The FermaT Transformation Engine is an industrial strength toolset for the migration of Assembler and Cobol based legacy systems to C. It uses an intermediate language and several dozen mathematical proven transformations to raise the abstraction level of a source code or to restructure and simplify it as needed. The actual program transformation process with the aid of this toolset is semi-automated which means that a maintainer has not only to apply one transformation after another but also to evaluate the transformation result. This can be a very difficult task especially if the given program is very large and if a lot of transformations have to be applied. Moreover, it cannot be assured that a transformation target will be achieved because it relies on the decisions taken by the respective maintainer which in turn are based on his personal knowledge. Even a small mistake can lead to a failure of the entire program transformation process which usually causes an extensive and time consuming backtrack. Furthermore, it is difficult to compare the results of different transformation sequences applied on the same program. To put it briefly, the manual approach is inflexible and often hard to use especially for maintainers with little knowledge about transformation theory. There already exist different approaches to solve these well known problems and to simplify the accessibility of the FermaT Transformation Engine. One recently presented approach is based on a particular prediction technique whereas another is based on various search tactics. Both intend to automatise the program transformation process. However, the approaches solve some problems but not without introducing others. On the one hand, the prediction based approach is very fast but often not able to provide a transformation sequence which achieves the defined program transformation targets. The results depend a lot on the algorithms which analyse the given program and on the knowledge which is available to make the right decisions during the program transformation process. On the other hand, the search based approach usually finds suitable results in terms of the given target but only in combination with small programs and short transformation sequences. It is simply not possible to perform an extensive search on a large-scale program in reasonable time. To solve the described problems and to extend the operating range of the FermaT Transformation Engine, this thesis proposes a constraint based program transformation system. The approach is semi-automated and provides the possibility to outline an entire program transformation process on the basis of constraints and transformation schemes. In this context, a constraint is a condition which has to be satisfied at some point during the application of a transformation sequence whereas a transformation scheme defines the search space which consists of a set of transformation sequences. After the constraints and the scheme have been defined, the system uses a unique knowledge-based prediction technique followed by a particular search tactic to reduce the number of transformation sequences within the search space and to find a transformation sequence which is applicable and which satisfies the given constraints. Moreover, it is possible to describe those transformation schemes with the aid of a formal language. The presented thesis will provide a definition and a classification of constraints for program transformations. It will discuss capabilities and effects of transformations and their value to define transformation sets. The modelling of program transformation processes with the aid of transformation schemes which in turn are based on finite automata will be presented and the inclusion of constraints into these schemes will be explained. A formal language to describe transformation schemes will be introduced and the automated construction of these schemes from the language will be shown. Furthermore, the thesis will discuss a unique prediction technique which uses the capabilities of transformations, an evaluation of the transformation sequences on the basis of transformation effects and a particular search tactic which is related to linear and tree search tactics. The practical value of the presented approach will be proven with the aid of three medium-scale case studies. The first one will show how to raise the abstraction level whereas the second one will show how to decrease the complexity of a particular program. The third one will show how to increase the execution speed of a selected program. Moreover, the work will be summarised and evaluated on the basis of the research questions. Its limitations will be disclosed and some suggestion for future work will be made.

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Plants have been used for centuries to treat a wide range of ailments in the history of all civilizations. However, a growing interest in medicinal plants requires appropriate management to prevent over-exploitation of target species. The challenge for scientists is to find equilibrium between resource exploitation and the maintenance of viable populations of target species. Sustainability of use requires an understanding of the ecological, economic and socio-cultural aspects of resource use and the interaction between these factors. This research focuses on the ecological and socio-cultural aspects required to underwrite species-specific sustainable harvesting systems for bark used for traditional medicine. The social survey conducted in the form of structured interviews with traditional healers reported 69 plant species used for medicinal purposes in the southern Cape. The results suggested that resource users are aware of the increase in demand for medicinal plants in general, attributing this to an increasing recognition of traditional medicines and increasing prevalence of diseases. Ocotea bullata (Endangered), Curtisia dentata (Nearly Threatened) and Rapanea melanophloeos (Declining), as well as Siphonochilis aethiopicus (Critically Endangered), Elaeodendron transvaalense (Near Threatened) and Cassipourea flananganii (Endangered) that do not occur in the area naturally, were identified as species in high demand for their medicinal bark properties. Given the high demand and concerns about over-exploitation, a need for further ecological research to develop sustainable harvest systems was identified. Two species, O. bullata and C. dentata, were selected from an earlier study on the response of several species to bark stripping, that was confined to a study period of three years after treatment. With this current study tree response to bark stripping and harvesting impact were assessed over a period of ten years to reveal the intra and inter-specific difference of wound occlusion (wound closure through bark-regrowth) and the anatomical decay consequences of bark stripping. This is, to the knowledge of the author, the first study to evaluate the structural-tree pathogen interaction following bark stripping on medicinal tree species in Africa. The results revealed species-specific differences in terms of both wound closure and efficiency in decay containment. O. bullata had a significantly better wound occlusion rate and a lower extent of decay. The relationship between tree diameter growth and the rate of wound occlusion allowed for the formulation of a preliminary model that will assist forest managers in developing bark harvest systems. Smaller trees showed poor bark regrowth and a significantly higher mortality, which suggest that a minimum tree size for harvesting needs to be stipulated in the harvest prescriptions. In contrast, C. dentata showed a much higher volume of decay within the stem, poor bark regrowth and a significantly higher mortality of bark-stripped trees. In conclusion, the harvesting of bark for C. dentata through bark stripping is not viable, and alternatives should be explored. O. bullata has a much greater potential for strip harvesting, both in terms of bark regrowth and the containment of wood decay following wounding. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Beskawings gebruik al vir eeue plante vir die behandeling van ‘n verskeidenheid van kwale. Die toenemende belangstelling in medisinale plante vereis egter oordeelkundige bestuur om die oorbenutting van teikenspesies te voorkom. Die uitdaging vir wetenskaplikes is om 'n balans tussen die benutting van hulpbronne en die handhawing van lewensvatbare populasies van teikenspesies te bewerkstellig. Standhoudende benutting vereis insig in die ekologiese, ekonomiese en sosio-kulturele aspekte van hulpbronbenutting, en die interaksie tussen hierdie faktore. Hierdie navorsing fokus op die ekologiese en sosio-kulturele aspekte wat nodig is om spesie-spesifieke, standhoudende oesstelsels vir bas wat vir tradisionele medisyne gebruik word, te onderskryf. Die sosiale opname, in die vorm van gestruktureerde onderhoude met tradisionele genesers, dui op 'n totaal van 69 plantspesies wat vir medisinale doeleindes in die Tuinroete gebruik word. Gebruikers is oor die algemeen bewus van die toenemende vraag na medisinale plante, en skryf dit toe aan groter erkenning van tradisionele medisyne en ‘n toename in siektes. Ocotea bullata (Bedreig), Curtisia dentata (Byna bedreig) en Rapanea melanophloeos (Afnemend), asook drie spesies wat nie natuurlik in die gebied voorkom nie, Siphonochilis aethiopicus (Kritiek bedreig), Elaeodendron transvaalense (Byna bedreig) en Cassipourea flananganii (Bedreig), is geïdentifiseer as spesies in groot aanvraag weens hul medisinale eienskappe. Die hoë aanvraag en kommer oor oorbenutting het gelei tot die behoefte vir verdere ekologiese navorsing vir die onwikkeling van oesstelsels vir die spesies. Twee spesies, O. bullata en C. dentata, is geselekteer van ‘n vroeëre studie oor die reaksie van verskeie spesies op basstroping wat beperk was tot ‘n studieperiode van drie jaar na behandeling. Die huidige studie was daarop gemik om die reaksie en impak oor ‘n periode van 10 jaar na behandeling te bepaal, en die intra- en inter-verskille van wond sluiting (wond sluiting deur die hergroei van die bas) en anatomiese verrotting na basstroping te beskryf. Dit is, tot die kennis van die outeur, die eerste studie om die struktuur-boompatogeen interaksie na basstroping op medisinale boomsoorte in Afrika te beskryf. Die resultate dui op spesie-spesifieke verskille in beide wond en die beperking van houtverrotting. O. bullata het ‘n betekenisvolle hoër tempo van wondsluiting en effektiwiteit in die beperking van houtverrotting. Die korrelasie tussen boomdeursnee-aanwas en die tempo van wondsluiting het die ontwikkeling van ‘n voorlopige model om bosbestuurders te help met die ontwikkeling van oesvoorskrifte, moontlik gemaak. Kleiner bome toon swak bas-hergroei en betekenisvolle hoër mortaliteit, wat aandui dat ‘n minimum grootte vir oesbome neergelê behoort te word in oesvoorskrifte. In teenstelling toon C. dentata ‘n baie groter mate van houtverrotting, het swak bas-hergroei, en ‘n betekenisvolle hoër mortaliteit van gestroopte bome. Ter afsluiting, die oes van C. dentata deur basstroping is nie lewensvatbaar nie en alternatiewe behoort ondersoek te word. O. bullata het ‘n groter potensiaal vir standhoudende basstroping, beide in terme van bas-hergroei en die beperking van houtverrotting na oes.

This analysis focused primarily on three main treatment methods which were re-use, recycle, and disposal wells. The re-use treatment option is when wastewater is mixed with source water in order to meet fracturing water requirements. With this option, the hope is that the wastewater for re-use will require little or no treatment at all. The second treatment option is the recycle option. This option provides high quality water for re-use or discharge to the environment using a recycling technology. The credibility of this option is heavily dependent on its ability to recycle almost all of the wastewater with little or none left for disposal or treatment. The third option is well disposal. This entails disposing all of the wastewater into a deep formation. The software used for building the model is called @Risk. The model’s costs were estimates from recent research to capture the risks and uncertainties associated with wastewater disposal. The model revealed that re-use option remains the most cost effective treatment method to reduce overall water management cost in the Marcellus. The re-use option is most viable when a hydraulic fracturing schedule is continuous (no significant storage requirement) and infrastructure is available to transport wastewater from one fracturing operation to the other. The recycle option is the second most viable disposal option. This option is most effective when the hydraulic fracturing schedule is staggered in both time and distance because distilled water from recycling facilities can be easily discharged into the environment or stored. The most unfavorable option for wastewater management at the Marcellus is the well disposal option due to the high cost of trucking wastewater to disposal wells in neighboring states or counties. It also requires the highest usage of fresh water. A well disposal option can be favorable at the onset of a hydraulic fracturing schedule when there are low levels of infrastructure, hydraulic fracturing programs are not continuous or localized in proximity, and the volume of wastewater does not exceed the capacity for injection. In this case, disposal wells can be more favorable than recycle or re-use if they are in close proximity to drilling sites. / text

Background / Aims: Maternal drug misuse in pregnancy is a significant clinical and public health problem. Consequences for the newborn infant include prematurity, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). There is increasing evidence that maternal drug misuse in pregnancy may have longer term adverse effects on infant visual and neurodevelopmental outcome. Most of the evidence regarding visual outcomes in particular derives from small uncontrolled studies with a lack of adequately powered, controlled studies to date. The visual evoked potential (VEP) can be used to assess the integrity and maturity of the infant visual pathway and both visual and neurodevelopmental abnormalities can be predicted by abnormal VEPs in infancy. Drug misuse is also associated with alteration of the VEP in adults and in animal models. Many drugs used in pregnancy can cross the placenta and enter the fetal circulation, including illicit drugs and prescribed methadone, which is the currently recommended treatment for pregnant opiate-dependent women. Hitherto few studies have investigated the effects of maternal drug misuse upon the newborn infant VEP. This study investigates in detail the effects of prescribed methadone and additional illicit drug use in pregnancy upon the infant VEP recorded at birth and at six months of age, and explores any association with NAS. The range and incidence of visual and neurodevelopmental abnormalities at six months of age is described, and how these relate to a history of NAS and the pattern of in utero drug exposure is explored. Pilot work: Pilot work demonstrated the feasibility of recording neonatal flash VEPs in a small group of infants exposed to methadone in utero, and showed that drug exposed infants had abnormal VEPs compared to unmatched controls. A further pilot study described longer term visual outcomes, which included nystagmus, reduced visual acuity and strabismus, in a selected group of infants and children exposed to methadone in utero, thus informing clinical and electrophysiological assessment at six months of age. The pilot studies were followed by a major prospective cohort study. Prospective Study: One hundred and two term infants of mothers prescribed substitute methadone during pregnancy and 50 comparison infants matched for birth weight, gestation and socio-economic group were recruited in the neonatal period. Flash and flicker VEPs were recorded from the occipital scalp of infants within three days of birth. Drug exposure was determined by maternal history, maternal and infant urine and meconium toxicology. Excess alcohol exposure in utero was determined by elevated fatty acid ethyl esters in meconium. Neonatal flash VEPs were classified as mature, typical, or immature according to waveform morphology, and amplitude and latencies measured. Flicker VEPs were analysed using a fast-Fourier transformation and responses at each flicker frequency determined. The same cohort of drug-exposed and comparison infants was invited for clinical visual evaluation at six months of age in conjunction with pattern-onset VEPs and Griffiths developmental assessment. Results: Neonatal testing: Neonatal VEPs were successfully recorded from 100 drug-exposed infants and 50 matched comparison infants at a median age of 24 hours (IQR 13-44). Gestational age, birth weight and socio-economic group did not differ between groups. Flash VEPs from methadone-exposed infants had fewer P1 components (p=0.001), and were more likely to be of immature waveform (p<0.001) compared to comparisons. VEPs from methadone-exposed infants were also smaller in overall amplitude (median 27µV vs 39.5µV, p<0.001). The relative risk of an abnormal VEP in the methadone-exposed cohort was 5.6 with an attributable risk percent of 82%. The majority of infants were exposed to illicit drugs in addition to prescribed methadone, most commonly opiates (74%) and benzodiazepines (66%). VEPs did not differ between infants exposed to opiates only, those additionally exposed to benzodiazepines and those exposed to stimulants. Regression analysis confirmed that the difference in VEP parameters between drug-exposed and comparison infants was associated with methadone exposure and not other drugs of misuse. 48% of the methadone-exposed cohort developed NAS requiring pharmacological treatment; there was no association between neonatal VEPs and subsequent onset or severity of NAS. Flicker VEP analysis demonstrated an optimal flicker frequency of 4.6 Hz in both groups, but there were few differences in the proportion of responses between groups. Six month follow-up: Retention rate to six month follow-up was 79% for the methadone-exposed cohort and 52% for comparison infants. Age at assessment (median 27 weeks, range 26-30 wk), weight and OFC did not differ between groups. The demographic characteristics of comparison infants who were followed up were compared to those of comparison infants who were not followed up. There were no significant differences in birth weight (2 sample t-test p=0.445), OFC (2 sample t-test p=0.712), gestation (Mann-Whitney test p=0.984), 5-minute Apgar score (Mann-Whitney test p=0.263) or DEPCAT score (Mann-Whitney test p=0.258) between groups. Methadone-exposed infants were more likely to have visual abnormalities than comparison infants, even after correcting for excess in utero alcohol exposure (40% vs 8%; adjusted p=0.007). Abnormalities in the methadone-exposed cohort included nystagmus (11%), strabismus (25%) and reduced visual acuity (22%). The relative risk of an abnormal visual outcome in the methadone-exposed cohort was 5.1 with an attributable risk percent of 80%. Electrophysiological abnormalities persisted at six months of age: methadone- exposed infants had smaller amplitude pattern VEPs (25 μV vs 34 μV; p=0.005) with delayed peak latencies (115ms vs 99ms; p=0.019) and fewer responses at the small check size (p=0.003), compared to controls. Methadone-exposed infants had significantly lower neurodevelopmental scores compared to comparison infants (GQ 97 for cases vs 105 for controls; p<0.001), even after correcting for maternal smoking, antidepressant treatment and excess alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Infants exposed to poly-drug misuse and treated for NAS in the newborn period performed particularly poorly on their neurodevelopmental scores. Visual impairment was an independent predictor of poor neurodevelopmental outcome and most infants scoring <85 on neurodevelopmental assessment had co-existing visual problems. Conclusions: In utero exposure to prescribed methadone and other substances of misuse is associated with an alteration in visual electrophysiology in the newborn period suggestive of immature visual maturation. These changes are independent of additional benzodiazepine or stimulant exposure, and appear to be associated with prescribed substitute methadone. At six months of age, there is a high incidence of clinical visual abnormalities in infants exposed to methadone and other drugs of misuse in utero. Persistence of electrophysiological abnormalities beyond the neonatal period suggests that opiates may have a longer term effect on the developing visual system. Drug-exposed infants also have poorer neurodevelopmental scores than matched comparison infants after correcting for maternal smoking and excess alcohol intake. The bias of loss to follow-up was minimised by the high retention rate of drug-exposed infants. Although there was a higher loss of comparison infants, there were no differences in demographic characteristics between comparison infants followed up and those not followed up, suggesting the groups were similar. In addition, published data suggest the incidence of visual abnormalities described in the comparison population to be representative of the larger population.

In winter-cities such as Saskatoon there exists a significant potential to improve cold-weather walking conditions for most pedestrians. To realize the walkability potential of a winter-city downtown, by necessity automobile traffic must be reduced. However, when surface parking lots are permitted to operate in abundance, isolated and uncoordinated, and detached from overall planning and transportation policy, automobile traffic reduction downtown cannot be efficiently achieved. In many winter-cities, Saskatoon included, downtown parking lots in fact are oversupplied. Vital space for housing, employment and public space is thereby reduced and pedestrian winter exposure to wind chill and sidewalk ice is increased by breaks in the urban fabric. Systematic conversion of surface parking lots into mixed use would not only enhance incentives to walk, but simultaneously would reduce the incentive to drive. The question thus arises whether and how can we screen a large number of surface parking lots for a limited number of candidate-sites that could be earmarked for infill redevelopment. A screening methodology that prioritizes potential parking lot sites ought to account for a wide range of criteria that address urban design, development-potential, proximity, and microclimate. In a case study of parking lots in downtown Saskatoon, a screening methodology has yielded one priority site out of an inventory of twenty-four sites. Integrated within public transit policy the proposed methodology has generic applicability to downtown areas elsewhere, and can advance the goal of safety and higher residential density downtown.

A significant change is taking place in manufacturing company strategies around the globe. With new monitoring and service methods, new opportunities of product use and service provision emerge. The manufacturing companies once focused on mere product manufacture, now have started to provide ‘systemic solutions’, i.e. products combined with service packages, which are often referred to as Product-Service Systems (PSS). Currently, there is not a well-established feedback mechanism between service and design. The aim of this research is to develop a methodology to capture, represent, and re-use service knowledge to support product design. For the accomplishment of this aim an extensive literature review of the related themes to the research area took place. It was found that the feedback from service to design is fundamental for the enhancement of product performance; however, the existing literature in this area is not adequate. The industrial investigation led to the realisation that there is not an established mechanism in place to show how service knowledge (SK) can be used by designers. An in- depth investigation took place with the collaboration of, in total, four UK manufacturing companies. The author studied both the conceptual and detailed design, focusing on the design requirements (DR) and the design/service features (DF/SF) respectively. The first step was the capture of SK and its representation using Protégé software. Following this, at the conceptual design stage, SK can be re-used through the DR-SK tool. The two main purposes of the tool are the knowledge retrieval by designers, and the identification of gaps in SK. At the detailed design stage, designers can access SK through the DF-SK tool, and the developed knowledge templates. The SKaD framework was created, as a result of the amalgamation among the SKaD methodology, the knowledge templates, and the tools developed to link SK and DR, SF, and DF. Conclusively, the framework was applied on case studies within the pump manufacturing and aerospace industries, and its purpose (to aid designers accessing and re-using SK) was validated by experts within the collaborating organisations. As a result of this research’s findings, the service personnel can capture SK in a structured manner, which can then be re- used by product designers at both the conceptual and detailed design stage.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 25-28, 1993 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / This paper abstractly introduces the configuration, main modules, and software of the ground detection system for re-entry vehicle' s telemetry. It focuses on introducing intelligent high bit rate CAMAC(Computer Automic Mete And Control) modules, high frequency CAMAC modules, adaption between CAMAC bus and telemetry bus, and writing high bit rate data into disk under the control of CCU (Central Control Unit), etc.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Meteorological measurements from the research station at Östergarnsholm in the Baltic Sea between 1995 and 2001 are used to evaluate the ERA-40 data base over the Baltic Sea. This includes comparisons of mean parameters and turbulent fluxes. The statistics concern all the data available when the measuring site was exposed to open sea conditions, and includes about 1500 hours of data. Seasonal data is compared as well. Regarding all the mean parameters compared, ERA-40 is partly in line with the results from the measurements, with various scatter. Temperature is too warm, wind speed is lower as well as relative humidity and sea surface temperature is systematically overestimated. The heat fluxes are generally overestimated by ERA-40 when compared to heat fluxes calculated by the bulk formulae, sensible heat flux with a mean value of 5W/m2 and latent heat flux with 9W/m2. The overestimation is larger for high fluxes and during high wind speeds. Friction velocity is too large in ERA-40. There are indications that the ERA-40 data over the Baltic Sea is somewhat influenced by land. A second objective for this study is to detect possible trends occurring at Östergarnsholm over a long term perspective with the aid of the complete 44 year long data set. An increasing trend in temperature can be observed, which is in agreement with other long term temperature series in the region. / Sammanfattning av ”En undersökning gällande noggrannheten och trender i ERA-40 över Östersjön” Meteorologisk mätdata från forskningsstationen på Östergarnsholm i Östersjön åren 1995 till 2001 används för att evaluera databasen ERA-40 över Östersjön. Granskningen utförs genom jämförelser av medelparametrar och turbulenta flöden. Statistiken omfattar hela den datamängd som fanns tillgänglig då havsförhållanden antas råda på Östergarnsholm. Årstidsstatistik är också representerad. ERA-40 stämmer delvis överens med de uppmätta värdena, spridningen varierar för olika parametrar. Temperaturen är generellt för varm, vindhastigheten såväl som relativa fuktigheten är för låg medan vattentemperaturen överskattas systematiskt. Värmeflödena är i allmänhet överskattade i jämförelse med flöden beräknade med bulkformeln, det sensibla värmeflödet med 5W/m2 i medeltal och det latenta med 9W/m2. Modellen överskattar höga flöden mer, vilka främst är representerade vid höga vindhastigheter. Friktionshastigheten är mestadels alltför hög i ERA-40. Ett andra syfte med denna undersökning är att med hjälp av hela den 44 år långa dataserien finna eventuella trender över Östergarnsholm. Temperaturen visar en ökande trend vilket tycks stämma överens med andra långtidsserier i Sverige.

Magnesium alloys are the lightweight structural materials with high strength to weigh ratio that permits their application in fuel economy sensitive automobile industries. Among the several flavors of of Mg-alloys, precipitation hardenable Mg-rare earth (RE) based alloys have shown good potential due to their favorable creep resistance within a wide window of operating temperatures ranging from 150°C to 300°C. A key aspect of Mg-RE alloys is the presence of precipitate phases that leads to strengthening of such alloys. Several notable works, in literature, have been done to examine the formation of such precipitate phases. However, there are very few studies that evaluated the effect stress induced deformation on the precipitation in Mg-RE alloys. Therefore, the objective of this work is to examine influence of deformation on the precipitation of Mg-Nd based alloys. To address this problem, precipitation in two Mg-Nd based alloys, subjected to two different deformation conditions, and was examined via transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atom probe tomography (APT). In first deformation condition, Md-2.6wt%Nd alloy was subjected to creep deformation (90MPa / 177ºC) to failure. Effect of stress-induced deformation was examined by comparing and contrasting with precipitation in non-creep tested specimens subjected to isothermal annealing (at 177ºC). In second condition, Mg-4.0Y-3.0Nd-0.5Zr (wt %) or WE43 alloy (with comparable Nd content as model Mg-Nd system) was subjected to hot rolling deformation at a sub-solvus temperature.