A multi vector energy analysis for interconnected power and gas systems

This paper presents the first multi vector energy analysis for the interconnected energy systems of Great Britain (GB) and Ireland. Both systems share a common high penetration of wind power, but significantly different security of supply outlooks. Ireland is heavily dependent on gas imports from GB, giving significance to the interconnected aspect of the methodology in addition to the gas and power interactions analysed. A fully realistic unit commitment and economic dispatch model coupled to an energy flow model of the gas supply network is developed. Extreme weather events driving increased domestic gas demand and low wind power output were utilised to increase gas supply network stress. Decreased wind profiles had a larger impact on system security than high domestic gas demand. However, the GB energy system was resilient during high demand periods but gas network stress limited the ramping capability of localised generating units. Additionally, gas system entry node congestion in the Irish system was shown to deliver a 40% increase in short run costs for generators. Gas storage was shown to reduce the impact of high demand driven congestion delivering a reduction in total generation costs of 14% in the period studied and reducing electricity imports from GB, significantly contributing to security of supply.

Memory effects and geometrical considerations in open quantum systems

This thesis discusses memory effects in open quantum systems with an emphasis on the Breuer, Laine, Piilo (BLP) measure of non-Markovianity. It is shown how the calculation of the measure can be simplifed and how quantum information protocols can bene t from memory e ects. The superdense coding protocol is used as an example of this. The quantum Zeno effect will also be studied from the point of view of memory e ects. Finally the geometric ideas used in simplifying the calculation of the BLP measure are applied in studying the amount of resources needed for detecting bipartite quantum correlations. It is shown that to decide without prior information if an unknown quantum state is entangled or not, an informationally complete measurement is required. The first part of the thesis contains an introduction to the theoretical ideas such as quantum states, closed and open quantum systems and necessary mathematical tools. The theory is then applied in the second part of the thesis as the results obtained in the original publications I-VI are presented and discussed.

Rapid assessment of the fish biodiversity of the Mburo-Nakivali wetland systems and Opeta-Bisina wetland systems, Uganda

There are 46 different fish species in the Lake Kyoga basin with some of them endemic. The Nile Perch (Lates niloticus) was introduced into the main Lake Kyoga, Nakuwa and Bisina in the late 1950s to increase the fish production. The Nile Perch profileration in lakes Kyoga and Nakuwa led to the almost complete elimination of many native fish species such as Orechromis esculentus and variabilis, Mormyrus kanumme, Schilbe mystus and several Haplochromines species. Lakes Mburo, Kachera, Nakivali and Kijjanebalora are part of the complex system of lakes separated from Lake Victoria by extended swamps known as the Koki lakes, some of the satellite lakes in the Lake Victoria basin. The fisheries of these lakes are important as they contribute to government efforts of increasing food security, poverty reduction and conservation of natural resource base. These lakes are important biodiversity areas because some of these lakes have been found to contain the native tilapiine Oreochromis esculentus (Ngege), absent or threatened with extinction in the main Lakes Victoria and Kyoga. It’s also important to note that this species is only unique to the Victoria and Kyoga lake basins (Graham, 1929, Worthington, 1929). The values of some of these lake fisheries are however, threatened by human activities such as over exploitation, introduction of exotics especially water hyacinth that is already present in River Rwizi and habitat degradation among others.

Water quality assessments in the Opeta-Bisina wetland systems and Mburo-Nakivale wetland systems

It is located in eastern Uganda, the wetland system is characterized by open water that is clear with some emergent vegetation mainly of sedges and floating vegetation dominated by the day water lily Nymphaea sp and submerged water weeds. Some patches of Cyperus papyrus exist in areas with minimal agricultural encroachment. The main inflow into the Opeta system is through River Sironko.

Secular and tidal evolution of circumbinary systems

We investigate the secular dynamics of three-body circumbinary systems under the effect of tides. We use the octupolar non-restricted approximation for the orbital interactions, general relativity corrections, the quadrupolar approximation for the spins, and the viscous linear model for tides. We derive the averaged equations of motion in a simplified vectorial formalism, which is suitable to model the long-term evolution of a wide variety of circumbinary systems in very eccentric and inclined orbits. In particular, this vectorial approach can be used to derive constraints for tidal migration, capture in Cassini states, and stellar spin–orbit misalignment. We show that circumbinary planets with initial arbitrary orbital inclination can become coplanar through a secular resonance between the precession of the orbit and the precession of the spin of one of the stars. We also show that circumbinary systems for which the pericenter of the inner orbit is initially in libration present chaotic motion for the spins and for the eccentricity of the outer orbit. Because our model is valid for the non-restricted problem, it can also be applied to any three-body hierarchical system such as star–planet–satellite systems and triple stellar systems.

Uso da glicerina oriunda da síntese do biodiesel em sistemas microemulsionados visando aplicação de herbicidas

The program PROBIODIESEL from the Ministry of Science and Technology has substantially increased glycerine, obtained as a sub-product of biodiesel production process, making it necessary to seek alternatives for the use of this co-product. On the other hand, herbicides although play a role of fundamental importance in the agricultural production system in force, have been under growing concern among the various segments of society because of their potential environmental risk. In this work, we used glycerin in microemulsion systems for application of herbicides, to improve efficiency and lower environmental pollution caused by the loss of those products to the environment. To obtain the systems of microemulsinados were used Unitol L90 NP and Renex 40 as surfactants, butanol as co-surfactant, coconut oil as oil phase and aqueous phase as we used solutions of glycerin + water. Through the determination of phase diagrams, the microemulsion region was found in the system E (L90 Unitol, coconut oil and glycerin + water 1:1). Three points were chosen to the aqueous phase rich in characterization and application in the solubilization of glyphosate and atrazine. Three experiments were performed in Horta, Department of Plant Sciences, Plant Science Sector, UFERSA, Mossoró-RN. The first experiment was conducted in randomized complete blocks with 20 treatments and four replications. The treatments consisted of five doses of the herbicide glyphosate (0.0, 0.45, 0.9, 1.35 and 1.8 L ha-1) diluted with four sauces: C1, C2, C3 (microemulsions) and C4 (water). The phytotoxicity of Brachiaria brizantha was measured at 7, 14, 28 and 60 DAA (days after application). At 60 DAA, we evaluated the biomass of plants. The second experiment was developed in randomized complete blocks with 20 treatments and four repetitions. The treatments consisted of five doses of the herbicide atrazine (0.0, 0.4, 0.8, 1.6 and 2.4 L ha-1) diluted with four sauces: C1, C2, C3 (microemulsions) and C4 (water). The phytotoxicity on Zea mays and Talinum paniculatum was evaluated at 2, 7, 20 DAA. The experiment III was developed in randomized complete blocks with 16 treatments and three repetitions. The treatments consisted of 16 combinations among the constituents of the microemulsion: Unitol L90 surfactant (0.0, 1.66, 5.0, 15 %) and glycerin (0.0, 4.44, 13.33 and 40.0 %). The phytotoxicity on Zea mays was evaluated at 1, 7 and 14 DAA. At 14 DAA, we evaluated the biomass of plants. The control plants using the microemulsions was lower than in the water due to the poisoning caused by the initial microemulsions in the leaves of the plants, a fact that hinders the absorption and translocation of the herbicide. There was no toxicity in Zea mays plants caused by the herbicide, however, were highly intoxicated by microemulsions. T. paniculatum was better controlled in spraying with the microemulsions, regardless of the dose of the herbicide. The glycerine did not cause plant damage. Higher poisoning the plants are caused by tensoactive Unitol L90 and higher rates occur with the use of higher concentrations of surfactant and glycerin, or microemulsion. The microemulsions used hampered the action of glyphosate in controlling B. brizantha and caused severe poisoning in corn, and these poisonings attributed mainly to the action of surfactant

Typologies and spatialization of agricultural production systems in Rondônia, Brazil: linking land use, socioeconomics and territorial configuration.

The current Amazon landscape consists of heterogeneous mosaics formed by interactions between the original forest and productive activities. Recognizing and quantifying the characteristics of these landscapes is essential for understanding agricultural production chains, assessing the impact of policies, and in planning future actions. Our main objective was to construct the regionalization of agricultural production for Rondônia State (Brazilian Amazon) at the municipal level. We adopted a decision tree approach, using land use maps derived from remote sensing data (PRODES and TerraClass) combined with socioeconomic data. The decision trees allowed us to allocate municipalities to one of five agricultural production systems: (i) coexistence of livestock production and intensive agriculture; (ii) semi-intensive beef and milk production; (iii) semi-intensive beef production; (iv) intensive beef and milk production, and; (v) intensive beef production. These production systems are, respectively, linked to mechanized agriculture (i), traditional cattle farming with low management, with (ii) or without (iii) a significant presence of dairy farming, and to more intensive livestock farming with (iv) or without (v) a significant presence of dairy farming. The municipalities and associated production systems were then characterized using a wide variety of quantitative metrics grouped into four dimensions: (i) agricultural production; (ii) economics; (iii) territorial configuration, and; (iv) social characteristics. We found that production systems linked to mechanized agriculture predominate in the south of the state, while intensive farming is mainly found in the center of the state. Semi-intensive livestock farming is mainly located close to the southwest frontier and in the north of the state, where human occupation of the territory is not fully consolidated. This distributional pattern reflects the origins of the agricultural production system of Rondônia. Moreover, the characterization of the production systems provides insights into the pattern of occupation of the Amazon and the socioeconomic consequences of continuing agricultural expansion.

Spatial and Functional Organization of Pig Trade in Different European Production Systems: Implications for Disease Prevention and Control

Understanding the complexity of live pig trade organization is a key factor to predict and control major infectious diseases, such as classical swine fever (CSF) or African swine fever (ASF). Whereas the organization of pig trade has been described in several European countries with indoor commercial production systems, little information is available on this organization in other systems, such as outdoor or small-scale systems. The objective of this study was to describe and compare the spatial and functional organization of live pig trade in different European countries and different production systems. Data on premise characteristics and pig movements between premises were collected during 2011 from Bulgaria, France, Italy, and Spain, which swine industry is representative of most of the production systems in Europe (i.e., commercial vs. small-scale and outdoor vs. indoor). Trade communities were identified in each country using the Walktrap algorithm. Several descriptive and network metrics were generated at country and community levels. Pig trade organization showed heterogeneous spatial and functional organization. Trade communities mostly composed of indoor commercial premises were identified in western France, northern Italy, northern Spain, and north-western Bulgaria. They covered large distances, overlapped in space, demonstrated both scale-free and small-world properties, with a role of trade operators and multipliers as key premises. Trade communities involving outdoor commercial premises were identified in western Spain, south-western and central France. They were more spatially clustered, demonstrated scale-free properties, with multipliers as key premises. Small-scale communities involved the majority of premises in Bulgaria and in central and Southern Italy. They were spatially clustered and had scale-free properties, with key premises usually being commercial production premises. These results indicate that a disease might spread very differently according to the production system and that key premises could be targeted to more cost-effectively control diseases. This study provides useful epidemiological information and parameters that could be used to design risk-based surveillance strategies or to more accurately model the risk of introduction or spread of devastating swine diseases, such as ASF, CSF, or foot-and-mouth disease.

Entrepreneurship in project management systems: proposal of a model and preliminary empirical evidence

This study analyzes the manifestation of the dimensions of Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) and Project Management Systems (PMS). We used a qualitative approach to conduct exploratory research through a study in literature and a pilot case in a software company. Data was collected from semi structured interviews, documents, and records on file, then triangulated and treated with content analysis. The model proposed for the relationship between the types of PMS (ad hoc, Classic PM, innovation, entrepreneurship/intrapreneurship) and the dimensions of EO (innovativeness, risk-taking, proactiveness, competitive aggressiveness, and autonomy), was partially corroborated by empirical studies. New studies are suggested to validate the applicability and setup of the model.

Biological characteristics of black armyworm Spodoptera cosmioides on genetically modified soybean and corn crops that express insecticide Cry proteins.

This study aimed to evaluate the development and reproduction of the black armyworm, Spodoptera cosmioides when larvae fed on leaves of Bt-corn hybrids, expressing a single Cry1F and also Cry1F, Cry1A.105 and Cry2Ab2 in pyramided corn and their non-Bt-isoline (hybrid 2B688), as well as on leaves of two soybean isolines expressing the Cry1Ac protein and its non-Bt isoline (A5547-227). We also assessed the effect of these Bt and non-Bt plants on the leaf consumption rate of S. cosmioides larvae. This pest was unable to develop when fed on any of the corn isolines (Bt and non-Bt). When both 1st and 3rd instar larvae were fed on corn leaf, mortality was 100% in both Bt and non-Bt corn. In contrast, when corn leaves were offered to 5th instar larvae, there were survivors. Defoliation and leaf consumption was higher with non-Bt corn than with both of the Bt corn isolines. There was no negative effect of Bt soybean leaves on the development and reproduction of S. cosmioides with respect to all evaluated parameters. Our study indicates that both Bt and non-Bt corn adversely affect the development of S. cosmioides while Bt soybean did not affect its biology, suggesting that this lepidopteran has major potential to become an important pest in Bt soybean crops.

SKMA - A Key Management Architecture for SCADA Systems

Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems are widely used in the management of critical infrastructure such as electricity and water distrubution systems. Currently there is little understanding of how to best protect SCADA systems from malicious attacks. We review the constraints and requirements for SCADA security and propose a suitable architecture (SKMA) for secure SCADA communications. The architecture includes a proposed key management protocol (SKMP). We compare the architecture with a previous proposal from Sandia Labs.

Developing a participatory impact assessment approach and action research culture within a communication for social change organisation in Nepal

Developing an effective impact evaluation framework, managing and conducting rigorous impact evaluations, and developing a strong research and evaluation culture within development communication organisations presents many challenges. This is especially so when both the community and organisational context is continually changing and the outcomes of programs are complex and difficult to clearly identify.----- This paper presents a case study from a research project being conducted from 2007-2010 that aims to address these challenges and issues, entitled Assessing Communication for Social Change: A New Agenda in Impact Assessment. Building on previous development communication projects which used ethnographic action research, this project is developing, trailing and rigorously evaluating a participatory impact assessment methodology for assessing the social change impacts of community radio programs in Nepal. This project is a collaboration between Equal Access – Nepal (EAN), Equal Access – International, local stakeholders and listeners, a network of trained community researchers, and a research team from two Australian universities. A key element of the project is the establishment of an organisational culture within EAN that values and supports the impact assessment process being developed, which is based on continuous action learning and improvement. The paper describes the situation related to monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and impact assessment before the project began, in which EAN was often reliant on time-bound studies and ‘success stories’ derived from listener letters and feedback. We then outline the various strategies used in an effort to develop stronger and more effective impact assessment and M&E systems, and the gradual changes that have occurred to date. These changes include a greater understanding of the value of adopting a participatory, holistic, evidence-based approach to impact assessment. We also critically review the many challenges experienced in this process, including:----- • Tension between the pressure from donors to ‘prove’ impacts and the adoption of a bottom-up, participatory approach based on ‘improving’ programs in ways that meet community needs and aspirations.----- • Resistance from the content teams to changing their existing M&E practices and to the perceived complexity of the approach.----- • Lack of meaningful connection between the M&E and content teams.----- • Human resource problems and lack of capacity in analysing qualitative data and reporting results.----- • The contextual challenges, including extreme poverty, wide cultural and linguistic diversity, poor transport and communications infrastructure, and political instability.----- • A general lack of acceptance of the importance of evaluation within Nepal due to accepting everything as fate or ‘natural’ rather than requiring investigation into a problem.