Multivariate Statistical Evaluation of the Chemical Composition of Fine Particles : A Case Study

Monitoring and assessment of the physical and chemical constituents of airborne pollutants are now common features of the efforts of Queensland Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to protect the public from the adverse effects of ambient air pollution. This paper describes the evaluation of the profiles of the 21 chemical constituents of 24-hourly integrated fine particle samples collected by EPA at Rocklea from 1995 to 2003. Because of the multivariate nature of the data, they were subjected to the multi-criteria decision making method, Preference Ranking Organisation Method for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE) and Principal Component Analysis. The PROMETHEE results indicated that the quality of the fine particulate constituents at the site decreased in the order 1995 >1997 >1996 >1998 >2002 >2000 > 2003 > 2001 > 1999. The most important constituents influencing the ranking included the elemental carbon, sulfur, lead, bromine, vanadium, and chromium contents of the samples. Such multi-criteria ranking provides information that can assist the formulation and prioritization of mitigating measures. For example, the phasing out of leaded fuels contributed significantly to the lowering of Pb and Br in the samples. On the other hand, Principal Component Analysis showed that the major constituents clustered into groups with compositional profiles which suggested that the main sources of the particles were airborne soil, combustion activities (vehicular emission and vegetative burning), industrial emissions, secondary aerosols and sea salt. Correlation with other pollutants and meteorological data concurrently measured at the site provided further insights into the sources of the fine particles

The factors that influence the adoption or non-adoption of information and communications technologies (ICTs) by recently-arrived immigrants in the Wellington Region : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Information at Massey University

The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand recent immigrants' perceptions of ICTs, what causes them to adopt or not adopt ICTs, and the factors that influence such action. A self-selected, volunteer sample of 32 recent immigrants living in 15 households, between the ages of 12 - 65 and who came from developing countries that include Africa (5), the Middle East (4), Central Asia (3) and South East Asia (2) participated in the research. The Refugee and Migrants' Service (RMS), Wellington branch, and ethnic community leaders supported the study and introduced the researcher to potential participants. Two rounds of semi-structured, in-depth audio-taped interviews were held in the immigrants' own homes. The aim of the first round of interviews was to establish trust with the volunteers. The second round of interviews occurred six weeks later. The follow-up interviews provided an opportunity for both the researcher and the participants to validate the transcribed interviews as well as allowing further discussion on their ICT adoption. The majority of participants interviewed had a positive attitude towards ICTs. They viewed the technology as a useful tool because they saw relative- advantage benefits such as accomplishing tasks more easily, saving money on communication and finding employment. A priority on home access was evident for nearly half the interviewees who owned their computers (despite participants being low-waged and some unemployed). The major method of adoption for the immigrants who were new to computing was via friends and family. The personal one-to-one teaching, in a safe, relaxed environment was important to many migrants, as was the timeliness of the teaching. Overall, the results show that young, male participants with a relatively higher educational background were more likely to be adopters. In contrast, older female participants with little or no education were less likely to participate in ICTs. The results also show that the majority of the participants lacked computing experience. This study was exploratory in nature, therefore there is opportunity for researchers interested in understanding ICTs adoption to build on these research findings and explore in greater detail a range of factors that influence recent immigrants' adoption or non adoption of ICTs. The findings have important implication for policy makers and practitioners who wish to create an inclusive society where all members, including recent immigrants, are able to access and use ICTs and hence be able to fully participate in the information society. Recommendations, based on the study's findings, include suggestions to promote ICTs among recently-arrived immigrants community

Genetics and Genetic Response in Populations Generated from Two Cycles of Phenotypic Mass Selection in Sweet Corn (Zea Mays L. Saccharata)

Local composite varieties of sweet com (lea mays L. saccharata) offer moderate yields and eating quality, while imported hybrid varieties are less adaptable to the local environment, although having good eating quality. A breeding programme was therefore initiated at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). utilising both genetic materials to produce new superior genotypes. The main objectives of this study were to investigate the genetics of populations, and to evaluate genetic response in two sweet com populations generated from two cycles of phenotypic mass selection. In Experiment 1, a local cotnposite variety, Manis Madu and two imported hybrid varieties, Hybrid SSC 240 and Hybrid 368 were first evaluated, and found to show comparable performance. Consequently, Manis Madu and Hybrid SSC 240 were chosen as source populations for selection and were then crossed to generate the base population. In Experiment 2, the performance of the cross population was compared to its parents, and was found to show more resemblance to Hybrid SSC 240. Separately and simultaneously, two cycles of phenotypic mass selection for ear length were employed on the two base populations, Manis Madu, designated as M CO, and the intennated crossed population, designated as MS CO, at Field 2, UPM. The two base populations and the populations generated from the two cycles of selection were then evaluated and compared for general performance at two locations, Field 2 and Share Farm, in UPM. In Manis Madu populations (M), the predicted responses to individual cycles of selection were almost the same for both cycles, 19.3% in the first cycle and 19.6% in the second. The cumulative predicted response in M C2 population was 43.6%. In the cross populations (MS), the predicted response to individual cycles of selection was higher in the second cycle (26.5%) than it was in the first (16.8%). The cumulative pred icted response in MS C2 population was 46.4%. The two populations responded differently to the two cycles of selection, where, in Manis Madu populations, a positive realised response was only attained in first cycle (4.1%), while a negative one was observed in the second (-0.7%). In contrast, the cross populations showed negative realised response in the first cycle (-0.7%), while a reasonable positive one (2.08%) was observed in the second. The average cumulative realised response to selection was higher in M C2 (3.4%) than that in MS C2 0.4%). As expected, the realized responses were lower than the predicted

Evaluation Of Mulching Mats Derived From Rice Straw And Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches For Weed Control

Field experiments were conducted at Universiti Putra Malaysia during 1998 under annual and permanent orchard cropping systems to evaluate oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) and rice straw (RS) mats, with and without metolachlor as preemergence herbicide, for weed control efficacy, metolachlor activity and soil nutrient status. Under the annual cropping system, three RS mat types (1.5, 1.0, and 0.5 cm thick) and one OPEFB mat type (1.5 cm thick), with and without incorporated metolachlor (1.8 kg/ha) were compared for annual weed control. In the permanent orchard system, two RS mat types (1.5 and 1.0, cm thick) and one OPEFB mat type (1.5 cm thick) with and without incorporated metolachlor (1.8 and 3.6 kg/ha) were compared for perennial weed control. OPEFB mats effectively suppressed annual weed growth. Incorporation of 1.8 kglha metolachlor increased weed control efficacy. Increasing metolachlor to 3.6 kg/ha increased the efficacy of the mats for perennial weed control. However, incorporation of metolachlor 1.8 kg/ha into OPEFB mats had no beneficial effect in controlling perennial grass weed growth compared to mats without herbicide. RS mats without herbicide did not effectively suppress growth of most weeds. Incorporation of 1.8 kg/ha metolachlor enhanced suppression of annual weed growth up to 12 weeks after treatment. At 3.6 kglha metolachlor effectively suppressed perennial weed growth up to 16 weeks after treatment. Root length reduction in rice seedling bioassay was used to evaluate residual phytotoxic activity of field exposed metolachlor treated OPEFB and RS mats. At both metolachlor rates no inhibitory activity was evident in mats sampled after 8 weeks of exposure in the field. OPEFB mats markedly increased soil organic matter (10.6%), organic carbon (10.6%), phosphorous (15.3%) and potassium (49.<)010) with negligible increase in nitrogen (5.6%). Contribution by triple layered RS mats to soil organic matter (9.3%), organic carbon (9.3%) potassium (73.8%) and phosphorous (18.7%) was greater than contributions from single or double layered RS mats. The results of this study showed that OPEFB mats incorporated with 3.6 kg/ha metolachlor have excellent potential for weed control around newly transplanted trees and shrubs. Triple layered RS mats in combination with 3.6 kg/ha metolachlor can also be used to effectively control weeds under young perennial crops

Development of a Multi-Standard Protocol Using Software Defined Radio for a Mobile Station Transceiver

In this thesis, the Software Defined Radio Digital Control System (SDR DCS) has been developed to perform a multi-standard protocol of the handset using the GSM and CDMA systems. The SDR DCS was designed for the SDR based band digital transceiver of the handset as a control and protocol software to control and handle the operation of the handset when roaming between different protocols; it could easily and quickly let the handset reconfigure with the future protocol; it configured the handset with either of the GSM or CDMA protocol software, and scheduled for reconfiguration of the handset with the second protocol in sequence. The SDR DCS controls the download of the specific air interface environment. In order to implement the whole design in software, the design had to go through three stages. The first stage was to do all the design steps in the software using generic computing resources such as Hardware Description Language (HDL), with the top-level design for each protocol. The second stage was to define a logic circuit to perform the signal processing for each protocol; this step was applied after the simulation and synthesis, and eventually programming that circuit into the FPGA board. The third stage was to use the FPGA to implement the functions required for each protocol which constitutes the multi-standard protocol. The VHDL files were created for each element of the GSM and CDMA protocols. The GSM related system was developed with encoders and decoders linked to the channel model. The CDMA related system was designed with a transmitter to encode the user’s data into wide bandwidth using a reverse link channel and a synchronized receiver to receive the signal from the forward link channel and decode the wide bandwidth to recover the base band user’s data. The Synopsys™ software package was used for the design, synthesis and simulation of the SDR base band platform. The simulation tools used include the Model Sim and System Studio. Meanwhile, the Xilinx ISE 9.2i was used as the synthesis tool. The results of the simulated and synthesized top-level design files were downloaded into the Xilinx XSA-3S1000 FPGA board. The waveforms for the GSM and CDMA outputs approximately matched the ones seen in the oscilloscope for the FPGA output pin. This proved that the SDR DCS had successfully implemented its task, according to the objectives of the design

Environmental determinants of malaria transmission in African villages

Background Malaria transmission is complex, involving a range of hydroclimatological, biological, and environmental processes. The high degree of non-linearity in these processes makes it difficult to predict and intervene against malaria. This study seeks both to define a minimal number of malaria transmission determinants, and to provide a theoretical basis for sustainable environmental manipulation to prevent malaria transmission. Methods Using a field-tested mechanistic malaria model, HYDREMATS, a theoretical study was conducted under hypothetical conditions. Simulations were conducted with a range of hydroclimatological and environmental conditions: temperature (t), length of wet season (T[subscript wet]), storm inter-arrival time (T[subscript int]), persistence of vector breeding pools (T[subscript on]), and distribution of houses from breeding pools and from each other (X[subscript dist] and Y[subscript dist], respectively). Based on the theoretical study, a malaria time scale, T[subscript o], and a predictive theory of malaria transmission were introduced. The performance of the predictive theory was compared against the observational malaria transmission data in West Africa. Population density was used to estimate the scale that describes the spatial distribution of houses. Results The predictive theory shows a universality in malaria endemic conditions when plotted using two newly-introduced dimension-less parameters. The projected malaria transmission potential compared well with the observation data, and the apparent differences were discussed. The results illustrate the importance of spatial aspects in malaria transmission. Conclusions The predictive theory is useful in measuring malaria transmission potential, and it can also provide guidelines on how to plan the layout of human habitats in order to prevent endemic malaria. Malaria-resistant villages can be designed by locating houses further than critical distances away from breeding pools or by removing pools within a critical distance from houses; the critical distance is described in the context of local climatology and hydrology. Keywords Malaria transmission Hydrology Spatial impact Characteristic time scaleNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Masdar Institute of Science and TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of Technolog

Modeling the hydroclimatology of the midwestern United States. Part 1: current climate

An ensemble of six 22-year numerical experiments was conducted to evaluate the ability of Regional Climate Model version 3 (RegCM3) to simulate the energy and water budgets of the midwestern United States. RegCM3 was run using two surface physics schemes: Integrated Biosphere Simulator (IBIS) and Biosphere-Atmosphere Transfer Scheme 1e (BATS1e), and two convective closure assumptions: Fritsch & Chappell (FC80) and Arakawa & Schubert (AS74). Boundary conditions were provided by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction-Department of Energy Reanalysis 2 dataset and the ECHAM5 general circulation model. A companion paper examines the American Midwest under future climate scenarios. Overall, the model that reproduces the observed seasonal cycles of the midwestern United States climate system best is RegCM3 using IBIS and the AS74 convective closure assumption. IBIS simulates shortwave radiation more accurately, while BATS1e simulates longwave radiation more accurately. Summer two-meter air temperature is overestimated by the combination of IBIS and the FC80 convective closure assumption. All models contain a wet bias and overestimate evapotranspiration during the spring. Total runoff, surface runoff, groundwater runoff, and root zone soil moisture are best simulated by RegCM3 using IBIS and the AS74 convective closure assumption. While BATS1e does capture the seasonal cycle of total runoff, gross errors in the partitioning of total runoff between surface runoff and groundwater runoff exist. The seasonal cycle of root zone soil moisture simulated by RegCM3 using IBIS and the AS74 convective closure assumption is dry, but agrees with observations during the summer. The rest of the models underestimate root zone soil moisture.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Award EAR-04500341)Martin Family Society of Fellows for Sustainabilit

Performance and yield predictions in double cross hybrids of tropical grain maize

The use of double cross hybrids in maize was suggested to overcome the problem of seed production related to single cross resulting from low vigor and yield associated with the inbred parents. Double cross hybrids were known to perform quite well under a wide range of environmental conditions. As a part of an ongoing grain maize improvement program at Universiti Putra Malaysia, the best performing inbred lines were selected and crossed to produce single crosses. These single crosses were further used to produce some double cross hybrids. In this study, the performance of ten selected double cross hybrids was evaluated at two environments in the research areas of Universiti Putra Malaysia. The predicted performance of these double cross hybrids was also compared with the actual, using the method based on the mean values of non.parental single crosses. The best performing double cross hybrids, DC-26 and DC-34 were found to have high yields at both environments as well as in the combined analysis. DC-26 and DC-34 gave mean grain yields of 6125.0 and 5917.8 kg/ha respectively, at Field 2, 5648.9 and 5676.2 kg/ha respectively, at Share Farm, and 5887.0 and 5797.0 kg/ha respectively, in the combined analysis. From the correlation analysis, the actual and the predicted performances of the double cross hybrids were found to be in good agreement at each location and locations combined (r = 0.38, 0.46 and 0.27, respectively, at Field 2, Share Farm and at the two locations combined), implying that the method used for yield predictions in the crosses was appropriate

Environmental determinants of malaria transmission in African villages

Background Malaria transmission is complex, involving a range of hydroclimatological, biological, and environmental processes. The high degree of non-linearity in these processes makes it difficult to predict and intervene against malaria. This study seeks both to define a minimal number of malaria transmission determinants, and to provide a theoretical basis for sustainable environmental manipulation to prevent malaria transmission. Methods Using a field-tested mechanistic malaria model, HYDREMATS, a theoretical study was conducted under hypothetical conditions. Simulations were conducted with a range of hydroclimatological and environmental conditions: temperature (t), length of wet season (Twet), storm inter-arrival time (Tint), persistence of vector breeding pools (Ton), and distribution of houses from breeding pools and from each other (Xdist and Ydist, respectively). Based on the theoretical study, a malaria time scale, To, and a predictive theory of malaria transmission were introduced. The performance of the predictive theory was compared against the observational malaria transmission data in West Africa. Population density was used to estimate the scale that describes the spatial distribution of houses. Results The predictive theory shows a universality in malaria endemic conditions when plotted using two newly-introduced dimension-less parameters. The projected malaria transmission potential compared well with the observation data, and the apparent differences were discussed. The results illustrate the importance of spatial aspects in malaria transmission. Conclusions The predictive theory is useful in measuring malaria transmission potential, and it can also provide guidelines on how to plan the layout of human habitats in order to prevent endemic malaria. Malaria-resistant villages can be designed by locating houses further than critical distances away from breeding pools or by removing pools within a critical distance from houses; the critical distance is described in the context of local climatology and hydrology. Keywords: Malaria transmission; Hydrology; Spatial impact; Characteristic time scal

The role of mineral aerosols in shaping the regional climate of West Africa

This article examines the role of mineral aerosols in the regional climate of West Africa. Analysis is completed by comparing two 30 year simulations using a regional climate model (RegCM3-IBIS). The two simulations are identical in structure except one includes the representation of mineral aerosols via a fully coupled radiatively interactive dust emissions and aerosol tracer model; the other simulation does not. To discern the impact of dust on West Africa's climate, comparisons are made between the two simulations' surface climatology as well as atmospheric dynamics. It is found that RegCM3-IBIS and its dust model perform well in simulating the temporal and spatial distributions of mineral aerosols over the Sahel and Sahara. Consistent with previous studies over the region, RegCM3-IBIS simulates high-dust loading over the region (aerosol optical depth of 0.5–1.1), which results in significant incident shortwave radiation attenuation (25–50 W/m2) and temperature cooling (0.5°C–1.25°C). Depending on the underlying surface brightness, the top of atmosphere net radiative forcing may be positive (bright desert surfaces) or negative (dark, vegetated surface) with important implications on surface temperature cooling. Here it is proposed that the effects of dust on West African rainfall are distinctly different across the ocean-land border and the desert border region of the Sahel/Sahara. Nevertheless, in both regions, the change in rainfall is less than 10% of the total annual values. Therefore, this work concludes that the current, observed, dust loading over West Africa does not significantly affect rainfall via changes in the radiation budget. However, it is important to note that this work does not include mineral aerosol effects on sea surface temperatures, which may be significant in influencing the results