The recent development of a framework called non-affine lattice dynamics made it possible to calculate the elastic moduli of disordered systems directly from their microscopic structure and potential energy landscape at zero temperature. In this thesis different types of disordered systems were studied using this framework. By comparing the shear modulus and vibrational properties of nearest neighbour spring networks based on depleted lattices we were able to show that the dominating quantity of the system’s non-affine reorganisation during shear deformation is the affine force field. Furthermore we found that different implementation of disorder lead to the same behaviour at the isostatic point. Later we studied the effect of long range interaction in such depleted lattices with regard to spatial correlation local elasticity. We found that the implementation of long springs with decaying spring constant reproduced the spatial correlation observed in simulations of Lennard-Jones glasses. Finally we looked at simple freely rotating polymer model chains by extending the framework to angular forces and studied the dependence of the shear modulus and the vibrational density of states (VDOS) and length and bending stiffness of the chains. We found that the effect of chain length on the shear modulus and the vibrational density of states diminishes as it depends on the number of backbone bonds in the system. This number increases fast for short chains as many new backbone bonds are introduced but slows down significantly when the chain length reaches 50 monomers per chain. For the dependence on the bending stiffness we found a rich phenomenology that can be understood by looking at specific motions of the monomers relative the the chain geometry. We were able to trace back the different regimes of the VDOS to the simple model of the triatomic molecule. We also explored the limits of non-affine lattice dynamics when describing systems at temperatures T > 0 and gave an approximate solution for the shear modulus in this case.

Orientador: Jairo Osvaldo Cazetta / Banca: Luiz Evaldo de Moura Pádua / Banca: Leilson Costa Grangeiro / Banca: Arthur Bernardes Cecílio Filho / Banca: Fábio Henrique Tavares de Oliveira / Resumo: O fósforo é um dos nutrientes mais importantes para a cultura do meloeiro, que influencia significativamente a economia da região Nordeste. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da aplicação de doses de P na produção e qualidade de frutos de melão amarelo, cultivar Goldex F1. O experimento foi desenvolvido no Colégio Agrícola de Teresina/UFPI, entre maio e agosto de 2008. O delineamento experimental foi montado em 4 blocos casualizados em parcelas (tratamentos principais), com doses de P (0, 120, 240, 360 e 480 kg ha-1 de P2O5); as parcelas foram subdivididas no tempo (tratamentos secundários) aos 20, 27, 34, 41 e 48 dias após o transplante (DAT). Nas condições de cultivo do meloeiro em Teresina, a aplicação de doses de P2O5: 1 - A produção de frutos comerciais, massa e número de frutos comerciais por planta, diâmetro, comprimento e espessura da polpa de frutos comerciais aumentaram até a dose de 278 kg/ha P2O5; 2 - Doses acima de 278 kg/ha P2O5 prejudicaram o desenvolvimento inicial das plantas e a produção de frutos comerciais por planta; 3 - As doses de fósforo não influenciaram no teor de sólidos solúveis e acidez titulável dos frutos comerciais / Abstract: Phosphorus is a important nutrient for the melon, and this culture has significant importance for the economy in the Northeast of Brazil. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of P levels on production and fruit quality of yellow melon variety Goldex F1. The experiment was conducted at the Agricultural College Teresina / UFPI between May and August 2008. The experiment was arranged in randomized blocks with five main treatments (P doses (0, 120, 240, 360 and 480 kg P2O5 ha-1) were subdivided in time (secondary treatment) at 20 , 27, 34, 41 and 48 days after transplanting (DAT). The results showed, under the conditions of this experiment, that: 1 - The productivity of comertial fruits, weight and number of comertial fruits per plant, as well as lengh and diameter of fruits and thickness of pulp increased with doses until 278 kg/ha P2O5; 2 - Doses above 278 kg/ha P2O5 tended to decrease initial planta development and production of fruit production; 3 - The phoshporus doses used do not affected significantly soluble solids and acidity of comercial fruits / Doutor

No description available.

Initially the present study was confined to the effects of ultraviolet irradiation on acid-soluble collagen. Such a study was undertaken in order to demonstrate the critical role played by tyrosine and phenylalanine in the intermolecular interaction of the telopeptides protruding from the rigid parent collagen molecule. Since both tyrosine and phenylalanine are photosensitive, and because the collagen telopeptides are relatively rich in these aromatic amino acids, carefully controlled degradation studies involving telopeptide liberation could be made. It became increasingly apparent during the course of investigation, that a better understanding of the subunit composition of thermally denatured acid-soluble collagen was necessary if a satisfactory interpretation of the irradiation studies was to be made. A subsequent study of the subunit composition of thermally denatured acid-soluble collagen resulted in the isolation and characterisation of two major and two minor dimeric components as well as the α- and β - subunits. Three acidic telopeptides and three basic telopeptides were also isolated from acid-soluble collagen during the course of the present study. The presence of the dimeric components while related directly to the method of preparation, suggested that acid-soluble collagen was largely dimeric in nature. Such a conclusion suggested an intermolecular rather than an intraolecular relationship between neutral-salt-soluble and acid-soluble collagen. While it is currently accepted that an intramolecular relationship exists between neutral-salt-soluble and acid-soluble collagen, such a relationship does not satisfactorily explain the very different solubility characteristics displayed by these soluble collagen extracts. With this in mind, and using the study on the subunit composition of thermally denatured acid-soluble collagen as a basis for comparison, the intra and intermolecular relationship between neutral-salt-soluble and acid-soluble collagen was investigated using ultraviolet and gamma irradiation. The effects of ultraviolet and gamma irradiation on soluble collagen preparations proved very similar. Although collagen samples were irradiated in solution from an ultraviolet source; and under anhydrous conditions from a gamma source, much the same degradation mechanism resulted. The initial depolymerisation of dimeric material followed by peptide fission, yielding irradiation-resistant crystalline portions of the parent triple helix, took place in both instances. At the same time, both studies indicated no significant differences in the intra or intermolecular structures of the neutral-salt-soluble and acid-soluble preparations investigated. The dimer content of neutral-salt-soluble collagen preparations was, however, noted to be smaller. To current methods for the preparation of soluble collagens, it may be concluded that such preparations are peptideless to some degree. While the native tropocollagen monomer with its full complement of telopeptide side chains may actively undergo linear polymerisation resulting in fibre formation, the soluble collagen preparations referred to above may only aggregate in a rather random fashion.

One of the primary objects of this research was to determine, if possible, the nature of the radiation damage prior to thermal decomposition. The X-ray study has not wholly achieved this although more information has been derived from it than from similar work on AgMnO₄ However, the diffuse reflections obtained do indicate, quite strongly, the creation of point defects during irradiation. This is of value since such assumptions have been made in the explanation of the kinetics of decomposition of a number of irradiated solids (BaN₆,CaN₆). In addition the X-ray work has suggested future research which should produce useful information; namely, a precise study of the diffuse reflections. Another object of the research was to attempt to determine what characteristics, if any, of the kinetics of the decomposition of an unirradiated solid would predetermine a marked irradiation effect. It is obvious that the type of nuclear growth which occurs e.g. branching chain, or power law, does not characterise a substance with regard to a possible irradiation effect . The photosensitivity, or otherwise, also does not determine whether there will be an irradiation effect. However, the one property that the substances which have been studied, have in common, is a polyatomic anion, but here again ammonium dichromate does not show an acceleration of the decomposition after irradiation. Consequently it is considered that it is not possible to say, a priori, whether a solid will undergo an accelerated decomposition after irradiation. Each new solid, unless it belongs to a particular class e.g. the alkaline earth azides , must be considered afresh. Nevertheless it does appear that the irradiation effect can take two forms: - (i) the production of an unstable compound e.g. nickel oxalate, the decomposition of which affects the normal pyrolysis; and (ii) the production of point defects which determine the nature of the subsequent thermal decomposition e.g . CaN₆ . It is possible that the effect requires an interaction of the created point defects with the existing line defects.

Prescribed fire has become a management tool utilized to restore or maintain the ecology of the mixed hardwoods ecosystem in the Ozark hills of southwestern Illinois. One effect of prescribed burning is consumption of fuel beds, including the litter layer that protects soil from erosion. Amount of sediment loss after prescribed burning in the steep topography of the Ozark hills is unknown. Erosion after prescribed burning could lead to increased soil loss and possibly stream sedimentation (Bladon etal., 2014). The objective of this research was to quantify the amount of sediment transport occurring on a watershed scale. Sediment yields were measured from five paired watersheds located in Trail of Tears State Forest in Union County, IL, USA from April 2009 into 2010. This location was selected because of the highly erodible loess soils and steeps slopes which present the highest probability of sediment transport following a prescribed burn treatment. One of the paired watersheds was randomly assigned as the control and the other assigned as the treatment. The treatment was a prescribed burn applied at standard burn prescription levels. Sediment loads were determined by collecting samples from a known volume of overland flow held in storage tanks below each watershed after rain events which produced runoff. The prescribed burn treatment significantly reduced the litter depth with 12.6%–31.5% litter remaining in the prescribed burn treatment watersheds. When data were combined across all watersheds, no significant differences were obtained between burn treatment and control watershed for total suspended solids and sediment concentrations or loads. The annual sediment losses varied between 1.41 to 90.54 kg·ha-1·year-1 in the four prescribed burn watersheds and 0.81 to 2.54 kg·ha-1·year-1 in the four control watersheds. Prescribed burn watershed 7 showed an average depth of soil loss of 4.2 mm, whereas control watershed 8 showed an average accumulation of sediments (9.9 mm), possibly due to steeper slopes. Prescribed burning did not cause a significant increase in soil erosion and sediment loss and can be considered acceptable in managing mixed hardwood forests of Ozark uplands and the Shawnee Hills physiographic regions of southern Illinois.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:33:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-09-17Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:05:53Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 abreu_flg_dr_jabo.pdf: 516269 bytes, checksum: 13df4ee9b7a423e1d9c966824d142925 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O fósforo é um dos nutrientes mais importantes para a cultura do meloeiro, que influencia significativamente a economia da região Nordeste. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da aplicação de doses de P na produção e qualidade de frutos de melão amarelo, cultivar Goldex F1. O experimento foi desenvolvido no Colégio Agrícola de Teresina/UFPI, entre maio e agosto de 2008. O delineamento experimental foi montado em 4 blocos casualizados em parcelas (tratamentos principais), com doses de P (0, 120, 240, 360 e 480 kg ha-1 de P2O5); as parcelas foram subdivididas no tempo (tratamentos secundários) aos 20, 27, 34, 41 e 48 dias após o transplante (DAT). Nas condições de cultivo do meloeiro em Teresina, a aplicação de doses de P2O5: 1 – A produção de frutos comerciais, massa e número de frutos comerciais por planta, diâmetro, comprimento e espessura da polpa de frutos comerciais aumentaram até a dose de 278 kg/ha P2O5; 2 - Doses acima de 278 kg/ha P2O5 prejudicaram o desenvolvimento inicial das plantas e a produção de frutos comerciais por planta; 3 – As doses de fósforo não influenciaram no teor de sólidos solúveis e acidez titulável dos frutos comerciais / Phosphorus is a important nutrient for the melon, and this culture has significant importance for the economy in the Northeast of Brazil. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of P levels on production and fruit quality of yellow melon variety Goldex F1. The experiment was conducted at the Agricultural College Teresina / UFPI between May and August 2008. The experiment was arranged in randomized blocks with five main treatments (P doses (0, 120, 240, 360 and 480 kg P2O5 ha-1) were subdivided in time (secondary treatment) at 20 , 27, 34, 41 and 48 days after transplanting (DAT). The results showed, under the conditions of this experiment, that: 1 – The productivity of comertial fruits, weight and number of comertial fruits per plant, as well as lengh and diameter of fruits and thickness of pulp increased with doses until 278 kg/ha P2O5; 2 - Doses above 278 kg/ha P2O5 tended to decrease initial planta development and production of fruit production; 3 – The phoshporus doses used do not affected significantly soluble solids and acidity of comercial fruits

The purpose of the study was to evaluate which method for emptying of septic tanks that contributed with the lowest particle content in outgoing water during the period of a year. The methods for emptying in the comparison was mobile dewatering using polymer, complete pump-out and mobile dewatering using mechanic separation. Within the study, wastewater was sampled from septic tanks third compartment, however, only from septic tanks that were dewatered using polymer. Samples were taken one time before emptying followed by five occasions after emptying. The results from those samples were compared to previously existing results from complete pump-out and mobile dewatering using mechanic separation. Due to differences in method for sampling, the comparison in the discussion was limited to; samples taken before emptying and two weeks after emptying from septic tanks that had been completely pumped-out and dewatered using mechanic separation. The samples taken before emptying showed the particle content after using the septic tanks for a year since the previous emptying. Based on those samples there were no significant difference between mobile dewatering using polymer and complete pump-out or between mobile dewatering using polymer and mobile dewatering using mechanic separation. Two weeks after emptying the lowest particle contents were found in septic tanks that had been completely pumped-out followed by the two dewatering methods.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:41:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:03:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Dissertação (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

Resumo: De todas as operações, a agitação de fluidos, a troca de calor em tanques e a mistura de pós são, sem dúvida, as mais usuais, principalmente, na indústria de alimentos. Embora exigindo um estudo em separado, é comum estas operações unitárias estarem presentes, em instantes diferentes, no mesmo processo de fabricação. O propósito deste trabalho é enfatizar procedimentos de projeto para problemas práticos nas indústrias de processos envolvendo estas três operações. O modelo matemático proposto para a agitação de fluidos foi aplicado na substituição das tradicionais âncoras por impelidores de pás retas e inclinadas no processamento do suco concentrado de laranja. Observou-se que o tempo de permanência do suco no tanque de resfriamento caiu de quarenta para cinco minutos em decorrência da maior ação de mistura provocada pelas pás retas. O modelo proposto acompanha bem as exigências de potências requeridas pelo suco na medida em que é resfriado...(Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: In all operations, the fluid agitation, the heat tranfer in tanks and the solids mixing are, undoubtedly the more usual, mainly in the food industry. Although requering a present research, is usual this unitary operations to be process. The purpose of this work is to emphasize design project proceeding for practical problems in the process industry involving this three operations. The mathematical model proposed to fluid agitation, was used in the substitution to the traditionals anchors by pitches flat blades in the concentrated orange in cooling tank reduce in 35 minutes resulting of the greater mixture action of the pitches flat blades. That model follow the required power for the juice...(Complete abstract click electronic access below)