Risk assessment of trace-metal contamination in soils requires predictive models that can accurately describe the complex uptake processes at the soil-plant interface, which are usually characterized by the coexistence of and interaction between multiple components. Competing cations such as Ca and H can affect metal availability to plants and subsequent rhizotoxicity. The biotic ligand model (BLM) has been proposed as a promising approach to model these interactive processes. Under the BLM assumption, we designed experiments to investigate how the solution chemistry is correlated with metal uptake and rhizotoxicity. Our first goal is to acquire a set of BLM parameters that can accurately represent the experimental data over varied solution conditions and parameters that are easy to integrate with general speciation models. The second objective is to get insight into the physical nature of the interactions. Our titration experiments revealed three types of biotic ligands in the pea roots with defined site densities and stability constants with H. Our ion sorption experiments estimated the surface-adsorption stability constants of Ca, Mg, Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn with excised fresh pea roots. Our 48-h root growth tests have established the formation constants (KMe's) of living pea roots with Ca, Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn. In these studies, we hypothesized and confirmed that the concentration of the metal-root complexes correlated with observed rhizotoxicity and that Ca, H, and trace metals competed for root absorption where lower solution pH decreased both Ca and metal uptake. Root elongation was found to be highly sensitive to root Ca content rather than merely to the direct toxic effects of the trace metals. It is shown that the physiological complexity arising from a living root affected our modeling so that adjustable KMe values, as a function of solution and root chemistry, are required for good model fits. The established model parameters were tested in hydroponic mixture solutions for their ability to predict the uptake of multiple metals simultaneously. The joint effects of Cd, Cu, and Ni in mixtures on root growth were studied and the potential interactions between these ions were also investigated.

There are two main components to the research: the theoretical and the experimental. Chapter 2 contains an analysis of the state of soil quality guidelines and the scientific methods used to determine them. A number of recommendations to improve soil quality criteria for trace metals are offered including the importance of considering bioavailability and the need to use realistic conditions, trace metal sources and organisms. / A critical review of the literature dealing with predicting the availability of trace metals to plants is presented in Chapter 3. We found little agreement among hundreds of similar studies which relate plant metal uptake to the amount of metal extracted by selective chemical dissolution procedures. An extensive summary of the data shows clearly that the extraction methods are not widely applicable. Differences between individual soils, their metal retention capacities, as well as plant factors and environmental conditions contribute to the variability of the results. Alternative ways of assessing bioavailability are suggested. / The experimental component of the thesis focuses on the availability of trace metals to plants. In Chapter 4 the uptake of Cu from different soil pools was examined and the free metal ion (Cu2+) was found to be the best predictor of uptake by lettuce (Latuca sativa cv. Buttercrunch), ryegrass (Lolium perenne cv. Barmultra) and radish (Raphanus sativus cv. Cherry Belle). / In Chapters 5 and 6 we examined the effect of low-cost in-situ treatments on the availability of metals to plants in greenhouse and field experiments. Synthetic zeolites, P amendments, organic matter and clean soil were used and their effect on the bioavailability of Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni and Zn evaluated. The plants for the experimental work were lettuce and perennial ryegrass. Only the clean soil treatment was consistently effective in reducing the concentration of metals in the plant. We also wanted to determine whether the trace metals in the plant tissue came from the soil or from direct deposition of pollutants on the leaf surfaces. We found little evidence that metals in plants were a result of atmospheric fallout. / A method for the accurate analysis of total metal concentrations in a range of contaminated soils including those containing oil and grease was developed (Chapter 7). For this research the trace metals of concern are Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn---all commonly found in urban/industrial soils. The proposed method using HNO3/HClO4 has several advantages over the common HNO3/H2O2 procedure. We were able to digest larger soil samples and hence the final concentration of trace metals was usually in the range for analysis by inductively coupled plasma atomic absorption spectrometry or flame atomic absorption spectrometry.

Trace elements added to the soil by human activities could contaminate it and occasionally cause a threat to environmental and human health. The toxicity and mobility of a trace element are affected by the element's solubility, which in turn is influenced by the soil properties. When mobile, trace elements can be leached out of the soil. If leaching occurs at a faster rate than atmospheric deposition, element concentrations in the soil will decrease by natural attenuation. / We analyzed soil properties in 40 soils and their soil solutions to obtain a set of equations with the most significant predictors of As, Cd, Co, Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb and Zn in solution. The total element concentration and the pH were the best predicting variables of the amount of element in solution for all trace elements analyzed, while organic carbon and Al or Mn oxides also influenced the solubility of some trace elements. Using the equations predicting elemental solubility, we wrote a model for natural attenuation in the computer program Stella that considers atmospheric deposition as the input for trace elements and leaching as the output. Simulations were carried out for the 40 soils during 1,000 years with steady deposition inputs. / At current atmospheric deposition rates and the neutral to alkaline pH of these soils, attenuation occurred in most soils for Mo. For As, Cd, Co, Cu and Ni it occurred only in soils with abundant total element concentrations or an acidic pH. Minor retention occurred with Pb and Zn. Only Cd and Cu were of concern in leaching waters. The developed model can serve as a decision making tool in the selection of natural attenuation as a remediation strategy.

In 1973, Combes and Thomas discovered a general technique for showing exponential decay of eigenfunctions. The technique involved proving the exponential decay of the resolvent of the Schrödinger operator localized between two distant regions. Since then, the technique has been been applied to several types of Schrödinger operators. This dissertation will show that the Combes--Thomas method works well with trace, Hilbert--Schmidt and other trace-type norms. The first result we prove shows exponential decay on trace-type norms of a resolvent of a Schrödinger operator localized between two distant regions. We build on this result by applying the Combes--Thomas method again to prove polynomial and sub-exponential decay estimates on functions of Schrödinger operators localized between two distant regions.

An important issue in software evolution is the time and effort needed to understand existing applications. Reverse engineering software to recover behavioural models is difficult and is complicated due to the lack of a standardized way of extracting and visualizing knowledge. In this thesis, we study a technique for automatically extracting static and dynamic data from software, filtering and analysing the data, and visualizing the behavioural model of a selected feature of a software application. We also investigate the usefulness of the generated diagrams as documentation for the software. We present a literature review of studies that have used static and dynamic data analysis for software comprehension. A set of criteria is created, and each approach, including this thesis’ technique, is compared using those criteria. We propose an approach to simplify lengthy traces by filtering out software components that are too low level to give a high-level picture of the selected feature. We use static information to identify and remove small and simple (or uncomplicated) software components from the trace. We define a utility method as any element of a program designed for the convenience of the designer and implementer and intended to be accessed from multiple places within a certain scope of the program. Utilityhood is defined as the extent to which a particular method can be considered a utility. Utilityhood is calculated using different combinations of selected dynamic and static variables. Methods with high utilityhood values are detected and removed iteratively. By eliminating utilities, we are left with a much smaller trace which is then visualized using the Use Case Map (UCM) notation. UCM is a scenario language used to specify and explain behaviour of complex systems. By doing so, we can identify the algorithm that generates a UCM closest to the mental model of the designers. Although when analysing our results we did not identify an algorithm that was best in all cases, there is a trend in that three of the best four algorithms (out of a total of eight algorithms investigated) used method complexity and method lines of code in their parameters. We also validated the algorithm results by doing a comparison with a list of methods given to us by the creators of the software and doing precision and recall calculations. Seven out of the eight participants agreed or strongly agreed that using UCM diagrams to visualize reduced traces is valid approach, with none who disagreed.

Thesis (M.S. - Hydrology)--University of Arizona, 1984. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-72).

Thesis (Ph.D.) - Carleton University, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 188-198). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1993.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1993.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references.