Electrochromic thin films can effectively regulate the visible and infrared light passing through a window, demonstrating great potential to save energy and offer a comfortable indoor environment in buildings. However, long-term durability is a big issue and the physics behind this is far from clear. This dissertation work concerns two important parts of an electrochromic window: the anodic and cathodic layers. In particular, work focusing on the anodic side develop a new Ni oxide based layers and uncover degradation dynamics in Ni oxide thin films; and work focusing on the cathodic side addresses materials rejuvenation with the aim to eliminate degradation. In the first part of this dissertation work, iridium oxide is found to be compatible with acids, bases and Li+-containing electrolytes, and an anodic layer with very superior long-term durability was developed by incorporating of small amount (7.6 at. %) of Ir into Ni oxide. This film demonstrated sustained cycle-dependent growth of charge density and electrochromic modulation even after 10,000 CV cycles. The (111) and (100) crystal facets in Ni oxide are found to possess different abilities to absorb cation and/or anion, which yields different degrees of coloration and this is very significant for the electrochromic properties. The degradation of charge capacity in Ni oxide has an inevitable rapid decay in the first hundreds of cycles, subsequently combined with a more gradual decay, which is independent of applied potential and film composition. The consistent phenomenon can be very well modeled by power-law or stretched exponential decay; however the two models are indistinguishable in the current stage. Interestingly, in both models, the power-law exponent is 0.2 ≤ p ≤ 0.8, with most of the values around 0.5, in line with normal or anomalous diffusion models. The second part of dissertation work deals with cathodic WO3 and TiO2. WO3 suffers from ion trapping induced degradation of charge capacity and optical modulation upon electrochemical cycling. This speculation is strongly supported by direct evidence from Time-of-Flight Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (ToF-ERDA). Most importantly, this ion trapping induced degradation can be eliminated by a galvanostatic de-trapping process. Significant ion-trapping takes place when x exceeds ~0.65 in LixWO3. The trapped ions are stable in the host structure, meaning that the ions cannot de-trap without external stimuli. The similar work done on TiO2 significantly complements and extends the work on the recuperation of WO3; the difference is that the trapped ions in host TiO2 seem to be less stable compared with the trapped ions in WO3.     Overall, this dissertation presents a refined conceptual framework for developing superior electrochromic windows in energy efficient buildings.

INTRODUÇÃO: A presença de rugas na face devido à hipercinese muscular é comum nas regiões frontal, glabelar e peri-orbitárias. São descritos diversos métodos para o tratamento das rugas de expressão, como a dermoabrasão, a ablação a laser, o laser não ablativo, preenchimentos, cirurgia e aplicações de toxina botulínica. O tratamento das rugas da face com toxina botulínica tipo A é método consagrado, porém são pouco definidos os efeitos a longo prazo. Este estudo retrospectivo teve como objetivo avaliar as rugas das regiões frontal e glabelar da face em pacientes submetidas a aplicações seriadas da toxina botulínica tipo A com finalidade estética, analisando os intervalos entre as aplicações e as doses utilizadas. MÉTODOS: Foram analisadas 24 pacientes do sexo feminino, submetidas entre 5 a 7 aplicações da toxina botulínica tipo A, no período de julho de 1997 a junho de 2006. O tempo médio de acompanhamento foi de 42,2 (± 4,0) meses e o intervalo médio entre as aplicações de 8 (± 0,51) meses. A idade média observada de início da aplicação foi de 48,0 (± 3,0) anos, e da última aplicação foi de 51,6 (± 3,0) anos. Foram métodos de avaliação a análise da documentação fotográfica de antes da primeira e antes da última aplicação, sendo as rugas frontais e glabelares avaliadas segundo escala padronizada, e dados colhidos dos prontuários. RESULTADOS: A longo prazo, verificou-se: 1) amenização das rugas estáticas da região frontal em 62,5% das pacientes e em 37,5% tais rugas se mantiveram inalteradas; 2) amenização das rugas estáticas da região glabelar em 47,2% das pacientes, em 50% tais rugas se mantiveram inalteradas e em 2,8% verificou-se pouca acentuação; 3) amenização das rugas dinâmicas da região frontal em 84,7% das pacientes e em 15,3% tais rugas se mantiveram inalteradas; 4) amenização das rugas dinâmicas da região glabelar (corrugadores) em 63,9% das pacientes, em 26,4% tais rugas se mantiveram inalteradas e em 9,7% verificou-se pouca acentuação. 5) amenização das rugas dinâmicas da região glabelar (prócero) em 57% das pacientes, em 32% tais rugas se mantiveram inalteradas e em 11% verificou-se pouca acentuação. A média da dose total de toxina botulínica utilizada por sessão no presente estudo foi de 43,83 ± 1,25 U, e a dose total cumulativa foi de 272,08 ± 20,42 U. CONCLUSÕES: No longo prazo, existe maior porcentagem de pacientes com amenização ou aspecto inalterado das rugas estáticas e dinâmicas das regiões frontal e glabelar da face em relação a pacientes com acentuação das mesmas. Não houve variação estatisticamente significativa das médias dos intervalos entre as aplicações. A dose total de toxina botulínica aumentou de forma estatisticamente significativa até a terceira aplicação, mantendo-se sem variação significativa a partir de então. / INTRODUCTION: The presence of wrinkles on the face due to the over activity of muscles is rather common on the frontal, glabellar, and periocular regions. A number of methods for the treatment of face lines, such as skin abrasion, laser resurfacing, fillers, surgery and botulinum toxin A have been described. The treatment of facial rhytids with botulinum toxin A is widely used. However, its long term effects are not well defined. This retrospective study assesses the rhytids of both the frontal and glabellar regions of the face on patients submitted to multiple botulinum toxin A applications for aesthetic use, analyzing intervals between applications and dosages. METHODS: 24 female patients who had undergone 5 to 7 botulinum toxin A applications from July, 1997 to June, 2006 were studied. The mean time of follow up was 42.2 (± 4.0) months and the mean interval between applications was 8 (± 0.51) months. The mean age of the patients at the beginning of application was 48.0 (± 3.0) years old, and 51.6 (± 3.0) years old at the last application. The evaluation was carried through the analysis of photographic documentation from before the first and last applications, and both frontal and glabellar rhytids were evaluated according to standardized scale, as well as data collected from patients charts. RESULTS: the long term analysis demonstrated that: 1) improvement of the static rhytids of the frontal region in 62,5% of patients and such rhytids remained unaltered in 37.5% of the patients; 2) improvement of the static rhytids of the glabellar region in 47.2% of the patients, they remained unaltered in 50% of the patients and there was a slight worsening in 2.8% of the patients; 3) improvement of the dynamic rhytids of the frontal region in 84.7% of patients, and they remained unaltered in 15.3% of the patients; 4) improvement of the dynamic rhytids of the glabellar region (corrugator) in 63.9% of the patients, they remained unaltered in 26.4% of the patients and there was a slight worsening in 9.7% of the patients; 5) improvement of the dynamic rhytids of the glabellar region (procerus) in 57% of the patients, they remained unaltered in 32% and there was a slight worsening in 11% of the patients. The mean total dosage of botulinum toxin A used per session in this study was 43.83 ± 1.25 U, and the total cumulative dosage was 272.08 ± 20.42 U. CONCLUSIONS: In the long run, a higher percentage of patients showed improvement or unaltered aspect of their static and dynamic rhytids of the frontal and glabellar regions of the face, when compared to the patients that showed worsening. There was no variation of the mean intervals between the applications. The total dosage of botulinum toxin was significantly increased up to the third application, and kept stable in the following sessions.

No description available.

La régénération et la réactivation des catalyseurs industriels d'hydrodésulfuration (HDS) CoMo/Al2O3 usés permettent leur réutilisation. Étant donné que ces catalyseurs sont considérés comme toxiques et polluants, la régénération/réactivation est une procédure intéressante dans un cadre écologique et économique. La régénération permet d'éliminer les dépôts de carbone mais ne permet pas de restaurer complètement l'activité des catalyseurs de HDS des nouvelles générations. En conséquence, une deuxième étape appelée « réjuvenation », impliquant l’ajout de composés organiques, a été mise en œuvre. L’étude de l’impact des additifs est d’un grand intérêt mais de nombreuses observations restent inexpliquées. En outre, certains brevets ont décrit une procédure de pré-activation permettant d'activer des catalyseurs ex situ afin d'éviter le contact avec des composés soufrés, ainsi que de manipuler et de charger en toute sécurité les catalyseurs dans des unités de HDS. De plus, il est de notoriété publique que la sulfuration est une étape critique ayant un impact important sur les performances catalytiques. En ce sens, cette étude vise à étudier l’effet de différentes conditions de rajeunissement, de pré-activation et de sulfuration ultérieure sur les caractéristiques finales des catalyseurs. Dans ce travail, trois catalyseurs régénérés et pré-activés ont été étudiés après différents protocoles de sulfuration. Les catalyseurs ont été testés et comparés dans la HDS de thiophène et SRGO. Aussi, l’influence des composés organiques ajoutés lors de la réjuvenation a été étudiée par différentes techniques (XPS, CO / IR, TEM…). Les résultats ont permis de déterminer les différences d'activité catalytique et d'établir une corrélation entre l'activité en HDS du thiophène et la concentration de sites CoMoS. Aucune divergence morphologique n'a été détectée dans les systèmes et les différences de performances catalytiques sont attribuées à un degré de promotion inégal. / Regeneration and reactivation of used industrial CoMo/Al2O3 hydrodesulfurization (HDS) catalysts allows reusing them. Since these catalysts are considered toxic and pollutant, regeneration/reactivation is an interesting procedure from an economical and ecological point of view. The regeneration allows removing carbon deposits but, by itself, does not restore completely the activity of new generations of HDS catalysts. Consequently, a second stage named rejuvenation, involving addition of organic compounds has been implemented. The study of the impact of additives is of great interest but many observations remain unexplained. Furthermore, some patents have described a pre-activation procedure that allows activating catalysts ex situ in order to avoid contact with sulfur compounds and a safe handling and loading of the catalysts in HDS units. In addition, it is common knowledge that sulfidation is a critical stage that impacts strongly the catalytic performance. In this sense, this study aims to study the effect of different rejuvenation, pre-activation and subsequent sulfidation conditions on final characteristics of catalysts. In this work three rejuvenated and pre-activated catalysts were studied after different sulfidation protocols. Catalysts were tested and compared in thiophene and SRGO HDS. Additionally, the influence of the organic compounds added during rejuvenation was studied by different techniques (XPS, CO/IR, TEM…). Results allowed determining differences in catalytic activity and establishing a correlation between thiophene HDS activity and CoMoS concentration. No morphological divergences were detected in the systems, instead, differences in catalytic performances are attributed to an unequal promotion degree

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T17:37:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Luiz Roberto_Faganello.pdf: 3165307 bytes, checksum: 227415100c749ddca305fcc14c6d386b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-03-23 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / It was developed a study on vegetative propagation on the rooting of Cordia trichotoma semi-woody in Summer and Fall of 2011. Therefore this study aimed to evaluate the effects of different concentrations of IBA (indolbutiric acetic) and NAA (naphthalene acetic) acids on the rooting and establishment of Cordia trichotoma semi-woody cuttings gathered from the sprout of Cordia trichotoma seedlings. To accomplish the objective of this study, two experiments were conducted. The first experiment considers the effect of different concentrations of IBA (Indolbutiric) and NAA (naphthalene acetic) acids on the rooting of Cordia trichotoma stem cutting gathered from the sprout of Cordia trichotoma seedlings produced by seeds, in February 2011, using micro sprinkler irrigation, eight times a day. Cordia trichotoma seedlings were produced by seeds constituting a miniclonal garden with subsequent pruning of the aerial part. Sprouts were harvested resulting in semi-woody cuttings with 12.0 cm long and 5.5 mm in diameter and a pair of leaves in the apical portion reduced in a half. The treatments consisted of fast immersion of the cuttings base in IBA and NAA acids in concentrations of 0, 2.000, 4.000, 6.000, 8.000 mg i.a. L-1 in a randomized block design with factorial arrangement 2 x 5. After 60 days of cutting, rooting percentage, roots number and length, sprouting percentage, the number of shoots and new leaves were evaluated as well as the survival and mortality. When there were differences, the averages were compared by F test at 5 % probability. For concentrations, it was used a polynomial regression analysis to 1 % by F test. The vegetal regulator IBA at a concentration of 8.000 mg L-1 showed higher cutting rootings. The cutting originated from seedlings produced by seeds must be better investigated as an alternative to the vegetative propagation of the species in Summer. The second experiment describes the effect of different concentrations of IBA (Indolbutiric acetic) and NAA (naphthalene acetic) acids on the rooting of stem cuttings gathered from the sprout of Cordia trichotoma seedlings in May 2011, produced by seeds using intermittent mist. Cordia trichotoma seedlings were produced by seeds constituting a miniclonal garden with subsequent pruning of the aerial part. Sprouts were harvested, from the pruning of the previous harvest, resulting in semi-woody cuttings with 12.0 cm long and 5.5 mm in diameter and a pair of leaves in the apical portion reduced in a half. The treatments consisted of fast immersion of the cuttings base in IBA and NAA acids in concentrations of 0, 2.000, 4.000, 6.000, 8.000 mg i.a. L-1 in a randomized block design with factorial arrangement 2 x 5. After 70 days of cutting, rooting percentage, roots number and length, sprouting percentage, the number of shoots and new leaves were evaluated as well as the survival and mortality. When there were differences, the averages were compared by F test at 5 % probability. For concentrations, it was used a polynomial regression analysis to 1 % by F test. The use of plant growth regulator IBA resulted in increased callus formation in cuttings. The cuttings originated from seedlings produced by seed must be further investigated as an alternative to vegetative propagation of the species for this time of year. / Desenvolveu-se um estudo para propagação vegetativa a partir de miniestacas de louro-pardo (Cordia trichotoma Vell. Arrabida ex Steudel) com a coleta dos propágulos no verão e outono de 2011. Assim o presente trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar os efeitos de diferentes concentrações do ácido indolbutírico (IBA) e do ácido naftalenoacético (NAA) no enraizamento e estabelecimento de miniestacas coletadas de brotações de mudas de louro-pardo. Para atender o objetivo deste trabalho, foram realizados dois experimentos. O primeiro experimento aborda o efeito de diferentes concentrações do IBA e NAA no enraizamento de miniestacas caulinares coletadas de brotações de mudas de louro-pardo produzidas por sementes, no mês de fevereiro de 2011, com o uso de irrigação por micro-aspersão, oito vezes ao dia. As mudas de louro-pardo foram produzidas através de sementes, selecionadas e constituindo um jardim miniclonal com posterior poda da parte aérea. As brotações foram colhidas resultando em miniestacas com 12,0 cm de comprimento, 5,5 mm de diâmetro e um par de folhas na porção apical reduzido pela metade. Os tratamentos compreenderam a imersão rápida da base das estacas em ácido indolbutírico e ácido naftalenoacético nas concentrações de 0, 2.000, 4.000, 6.000, 8.000 mg i.a. L-1 em delineamento de blocos casualizados com arranjo fatorial 2 x 5. Após 60 dias do estaqueamento foram avaliados a porcentagem de enraizamento, o número e comprimento das raízes, a porcentagem de brotações, o número de brotos e folhas novas, a porcentagem de estacas com calos, assim como a sobrevivência e mortalidade. Quando da existência de diferenças as médias foram comparadas pelo teste F a 5 % de probabilidade. Para concentrações, utilizou-se a análise de regressão polinomial a 1 % pelo teste F. O regulador vegetal IBA na concentração de 8.000 mg L-1 promoveu maior enraizamento de miniestacas. A estaquia oriunda de mudas produzidas por sementes deverá ser melhor investigada como alternativa para a propagação vegetativa da espécie com coleta de miniestacas no verão. O segundo experimento descreve o efeito de diferentes concentrações do IBA e NAA no enraizamento de miniestacas coletadas de brotações das mesmas mudas de louro-pardo, no mês de maio de 2011, com o uso de nebulização intermitente. As brotações foram colhidas, a partir da poda da coleta anterior, resultando em miniestacas com 12,0 cm de comprimento, e 5,5 mm de diâmetro e um par de folhas na porção apical reduzida pela metade. Os tratamentos compreenderam a imersão rápida da base das estacas em ácido indolbutírico (IBA) e ácido naftalenoacético (NAA) nas concentrações de 0, 2.000, 4.000, 6.000, 8.000 mg i.a. L-1 em delineamento de blocos casualizados com arranjo fatorial 2 x 5. Após 70 dias do estaqueamento foram avaliados a porcentagem de enraizamento, o número e comprimento das raízes, a porcentagem de brotações, o número de brotos e folhas novas, a porcentagem de estacas com calos, assim como a sobrevivência e mortalidade. Quando da existência de diferenças, as médias foram comparadas pelo teste F a 5 % de probabilidade. Para concentrações, utilizou-se a análise de regressão polinomial a 1 % pelo teste F. O emprego do regulador vegetal IBA resultou em maior calogênese média em miniestacas. A estaquia oriunda de mudas produzidas por sementes deverá ser melhor investigada como alternativa para a propagação vegetativa da espécie nesta época do ano.

<p>The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of community involvement on management of water tanks in the Arkavathi sub-basin in the state of Karnataka, South India. Water management was analysed from a socio-environmental perspective, with emphasis on village-level stakeholders’ roles and perceived responsibility. The efficiency of community participation was investigated by comparing two villages having undergone the same World Bank launched program to restore water bodies traditionally used to sustain the livelihood of the rural population. In one village there was a resistance towards how the implementation of the tank rejuvenation project had been performed, in the other there was no local involvement.</p><p>A minor field study was conducted by visiting the two villages. Qualitative interviews were held with village-level stakeholders of three age groups, to analyse changes over time in knowledge and attitudes. Additionally, ocular observation and photo documentation were made of the study areas. Some informal interviews were carried out with members of an external non-governmental organisation and locals in the study villages. The collected data were analysed by comparing the results for the two villages, as well as the results of the different age groups and genders.</p><p>There were significant differences in awareness and sense of responsibility, but not knowledge, between the two villages. In the village with a community involvement resisting the governmental scheme for tank renovation, this involvement had proved to be of some advantage to the local community. Contrary to the guidelines, the governmental implementation of the water management strategy did not include local stakeholders’ participation, nor were the tanks restored. Overall, the villagers considered the tank management to be the responsibility of external authorities. There were generally no significant differences between the age groups or men and women, though there were indications of a lower level of knowledge and awareness in women. Absence of effective institutions for water management on all levels as well as difficulties in mainatining efficient village level leadership for community participation are factors causing a major gap between planning and implementation.</p>

The probabilistic safety assessment of engineering systems involving high-consequence low-probability events is stochastic in nature due to uncertainties inherent in time to an event. The event could be a failure, repair, maintenance or degradation associated with system ageing. Accurate reliability prediction accounting for these uncertainties is a precursor to considerably good risk assessment model. Stochastic Markov reliability models have been constructed to quantify basic events in a static fault tree analysis as part of the safety assessment process. The models assume that a system transits through various states and that the time spent in a state is statistically random. The system failure probability estimates of these models assuming constant transition rate are extensively utilized in the industry to obtain failure frequency of catastrophic events. An example is core damage frequency in a nuclear power plant where the initiating event is loss of cooling system. However, the assumption of constant state transition rates for analysis of safety critical systems is debatable due to the fact that these rates do not properly account for variability in the time to an event. An ill-consequence of such an assumption is conservative reliability prediction leading to addition of unnecessary redundancies in modified versions of prototype designs, excess spare inventory and an expensive maintenance policy with shorter maintenance intervals. The reason for this discrepancy is that a constant transition rate is always associated with an exponential distribution for the time spent in a state. The subject matter of this thesis is to develop sophisticated mathematical models to improve predictive capabilities that accurately represent reliability of an engineering system. The generalization of the Markov process called the semi-Markov process is a well known stochastic process, yet it is not well explored in the reliability analysis of nuclear power plant systems. The continuous-time, discrete-state semi-Markov process model is a stochastic process model that describes the state transitions through a system of integral equations which can be solved using the trapezoidal rule. The primary objective is to determine the probability of being in each state. This process model ensures that time spent in the states can be represented by a suitable non-exponential distribution thus capturing the variability in the time to event. When exponential distribution is assumed for all the state transitions, the model reduces to the standard Markov model. This thesis illustrates the proposed concepts using basic examples and then develops advanced case studies for nuclear cooling systems, piping systems, digital instrumentation and control (I&C) systems, fire modelling and system maintenance. The first case study on nuclear component cooling water system (NCCW) shows that the proposed technique can be used to solve a fault tree involving redundant repairable components to yield initiating event probability quantifying the loss of cooling system. The time-to-failure of the pump train is assumed to be a Weibull distribution and the resulting system failure probability is validated using a Monte Carlo simulation of the corresponding reliability block diagram. Nuclear piping systems develop flaws, leaks and ruptures due to various underlying damage mechanisms. This thesis presents a general model for evaluating rupture frequencies of such repairable piping systems. The proposed model is able to incorporate the effect of aging related degradation of piping systems. Time dependent rupture frequencies are computed and the influence of inspection intervals on the piping rupture probability is investigated. There is an increasing interest worldwide in the installation of digital instrumentation and control systems in nuclear power plants. The main feedwater valve (MFV) controller system is used for regulating the water level in a steam generator. An existing Markov model in the literature is extended to a semi-Markov model to accurately predict the controller system reliability. The proposed model considers variability in the time to output from the computer to the controller with intrinsic software and mechanical failures. State-of-the-art time-to-flashover fire models used in the nuclear industry are either based on conservative analytical equations or computationally intensive simulation models. The proposed semi-Markov based case study describes an innovative fire growth model that allows prediction of fire development and containment including time to flashover. The model considers variability in time when transiting from one stage of the fire to the other. The proposed model is a reusable framework that can be of importance to product design engineers and fire safety regulators. Operational unavailability is at risk of being over-estimated because of assuming a constant degradation rate in a slowly ageing system. In the last case study, it is justified that variability in time to degradation has a remarkable effect on the choice of an effective maintenance policy. The proposed model is able to accurately predict the optimal maintenance interval assuming a non-exponential time to degradation. Further, the model reduces to a binary state Markov model equivalent to a classic probabilistic risk assessment model if the degradation and maintenance states are eliminated. In summary, variability in time to an event is not properly captured in existing Markov type reliability models though they are stochastic and account for uncertainties. The proposed semi-Markov process models are easy to implement, faster than intensive simulations and accurately model the reliability of engineering systems.

Overwintering of cows is a major cost in a cow-calf production system on the prairies. Winter feeding hay and straw directly on pasture is a potentially more efficient and economical system compared to conventional drylot feeding in a yard. The objectives of the research described in this thesis were to compare winter feeding cattle directly on pasture to traditional drylot over-wintering of cattle and the associated mechanized spreading of manure on pasture. This trial compared the effects of winter feeding systems on pasture nutrient distribution, nutrient recovery in soil and forage, pasture forage response, cattle performance, and economics. <p>The experiment was conducted at Lanigan, SK, on an old russian wildrye grass pasture. Pasture nutrient levels and distribution were measured before and after winter feeding, as well as forage yield, and cattle weight and condition. Nutrient capture and cycling was assessed along with the economics of the different systems. In the pasture fed systems, cattle were fed by either bale processing or bale grazing methods over the winter of 2003-2004. Cattle concentration was 2080 cow-days ha-1, with the cattle in the field for 130 d. In the intensive system used for comparison, cattle were fed in a drylot and 67 tonnes ha-1 of raw manure or 22 tonnes ha-1 of compost was mechanically spread on the pasture in the fall of 2003.<p>Soil inorganic nitrogen (N) levels (0-15 cm) measured in the spring where the cattle were winter fed on pasture were 3 to 4 times the unfertilized, unmanured control treatment, with a mean gain of 117 kg N ha-1. Soil inorganic N was not significantly elevated where manure or compost had been spread by machine. Soil extractable potassium (K) was doubled on the winter feeding sites, with a mean gain of 1209 kg K ha-1. Soil extractable K did not increase where manure or compost had been spread mechanically. Soil distribution patterns of both nutrients were highly uneven following pasture feeding, with levels of inorganic soil N ranging from 12 to 626 kg ha-1 and extractable soil K ranging from 718 to 6326 kg ha-1. Additional nutrients in surface residue from uneaten feed, bedding, and manure were also heavy and variable following pasture feeding. Greater retention of N and K from urine added directly to the soil in the field in the bale grazing and bale processing systems compared to the drylot system is believed to be responsible for high soil available N and K levels compared to manure hauled from the drylot into the field.<p>Soil extractable phosphorus (P) levels (0-15 cm) were measured in the fall of 2005. The compost treatment had the largest increase at 2.6 times the control, an additional 46 kg ha-1. Mean soil P levels did not increase significantly where the cattle were wintered.<p> Over 18 months and 3 harvests, forage dry matter yields where the cattle were fed on pasture were 3 to 5 times the control where the cattle were fed on the pasture, and 1.4 to 1.7 times the control where raw manure or compost was mechanically spread. Also, protein content of the forage was increased to a greater extent in the in-field feeding compared to hauled raw manure or compost, reflecting a greater conservation of N.<p>The gain of N in the forage over 18 months on the winter feeding sites was 200 kg ha-1 of N, almost double what was measured in soil inorganic forms. Fourteen kg ha-1 of P was also recovered. This represented 34% of original feed N and 22% of original feed P that was imported into the field. Recovery of nutrients applied in the raw manure and compost sites was much lower, with only 7% recovery of N and 4% recovery of P in the forage. This was calculated to be 1% of original feed N and 3% of original feed P.<p>The system by which the cattle were overwintered had little influence on cattle weight and condition. All systems performed favorably in maintaining body weight and condition over the winter. Some slight advantages in cattle weight gain and condition were found on the winter feeding systems compared to the in-yard drylot that appeared to be related to slightly increased feed intake.<p>Economic calculations favored winter feeding directly on the pasture by 25% over the drylot systems when the feed value of additional pasture growth over 18 months was included and by 56% when the value of additional soil nutrients was factored in. Feed costs were similar between the systems but pasture feeding had savings in machinery use, fuel consumption and manure handling costs, and gains in pasture productivity.<p>Systems that winter fed cattle directly on pasture provided gains in nutrient cycling efficiencies, pasture growth, and economic savings compared to drylot feeding systems, while maintaining similar cattle growth and condition.

As we migrate software to new versions of programming languages, we would like to improve the style of its design and implementation by replacing brittle idioms and abstractions with the more robust features of the language and its libraries. This process is called source code rejuvenation. In this context, we are interested in replacing C preprocessor macros in C++ programs with C++11 declarations. The kinds of problems engendered by the C preprocessor are many and well known. Because the C preprocessor operates on the token stream independently from the host language’s syntax, its extensive use can lead to hard-to-debug semantic errors. In C++11, the use of generalized constant expressions, type deduction, perfect forwarding, lambda expressions, and alias templates eliminate the need for many previous preprocessor-based idioms and solutions. Additionally, these features can be used to replace macros from legacy code providing better type safety and reducing software-maintenance efforts. In order to remove the macros, we have established a correspondence between different kinds of macros and the C++11 declarations to which they could be trans- formed. We have also developed a set of tools to automate the task of demacrofying C++ programs. One of the tools suggest a one-to-one mapping between a macro and its corresponding C++11 declaration. Other tools assist in carrying out iterative application of refactorings into a software build and generating rejuvenated programs. We have applied the tools to seven C++ libraries to assess the extent to which these libraries might be improved by demacrofication. Results indicate that between 52% and 98% of potentially refactorable macros could be transformed into C++11 declarations.

The availability of the Information Technologies for everything, from everywhere, at all times is a growing requirement. We use information Technologies from common and social tasks to critical tasks like managing nuclear power plants or even the International Space Station (ISS). However, the availability of IT infrastructures is still a huge challenge nowadays. In a quick look around news, we can find reports of corporate outage, affecting millions of users and impacting on the revenue and image of the companies. It is well known that, currently, computer system outages are more often due to software faults, than hardware faults. Several studies have reported that one of the causes of unplanned software outages is the software aging phenomenon. This term refers to the accumulation of errors, usually causing resource contention, during long running application executions, like web applications, which normally cause applications/systems to hang or crash. Gradual performance degradation could also accompany software aging phenomena. The software aging phenomena are often related to memory bloating/ leaks, unterminated threads, data corruption, unreleased file-locks or overruns. We can find several examples of software aging in the industry. The work presented in this thesis aims to offer a proactive and predictive software rejuvenation solution for Internet Services against software aging caused by resource exhaustion. To this end, we first present a threshold based proactive rejuvenation to avoid the consequences of software aging. This first approach has some limitations, but the most important of them it is the need to know a priori the resource or resources involved in the crash and the critical condition values. Moreover, we need some expertise to fix the threshold value to trigger the rejuvenation action. Due to these limitations, we have evaluated the use of Machine Learning to overcome the weaknesses of our first approach to obtain a proactive and predictive solution. Finally, the current and increasing tendency to use virtualization technologies to improve the resource utilization has made traditional data centers turn into virtualized data centers or platforms. We have used a Mathematical Programming approach to virtual machine allocation and migration to optimize the resources, accepting as many services as possible on the platform while at the same time, guaranteeing the availability (via our software rejuvenation proposal) of the services deployed against the software aging phenomena. The thesis is supported by an exhaustive experimental evaluation that proves the effectiveness and feasibility of our proposals for current systems.