Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-20T14:33:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Barbara_Cunha_Diaz.pdf: 9107131 bytes, checksum: c5f5e680e9b3857970621c3877339f43 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-12-20 / The performance of a substrate is closely related to their physical and chemical properties, and the prior knowledge and study of these characteristics, permit evaluation of its quality and adjust to different use conditions. The agricultural problem in the production of plants in containers is to ensure optimal conditions for biomass production with a development of roots restricted to a small volume of substrate. Physical characterization aims to study the distribution volume of solid material, water and air, which is crucial for plant development. Currently the methodology applied in determining the physical properties of substrates is the same used for soil, presenting some limitations due to some peculiar attributes of the materials used as substrates. The objectives of this study were to develop a methodology for using the centrifuge for determining the water retention in substrates and compare two methods for determining the water retention curve applied to substrates, the tension table method combined with the Richards pressure chamber with the method of centrifuge. The study was conducted at Embrapa Temperate Climate in two steps. The first stage of the study was conducted to determine the centrifugation time necessary to extract all the water available to a given tension. In the second step the two methods were compared using the volume of water retained at different tensions. The study worked on five different substrates: 100% carbonized rice husks; 75% carbonized rice husks + 25% burnt rice husks, 50% carbonized rice husks + 50% burnt rice husks, 25% carbonized rice husks +75% burnt rice husks and 100% burnt rice husk, and three different tensions, 1KPa, 5 KPa and 10 KPa. As a result of the first step the time of two hours of centrifugation was adopted, period considered sufficient for obtaining the equilibrium of retained water in the sample at different tensions. The results showed that the determination of water retention curve of substrates through the centrifuge method, is a potentially viable alternative to the method of the tension table and pressure chamber Richards. / O desempenho de um substrato encontra-se intimamente relacionado com suas propriedades físicas e químicas, sendo que o conhecimento e estudo prévio destas características, além de possibilitar a avaliação de sua qualidade, permite o ajuste às diferentes condições de uso. O problema agronômico da produção de plantas em recipientes é o de assegurar condições ótimas à produção de biomassa com um desenvolvimento de raízes restrito a um pequeno volume de substrato. A caracterização física tem por objetivo o estudo da distribuição volumétrica do material sólido, da água e do ar, fatores fundamentais para o desenvolvimento das plantas. Atualmente, a metodologia aplicada na determinação das propriedades físicas dos substratos é a mesma utilizada para solos, encontrando limitações em função de alguns atributos peculiares dos materiais empregados como substratos. Os objetivos do trabalho foram desenvolver metodologia para utilização da centrifuga para a determinação da retenção de água em substratos e comparar dois métodos de determinação da curva de retenção de água, em sua aplicação a substratos, o método da mesa de tensão combinado à câmara de pressão de Richards e o método da centrifuga. O trabalho foi realizado na Embrapa Clima Temperado, em duas etapas. Na primeira etapa foi realizado o estudo de tempo de centrifugação necessário para a extração de toda a água disponível a uma determinada tensão. Na segunda etapa compararam-se efetivamente os dois métodos através do volume de água retida nas diferentes tensões. No estudo foram trabalhados cinco diferentes substratos: 100% casca de arroz carbonizada; 75% casca de arroz carbonizada + 25% casca de arroz queimada; 50% casca de arroz carbonizada + 50% casca de arroz queimada; 25% casca de arroz carbonizada +75% casca de arroz queimada e 100% casca de arroz queimada, e três diferentes tensões, 1KPa, 5 KPa e 10 KPa. Como resultado da primeira etapa adotou-se o tempo de duas horas de centrifugação, período considerado suficiente para a obtenção do equilíbrio da água retida na amostra nas diferentes tensões. A determinação da curva de retenção de água de substratos através do método da centrífuga apresenta-se como uma alternativa potencialmente viável ao método da mesa de tensão e da câmara de pressão de Richards. .

The thesis work is conducted in the division of computer engineering at thedepartment of electrical engineering in Linköping University. During the thesiswork, a configurable Direct Memory Access (DMA) controller was designed andimplemented. The DMA controller runs at 200MHz under 65nm digital CMOS technology. The estimated gate count is 26595. The DMA controller has two address generators and can provide two clocksources. It can thus handle data read and write simultaneously. There are 16channels built in the DMA controller, the data width can be 16-bit, 32-bit and64-bit. The DMA controller supports 2D data access by configuring its intelligentlinking table. The DMA is designed for advanced DSP applications and it is notdedicated for cache which has a fixed priority.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Previous studies have shown that the use of chloride mass balance (CMB) method is a suitable and practical approach to estimate groundwater recharge. This enables the prediction of groundwater availability to inform practical strategies for managing groundwater resources. However, such studies have largely applied the chloride mass balance method on national and catchment scales with limited focus on quaternary catchment level (QCL). Neglecting the chloride mass balance method at quaternary catchment level limits practical management and utilization of water resources at quaternary catchment level. The goal of the current study was to prove that 1) the chloride mass balance method should be applied at quaternary catchment level to ensure practical assessment of groundwater availability and that 2) chloride mass balance assessment should be accompanied with supplementary methods for its application in quaternary catchments of similar physiographic and hydrogeologic conditions. To achieve these goals, the present study assessed the application of chloride mass balance method on a pilot scale used alongside rainwater infiltration breakthrough (RIB) and water table fluctuation (WTF) methods to estimate the groundwater recharge as an indicator of groundwater availability. The pilot area (PA) was in the upper Berg River catchment in Western Cape in South Africa. Chloride concentrations were determined in groundwater samples collected from boreholes and rain water in rain gauges in the pilot area. Rainfall and borehole water levels in the pilot area were used in water table fluctuation and rainwater infiltration breakthrough analyses. As quality assurance, the specific yield data obtained from the pumping test were compared to those determined with the linear regression model. This established the reliability of the analysis i.e. the relationship between groundwater level and rainfall. Mean groundwater recharge values calculated using the chloride mass balance, rainwater infiltration breakthrough and water table fluctuation methods were 27.6 %, 23.67 %, and 22.7 % of the total precipitation received in the catchment, respectively. These results indicate that the use of these three methods have potential to estimate groundwater recharge at quaternary level which is the basic unit of water management in South Africa. These findings agree with previous studies conducted in the same catchment that indicate that mean groundwater recharge ranges between 18.6 % and 28 % of the total precipitation. In the future, these methods could be tested in catchments which have physiographic and hydrogeologic conditions similar to those of the current pilot area. / African Union (AU)

The Hundred Table environment is one of the mathematical environments created by the authors of mathematics textbooks published by FRAUS using the Hejný Method, and this paper investigates it further. The theoretical section looks at the current teaching of mathematics and theories of pupils' cognitive process. It further defines the term 'table' and looks at work with it within FRAUS mathematics textbooks using the Hejný Method. Key here are tasks using the Hundred Table environment, which are further described according to type. The objectives of tasks using this environment are also stated. The theoretical section also gives a description of how Hundred Tables appear in various textbooks, materials and other mathematical situations. The experimental section describes three experiments which I undertook to find an appropriate method for implementing Hundred Tables within teaching. I created a number of new tasks for these experiments and investigated what methods pupils used to solve these tasks. KEY WORDS Hundred Table environment, motivation, pupils' cognitive process, table, task solving methods, mathematics textbooks for Primary School, ways of Hundred Tables, sum of centrally symmetric figures, rectangles in Hundred Tables

Magister Scientiae - MSc / The research was driven by a need to increase the knowledge base concerning wetland ecological responses, as well as to identify and evaluate the factors driving the functioning of the Franschhoek Trust Wetland. An ecohydrological study was undertaken in which vegetation cover, depth to groundwater, water and soil chemistry were monitored at 14 sites along three transects for a 12 month period. The parameters used include temperature, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, chloride, bicarbonate, sulphate, total nitrogen, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and phosphorus. T-tests and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were used to analyze trends and to express the relationship between abiotic factors and vegetation. / South Africa

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / Groundwater is an important water resource to be used to supplement the water demand for the City of Cape Town for present and future generations. Understanding the groundwater occurrence of the Table Mountain area is very important for future groundwater exploitation and management. Apart from the sea in the west, Table Mountain is mostly surrounded by the unconsolidated sediments including the Kirstenbosch, Newlands, and Oranjezicht areas. These areas are rich in groundwater resources, like springs; some of them were utilized, others not. However, there are few studies that focused on spring resource in this area. No up to date information is available for spring resources research and relative data is lacking from local research institutions. In fact, some of the spring resources in the Table Mountain area had been extracted and been utilized for local community for many years. Data and information newly obtained from this study about such groundwater resources will help future groundwater development and management. There are at least 13 springs in the selected study area. Those springs were investigated for groundwater occurrence, because spring is an important manifestation of the underlying aquifer through which groundwater dynamics can be detected. The main objective of the study was to sketch a clear picture of groundwater occurrence and to obtain an improved understanding of how geomorphology affects groundwater flow, its manifestation and quality. Water resources management is also important because this kind of water resource can be used to help meet the water demand of this local area in the future. There is relationship between the topographical features of the Table Mountain and spring occurrence. The research area delineated is used to interpret the relationship. Hydro-geochemical analysis is carried out to indicate the chemical components of the groundwater and to understand the groundwater type and water quality of this particular area. Based on the completed analysis and interpretation of factors influencing discharge and recharge, some good results were obtained and useful information is made available for first time. / South Africa

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The Table Mountain Group (TMG) Aquifer is a huge aquifer system which may provide large bulk water supplies for local municipalities and irrigation water for agriculture in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape Provinces in South Africa. In many locations, water pressure in an aquifer may force groundwater out of ground surface so that the borehole drilled into the aquifer would produce overflow without a pump. Appropriate testing and evaluation of such artesian aquifers is very critical for sound evaluation and sustainable utilization of groundwater resources in the TMG area. However, study on this aspect of hydrogeology in TMG is limited. Although the flow and storage of TMG aquifer was conceptualised in previous studies, no specific study on artesian aquifer in TMG was made available. There are dozens of flowing artesian boreholes in TMG in which the pressure heads in the boreholes are above ground surface locally. A common approach to estimate hydraulic properties of the aquifers underneath is to make use of free-flowing and recovery tests conducted on a flowing artesian borehole. However, such testing approach was seldom carried out in TMG due to lack of an appropriate device readily available for data collection. A special hydraulic test device was developed for data collection in this context. The test device was successfully tested at a flowing artesian borehole in TMG. The device can not only be used to measure simultaneous flow rate and pressure head at the test borehole, but also be portable and flexible for capturing the data during aquifer tests in similar conditions like artesian holes in Karoo, dolomite or other sites in which pressure head is above ground surface. The straight-line method proposed by Jacob-Lohman is often adopted for data interpretation. However, the approach may not be able to analyse the test data from flowing artesian holes in TMG. The reason is that the TMG aquifers are often bounded by impermeable faults or folds at local or intermediate scale, which implies that some assumptions of infinite aquifer required for the straight-line method cannot be fulfilled. Boundary conditions based on the Jacob-Lohman method need to be considered during the simulation. In addition, the diagnostic plot analysis method using reciprocal rate derivative is adapted to cross-check the results from the straight-line method. The approach could help identify the flow regimes and discern the boundary conditions, of which results further provide useful information to conceptualize the aquifer and facilitate an appropriate analytical method to evaluate the aquifer properties. Two case studies in TMG were selected to evaluate the hydraulic properties of artesian aquifers using the above methods. The transmissivities of the artesian aquifer in TMG range from 0.6 to 46.7 m2/d based on calculations with recovery test data. Storativities range from 10-4 to 10-3 derived from free-flowing test data analysis. For the aquifer at each specific site, the transmissivity value of the artesian aquifer in Rawsonville is estimated to be 7.5–23 m2/d, with storativity value ranging from 2.0×10-4 to 5.5×10-4. The transmissivity value of the artesian aquifer in Oudtshoorn is approximately 37 m2/d, with S value of 1.16×10-3. The simulation results by straight-line and diagnostic plot analysis methods, not only imply the existence of negative skin zone in the vicinity of the test boreholes, but also highlight the fact that the TMG aquifers are often bounded by impermeable faults or folds at local or intermediate scale. With the storativity values of artesian aquifers derived from data interpretation, total groundwater storage capacity of aquifers at two case studies was calculated. The figures will provide valuable information for decision-makers to plan and develop sustainable groundwater utilization of artesian aquifers in local or intermediate scales. With the hydraulic test device readily available for data collection, more aquifer tests can be carried out in other overflow artesian boreholes in TMG. It becomes feasible to determine the hydraulic properties of artesian aquifers for the entire TMG. Thereof quantification of groundwater resources of artesian aquifers in TMG at a mega-scale becomes achievable. This would also contribute towards global research initiative for quantification of groundwater resources at a mega-scale.

Consumer loans are part of loan products provided by bank institutions. This diploma thesis is focused on possibility of identifying risk clients with the consumer loans, using available data set. In the first part of the work was briefly mentioned the credit process and also theoretical basis of statistic methods used in empirical part of the work. In the second part were investigated dependencies, and was described the clients structure. Then the discriminant analysis was applied, with the aim to identify the sorting criteria, which could recognize the risk and unproblematic clients. Subsequently the results of the analysis were evaluated and described the identified connections.

The daily routine of every human is structured by the belly. Not only is food important for survival but also initiates the most fundamental ritual in the everyday, eating. It forms a catalyst for socialising from the essential to the festive level. Architecture of the everyday should be able to accommodate these rituals. By using food and the ritual around the table as analogy, an architecture that is viable everyday can be studied. This dissertation further stresses the importance of the architect as anthropologist, where the designer should be preoccupied with the study of ritual and meaning in a cultural context and so translate it to the built environment. A food market is proposed in the Pretoria Central Business District (CBD). In the contemporary city, supermarkets have dominated the urban fabric. As it is the place where one buys one food, the supermarket becomes the anchor point in the city landscape. With the current global climate crisis, the way people live is questioned, even the manner one goes about to buy food. Supermarkets have dominated the market and let the consumer be isolated from the producer and the rural landscape. Not only has the supermarket cover the interdependency of the urban and the rural but also eliminated the social aspect that surrounds the procurement of food. The opportunity of a vibrant public area is replaced by a place of efficiency. The proposed market should be a means to reinstate the relationship between the urban society and the rural landscape. The opportunity what food creates for social engagement should be activated in this public space. This new market is sited west of Church Square, near the Steenhovenspruit. This area is in a state of despair, with vacant buildings and abandoned land. The only buildings in close proximity are high rise residential buildings; the Kruger Park Complex that is currently vacant and; Schubart Park Complex that is in need of urgent maintenance. A new framework proposes densification of the area to create a new community in the city. This vacant land can be regenerated by initiating a new concept for a food market in the city. / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Architecture / unrestricted

The Bay of Islands Ophiolitic Complex (BOIC) is one of most well preserved and well-exposed ophiolites in the world. The BOIC consist of four massifs; these are the Table Mountain (TBL), North Arm Mountain (NAM), Blow-Me-Down Mountain (BMD) and Lewis Hills massifs. Proposed geological environments of the BOIC in Newfoundland are diverse; ranging from oceanic spreading ridge to supra-subduction setting. The BOIC has a complete ophiolite sequence as defined at the Penrose Conference (Anonymous, 1972) including ultramafic mantle rocks, ultramafic to gabbroic cumulate rocks, sheeted dikes, pillowed basaltic rocks and capping sedimentary rocks in structurally ascending order. We studied harzburgite and overlying massive dunite in the BOIC. Harzburgite is generally medium-grained, and contains olivine, orthopyroxene, Cr-spinel, clinopyroxene and rare sulfide minerals. Harzburgite is massive to strongly deformed, with local development of mylonitic shear zones. A foliation and lineation are defined by elongated and fragmented grains of orthopyroxene and Cr-spinel. Dikes, sills, veins, and irregularly-shaped bodies of dunite and pyroxenite are present throughout the harzburgite unit. Dunite is the predominant lithology of the Blow-Me-Down Mountain. It is typically fine- to medium-grained, massive, and contains minor Cr-spinel and rare sulfide minerals. Dunite contains olivine, Cr-spinel and minor pyroxenes in some samples. Olivine crystals are commonly partly replaced by serpentine along fractures and in outer rims. Bulk rock and mineral composition data suggest that harzburgites are mild to highly refractory mantle residues after partial melting. In contrast all dunite samples show a cumulate geochemical signature from a mafic melt that originated from highly refractory mantle peridotites. Our study suggest that the harzburgite in the BOIC originally formed as oceanic lithosphere at a slow spreading ridge, possibly in the vicinity of active arc systems, whereas the parental melt for dunites formed in subduction setting. The second part of this study measured trace element compositions for olivine, Cr-spinel and bulk rock of dunite. The measured bulk rock compositions are compared to those of calculated based on mineral chemistry and their abundance. This comparison suggests that the trapped melt fraction was negligible during the crystallization of the dunites. The calculated melt compositions for the dunites confirm that the melt formed in subduction setting.