar resource and technologically mature systems are available to capture it, but solar energy systems are still considered to be an innovative technology. Adoption rates for solar and wind energy systems rise and fall with the political tides, and are relatively low in most rural areas in Arizona. This thesis tests the hypothesis that a consumer profile developed to characterize the adopters of renewable energy technology (RET) systems in rural Arizona is the same as the profile of other area residents who performed renovations, upgrades or additions to their homes. Residents of Santa Cruz and Cochise Counties who had obtained building permits to either install a solar or wind energy system or to perform a substantial renovation or upgrade to their home were surveyed to gather demographic, psychographic and behavioristic data. The data from 133 survey responses (76 from RET adopters and 57 from non-adopters) provided insights about their decisions regarding whether or not to adopt a RET system. The results, which are statistically significant at the 99% level of confidence, indicate that RET adopters had smaller households, were older and had higher education levels and greater income levels than the non-adopters. The research also provides answers to three related questions: First, are the energy conservation habits of RET adopters the same as those of non-adopters? Second, what were the sources of information consulted and the most important factors that motivated the decision to purchase a solar or wind energy system? And finally, are any of the factors which influenced the decision to live in a rural area in southeastern Arizona related to the decision to purchase a renewable energy system? The answers are provided, along with a series of recommendations that are designed to inform marketers and other promoters of RETs about how to utilize these results to help achieve their goals. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Sustainability 2011

A expansão das tecnologias de comunicação e informação apoiadas pela internet trazem benefícios crescentes à sociedade. As redes sociais geolocalizadas, televisores que fazem uso da internet e avançados telefones celulares ganham popularidade em conjunto ao aumento da disponibilidade de acesso à internet. A utilização de tais meios para o compartilhamento de informações possibilita a construção de ambientes ricos em informação e conhecimento. Incorporar tais benefícios a ambientes educacionais, propondo métodos que façam uso da riqueza de informações inerentes a tais domínios, provendo a sugestão de conteúdos educacionais é o foco do presente trabalho. Para isto, é apresentado o arcabouço teórico das áreas de Sistemas de Recomendação, Ontologias, Metadados Educacionais e Web Semântica. Revisar os conceitos e o estado da arte de tais áreas conduz a uma análise crítica das mesmas, bem como, ao conjunto de práticas para a descrição de ontologias, que atuem como núcleo de conhecimento, para aplicações educacionais voltadas a recomendação de objetos de aprendizagem. Em conjunto, é também apresentada uma alternativa para que os desenvolvedores de sistemas educacionais possam repensar a maneira como estes estão sendo desenvolvidos, abrindo possibilidades para a agregação de serviços baseados na web semântica que facilitem integrações, filtros e compartilhamentos de informações. Os resultados obtidos através do método de representação de conhecimento que foi proposto neste trabalho, prevê a descrição de objetos de aprendizagem, perfis de usuários, como indivíduos de ontologias, bem como, perfis de aplicação que possibilitam raciocínio lógico visando auxiliar a sistemas de recomendação, e também uma proposta para a migração dos atuais repositórios de conteúdos educacionais para repositórios compatíveis com triplas, também compõe o presente trabalho. / It is a fact that the expansion of the communication and information technologies supported by the Internet brought growing benefits to the society. Geo-localized social networks, televisions that make use of the Internet and smartphones became popular with the wide spread of the Internet access. Information sharing among those devices took information and knowledge sharing at a new level. Incorporate such benefits to educational environments, especially when dealing with content suggestion it is the main focus of this work. To cope with this, we present a theoretical study over the areas of recommender systems, ontologies, educational metadata and semantic web. The study of such concepts and their following state of the art lead to a critical analyses, as also, to a set of practices to describe ontologies that can act as the knowledge core of learning object recommendation. Parallel to that, it is also presented an alternative for educational systems designers to reconsider the way that they are being developed, allowing the connection of a network of services, based on semantic web techniques, to provide knowledge filtering and sharing. The results present a set of practices that allow the description of learning objects and user profiles as ontology individuals, practices to build application profiles that allow reasoning over them, as also an alternative to migrate the current learning object repositories to a triple store.

Durante o ciclo de vida de um web service, diversas mudanças são feitas na sua interface, eventualmente causando incompatibilidades em relação aos seus clientes e ocasionando a quebra de suas aplicações. Os provedores precisam tomar decisões sobre mudanças em seus serviços frequentemente, muitas vezes sem um bom entendimento a respeito do efeito destas mudanças sobre seus clientes. Os trabalhos e ferramentas existentes não fornecem ao provedor um conhecimento adequado a respeito do uso real das funcionalidades da interface de um serviço, considerando os diferentes tipos de consumidores, o que impossibilita avaliar o impacto das mudanças. Este trabalho apresenta um framework para a descoberta de perfis de uso de serviços web, os quais constituem um modelo descritivo dos padrões de uso dos diferentes grupos de clientes do serviço, com relação ao uso das funcionalidades em sua interface. O framework auxilia no processo de descoberta de conhecimento através de tarefas semiautomáticas e parametrizáveis para a preparação e análise de dados de uso, minimizando a necessidade de intervenção do usuário. O framework engloba o monitoramento de interações de web services, a carga de dados de uso pré-processados em uma base de dados unificada, e a geração de perfis de uso. Técnicas de mineração de dados são utilizadas para agrupar clientes de acordo com seus padrões de uso de funcionalidades, e esses grupos são utilizados na construção de perfis de uso de serviços. Todo o processo é configurado através de parâmetros, permitindo que o usuário determine o nível de detalhe das informações sobre o uso incluídas nos perfis e os critérios para avaliar a similaridade entre clientes. A proposta é validada por meio de experimentos com dados sintéticos, simulados de acordo com características esperadas no comportamento de clientes de um serviço real. Os resultados dos experimentos demonstram que o framework proposto permite a descoberta de perfis de uso de serviço úteis, e fornecem evidências a respeito da parametrização adequada do framework. / During the life cycle of a web service, several changes are made in its interface, which possibly are incompatible with regard to current usage and may break client applications. Providers must make decisions about changes on their services, most often without insight on the effect these changes will have over their customers. Existing research and tools fail to input provider with proper knowledge about the actual usage of the service interface’s features, considering the distinct types of customers, making it impossible to assess the actual impact of changes. This work presents a framework for the discovery of web service usage profiles, which constitute a descriptive model of the usage patterns found in distinct groups of clients, concerning the usage of service interface features. The framework supports a user in the process of knowledge discovery over service usage data through semi-automatic and configurable tasks, which assist the preparation and analysis of usage data with the minimum user intervention possible. The framework performs the monitoring of web services interactions, loads pre-processed usage data into a unified database, and supports the generation of usage profiles. Data mining techniques are used to group clients according to their usage patterns of features, and these groups are used to build service usage profiles. The entire process is configured via parameters, which allows the user to determine the level of detail of the usage information included in the profiles, and the criteria for evaluating the similarity between client applications. The proposal is validated through experiments with synthetic data, simulated according to features expected in the use of a real service. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed framework allows the discovery of useful service usage profiles, and provide evidences about the proper parameterization of the framework.

A Lagoa dos Patos, por sua importância e magnitude, é alvo de inúmeras pesquisas relacionadas ao seu contexto evolutivo geológico e paleogeográfico. Para a investigação das características de seu fundo e subfundo, foram executados, nos anos de 2002 e 2006, levantamentos de cerca de 700 Km de dados sísmicos de 3,5 kHz. O presente trabalho considerou aproximadamente 153 Km de registros sísmicos levantados na célula sul da Lagoa dos Patos, objetivando a identificação e mapeamento dos eco-caracteres da área. Para integração dos dados e visualização dos resultados finais, métodos de geoprocessamento foram aplicados. Os perfis sísmicos analisados permitiram a identificação de três principais eco-caracteres, que foram agrupados de acordo com o aspecto do refletor primário (fundo), ocorrência de refletores subsuperfície e geometria dos refletores de subsuperfície. O eco-caráter A se foi definido por refletor primário (fundo) plano e forte, seguido por refletores fortes e bem definidos; o eco-caráter B foi caracterizado a partir de refletor primário difuso e reflexões de subsuperfície pouco definidas, difusas ou com aspecto de manchas; o eco-caráter C consistiu em refletor primário plano e muito forte, seguido por sucessivas reflexões múltiplas de baixa perda. Estes eco-caracteres foram relacionados à batimetria da área e aos sedimentos de fundo do local, de forma observar a relação entre estes e a resposta acústica associada ao eco. Os eco-caracteres identificados foram correlacionáveis às características sedimentológicas da área e aos processos hidrodinâmicos atuantes na célula sul do sistema lagunar. Anomalias acústicas identificadas nos registros sonográficos evidenciaram a ocorrência de grande quantidade de gás raso, disseminado nos pacotes sedimentares intralagunares. Este trabalho confirma a importância de um melhor entendimento dos efeitos da hidrodinâmica nos processos de sedimentação e apresenta informações relevantes para o auxílio de estudos geomorfológicos e hidrodinâmicos a serem realizados na Lagoa dos Patos. / The Patos Lagoon, for its importance and magnitude, is the subject of numerous researches related to its geological and paleogeographic evolutionary context. For the investigation of its bottom and subbottom characteristics, about 700 km of seismic data of 3.5 kHz were surveyed in 2002 and 2006. This study considered nearly 153 Km of seismic records collected in the south of the Patos Lagoon cell, aiming to the identification and mapping of echo-character. For data integration and visualization of the results, geoprocessing methods were applied. The seismic profiles analyzed allowed the identification of three major echo-characters, which were grouped according to the aspect of the primary reflector (bottom), the occurrence of subbottom reflections, the geometry of the subbottom reflections. The echo-character A presented distinct and continuous surface (bottom) with well-defined subbottom reflections, generally parallel and continuous, which follow the topography of the surface; echo-character B was characterized by a diffuse primary reflector and poorly defined subbottom reflections, diffuse or blurry; echo-character C consisted of a plane and very strong well-defined first reflector and presents a series of low loss multiple reflections. These echo-characters were related to the bathymetry and the bottom sediments of the area, in order to observe the relationship between them and the acoustic response associated with the echo. The echo-characters identified presented good correlation to the sedimentological characteristics of the area and the hydrodynamic processes acting in the south cell of the lagoon system. Acoustic anomalies identified in ecograms indicate the occurrence of large amounts of shallow gas spread in intra-lagoon sedimentary packages. This study confirms the importance of a better understanding of the effects of hydrodynamics in sedimentation processes and presents relevant information to support geomorphological and hydrodynamics studies to be conducted in the Patos Lagoon.

L’approche du monde étudiant ne peut être envisageable sans évoquer l’aptitude à apprendre. Les manières d’étudier, les modes d’appropriation du savoir et les variables qui peuvent influencer la qualité d’apprentissage constituent désormais un champ de recherche largement investi. La conception des étudiants de leur apprentissage ainsi que les pratiques d’étude propres à chaque filière peuvent expliquer le type d’approche développée par l’apprenant. Étant donné que la validation d’un cursus universitaire passe aussi par la réalisation d’un travail de recherche, nous nous sommes intéressés à deux types de formations médicales professionnalisantes. À travers une démarche compréhensive, le sens donné à l’apprentissage de la recherche par des étudiants en médecine et en maïeutique a été saisi. Compte tenu du sens accordé par l’apprenant à son apprentissage en général, à celui de la recherche et au regard de l’environnement pédagogique perçu, une typologie d’approches a permis de différencier le profil d’apprentissage des étudiants. La formation à et par la recherche a contribué à faire évoluer la conception des étudiants attachés malgré tout à l’utilité du savoir. Le saut qualitatif attendu à l’issue du travail de recherche ne se produit pas avec la même intensité chez tous les apprenants. Il s’avère qu’une approche en profondeur, une perception positive de l’environnement d’études et une prise de conscience de la valeur du savoir en tant que telle sont en interaction avec une forme élaborée du rapport à l’apprendre. Cependant, un accompagnement pédagogique pertinent permettrait à l’apprenant de mieux saisir le sens de son apprentissage et de gagner en réflexivité / Apprehending the students' world cannot be undertaken without thinking about their ability to learn. How to be a student, the way to study and approaches as well as the variables that can affect the quality of learning have been studied for a considerable time. The way students conceptualise their learning, together with the study approaches specific to each profession could explain the learning style of individual students. It would be useful to investigate how students conceptualise their learning for university diplomas that lead to a degree as well as a professional qualification and normally require the undertaking of some research. We have explored the example of two health professions - medicine and midwifery. An interpretative comprehensive paradigm was used to understand the meaning given to the learning of research theory and practice by medical and midwifery students. Bearing in mind the meaning given by learners to their overall learning, to the more specific learning of research methodology as well as their perception of their learning environment, a typology of approaches has enabled the identification of various learning profiles for these students. The education to and by research does not occur at the same level in all learners. This study has found that the combination of an deep approach to learning, a positive perception of the study environment and an awareness of the usefulness of knowledge for its own sake all come into play and exercise an influence of their relation to learning. However, an appropriate teaching support also helps the learner better apprehend the meaning of learning and encourages reflection

Plasma contains small, non-protein coding RNA species, microRNAs (miRNAs). Circulating miRNAs originate from tissues throughout the body and circulate in the blood bound to proteins or encapsulated in extracellular vesicles (EVs). The pattern of circulating miRNAs changes in different pathological states, leading to the hypothesis that they could act as biomarkers or mediators of inter-organ signalling. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with high morbidity worldwide. Recent work has highlighted a potential role for EV signalling in the delivery of functional exogenous miRNA into kidney cells, which may contribute to the pathogenesis of AKI. The studies described in this thesis investigate the effects of circulating miRNAs on renal proximal tubular (PT) cells. Utilising next generation sequencing technology, circulating miRNA profiles were demonstrated to change significantly following myocardial injury. These findings were translated from humans into a mouse model of myocardial injury. Investigation of EV cell signalling, using flow cytometry and nanoparticle tracking analysis, demonstrated that PT cell EV uptake was not affected by known physiological agonists. By contrast, EV release from PT cells was regulated by purinergic P2Y1 and dopamine D1 receptors. Toxic cisplatin injury of PT cells resulted in increased EV release and reduced EV uptake in a dose-dependent manner. Cisplatin toxicity in PT cells was unaffected by EVs from mice with myocardial injury, but toxicity was reduced by EVs from mice with drug-induced liver injury (DILI). Circulating EVs from mice with DILI transferred the liver specific miRNA, miR-122, into PT cells in both in vivo and in vitro models. The consequence of miR-122 transfer was modulation of downstream target genes including Foxo3 which has been implicated in cell injury by apoptosis. These findings therefore show that circulatory miRNA profiles change in different models of organ injury and suggest miRNAs can be transferred to PT cells in vivo and in vitro. The improved viability of injured PT cells following co-incubation with DILI EVs, and subsequent transcriptomic work, suggests this may be as a consequence of miRNA transfer. In conclusion, circulatory miRNAs may act as mediators of inter-organ signalling and could play a crucial role in the propagation of systemic illness.