Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Impala Impala Impala'

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.
The mining industry has had a significant role to play in addressing socio-economic development (SED) issues, such as the high levels of poverty, illiteracy and unemployment. For South Africa to be able to eradicate poverty and illiteracy, a collaborative partnership between the government, the mining industry and local mining communities is critical. The Minister of Mineral Resources, Shabangu (2012), has encouraged the mining industry to ensure that corporate social responsibility (CSR) investments make a significant impact on the communities in which the mining companies operate and to stop making CSR a mere exercise in ticking off a scorecard. The Mining Charter states that the mining industry must promote employment and advance social and economic welfare of mining community and the major sending areas. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the impact of the Impala Platinum (Implats) CSR programme, Marula Chrome Project, on the Marula community. The challenges that Implats and the Marula community experienced during the implementation of the project were explored. If the project was to be successful, the key success factors had to be identified. The Marula Chrome Project was commissioned in 2010. The Project created 69 job opportunities during its construction period, and 35 permanent jobs after its completion. A number of SED issues were addressed by the project through skills development and training. The community leaders attended an intensive business principles course, covering the basic principles of mining, business skills and corporate governance. The employees of the project also were empowered with relevant operational and management skills. The project had, by the time of the report, paid out dividends to the value of R20 million to the communities. Two community halls had been built with the amount of R4 million. The dividends were distributed to the six Marula communities, who spent the money obtained in this way for addressing such SED problems as infrastructure, education and enterprise development. This project is one of the few examples of CSR initiatives in South Africa. The researcher hopes that other local mining communities can learn what made this project successful. The findings of the projects show that the community and Implats have managed the challenges faced during the project and have focused on the important issues. Collaborative partnership and leadership is one of the key success factors highlighted. Kinnear and Miles (2009) agree that partnerships and local coordination between the mining industry, the government and the community are vital. Positive outcomes can be achieved by means of community‐driven initiatives. According to CSR scholars such as Muthuri (2012), CSR is a potent force for social change and poverty alleviation. The lack of CSR impact evaluation tools required addressing by Implats and the mining industry. The mining industry and the Department of Mineral Resources should work together on developing an evaluation tool by means of which to measure CSR initiatives. Doing so would assist the mining industry CSR investments to add value and to contribute to the eradication of poverty and illiteracy in the local communities.

Thesis (MScAgric)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Although kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) and impala (Aepyceros melampus) are found in the same geographical area, there is variation in their diets as kudu are predominantly browsers, feeding on tree and shrub leaves, while impala are known as mixed feeders as they graze and browse. Therefore this poses the question whether the diet would influence their meat quality. The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the physical measurements and chemical composition of M. longissimus dorsi, M. biceps femoris, M. semimembranosus, M. semitendinosus and M. supraspinatus for kudu and impala, two southern African antelope species. The effects of age (adult and sub-adult) and gender (male and female) were also determined. The sensory characteristics of the M. longissimus dorsi muscle for sub-adult kudu and impala were investigated. Correlations between the various physical measurements and chemical composition of the meat were verified. Physical measurements and chemical composition of the M. longissimus dorsi muscle were tested for correlations with the sensory ratings of the meat. Dressing percentage of impala (59.88%) (n=28) was higher than that of kudu (57.60%) (n=35). The main effects (species, gender and age) showed no differences for drip loss and cooking loss. However, muscles differed in terms of cooking loss with impala M. semitendinosus having the highest (38.28%) value and kudu M. longissimus dorsi having the lowest value (30.77%). For impala, the highest Warner–Bratzler shear (WBS) values were measured for M. semimembranosus (5.90 kg/1.27cmø), followed by M. biceps femoris, M. longissimus dorsi, and M. semitendinosus with the lowest WBS values measured for M. supraspinatus (3.61 kg/1.27cmø). All impala muscles had lower L* values and appeared darker in colour than kudu muscles, except for M. supraspinatus. Adult animals also had lower L* values than the sub-adult group. Kudu had significantly higher a* and b* values (more red) than impala. Chroma values were higher for kudu, thus appearing brighter in colour. The respective muscles of kudu and impala investigated differed significantly in terms of physical characteristics. However, gender and age did not have an effect on the physical measurements. Moisture content was higher in kudu meat (76.46%) than in impala meat (75.28%). Muscles differed for both moisture and fat content. The highest fat was found in M. supraspinatus followed by M. biceps femoris, M. semitendinosus, M. semimembranosus and M. longissimus dorsi. Protein content did not differ between species (kudu: 21.66%; impala: 22.26%), gender (male: 21.98%; female: 21.95%) and age groups (adult: 21.74%; sub-adult: 22.18%). Kudu M. longissimus dorsi (1.62%) had lower fat content than impala M. longissimus dorsi (2.22%) and female animals had a higher fat content than male animals. Sub-adults (1.20 ± 0.02%) had higher ash content than adults (1.10 ± 0.03%). The M. supraspinatus had the lowest protein and also the highest fat content, with M. semimembranosus having the lowest fat content but the highest value for protein. Myoglobin content did not differ between species, although females had higher (6.58 ± 0.20 mg/g) myoglobin content than males (5.11 ± 0.25 mg/g). Glycolitic muscles had the lowest myoglobin content with the highest values found in M. supraspinatus, an oxidative muscle. An interaction was noted between species and muscle for myoglobin content. Myoglobin content in impala M. longissimus dorsi was higher than that in kudu M. longissimus dorsi; however for all other muscles the myoglobin content was lower in impala. Gender did not affect mineral content. Potassium levels were highest for kudu while phosphorus was more prevalent in impala meat. Adult and sub-adult groups differed in terms of potassium, calcium and zinc content. Potassium and calcium content were higher for subadult animals while zinc content was higher in adult animals. In impala meat, stearic acid (22.67%) was the major fatty acid, followed by palmitic acid (16.66%). In contrast, oleic acid (24.35%) was the most profuse fatty acid in kudu, followed by linoleic acid (22.95%). The SFA’s as a percentage of the total fatty acids differed between impala (51.12%) and kudu meat (34.87%). Kudu meat had a higher concentration of total PUFA (38.88%) than impala (34.06%) meat. The PUFA: SFA ratio for kudu meat (1.22) was more favourable than that for impala meat (0.73). The ratio of n-6 PUFA’s to n-3 PUFA’s for kudu and impala were determined as 2.22 and 3.76 respectively. From the current findings it is evident that kudu and impala meat have advantageous fatty acid profiles and can be a healthy substitute for other red meats. Kudu meat (72.62 ± 1.86 mg/100g) had higher cholesterol than impala meat (55.35 ± 1.84 mg/100g). It is recommended that further studies be done in order to confirm the cholesterol content of kudu meat. Within species, no gender differences for any of the sensory characteristics tested were noted. The impala meat had a more intense game aroma than the kudu meat, while kudu meat was found to be more juicy than impala meat. It can therefore be concluded that the marketing of game meat should be species-specific as there are distinct flavour and aroma differences between kudu and impala meat.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Alhoewel koedoes (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) en rooibokke (Aepyceros melampus) in dieselfde geografiese area voorkom, is daar variasie in hulle diëte. Koedoes is hoofsaaklik blaarvreters, terwyl rooibokke bekend staan as gemengde vreters aangesien hulle grassowel as blaarvreters is. Die vraag ontstaan dus of die verskil in diëet die kwaliteit van hulle vleis sal beϊnvloed. Die doel van hierdie ondersoek was dus om die fisiese metings en chemiese samestelling van die M. longissimus dorsi, M. biceps femoris, M. semimembranosus, M. semitendinosus en M. supraspinatus vir koedoes en rooibokke te bepaal. Die invloed van ouderdom (volwasse en onvolwasse) en geslag (manlik en vroulik) op hierdie eienskappe is ook geëvalueer. Die sensoriese eienskappe van die M. longissimus dorsi van onvolwasse koedoes en rooibokke is ook ondersoek. Korrelasies tussen die fisiese metings en chemiese samestelling van die vleis is ondersoek. Die fisiese metings en chemiese samestelling van die M. longissimus dorsi is getoets vir korrelasies met die resultate van die sintuiglike evaluering van die vleis. Die gemiddelde uitslagpersentasie van rooibokke (59.88%) (n=28) was hoër as die van koedoes (57.60%) (n=35). Daar was geen verskille in drupverlies en kookverlies vir die hoofeffekte (spesie, geslag en ouderdom) nie. Spiere het wel verskil in terme van kookverlies, met die hoogste waarde gemeet vir rooibok M. semitendinosus (38.28%) en die laagste waarde vir koedoe M. longissimus dorsi (30.77%). In rooibokke was die hoogste Warner- Bratzler skeurkrag waardes gemeet vir M. semimembranosus (5.76 kg/1.27cmø), gevolg deur M. biceps femoris, M. longissimus dorsi, en M. semitendinosus met die laagste Warner- Bratzler skeurkrag waardes gemeet vir M. supraspinatus (3.78 kg/1.27cmø). Alle rooibokspiere het laer L* waardes gehad en was donkerder van kleur as koedoespiere, behalwe vir M. supraspinatus. Laer L* waardes is ook verkry vir volwasse diere in vergelyking met onvolwasse diere. Die a* en b* waardes was hoër in koedoe- as in rooibokvleis, m.a.w. koedoevleis het rooier vertoon. Die onderskeie koedoe- en rooibokspiere het betekenisvol verskil in terme van fisiese eienskappe, terwyl geslag en ouderdom geen effek op die fisiese eienskappe gehad het nie. Voginhoud was hoër in koedoe- (75.52%) as in rooibokvleis (74.52%). Verkille tussen spiere is opgemerk vir beide vog- en vetinhoud. M. supraspinatus het die hoogste vetinhoud gehad, gevolg deur M. biceps femoris, M. semitendinosus, M. semimembranosus en M. longissimus dorsi. Geen verskille is opgemerk tussen spesies (koedoe: 21.66%; rooibok: 22.26%), geslagte (manlik: 21.98%; vroulik: 21.95%) en ouderdomme (volwasse: 21.74%; onvolwasse: 22.18%) in terme van proteϊeninhoud nie. Die vetinhoud van koedoe M. longissimus dorsi (1.62%) was laer as dié van rooibok M. longissimus dorsi (2.22%) en die vetinhoud van vroulike diere was hoër as dié van manlike diere. Onvolwasse diere (1.20 ± 0.02%) het ‘n hoër asinhoud as dié van volwasse diere (1.10 ± 0.03%) getoon. In terme van die onderskeie spiere het M. supraspinatus die laagste proteϊen- en die hoogste vetinhoud gehad, terwyl M. semimembranosus die laagste vet- en die hoogste proteϊeninhoud gehad het. Die mioglobieninhoud was nie beϊnvloed deur spesie nie, terwyl vroulike diere ‘n hoër (6.58 ± 0.20 mg/g) mioglobieninhoud as manlike diere (5.11 ± 0.25 mg/g) gehad het. Die M. supraspinatus, ‘n oksidatiewe spier het die hoogste mioglobieninhoud gehad, terwyl glikolitiese spiere die laagste mioglobieninhoud gehad het. ’n Interaksie tussen spesie en spier was opgemerk vir mioglobieninhoud. Rooibok M. longissimus dorsi het ‘n hoër mioglobieninhoud as koedoe M. longissimus dorsi gehad, terwyl die mioglobieninhoud vir al die ander spiere laer was in rooibokke. Mineraalinhoud was nie deur geslag beϊnvloed nie. Kaliumvlakke was hoër in koedoevleis, terwyl fosforvlakke hoër was in rooibokvleis. Kalium- en kalsiuminhoud was hoër in onvolwasse diere terwyl die sinkinhoud hoër was in volwasse diere. Steariensuur (22.67%), gevolg deur palmitiensuur (16.66%) was die mees algemene vetsure in rooibokvleis. In teenstelling hiermee was oleϊensuur (24.35%), gevolg deur linoleϊensuur (22.95%) die mees algemene vetsure in koedoevleis. Die totale versadigde vetsure was laer in koedoevleis (34.87%) in vergelyking met rooibokvleis (51.12%), terwyl die totale polionversadigde vetsure in koedoevleis (38.88%) hoër was as dié van rooibokvleis (34.06%). Die verhouding van n-6 tot n-3 poli-onversadigde vetsure vir koedoe en rooibok was 2.22 en 3.76 onderskeidelik. Hierdie resultate bevestig dat koedoe- en rooibokvleis oor ‘n vetsuurprofiel beskik wat ’n gesonde alternatief bied tot ander rooivleise. Die cholesterolinhoud van koedoevleis (72.62 ± 1.86 mg/100g) was hoër as dié van rooibokvleis (55.35 ± 1.84 mg/100g). Dit word egter aanbeveel dat verdere studies gedoen word om die cholesterolinhoud van koedoevleis te bevestig. Binne spesies was daar geen geslagsverkille vir enige van die sensoriese eienskappe nie. Rooibokvleis het ‘n meer intense wildsvleis aroma as koedoevleis gehad, terwyl koedoevleis meer sappig was as rooibokvleis. Hierdie resultate dui daarop dat die bemarking van wildsvleis spesie-spesifiiek moet wees aangesien daar defnitiewe geur en aroma verskille tussen koedoe- en rooibokvleis is.

This thesis focus on providing information that furthers our understanding on the practicality of using impala (Aepyceros melampus) as a model for research regarding the effects of immobilisation and general anaesthesia on wildlife generally and wild ungulates specifically. Impala have been used as a research model for around seven decades, but deaths have been reported, especially in experiments where free-ranging impala are placed under captive conditions. There are currently no reports investigating the cause of these deaths. Therefore, the risks involved when using impala in research studies are not entirely known. This paucity in the literature magnifies plausible concerns regarding research ethics and animal welfare that require consideration when using free-ranging animals. This thesis comprises of a series of studies which focus on 1) determining and evaluating the physiological effects of various drug combinations used to immobilise and anaesthetise impala, and 2) determining factors that place free-ranging impala at risk of injury or death when captured and placed into captivity under intensive research conditions. Fifteen adult female impala were enrolled into the 16- week long project. In the first study reported in this thesis, both thiafentanil-medetomidine and etorphine-medetomidine drug combinations successfully immobilised impala, however, despite seemingly normal heart and respiratory rates, all impala were hypoxaemic. Calculated ventilation and oxygenation indices suggested that the hypoxaemia was primarily attributed to right-to-left intrapulmonary shunt of blood. However, other causes of dysfunction in gas exchange such as increased dead space ventilation or ventilation to perfusion mismatch or alterations within the alveolicapillary membrane diffusion, or combinations of all of the above aetiologies for hypoxaemia are plausible. Opioid-induced hypoventilation was not considered a primary cause of the hypoxemia because measured minute volumes were within an appropriate range for medium sized antelope. The second study in this thesis determined if an etorphine-ketamine-medetomidine constant rate infusion was a practical method of maintaining general anaesthesia in impala for up to 120 minutes. However, hypoxaemia, hypercapnia and acidosis were sufficient to require intervention if this protocol is used in the field. The third study evaluated the acid-base status of impala undergoing immobilisation and general anaesthesia using two different drug combinations. In both cases, there was a moderately progressive respiratory acidosis compensated by a marked metabolic response. Both the Henderson- Hasselbalch and the Stewart approaches could explain the acid-base status in the impala. The fourth study determined and discussed the risk factors that resulted in morbidity and mortality in the impala throughout the study period. We found that darting injuries were the highest risk factor that resulted in the most impala deaths during our study. The last study reviewed chemical capture of impala to highlight all the major risks contributing to morbidity and mortality of impala in clinical practice. The greatest risks emanate from the drug and drug delivery factors, where potent opioids (etorphine and thiafentanil) cause profound respiratory compromise, that if left untreated often translates into fatalities. Furthermore, the procedure of darting, an essential tool in game capture, can cause irreparable fractures and other fatal injuries mainly through accidental misplacement of the dart into a long bone, thoracic or peritoneal cavity. Impala are anxious and flighty, and this demeanour (animal related factor) can contribute towards morbidity and mortality rates. The findings of these studies highlight that impala serve as a useful model for improving immobilising and anaesthetic drug protocols, darting techniques or new methods of remote injection in wild antelope. In order to improve animal welfare and the success of similar studies in impala, it is essential that the risks and physiological effects of chemical capture and anaesthesia are well understood before embarking on similar studies.
Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2018.
Paraclinical Sciences
PhD
Unrestricted

Subtropical thicket supports a large variety of indigenous browsing herbivores, such as elephants, black rhino, kudu and bushbuck, but impala historically never occurred in the Eastern Cape. The aim of this study was to determine what impacts extralimital impala (Aepyceros melampus) have on subtropical thicket. The thicket of the Shamwari Game Reserve, Eastern Cape, was used for the study. To quantify the effects of impala, feeding behaviour and diet was investigated during summer and winter. Sixteen impala were also enclosed in a camp of subtropical thicket where they would be limited to feedings on thicket. Vegetation composition and structure were monitored for a period of 12 months in the enclosure. Impala followed the expected high percentage graze and a low percentage browse in thicket in summer. However, the expected was not observed during winter: at this time grazing and browsing were equally important. Field collection of feeding behaviour data showed that impala are attracted to fringes of intact bush clumps or degraded thicket. Analysis of the impala diet confirmed this, with a significantly higher percentage graze (48 percent) than browse (22 percent) during summer. However, during winter, diet analysis indicated grazing to be much higher (36 percent) than browsing (6 percent) with the impala temporarily taking advantage of nutritious grasses still present. The enclosed portion of thicket was originally at 80 percent ecological status but it showed significant changes after addition of 16 impala. Animal trails increased in number and in width, resulting in a trampling effect. Grass cover was significantly different inside the enclosure after 12 months compared to outside. The amount of available browse of the enclosed thicket was also significantly different after addition of the impala. It is concluded that impala have a negative effect on thicket, with trampling the most significant effect. Long term monitoring of the effects of extralimital impala in different types of thicket will be required to accurately quantify their direct effects on subtropical thicket in the Eastern Cape. The main aim of this study was to determine the impacts of impala on Thicket. The study showed significant impacts on Thicket as found in Shamwari, and therefore the aim of the study was achieved.

Thesis (MScAgric)--University of Stellenbosch, 2001.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Regardless of the extensive game eradication during most of the previous century, the game farming industry in South Africa has shown dynamic growth over the past few decades. Currently the approximately 8 000 game farms have a total income of more than R850 million per annum. Although there are various game species included in these farming enterprises, three of the most important species for commercial farming and meat marketing are springbok iAntidorcas marsupialisï, blesbok (Damaliscus dorcas phillipsiï and impala (Aepyceros melampus). Since nutrition is a key factor in the productivity of animals, any information on this subject is essential for the successful management of a game farm. However, apart from the general lack in applied research on game animals (due to the different approaches by biologists and agricultural researchers), there is also only limited information available on the nutritional requirements of game species or any of the aspects affected by nutrition. In order to address the above shortcomings in game animal nutrition, two separate studies were conducted. The purpose of the first study was to determine the physical body component and nitrogen (N) distribution in the springbok, blesbok and impala. The chemical composition of the three-rib cut was also compared with that of the carcass. Amino acid requirements for growth of the three game species were investigated in the second study according to the ideal protein concept. The essential amino acid (EAA) profile of the whole empty body of the three game species was compared with the EAA profile of the duodenal digesta in order to detect any imbalances for optimal growth. The same animals were used in both studies, namely eight of each of the three game species. Characterization of the physical body composition revealed that the dressing percentages (% of body weight; % of empty body weight) for the three game species were: springbok (57.1 ± 2.4 %; 64.0 ± 2.5 %), blesbok (50.2 ± 2.1 %; 62.8 ± 1.4 %) and impala (57.4 ± 2.2 %; 65.6 ± 2.0 %). The proportional distribution ofN between the carcass, external offal and internal offal was also determined. The mean carcass N concentration of the impala was higher (P<0.05) than that of the springbok and blesbok on a dry matter basis. According to the carcass chemical composition, the three game species seem to have a better potential for lean meat production (fat content of carcass 4.7-5.2 %) than domestic sheep (17-25 % fat). Male animals had a lower (P<0.05) fat and higher (P<0.05) moisture percentage in the carcass and threerib cut than the females. The fat correlation between the three-rib cut and the carcass on both an as-is and dry matter basis was significant across species and sexes. The protein content of the same cuts did, however, not yield a significant correlation on an as-is basis, and only the protein content of the springbok three-rib cut related (P<0.05) to that in the carcass on a dry matter basis. The second study concentrated on the nutritional requirements of springbok, blesbok and impala, and more specifically the EAA requirements. Differences (P<0.05) were found between the whole empty body EAA composition of the three game species. These differences were present whether protein quantity was included in the calculations (g AA/100 g crude protein) or not (expressed as % of lysine). The chemical scores indicated that the four most limiting amino acids (three for impala) in the duodenal digesta for whole empty body growth were: arginine, histidine, threonine and methionine (springbok); methionine, arginine, histidine and lysine (blesbok); and methionine, histidine and arginine (impala). Further disproportion of the amino acids in the duodenal digesta was present in excess levels of isoleucine (blesbok) and lysine, valine, leucine, threonine, isoleucine and phenylalanine (impala). The EAA:Lysine ratios of the whole empty body indicated a similar trend for the three game species.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die essensiële aminosuurbenodighede van springbok, blesbok en rooibok vir optimale groei: Ten spyte van die feit dat wild grootskaals uitgedun is gedurende die vorige eeu, het die wildboerdery-bedryf in Suid-Afrika oor die laaste paar dekades dinamiese groei getoon. Die totale inkomste van die ongeveer 8000 wildsplase beloop tans meer as R850 miljoen per jaar. Alhoewel daar verskeie wildspesies is wat by hierdie tipe boerdery ingesluit word, is die springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis), blesbok (Damaliscus dorcas phillipsi) en rooibok (Aepyceros melampus) van die belangrikste spesies vir kommersiële boerdery en vleisbemarking. Voeding IS 'n sleutelfaktor in die produktiwitieit van diere en daarom is emge inligting oor hierdie onderwerp noodsaaklik vir die suksesvolle bestuur van 'n wildsplaas. Afgesien van die algemene tekort aan toegepaste navorsing op wilde diere (as gevolg van die verskillende benaderings van bioloë en landboukundige navorsers), is daar ook slegs beperkte inligting beskikbaar oor die voedingsbehoeftes van wilde dierspesies of enige van die faktore wat deur voeding beïnvloed word. In 'n poging om bogenoemde tekortkominge in die voeding van wilde diere aan te spreek, is daar twee aparte studies uitgevoer. Die doel van die eerste studie was om die fisiese liggaamsamestelling en die stikstof (N) verspreiding in die springbok, blesbok en rooibok te bepaal. Die chemiese samestelling van die drie-ribsnit is ook met die van die karkas vergelyk. In die tweede studie is ondersoek ingestel na die aminosuurbehoeftes van die drie wildspesies deur van die ideale proteïen konsep gebruik te maak. Die bepaling van die essensiële aminosuurprofiel van die totale leë liggaam van die onderskeie drie wildspesies is bepaal en met die essensiële aminosuurprofiel van die duodenale-inhoud vergelyk, ten einde enige wanbalans vir optimale groei vas te stel. Dieselfde diere is in beide studies gebruik, naamlik ag springbokke, blesbokke en rooibokke. 'n Beskrywing van die fisiese liggaamsamestelling het aangetoon dat die uitslagpersentasies (% van liggaamsmassa; % van leë liggaamsmassa) van die drie wildspesies as volg was: springbok (57.1 ± 2.4 %; 64.0 ± 2.5 %), blesbok (50.2 ± 2.1 %; 62.8 ± 1.4 %) en rooibok (57.4 ± 2.2 %; 65.6 ± 2.0 %). Die proporsionele verspreiding van N in die karkas, uitwendige afval en inwendige afval is ook bepaal. Die gemiddelde N konsentrasie in die karkas van die rooibok was hoër (P<0.05) as die van die springbok en blesbok op 'n droë materiaal basis. Dit blyk vanaf die chemiese samestelling van die karkas dat die drie wildspesies 'n groter potensiaal het vir die produksie van maer vleis (vet-inhoud van karkas 4.7-5.2 %) as skape (17-25 % vet). Manlike diere het 'n laer (P<0.05) vetpersentasie en 'n hoër (P<0.05) vogpersentasie in beide die karkas en die drie-ribsnit teenoor die vroulike diere gehad. 'n Betekenisvolle korrelasie is tussen die persentasie vet in die drie-ribsnit en die karkas van al drie wildspesies en vir beide geslagte gevind, op beide 'n nat en droë materiaal basis. Die proteïeninhoud van dieselfde snitte was egter nie op 'n nat basis betekenisvol gekorreleerd nie, en slegs die proteïen-inhoud van die springbok se drieribsnit het verband gehou (P<0.05) met die in die karkas op 'n droë materiaal basis. Die klem van die tweede studie was op die voedingsbehoeftes van springbok, blesbok en rooibok, en meer spesifiek die essensiële aminosuurbenodighede. Daar is verskille (P<0.05) tussen die totale leë liggaam essensiële aminosuursamestelling van die drie wildspesies gevind. Hierdie verskille was aanwesig afgesien daarvan of die hoeveelheid proteïen in berekening gebring is (g aminosure /100 g ruproteïen) of nie (uitgedruk as % van lisien). Volgens die chemiese tellings was die vier mees beperkende aminosure (drie vir rooibok) in die duodenale-inhoud vir totale leë liggaamsgroei as volg: arginien, histidien, treonien en metionien (springbok); metionien, arginien, histidien en lisien (blesbok); en metionien, histidien en arginien (rooibok). Verdere wanbalanse in die armnosure van die duodenale-inhoud was aanwesig in die oormaat isoleusien (blesbok) en lisien, valien, leusien, treonien, isoleusien en fenielalanien (rooibok). Die verhouding van die essensiële aminosure tot lisien van die totale leë liggaam het by al drie wildspesies dieselfde tendens getoon.

Il presente elaborato ha come oggetto l’analisi delle prestazioni e il porting di un sistema di SBI sulla distribuzione Hadoop di Cloudera. Nello specifico è stato fatto un porting dei dati del progetto WebPolEU. Successivamente si sono confrontate le prestazioni del query engine Impala con quelle di ElasticSearch che, diversamente da Oracle, sfrutta la stessa componente hardware (cluster).

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
O elemento transponível impala, isolado do fungo fitopatogênico Fusarium oxysporum, é capaz de sofrer transposição em Penicillium griseoroseum, porém, com uma baixa frequência. Em trabalho anterior, condições de estresse, testadas com o objetivo de aumentar a transposição de impala em P. griseoroseum, foram eficientes, sendo isoladas 691 colônias revertentes, em que o elemento impala havia sofrido transposição. Neste trabalho, foram feitas a caracterização molecular das linhagens revertentes e a avaliação da produção de enzimas pectinolíticas, com o objetivo de testar a eficiência de impala como ferramenta para a etiquetagem e isolamento de genes que codificam pectinases. As análises por hibridização das linhagens revertentes, utilizando como sonda o elemento impala e o gene niaD de A. nidulans, demonstraram que o tratamento por irradiação foi mais eficiente do que o choque térmico para a ativação da transposição em P. griseoroseum. Nas linhagens revertentes obtidas após a irradiação, um maior número de sítios de reinserção de impala foi observado. Entre as linhagens revertentes provenientes do choque térmico, uma apresentou perda total do elemento impala. Das 650 linhagens revertentes analisadas quanto à produção de pectinases, uma linhagem obtida após choque térmico apresentou atividade significativamente inferior de pectina liase quando comparada à linhagem selvagem. A região flanqueadora do novo sítio de inserção do elemento impala foi amplificada por PCR invertido. O fragmento amplificado de 600pb foi clonado e será utilizado como sonda para o isolamento do gene completo em um banco genômico da linhagem selvagem de P. griseoroseum. Este trabalho demonstra, pela primeira vez, que o elemento impala pode ser usado para a etiquetagem de genes no fungo Penicillium griseoroseum.
The tranposable element impala, isolated from the phytopathogenic fungus Fusarium oxysporum, suffers transposition in Penicillium griseoroseum, albeit at low frequency. In a previous work, stress conditions tested to increase impala transposition in P. griseoroseum have been show to be very efficient, resulting in the production of 691 revertant colonies in which impala had suffered transposition. In this work, a molecular characterization of revertant colonies and the analysis of pectinolytic enzyme were done to test impala efficiency as a tool for tagging and isolating pectinase gene. Hybridization analysis of revertant colonies using impala and the niaD gene of Aspergillus nidulans as probes demonstrated that UV treatment was more efficient than thermal shock for the activation of impala transposition in P. griseoroseum. In the revertant colonies obtained after UV irradiation, a larger number of reinsertion sites was observed. Among the revertants produced by thermal shock, one strain showed total loss of impala. Among 650 revertant colonies analyzed for pectinase production, one isolate obtained after thermal shock treatment presented significantly lower pectin lyase activity than the wild type strain. The flanking region of the new insertion site of impala was amplified by inverted PCR. A 600-pb amplified fragment was cloned and will be used as probe for the isolation of the complete gene from a library of the type strain of P. griseoroseum. ixThis work demonstrates for the first time that the element impala can be used for efficient gene tagging in P. griseoroseum.

Objective To characterise a propofol-medetomidine-ketamine total intravenous anaesthetic protocol in impala (Aepyceros melampus). Study design Prospective clinical study. Animals Ten adult female impala, weighing 39 (±4) kg. Materials and methods Impala were immobilised with 2 mg thiafentanil and 2.2 mg medetomidine via projectile darts. Propofol was given to effect (0.5 mg kg-1 boluses) to allow endotracheal intubation, following which oxygen was supplemented at 2 L min-1. Anaesthesia was maintained with a constant rate infusion of medetomidine and ketamine at 5 ?g kg-1 h-1 and 1 mg kg-1 h-1, respectively, and propofol to effect (initially 0.2 mg kg-1 min-1) for a period of 120 minutes. The propofol infusion was titrated according to reaction to nociceptive stimuli every 15 minutes. Cardiopulmonary parameters were monitored continuously and arterial blood gas samples analysed intermittently. At 120 minutes maintenance the thiafentanil and medetomidine were antagonised using naltrexone (10:1 thiafentanil) and atipamezole (5:1 medetomidine), respectively, and recoveries scored. Results All impala were successfully immobilised, with a median (IQR) time to recumbency of 9.6 (7.2-14.4) minutes. The median (IQR) dose of propofol required for intubation was 2.7 (1.9-3.3) mg kg-1. The propofol-medetomidine-ketamine combination ensured recumbency for the 120 minute period. Propofol titration showed an erratic downward trend; a minimum infusion rate was not determined. Heart rate, respiratory rate and arterial blood pressure were well maintained. Arterial blood gas analysis indicated marked hypoxaemia, hypercapnia and acidosis. All impala regurgitated frequently during the maintenance period. Recovery was calm and rapid in all animals. Median (IQR) time to standing from antagonist administration was 9.4 (8.2-10.6) minutes. Conclusions and clinical relevance A propofol-medetomidine-ketamine combination can provide adequate anaesthesia for invasive procedures in impala for up to 120 minute duration. The propofol infusion should begin at 0.2 mg kg-1 min-1 and be titrated to clinical effect. Oxygen supplementation and airway protection with a cuffed endotracheal tube are essential.
Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
tm2016
Companion Animal Clinical Studies
MSc

The study involved the predator-prey interaction of three species namely the predator (Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus), the super-predator (Lion Panthera leo), and their common prey (Impala Aepyceros melampus). The study area is the Kruger National Park. The predator being an endangered species, faces a survival problem. It is frequently killed by the super-predator to reduce competition for prey. The super-predator also scares away the predator o_ its kills. The prey forms the main diet of the predator. The plight of the predator motivated the author to formulate disease and reaction-diffusion models for the species interactions. The purpose of the models were to predict and explain the effect of large competition from the super-predator on the predator population. Important parameters related to additional predator mortality due to presence of super-predator, the disease incidence rate and induced death rate formed the focal points of the analysis. The dynamics of a predator-prey model with disease in super-predator were investigated. The super-predator species is infected with bovine Tuberculosis. In the study, the disease is considered as biological control to allow the predator population to regain from low numbers. The results highlight that in the absence of additional mortality on the predator by the super-predator, the predator population survives extinction. Furthermore, at current levels of disease incidence, the super-predator population is wiped out by the disease. However, the super-predator population survives extinction if the disease incidence rate is low. Persistence of all populations is possible in the case of low disease incidence rate and no additional mortality imparted on the predator. Furthermore, a two-species subsystem, prey and predator, is considered as a special case to determine the effect of super-predator removal from the system, on the survival of the predator. This is treated as a contrasting case from the smaller parks. The results show that the predator population thrives well in the total absence of its main competitor, with its population rising to at least twice the initial value. A reaction-diffusion three-species predator-prey model was formulated and analysed. Stability of the temporal and the spatio-temporal systems, existence and non-existence of stationary steady state solutions were studied. Conditions for the emergence of stationary patterns were deduced. The results show that by choosing the diffusion coeffcient d2 > _D 2 suffciently large, a non-constant positive solution is generated, that is, stationary patterns emerge, depicting dispersal of species. Predators were observed to occupy habitats surrounding prey. However, super-predators were observed to alternate their habitats, from staying away from prey to invading prey habitat. In the investigation, strategies to determine ways in which the predator species could be saved from extinction and its population improved were devised, and these included isolation of the predator from the super-predator.

Le modèle fonctionnel de la dynamique des populations d'ongulés sauvages, ainsi que les outils de gestion de ces populations, ont principalement été établis à partir de l'étude de populations vivant en zone tempérée, et généralement inexploitée. Or, la majorité des espèces d'ongulés vivent en zone tropicale non protégée, où elles sont confrontées à des contraintes écologiques et anthropiques particulières, susceptibles de produire des profils démographiques et des processus de régulation spécifiques. Dans le cadre de cette étude, nous nous sommes interrogés sur la possibilité d'appliquer les connaissances techniques et fondamentales qui émergent des études à long terme en zone tempérée dans le contexte des zones tropicales non protégées, afin de dériver des outils d'aide à la gestion. Cette étude a été réalisée dans un contexte d'appui à la gestion communautaire de populations d'ongulés exploitées pour la chasse et la production de viande, dans une zone rurale de la vallée du Zambèze au Zimbabwe, dans le cadre des activités menées par une équipe du CIRAD, engagée depuis 1996 dans un projet de conservation et de développement durable financé par le FFEM. Dans le contexte d'un paysage rural africain, marqué par des contraintes techniques, économiques et sociales particulières, nous avons montré que le suivi des populations d'ongulés pouvait être réalisé selon une méthodologie standard de comptage avec le concours des communautés rurales gestionnaires, grâce au développement d'outils adaptés en terme de coût et de technicité. Dans le contexte écologique tropical, les populations sont classiquement considérées comme limitées par la variabilité climatique et la prédation. Dans le cas des populations gérées pour des objectifs de production, l'étude d'une population marquée d'impalas (Aepyceros melampus) a montré que l'intensification de la densité peut conduire à une réponse densité-dépendante de certains paramètres, tels que la qualité du régime alimentaire, la condition corporelle et le recrutement. Dans un milieu naturel géré, l'étude de la distribution de la population d'impala révèle que les facteurs anthropiques interagissent avec les facteurs écologiques sur les critères de sélection de l'habitat. L'hétérogénéité spatiale de la qualité des habitats, qui naît des contraintes écologiques et anthropiques pour l'accès aux ressources, est un facteur de structuration spatiale de la population et une source de variabilité inter individuelle, mise en évidence dans notre étude en terme de qualité du régime alimentaire, de condition corporelle et de tactique de mobilité saisonnière

Loss of habitat is the main cause of species extinction, which today is 100 - 1000 times faster than the background extinction rate before the presence of mankind. One cause is that natural areas are being increasingly perturbed by roads, which degrades and fragments the habitat. In Tanzania, a proposed road through the Serengeti National Park (SNP) has caused international debate on whether it will cause irreversible damage to the ecosystem. I have assessed the current effect of roads and traffic on wildlife in the Serengeti, by using the impala (Aepyceros melampus) as a model species. I measured how faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM), an indicator of stress levels, were affected by different road categories with different levels of traffic. Other stress related variables such as distance to the road, vegetation type and group size were accounted for. 196 faecal samples from 165 groups were collected over a 2 month-period from June – August 2012. FGM were measured using an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) validated for ruminants. I found that FGM levels were significantly increased near major roads with elevated levels of traffic compared to minor roads and side roads with less traffic in the Serengeti ecosystem. Predators, illegal hunting and social stress might also affect FGM levels in the impala, but these variables could not explain the variation observed. These results show for the first time that a large African mammal exhibit significant physiological stress in relation to roads. I argue that roads and traffic have the potential to cause major physiological stress in mammals, which in turn can affect the fitness of the organism. Care must be taken before implementing roads in protected areas, as increased disturbance can have severe consequences for the ecosystem if keystone species are affected. Future studies should assess the levels of stress wildlife can tolerate without it affecting fitness. Management plans for natural areas should include the possibility for increased physiological stress in animals living near major infrastructures and be proactive to ensure population and ecosystem viability.

The demand for the control of safe food, from consumers the world over, has revolutionized the manner in which wild game meat harvesting occurs. In developed countries, food quality, food and human safety with quality controlling systems embracing environmental carbon footprint issues are constantly improving, for international harmonization at each level of production “from stable to table”, “farm to fork”, “field to yield” as well as from “cradle to grave”. Food industries globally have adopted the in Hazard Analysis Critical control Point (HACCP) system. This is a risk assessment process using Hygiene Assessment Systems (HAS) as a mitigating strategy for risk communication through training. It is also a holistic system that is compatible with international trends designed not only for food safety and quality, but it also embraces other aspects of farming such as animal welfare, environmental management and Occupational Safety and Health. Global marketing for international trade demands quality assurance from trading partners thereby promoting economic growth for developing countries. The watch dog bodies such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO) prohibit trading for non-compliance, therefore trade barriers are in place for uncertified food of animal origin, EU regulations are stringent requirements that need compliance and so too the OIE regulations for disease control, while the Codex Alimentarius Commission maintains trade harmonization. In South Africa Hygiene Assessment Systems (HAS) is a National Hygiene management strategy implemented at abattoirs, that promotes and facilitates quality and hygiene and is reflective of South African quality abroad. It is prescribed under the section, “Essential National Standards” in the Meat Safety Act, 2000, (Act 40 of 2000). This Act covers red meat and includes both domestic animals and game. The Veterinary Procedural Notices (VPN’s) are used for export of game and give far more detailed guidelines than the legislation for game meat sold and consumed locally in South Africa. The objective of the Hygiene Assessment System (HAS) is to create a national awareness of quality to better improve the quality of life of all South Africans, whilst at the same time it is used as an auditing tool for Veterinary Public Health to effectively compare essential standards within the nine provinces. Currently this programme is referred to as the National Abattoir Rating Scheme (NARS), which is only applicable to the high and low throughput Red Meat and Poultry abattoirs in South Africa and not to the Game or Rural abattoirs, thereby further compounding the duality of food standards with food safety being compromised. This study has been undertaken because there are inadequate risk control measures such as introduction of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) guidelines on primary and secondary meat inspection, specifically on game for local consumption, not only within South Africa, but in the international arena as well. A revision of the HAS document and audit will also be needed to meet with the local (not just export) criteria for wild game harvesting, to enable food safety, thus enabling food security in the remote non - agricultural areas in KwaZulu -Natal. Venison is the meat of today because of health priorities that have arisen over the last ten years. It is low in trans - fatty acids and is regarded internationally as a healthy product produced organically in a free range situation. South Africa has a large potential export market for venison to the European Union because the demand, for venison, exceeds supply in Europe. However, the European Union’s “safe food regulation” that was introduced between 2005 and 2007 with an implementation date of 2008 (Regulation1021/2008) has made it imperative that the HACCP principle is applied to any food or food product of animal origin imported into the European Union or its member states. Also, HACCP specifies that a multidisciplinary team of experts is selected. This then lends itself to a participatory approach to risk assessment as wide consultation is required. This participatory approach was used, including expert opinion surveys and focus group discussions with stakeholders and role-players in the game industry such as commercial hunters, state veterinary services and game ranch owners. Such participants may have better insight into existing conditions than external experts with recognised educational qualifications, usually used in the HACCP team. From this and the relevant Veterinary Procedural Notices for game harvesting, a HACCP process flow and critical control points were derived for the primary phase of meat inspection, including slaughter, primary meat inspection and loading for transport to the abattoir. This was modified during a phase or trial harvesting and then implemented during the harvest of 1758 impala carcasses which were subsequently exported. In addition, environmental risks were considered and a risk mitigation strategy designed, to reduce any possible environmental impacts. In northern Kwazulu Natal, game ranches and conservation areas are in close proximity to the rural poor where food is scarce and comes at a premium price. These game farms harvest seasonally for either the local or export market, hence there is abundance of game offal and by-products available, yet it is at present left in the field or taken to the vulture restaurants (in line with the VPN). Participatory risk analysis was thus also used to investigate the feasibility of using edible offal from impala (Aepyceros melampus) as a source of renewable protein, to address food security issues in impoverished communities in the study area, the districts of uPongola and Jozini, in northern KwaZulu Natal. Structured interviews on the cultural acceptability of impala offal were held with 162 randomly sampled adult respondents in veterinary districts associated with dip tanks. A two stage cluster design was used where the state veterinary areas were stage one and the dip tanks (with proportional random sampling of community members) were the second stage. Offal is a popular food in South Africa in different cultures, called “ithumbu” in IsiZulu, “ boti” by the Indian group, “afval” in Afrikaans and “tripe” in English. Generally demand outstrips supply of offal at red meat abattoirs in South Africa. It was found that there was no significant difference between those who would eat impala offal and those who would eat the offal of sheep. It was concluded that it is feasible to use inspected game offal from impala as a protein source in much the same way as red meat offal is used and that the current practice of leaving the offal for predators was likely, if it continues, to cause imbalances in the predator/ prey ratio on game farms. It is recommended that the VPN for game be amended to encompass inspected offal being allowed into the formal food chain, in line with the standard operating procedure developed during this study. Also that current fragmentation of legislation and the implementation thereof is revisited for effective control for harmonisation of food safety standards for game meat within South Africa.
Dissertation (MMedVet)--University of Pretoria, 2012.
Paraclinical Sciences
unrestricted

À l'origine, il y avait cette question qui me hantait depuis toujours : Quel est le rapport des femmes à la création? La solitude m'apparaissait alors comme une condition sine qua non pour pouvoir en arriver à produire une oeuvre. Fallait-il pour autant renoncer à la vie amoureuse, professionnelle? Je cherchais des modèles, une manière de travailler, des influences. Devais-je renoncer à mes rêves? Au moment même où je publiais mon premier livre, j'appris que j'étais enceinte. Cette réalité me confrontait avec encore plus d'acuité à cette épineuse question. D'aussi loin que remontaient mes souvenirs, j'avais gardé des femmes écrivaines deux images bien distinctes: d'un côté, la jeune femme célibataire, fragile, éternellement adolescente, Anne Hébert et les soeurs Brontë en étaient les dignes représentantes; de l'autre, la femme dure autoritaire, vivant en couple mais sans enfant, comme Simone de Beauvoir. Entre les deux, des images en demi-teintes: Sylvia Rath, Virginia Woolf, Katerine Mansfield, Unica Zörn. Non seulement, il était difficile d'écrire quand une femme vivait en couple avec un autre créateur, mais il y avait aussi des enfants qui venaient s'ajouter, ce qui ne faisait que souligner encore plus les conflits entre l'art et la vie. Il est vrai que le discours féministe, dans les années soixante-dix, avait glorifié la maternité et l'image de la mère en parlant peu toutefois de ce qui arrivait après la naissance. [...]

Worldwide there is a growing concern of the emergence and evolution of antimicrobial resistance among bacterial pathogens, which poses a threat to human and animal health. The extensive use and misuse of antimicrobials in human and veterinary clinical therapy and agricultural practices have been a major selective force for the emergence, selection, and dissemination of antimicrobial resistant bacteria and resistant genes. Commensal bacteria constitute a reservoir of resistant genes and their level of resistance is considered to be a good indicator for resistance problems to be expected in pathogens. The monitoring of the prevalence of resistance in indicator bacteria such as faecal Escherichia coli and enterococci in different human and animal populations allows the comparison of the prevalence of resistance and to detect transfer between animals and humans and vice versa. Antimicrobial resistance has however, been found in the bacteria of wildlife not exposed to antimicrobials and living in remote areas of this earth. This has implications for resistance control strategies. Previous studies on antimicrobial resistance in wildlife have yielded contrasting results, such as an almost complete absence of resistance in enterobacteria isolated from moose, deer and vole in Finland compared to a high prevalence of resistance in faecal bacteria from wild rodents living in northwest England, which are possibly due to differences in the ecological systems and the proximity to anthropogenic activities. This study further investigates the phenomenon of antimicrobial resistance in wildlife. A previous study conducted in the conservancy area of Kruger National Park (KNP) within South Africa showed that surface water could be a possible source of antimicrobial resistance in unexposed animal populations and that impala (Aepyceros melampus) were good sentinel animals for the documentation of antimicrobial resistance through rivers. This current study followed on this hypothesis and investigated the prevalence of resistance in commensal bacteria isolated from impala and their water sources in KNP. The following four perennial river systems were selected: the Olifants, the Letaba, the Crocodile, the Sabie-Sand Rivers. Samples of river water (n=11) and faeces (n=165) were collected at 11 different sites along these rivers. Samples were directly plated and resistant colonies were selected by means of discs containing antimicrobials (direct plating method). Resistant colonies that grew in the presence of antimicrobials were cultured and identified. Isolates of E. coli (n=12), Enterobacter cloacae (n=49), Pantoea species (n=9), Enterococcus faecalis (n=59), Enterococcus faecium (n=4) and Enterococcus durans (n=64) were tested for susceptibility to a selection of commonly used veterinary antimicrobial drugs. Susceptibility to 18 antimicrobial drugs was determined by means of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) using a commercial MIC test (Sensititre® Bovine/Porcine plate format BOP06F). Our results allow us to give further support to our working hypothesis that antimicrobial resistance, as evidenced in the impala faeces, may have been due to the impala drinking from the polluted rivers, knowing full well that impala are not routinely subjected to any form of antimicrobial treatment. Although the isolates obtained from the water sources were not as many as those obtained from the faecal samples, a degree of resistance was also observed across all the four river systems that we isolated bacteria from, and this was also evident in the faecal samples as well. Our results also further add to the importance of wildlife as sentinels in environmental antimicrobial resistance studies.
Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2013.
gm2014
Veterinary Tropical Diseases
Unrestricted

Producenten Kevin Parker har onekligen fått igenkänning för sitt trumsound. Som huvudsaklig låtskrivare och producent i rockbandet Tame Impala har han skapat sig ett ”signature sound”. Eftersom många gillar hur Parkers trummor låter har det förts långa diskussioner angående produktionsprocessen. Uppsatsen ämnade att ta reda på hur Parkers produktion sett ut och vilka ljudliga artefakter det är som utgör hans sound. Resultatet visar på en väldigt nedskalad inspelning. Ofta med ett enkelt vintage-trumkit och tre till fyra mikrofoner, dämpade skinn samt en hel del kompression och distorsion. Soundet kan beskrivas som väldigt energiskt, mycket tack vare just hård kompression och distorsion. Parkers sound känns igen även utanför Tame Impala. Trummorna upplevs i många fall som mycket mer än bara ett rytminstrument. Uppsatsen förklarar hur okonventionella produktionsprocesser kan ge upphov till originella ljudliga karaktärer, vilket i slutändan kan anses en positiv konsekvens.

Conservation and management of the ecology of natural areas has become a prerequisite for mining companies in South Africa. Systematic conservation planning provides a useful tool for land–use planning and impact assessment, particularly in the mining industry. A study was therefore undertaken to provide sufficient, spatially explicit biodiversity and veld condition information to aid in the development and establishment of an official conservation plan for the leased mining area of Impala Platinum. By identifying areas with high plant diversity or endemism and by assessing veld conditions as well as grazing and browsing capacities, recommendations could be made towards management strategies and potential future land–use practices. The licensed mining area, north of Rustenburg, covers 29334 ha and includes 14 operational shafts. The area was stratified into three main categories based on landscape types namely: norite koppies; thornveld and rehabilitated areas. The Braun Blanquet approach was followed to sample 139 stratified random relevés. Additional computer software packages were used for capturing, processing and presentation of the phytosociological data (TURBOVEG) as well as a visual editor for phytosociological tables (MEGATAB). Ordinations were subsequently performed to confirm the plant communities and illustrate possible environmental gradients, using multivariate statistic analyses (CANOCO). Four plant communities with two subcommunities were identified and described in both the norite koppies and thornveld respectively while three plant communities with three sub–communities were identified in the rehabilitated areas. Specific environmental factors that influence plant community structure and composition in the norite koppies were the aspect and percentage of soil surface rockiness while soil types proved to be the distinguishing factor in the thornveld. The distribution of plant communities in the rehabilitated areas is mainly due to anthropogenic influences rather than any environmental factors. The Fixed Point Monitoring of Vegetation Methodology– FIXMOVE was then used to sample 32 stratified random survey plots in four selected plant communities in order to quantify and compare veld conditions as well as grazing and browsing capacities. The determination of landscape functionality served to support these quantitative results. The Landscape Function Analysis (LFA) method was used for this purpose. Multivariate statistic analyses (CANOCO) were used to indicate possible degradation gradients between the plant communities. Conclusions regarding conservation and management units were reached by interpreting the quantitative data in accordance with the phytosociological results and recommendations could then be made. All the norite koppies plant communities were recommended as areas for The Fixed Point Monitoring of Vegetation Methodology– FIXMOVE was then used to sample 32 stratified random survey plots in four selected plant communities in order to quantify and compare veld conditions as well as grazing and browsing capacities. The determination of landscape functionality served to support these quantitative results. The Landscape Function Analysis (LFA) method was used for this purpose. Multivariate statistic analyses (CANOCO) were used to indicate possible degradation gradients between the plant communities. Conclusions regarding conservation and management units were reached by interpreting the quantitative data in accordance with the phytosociological results and recommendations could then be made. All the norite koppies plant communities were recommended as areas for ii conservation because of unique and high biodiversity and anthropogenic threats. The Eragrostis rigidior–Ziziphus mucronata and Acacia caffra–Bothriochloa insculpta Communities in the thornveld showed the best potential for browsing and grazing practices but were also recommended for conservation because of their high species diversity and anthropogenic threats. The high landscape functionality, veld condition and grazing capacity of the Aristida bipartita–Bothriochloa insculpta Community indicated that the rehabilitation of the opencast mining areas had been relatively successful at the time of the surveys. Selected parts of the Indigofera heterotricha–Aristida bipartita Community were also recommended for conservation and management in the form of controlled and more effective grazing strategies were recommended for the rest of the thornveld.
Thesis (M. Environmental Science)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

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The fungi Fusarium graminearum (teleomorph Gibberella zeae) is the etiological agent of scab wheat, one of the most important cereal s winter diseases in Brazil. Outbreaks are generally sporadic but in the last few years is frequently reported an increase in disease intensity in almost all the wheat producing areas around the world. Some studies demonstrate a high genetic diversity in F. graminearum from different geographic areas, as well as in isolates at the same locality. In filamentous fungi, as the F. graminearum, one of the main mutation s causes is the transposable elements or transposons which are capable to generate different types of mutations. In some cases, these mutations are involved with the resistance break, an important phenomenon for the occurrence of epidemics. The objectives of this study were to detect putative transposable elements sequences in the F. graminearum genome, as well as to develop and to analyze adequate procedures for co-transformation of brazilin isolates of this fungi with the vectors pNI160, which carry the transposon impala and pAN7.1, which code to hygromycin B resistance. To detect putative sequences of transposable elements in the F. graminearum genome, specifics oligonucleotides were constructed and 14 isolates, originated from the States of Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná and São Paulo were used. A total of 10 oligonucleotides pairs were constructed (6 oligonucleotides pairs were specific to transposase, 3 to transcriptase reverse and 1 to gene that code for GAG protein). Considering these 10 oligonucleotides pairs, the one that would amplify a transcriptase reverse region similar to a Magnaporthe grisea reverse transcriptase did not amplify any fragment in the isolates total DNA, and the pair that would amplify a transposase region similar to Metarhizium anisopliae originated many fragments of different sizes that do not show relation with 683 bp expected size fragment. Considering the eight oligonucleotides pairs remained, five of them amplified the expected fragments for transposase (715 bp region similar to F. oxysporum f. sp. ciceris transposase, 306 bp similar to Aspergillus awamori transposase, 556 bp similar to A. niger tansposase, 339 bp similar to Arabdopsis thaliana transposase and 554 bp similar to Cochliobolus carbonum transposase), two of them amplified the transcriptase reverse fragments (161 bp similar to A. thaliana reverse transcriptase and the 752 bp similar to Caenorhabditis elegans reverse transcriptase) and one oligonucleotide pair amplified an 581 bp expected size fragment similar to F. oxysporum gag gene. The amplification occurred, even for different oligonucleotides pairs, in all 14 analyzed isolates confirming the presence of transposable elements putative sequences in Brazilian isolates of F. graminearum. This also shows a diversity of groups of these putative elements, considering that some of the sequence amplified is characteristic of a transposable element specific group. To develop the genic inactivation protocol, we select the isolates F02 and F12 which are pathogenic for BR18-Terena cultivar. To evaluate the better medium for selection of chlorate resistant mutants, it was analyzed two different medium. This analysis showed that medium describe by Cove (1979) is more indicate for selected the chlorate resistant mutants. A total of 15 9 chorate resistant mutants were obtained, being five identified as nitrate reductase mutants (niaD), eight specific regulator mutants (nirA) and two permease mutants. Differences related to the number of mutants obtained and number inoculated plates, number of nitrate reductase mutants and macroconides production indicate that the choice of the isolate can influence the isolation of mutants and in protoplast production. Analysis with different hygromycin B concentrations revealed that doses up to 30 μg.mL-1 were enough to control the fungal growth. Two nitrate reductase mutants (M01 and M194) were select to protoplastization and co-transformation, once these two mutants in relation to others produce lower concentration of residual mycelium. Only one transformant were obtained and it was denominated T3, what shows that the transformation protocol needs to be modified to increase the number of transformants. If hybridization experiments confirm the transformation of T3 with only one copy of the impala element, it will be confirmed the transposition ability of impala in F. graminearum, and it will be useful in genetic inactivation studies, especially to genes involved in pathogenicity process
O fungo Fusarium graminearum (teleomorfo Gibberella zeae) é o agente etiológico da giberela do trigo, atualmente uma das principais doenças de inverno no Brasil. Epidemias ocorrem esporadicamente, embora nos últimos anos, registraram-se incrementos na intensidade da doença em quase todas as áreas produtoras de trigo no mundo. Vários estudos demonstram uma grande diversidade genética em isolados de F. graminearum de diferentes áreas geográficas, como também em isolados de uma mesma localidade. Em fungos filamentosos como o F. graminearum, uma das principais fontes de mutações capaz de gerar alta variabilidade genética são os elementos transponíveis ou transposons. Essas mutações algumas vezes estão envolvidas com a quebra de resistência, fenômeno importante para o surgimento de epidemias. Os objetivos deste trabalho foram de detectar putativas seqüências de elementos transponíveis no genoma deste fungo, bem como, desenvolver e analisar procedimentos e métodos adequados para a co-transformação de isolados brasileiros deste fungo com o plasmídio pNI160, o qual carrega o transposon impala, e o plasmídio pAN7.1, no qual esta inserido o gene de resistência a higromicina B. Para detectar putativas seqüências de elementos transponíveis no genoma deste patógeno foram construídos oligonucleotídeos específicos para amplificação, via PCR de seqüências características destes elementos transponíveis. Foram utilizados 14 isolados de F. graminearum, provenientes dos Estados do Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná e São Paulo e um total de 10 pares de oligonucleotídeos foram construídos (6 pares para genes que codificam a enzima transposase, 3 pares para genes que codificam a enzima transcriptase reversa e 1 par um gene que codifica a proteína GAG). Dos 10 pares de oligonucleotídeos utilizados, o par que amplificaria uma região de transcriptase reversa similar ao mesmo gene de Magnaporthe grisea não amplificou nenhum fragmento nos isolados utilizados, e o par que amplificaria uma região de transposase similar ao mesmo gene de Metarhizium anisopliae originou muitos fragmentos de diferentes tamanhos não condizentes com o tamanho esperado de 683 pb. Dos oito pares de oligonucleotídeos restantes, cinco amplificaram as regiões esperadas para a transposase (regiões de 715 pb similar a uma transposase de F. oxysporum f. sp. ciceris, 306 pb similar a uma transposase de Aspergillus awamori, 556 pb similar a uma transposase de A. niger, 339 pb similar a uma transposase de Arabidopsis thaliana e 554 pb similar a uma transposase de Cochliobolus carbonum), dois amplificaram as regiões de transcriptase reversa (regiões de 161 pb similar a uma transcriptase reversa de A. thaliana e 752 pb similar a uma transcriptase reversa de Caenorhabditis elegans) e um amplificou um fragmento de tamanho esperado de 581 pb similar ao gene gag de F. oxysporum. A amplificação ocorreu, mesmo que para diferentes pares de oligonucleotídeos, em todos os 14 isolados analisados, confirmando a presença de seqüências putativas de elementos transponíveis em isolados de F. graminearum provenientes de diferentes regiões do Brasil, além de demonstrar uma diversidade de classes de putativos elementos, uma vez que cada seqüência é característica de um determinado grupo de elementos transponíveis. Para o desenvolvimento do protocolo de inativação gênica foram 7 selecionados os solados F02 e F12 patogênicos a cultivar BR18-Terena. Um teste para avaliação do meio de cultura para seleção dos mutantes resistentes ao clorato demonstrou que o meio descrito por Cove (1979) é o mais indicado para os isolados selecionados. Um total de 15 isolados mutantes resistentes ao clorato foi obtido, dos quais 5 foram identificados como mutantes para o gene nitrato redutase (niaD), 8 mutantes para um regulador específico (nirA) e 2 mutantes para permease. Diferenças quanto ao número de mutantes selecionados pelo número de placas inoculadas, número de mutantes nitrato redutase e produção de esporos assexuais, indicam que a escolha do isolado pode influenciar na obtenção de mutantes e na produção de protoplastos. Testes com diferentes concentrações de higromicina revelaram que doses acima de 30 μg. mL-1 são suficientes para o controle do crescimento do fungo. Dois mutantes nitrato redutase (M01 e M194) foram selecionados para a protoplastização e cotransformação, com base na menor produção de micélio residual em relação aos demais. Apenas um transformante foi obtido sendo denominado T3, mostrando a viabilidade do protocolo, mas também, que mais estudos devem ser realizados para se aumentar o número de transformantes. Se confirmada, através de hibridização, a transformação de T3 com uma única cópia do elemento impala, este poderá além de confirmar a capacidade de transposição deste elemento em F. graminearum, também servir em estudos de expressão gênica, principalmente àqueles genes envolvidos no processo de patogenicidade

Fusarium oxysporum est un champignon phytopathogene dont le genome contient de nombreux elements transposables. L'un d'eux, impala, apparente aux elements tcl-mariner largement distribues dans le monde vivant, a ete caracterise en detail afin de l'exploiter comme outil de mutagenese insertionnelle. Nous avons tout d'abord caracterise les neuf copies impala presentes dans la souche fom24. Quatre de ces copies, qui possedent l'ensemble des elements structuraux requis pour leur transposition, sont potentiellement autonomes. Les neuf copies ont ete regroupees en sous-familles sur la base d'un polymorphisme nucleotidique eleve. L'analyse de la distribution de ces sous-familles dans plusieurs souches de l'espece indique une origine ancienne et un polymorphisme ancestral de cette famille d'elements. Nous avons aussi analyse les sequences flanquantes des elements de la souche fom24. Aucune forte specificite d'insertion n'a ete mise en evidence. Toutefois les elements de la sous-famille d ont la particularite d'etre inserees dans des regions repetees, formees d'un empilement de transposons, qui constituent ainsi des nids de transposons. Ces regions sont egalement sujettes a de nombreux rearrangements. Nous avons ensuite demontre l'existence de trois copies actives, grace a un test phenotypique d'excision realise dans une souche vide d'elements endogenes. Nous avons developpe un systeme a double composante, ou une copie defective est mobilisee par la transposase d'une copie active. Enfin, nous avons analyse des mutants non pathogenes obtenus apres transposition d'impala, afin de determiner si des genes de pathogenie etaient etiquetes par l'element. Ces travaux constituent la premiere etape de la validation d'impala comme outil de mutagenese insertionnelle. Au cours de l'analyse d'evenements de transposition, nous avons mis en evidence des rearrangements locaux de l'adn, lies a des transpositions aberrantes, pour lesquelles nous proposons un modele.

Thesis (PhD) -- Stellenbosch University, 1995.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Graling in the Kruger National Park. south of Phalaborwa Gate, is contaminated with copper, probably from a nearby copper refinery. Cattle in the neighbourhood have died from copper poisoning while the average copper concentration in the livers of impala in the Krgler National Park, was found to be abnormally high. The possibility exists that the ultrastructure of spermatozoa may serve as an indicator of environmental conditions. To examine this statement further, the purpose of this study includes the following: - To describe the ultrastructure of normal impala sperm as well as their abnormalities. - To quantify the sperm abnormalities of each experimental animal and to relate the abnormalities with the copper concentration in the impala liver, in order to determine whether any correlation exists between these two variables. Impala have been terminated monthly, from 1992.06.09 to 1993.05.15. in the vicinity of Phalaborwa Gate and in the Skukuza area for other research projects. Their sperm were made available for this study. The control group consisted of 20 animals which comprised 14 animals from an area, not contaminated with copper, along the Nwaswitshaka spruit near Skukula and 6 animals originally from the same area but which had been kept in captivity at Skukuza on a diet, not contaminated with copper. The experimental group consisted of 44 animals which comprised 32 animals from copper contaminated grazing along the Tshutshi spruit south of Phalaborwa Gate and 12 animals captured along the Nwaswitshaka spruit which were kept on a copper contaminated diet in captivity at Skukuza. Sperm from the epididymis of each animal were collected and fixed in a temporary laboratory. The sperm were processed at the Electron Microscopy Unit of the Faculty of Veterinary Science of the University of Pretoria and studied by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The copper concentration in the liver was analyzed and bone marrow collected of each animal in order to determine the condition of the animal. The external morphology of a normal impala sperm was documented by means of SEM and the dimensions of the sperm determined. SEM micrographs of observed sperm abnormalities were taken. Percentages for normal sperm and the percentages of some abnormalities of a control group (Average liver copper concentration - ALCC = 37.9 ppm WB) were calculated. The same percentages were also calculated for an experimental group (ALCC = 104 ppm WB). The control group and the experimental group exhibited 91.6% and 93.6% normal sperm respectively. The difference in percentage sperm abnormalities of the two groups was of the same order. The increased copper in the livers of the experimental group has thus not lead to an increase of the percentage macro-abnormalities observed with SEM. The ultrastructure of normal impala sperm were described and documented with micrographs by means of TEM. The deviations of the normal sperm ultrastructure were also recorded on micrographs. Percentages were calculated for the normal sperm sections, as well as the abnormalities of some sperm sections of a contrl group (ALCC = 33.86 ppm WB). The same percentages were also calculated for an experimental group (ALCC = 122.5 ppm WB). For the control group the average percentage sperm neck sections with vacuoles was : 31.5% and for the experimental group this percentage was : 57.9%. The increased copper concentrations in the livers of the experimental group thus led to an increase of the percentage of sperm necks with vacuoles. There is also reason to believe that the difference of the percentages of sections of the sperm head, in the control and experimental group, should be remarkably greater. A graphic analysis of the TEM-data has also shown that a statistically significant correlation exists between the percentage of sperm with vacuoles in the neck and the copper concentrations in the livers of impalas. The conclusion is that high level copper concentrations exert a detrimental effect on the ultrastructure of the sperm neck. The possibility also exists that copper concentrations in impala liver > 500 ppm WB. will show a correlation with the percentages of some of the other abnormalities observed.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die weiding suid van Phalaborwahek in die Krugerwildtuin word waarskynlik vanaf 'n nabygeleë kopersmeltery met koper besoedel. Van die plaasdiere in die omgewing het reeds van kopervergiftiging gevrek en die gemiddeIde koperkonsentrasie in die lewers van rooibokke is abnormaal hoog. Die moontlikheid bestaan dat die ultrastruktuur van spermatozoa as 'n indikator van omgewingstoestande kan dien. Om bogenoemde moontlikheid verder te ondersoek was die doelwit van hierdie studie die volgende: Om die ultrastruktuur van normaIe rooiboksperme en hulle abnormaliteite te beskryf en die spermabnormaliteite van elke proefdier te kwantifiseer en met die koperkonsentrasie in die lewer in verband te bring om sodoende te bepaal of daar 'n korrelasie tussen die twee veranderlikes bestaan. Rooibokke wat maandeliks vanaf 1992.06.09 tot 1993.05.15 vir ander navorsingsprojekte in die omgewing van Phalaborwahek en Skukuza getermineer is, se sperme is vir die studie beskikbaar gestel. Die kontrolegroep het bestaan uit 20 diere wat saamgestel is uit 14 diere afkomstig van die Nwaswitshakaspruit naby Skukuza, uit 'n gebied wat nie met koper besoedel is nie en 6 diere uit 'n groep wat oorspronklik uit dieselfde gebied gekom het, maar wat te Skukuza in aanhouding geleef het op voedsel wat nie met koper besoedel was nie. Die eksperimentele groep het bestaan uit 44 diere waarvan 32 in die omgewing van die Tshutshispruit suid van Phalaborwahek versamel is en die ander 12 diere is langs die Nwaswitshakaspruit gevang en op 'n koperbesoedelde dieet te Skukuza aangehou. Sperme uit die epididymis van elke dier is in 'n tydelike laboratorium versamel en gefikseer. By die Elektronmikroskopie Eenheid van die Fakutreit van Veeartsenykunde van die Universiteit van Pretoria is die sperme voorberei en met behulp van skandeerelektronmikroskopie (SEM) en transmissie-elektronmikroskopie (TEM) bestudeer. Die koperkonsentrasie in die lewer is bepaal en murgvet is versamel om die kondisie van die diere te bepaaI. Met SEM is die uitwendige morfologie van 'n normale rooiboksperm met mikrograwe gedokumenteer en die mates van die sperm bepaal. Mikrograwe van waargeneemde spermabnormaliteite is met SEM geneem. Persentasies is vir normale sperme en die abnormaliteite van sommige sperme van 'n kontrolegroep (Gemiddelde lewerkoperkonsentrasie - GLKK =37.9 dpm NB) bereken. Dieselfde persentasies is ook vir 'n eksperimentele groep (GLKK = 104 dpm NB) bereken. Van die kontrolegroep het 91.6% en van die eksperimentele groep 93.6% sperme normaal vertoon. Die verskil in persentasies spermafwykings van die twee groepe was ook van dieselfde orde. Die verhoogde koperkonsentrasie in die lewers van die eksperimentele groep het dus nie gelei tot 'n verhoging van die persentasie makro-abnormaliteite wat met SEM waargeneem is nie. Die ultrastruktuur van 'n normale rooiboksperm is met behulp van TEM beskryf en met mikrograwe gedokumenteer. Die afwykings van die spermultrastruktuur is ook op mikrograwe vasgelê. Persentasies is vir die normale spermsneë en die abnormaliteite van sommige spermsneë van 'n kontrolegroep (GLKK = 33.86 dpm NB) bereken. Dieselfde persentasies is ook vir 'n eksperimentele groep (GLKK = 122.5 dpm NB) bereken. Vir die kontrolegroep was die persentasie neksneë met vakuoles = 31.5% en vir die eksperimentele groep was die persentasie = 57.9%. Die verhoogde koperkonsentrasie in die lewer van die eksperimentele groep het dus gelei tot 'n verhoging van die persentasie neksneë met vakuoles. Rede bestaan om te glo dat die verskil van die persentasies kopsneë van die kontrole- en eksperimentele groep ook aansienlik hoër behoort te wees. 'n Grafiese analise van die TEM-data het ook getoon dat daar 'n statisties betekenisvolle korrelasie tussen die persentasie spermnekke met vakuoles en die koperkonsentrasie in die lewer van rooibokke bestaan. Die bevinding is dat hoë lewerkoperkonsentrasies 'n nadelige invloed op die ultrastruktuur van die spermnek uitoefen. Die moontlikheid bestaan ook dat koperkonsentrasies in die lewer > 500 dpm NB ook 'n korrelasie met sommige van die ander abnormaliteite sal toon.

Negli ultimi anni, si sta parlando sempre più spesso di Big Data, riferendosi non solo a grandi moli di dati generati da diversi fenomeni come l’esplosione delle reti sociali e l’accelerazione senza precedenti dello sviluppo tecnologico, ma l'espressione riguarda alcune nuove necessità e le conseguenti sfide, dette delle Tre V: Volume, Velocità e Varietà. Per poter analizzare ed estrarre informazioni da questi grandi volumi di dati, sono state sviluppate risorse e tecnologie differenti dai sistemi convenzionali di immagazzinamento e gestione dei dati. Una delle tecnologie che ha avuto maggior successo è rappresentata da Apache Hadoop, un framework Open Source di Apache. In questo elaborato viene illustrata una panoramica di Hadoop, concepito per offrire supporto ad applicazioni distribuite e semplificare le operazioni di storage e gestione di dataset di grandi dimensioni, fornendo una alternativa ai DBMS relazionali poco adatti alle trasformazioni dei Big Data. Hadoop fornisce inoltre strumenti in grado di analizzare e processare una grande quantità di informazioni, tra i quali Hive, Impala e BigSQL 3.0, descritti nella seconda parte dell’elaborato. Confrontando le prestazioni di questi tre sistemi mediante un esperimento, condotto sul benchmark TPC-DS su piattaforma Hadoop, è stato evidenziato come BigSQL 3.0 riesce ad ottenere le prestazioni migliori.

La seguente tesi presenta un sistema configurabile, automatiizzato e scalabile per creare degli indicatori di performance aziendale partendo da dati strutturati e non. L'archietettura usata è quella big data opensource.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is an economically devastating picornaviral disease affecting over 40 species of cloven-hoofed animals. The virus occurs as seven immunologically distinct serotypes which are characterized by high levels of intra- and intertypic variation. The three South African Territories (SAT) serotypes 1-3 are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, a region where the epidemiology of the disease is particularly complex due to the presence of six of the seven serotypes, the role of wildlife in virus maintenance and the apparently higher levels of variation in the endemic serotypes. These factors make it imperative to establish methods suited to elucidating the regional epidemiology. One of the integral parts of this process is the genetic characterization of regionally representative viruses in order to assess the variation in the field and to clarify the role of wildlife. Nucleotide sequence data and methods suited to studying the SAT-types are however limited. A first priority was therefore to establish a PCR-based nucleotide sequencing technique targeting the highly immunogenic and phylogenetically informative 1D genome region encoding the VP1 protein. The screening of multiple serotypes and subtypes prevalent on the African continent confirmed that this method was robust and well-suited to molecular epidemiological studies in the southern Africa region. The method was first applied in the characterization of FMD virus recovered from the reproductive tract of free-living African buffalo in the Kruger National Park. Nucleotide sequencing assisted in authentication of the results and indicated that carrier status was likely, but it was not possible to unequivocally demonstrate persistent infection of FMDV. In a separate study, the role of impala antelope (Aepyceros melampus) in the epidemiology of the disease in South Africa was assessed. Genetic characterization of impala and African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) viruses collected over an eleven year period confirmed that inter-species transmission occurred on several occasions and that virus can persist in impala populations for more than 12 months. Inter-species transmission and investigation of the possible mechanisms facilitating virus transmission from persistently infected buffalo focussed on the Kruger National Park in South Africa. In order to ensure regional relevance the study was broadened to incorporate buffalo populations throughout southern Africa. Viruses of the three SAT-types recovered from diverse African buffalo populations were therefore characterized. The results reveal that independently evolving viral lineages occur in distinct geographical regions for each of the SAT-types examined and that the levels of intratypic variation are in the order of 52 - 55 % on nucleotide level across the genome region characterized. Given the strict locality-specific grouping of buffalo viruses the likely usefulness of this database for tracing the origin and course of contemporary and historical SAT-type outbreaks was investigated. Molecular epidemiological studies conclusively show that buffalo are indeed the ultimate source of infection for susceptible cloven-hoofed animals occurring in close proximity, that interspecies transmission occurs between cattle and antelope and that trans-boundary transmission of virus remains a threat to disease security in southern African countries.
Thesis (PhD (Microbiology))--University of Pretoria, 2007.
Microbiology and Plant Pathology
unrestricted

Mestrado em Engenharia de Computadores e Telemática
Data has always been one of the most valuable resources for organizations. With it we can extract information and, with enough information on a subject, we can build knowledge. However, it is first needed to store that data for later processing. On the last decades we have been assisting what was called “information explosion”. With the advent of the new technologies, the volume, velocity and variety of data has increased exponentially, becoming what is known today as big data. Telecommunications operators gather, using network monitoring equipment, millions of network event records, the Call Detail Records (CDRs) and the Event Detail Records (EDRs), commonly known as xDRs. These records are stored and later processed to compute network performance and quality of service metrics. With the ever increasing number of telecommunications subscribers, the volume of generated xDRs needing to be stored and processed has increased exponentially, making the current solutions based on relational databases not suited any more and so, they are facing a big data problem. To handle that problem, many contributions have been made on the last years that have resulted in solid and innovative solutions. Among them, Hadoop and its vast ecosystem stands out. Hadoop integrates new methods of storing and process high volumes of data in a robust and cost-effective way, using commodity hardware. This dissertation presents a platform that enables the current systems inserting data into relational databases, to keep doing it transparently when migrating those to Hadoop. The platform has to, like in the relational databases, give delivery guarantees, support unique constraints and, be fault tolerant. As proof of concept, the developed platform was integrated with a system specifically designed to the computation of performance and quality of service metrics from xDRs, the Altaia. The performance tests have shown the platform fulfils and exceeds the requirements for the insertion rate of records. During the tests the behaviour of the platform when trying to insert duplicated records and when in failure scenarios have also been evaluated. The results for both situations were as expected.
“Dados” sempre foram um dos mais valiosos recursos das organizações. Com eles pode-se extrair informação e, com informação suficiente, pode-se criar conhecimento. No entanto, é necessário primeiro conseguir guardar esses dados para posteriormente os processar. Nas últimas décadas tem-se assistido ao que foi apelidado de “explosão de informação”. Com o advento das novas tecnologias, o volume, velocidade e variedade dos dados tem crescido exponencialmente, tornando-se no que é hoje conhecido como big data. Os operadores de telecomunicações obtêm, através de equipamentos de monitorização da rede, milhões de registos relativos a eventos da rede, os Call Detail Records (CDRs) e os Event Detail Records (EDRs), conhecidos como xDRs. Esses registos são armazenados e depois processados para deles se produzirem métricas relativas ao desempenho da rede e à qualidade dos serviços prestados. Com o aumento dos utilizadores de telecomunicações, o volume de registos gerados que precisam de ser armazenados e processados cresceu exponencialmente, inviabilizando as soluções que assentam em bases de dados relacionais, estando-se agora perante um problema de big data. Para tratar esse problema, múltiplas contribuições foram feitas ao longo dos últimos anos que resultaram em soluções sólidas e inovadores. De entre elas, destaca-se o Hadoop e o seu vasto ecossistema. O Hadoop incorpora novos métodos de guardar e tratar elevados volumes de dados de forma robusta e rentável, usando hardware convencional. Esta dissertação apresenta uma plataforma que possibilita aos actuais sistemas que inserem dados em bases de dados relacionais, que o continuem a fazer de forma transparente quando essas migrarem para Hadoop. A plataforma tem de, tal como nas bases de dados relacionais, dar garantias de entrega, suportar restrições de chaves únicas e ser tolerante a falhas. Como prova de conceito, integrou-se a plataforma desenvolvida com um sistema especificamente desenhado para o cálculo de métricas de performance e de qualidade de serviço a partir de xDRs, o Altaia. Pelos testes de desempenho realizados, a plataforma cumpre e excede os requisitos relativos à taxa de inserção de registos. Durante os testes também se avaliou o seu comportamento perante tentativas de inserção de registos duplicados e perante situações de falha, tendo o resultado, para ambas as situações, sido o esperado.

This thesis examines the economic impact of two alternative canning plant sizes in Scott County, Virginia. The impacts of a community cannery as well as a commercial cannery are analyzed with respect to changes in output, employment, and income. Several uses for the commercial cannery are considered, such as specialization in different product categories. In both cases, an input-output model is used to evaluate the effects of the operation of the cannery in the county. The results indicate that the impact of the commercial cannery is significantly larger than the community cannery. Specialization of the commercial cannery in the Canned Specialties sector has the largest impact with respect to industry output and labor income while specialization in the Sausages and Other Prepared Meats sector has the largest impact with respect to employment.
Master of Science

An analysis of the green industry of Virginia was completed in the year 2002 using a mail survey sent to industry participants. The survey was conducted by the Virginia Agricultural Statistics Service (VASS). This data was used to run an economic impact analysis of the industry using IMPLAN Professional software. Additionally, the software was used to determine the approximate affects of drought and water restrictions on the green industry. VASS received a total of 1,146 surveys for a response rate of approximately 27%. Of these responses, 42 surveys indicated that they plan to have future green industry sales but were not presently involved in the business. Another 525 responses claimed to be no longer actively involved in the industry. Therefore, the actual response rate was much closer to 15%. This necessitated the use of numerous alternative data sources to create a more complete model representation of the green industry as a whole. Two separate model scenarios were created, the first using purely survey response data, the second including data from additional sources and factoring out for possible double-counting errors. Direct employment generated from the industry was predicted to be between 29 and 36 thousand jobs, depending on which model scenario is consulted. The total economic impacts predicted from the different models are $2.03 billion and $2.41 billion, respectively. The analysis of the affects of drought and water restrictions predicted a decrease in overall impacts by 33% and 23%, respectively.
Master of Science

L'objectif de ces travaux de thèse est de proposer des approches de modélisation et d'expérimentation de l'impact de structures déformables et indéformables sur différents milieux. Différents modèles analytiques et des simulations numériques sont développés en comparaison aux résultats expérimentaux. Une première partie se consacre à la caractérisation de la similitude entre la réponse à l'impact à l'eau d'un solide et la réponse d'un solide impactant une structure déformable. Des simulations éléments finis (EF) et SPH sont réalisées pour l'impact à l'eau d'un tube cylindrique (sans rupture). Un modèle analytique d'impact à l'eau est proposé pour prédire l'évolution de l'effort (pic, durée). L'analyse des résultats permet de dimensionner un programmateur d'impact solide reproduisant le pic d'effort. Des simulations EF de l'impact sur un tube cylindrique, à géométrie adapté, dans la direction longitudinale, sont réalisées et comparées à quelques expériences tests. Le «flambage dynamique» (dû au comportement inélastique du matériau et aux ondes de déformations) des tubes est alors observé. Une seconde partie traite du cas de la perforation sous impact d'une tôle mince à faibles vitesses d'impact (< 10 m/s, vitesse de déformation < 1000 s-1). Des essais sur puits de chute instrumenté (force, déplacement, déformée de tôle, avancée de fissure) sont analysés. Des simulations EF en éléments coques avec un critère de rupture ductile par endommagement sont réalisées. Les paramètres de rupture dynamique sont identifiés par méthode inverse à l'aide d'essais de résilience Charpy sur l'alliage d'aluminium de désignation 2024 T3. Une analyse des pics de force lors de l'impact permet une meilleure compréhension des mécanismes de perforation. En parallèle, un nouveau modèle analytique, basé sur les énergies impliquées lors de l'impact, est proposé et comparé aux simulations EF. L'étude numérique de la perforation est étendue aux grandes vitesses d'impact et de déformation (100 - 1000 m/s, vitesse de déformation <100 000 s-1) pour identifier les transitions des différents mécanismes de perforation connus (pétalisation, fragmentation des pétales, fragmentation complète)
The objective of this work is to propose approaches to model and to assess experimentally the structural impact on different media. A variety of analytic models and numerical simulations are developed comparing to experimental results. The first part of this work presents a discussion on the similitude between a water impact and an impact on a deformable solid structure. Water impact simulations of a deformable cylinder (without rupture) are performed by finite elements (FE, Coupled Eulerian Lagrangian) and SPH analysis. An analytical model of water impact is proposed for the prediction of peak force evolution. The analysis of results permits to design an impact programmer reproducing this peak force. FE longitudinal impact simulations on cylindrical tubes, with an adapted geometry, are performed and compared with some experiments. The “dynamic buckling” of tubes under impact (due to the material inelastic behavior and to strain waves) is observed. The second part deals with the low velocity perforation (< 10 m/s, strain rate < 1000 s-1) of thin plates. Some experiments on an instrumented drop test (force, displacement, plate shape, crack propagation) are analyzed. Shell FE simulations, with a damage rupture criteria implemented are performed. Parameters are identified by inverse method with the help of Charpy tests made on 2024 T3 aluminum alloy. An analysis of the peak force, during impact, leads to a good understanding of the perforation mechanism. In parallel, a new analytical model, based on an energetic approach of the perforation, is proposed and compared with FE simulations. The numerical perforation study is extended to high velocities and high strain rates (100 - 1000m/s, strain rate < 100 000 s-1) in order to identify different well-known transitions of perforation (Petalisation, petals' fragmentation, total plate's fragmentation)

Adapting sectors to new conditions under climate change requires an understanding of regional vulnerabilities. Conceptually, vulnerability is defined as a function of sensitivity and exposure, which determine climate impacts, and adaptive capacity of a system. Vulnerability assessments for quantifying these components have become a key tool within the climate change field. However, there is a disagreement on how to make the concept operational in studies from a scientific perspective. This conflict leads to many still unsolved challenges, especially regarding the quantification and aggregation of the components and their suitable level of complexity. This thesis therefore aims at advancing the scientific foundation of such studies by translating the concept of vulnerability into a systematic assessment structure. This includes all components and implies that for each considered impact (e.g. flash floods) a clear sensitive entity is defined (e.g. settlements) and related to a direction of change for a specific climatic stimulus (e.g. increasing impact due to increasing days with heavy precipitation). Regarding the challenging aggregation procedure, two alternative methods allowing a cross-sectoral overview are introduced and their advantages and disadvantages discussed. This assessment structure is subsequently exemplified for municipalities of the German state North Rhine-Westphalia via an indicator-based deductive approach using information from literature. It can be transferred also to other regions. As for many relevant sectors, suitable indicators to express the vulnerability components are lacking, new quantification methods are developed and applied in this thesis, for example for the forestry and health sector. A lack of empirical data on relevant thresholds is evident, for example which climatic changes would cause significant impacts. Consequently, the multi-sectoral study could only provide relative measures for each municipality, in relation to the region. To fill this gap, an exemplary sectoral study was carried out on windthrow impacts in forests to provide an absolute quantification of the present and future impact. This is achieved by formulating an empirical relation between the forest characteristics and damage based on data from a past storm event. The resulting measure indicating the sensitivity is then combined with wind conditions. Multi-sectoral vulnerability assessments require considerable resources, which often hinders the implementation. Thus, in a next step, the potential for reducing the complexity is explored. To predict forest fire occurrence, numerous meteorological indices are available, spanning over a range of complexity. Comparing their performance, the single variable relative humidity outperforms complex indicators for most German states in explaining the monthly fire pattern. This is the case albeit it is itself an input factor in most indices. Thus, this meteorological factor alone is well suited to evaluate forest fire danger in many Germany regions and allows a resource-efficient assessment. Similarly, the complexity of methods is assessed regarding the application of the ecohydrological model SWIM to the German region of Brandenburg. The inter-annual soil moisture levels simulated by this model can only poorly be represented by simpler statistical approach using the same input data. However, on a decadal time horizon, the statistical approach shows a good performance and a strong dominance of the soil characteristic field capacity. This points to a possibility to reduce the input factors for predicting long-term averages, but the results are restricted by a lack of empirical data on soil water for validation. The presented assessments of vulnerability and its components have shown that they are still a challenging scientific undertaking. Following the applied terminology, many problems arise when implementing it for regional studies. Advances in addressing shortcomings of previous studies have been made by constructing a new systematic structure for characterizing and aggregating vulnerability components. For this, multiple approaches were presented, but they have specific advantages and disadvantages, which should also be carefully considered in future studies. There is a potential to simplify some methods, but more systematic assessments on this are needed. Overall, this thesis strengthened the use of vulnerability assessments as a tool to support adaptation by enhancing their scientific basis.
Die Anpassung von Sektoren an veränderte klimatische Bedingungen erfordert ein Verständnis von regionalen Vulnerabilitäten. Vulnerabilität ist als Funktion von Sensitivität und Exposition, welche potentielle Auswirkungen des Klimawandels darstellen, und der Anpassungsfähigkeit von Systemen definiert. Vulnerabilitätsstudien, die diese Komponenten quantifizieren, sind zu einem wichtigen Werkzeug in der Klimawissenschaft geworden. Allerdings besteht von der wissenschaftlichen Perspektive aus gesehen Uneinigkeit darüber, wie diese Definition in Studien umgesetzt werden soll. Ausdiesem Konflikt ergeben sich viele Herausforderungen, vor allem bezüglich der Quantifizierung und Aggregierung der einzelnen Komponenten und deren angemessenen Komplexitätsniveaus. Die vorliegende Dissertation hat daher zum Ziel die Anwendbarkeit des Vulnerabilitätskonzepts voranzubringen, indem es in eine systematische Struktur übersetzt wird. Dies beinhaltet alle Komponenten und schlägt für jede Klimaauswirkung (z.B. Sturzfluten) eine Beschreibung des vulnerablen Systems vor (z.B. Siedlungen), welches direkt mit einer bestimmten Richtung eines relevanten klimatischen Stimulus in Verbindung gebracht wird (z.B. stärkere Auswirkungen bei Zunahme der Starkregentage). Bezüglich der herausfordernden Prozedur der Aggregierung werden zwei alternative Methoden, die einen sektorübergreifenden Überblick ermöglichen, vorgestellt und deren Vor- und Nachteile diskutiert. Anschließend wird die entwickelte Struktur einer Vulnerabilitätsstudie mittels eines indikatorbasierten und deduktiven Ansatzes beispielhaft für Gemeinden in Nordrhein-Westfalen in Deutschland angewandt. Eine Übertragbarkeit auf andere Regionen ist dennoch möglich. Die Quantifizierung für die Gemeinden stützt sich dabei auf Informationen aus der Literatur. Da für viele Sektoren keine geeigneten Indikatoren vorhanden waren, werden in dieser Arbeit neue Indikatoren entwickelt und angewandt, beispielsweise für den Forst- oder Gesundheitssektor. Allerdings stellen fehlende empirische Daten bezüglich relevanter Schwellenwerte eine Lücke dar, beispielsweise welche Stärke von Klimaänderungen eine signifikante Auswirkung hervorruft. Dies führt dazu, dass die Studie nur relative Aussagen zum Grad der Vulnerabilität jeder Gemeinde im Vergleich zum Rest des Bundeslandes machen kann. Um diese Lücke zu füllen, wird für den Forstsektor beispielhaft die heutige und zukünftige Sturmwurfgefahr von Wäldern berechnet. Zu diesem Zweck werden die Eigenschaften der Wälder mit empirischen Schadensdaten eines vergangenen Sturmereignisses in Verbindung gebracht. Der sich daraus ergebende Sensitivitätswert wird anschließend mit den Windverhältnissen verknüpft. Sektorübergreifende Vulnerabilitätsstudien erfordern beträchtliche Ressourcen, was oft deren Anwendbarkeit erschwert. In einem nächsten Schritt wird daher das Potential einer Vereinfachung der Komplexität anhand zweier sektoraler Beispiele untersucht. Um das Auftreten von Waldbränden vorherzusagen, stehen zahlreiche meteorologische Indices zur Verfügung, welche eine Spannbreite unterschiedlicher Komplexitäten aufweisen. Bezüglich der Anzahl monatlicher Waldbrände weist die relative Luftfeuchtigkeit für die meisten deutschen Bundesländer eine bessere Vorhersagekraft als komplexere Indices auf. Dies ist er Fall, obgleich sie selbst als Eingangsvariable für die komplexeren Indices verwendet wird. Mit Hilfe dieses einzelnen meteorologischen Faktors kann also die Waldbrandgefahr in deutschen Region ausreichend genau ausgedrückt werden, was die Ressourceneffizienz von Studien erhöht. Die Methodenkomplexität wird auf ähnliche Weise hinsichtlich der Anwendung des ökohydrologischen Modells SWIM für die Region Brandenburg untersucht. Die interannuellen Bodenwasserwerte, welche durch dieses Modell simuliert werden, können nur unzureichend durch ein einfacheres statistisches Modell, welches auf denselben Eingangsdaten aufbaut, abgebildet werden. Innerhalb eines Zeithorizonts von Jahrzehnten, kann der statistische Ansatz jedoch das Bodenwasser zufriedenstellend abbilden und zeigt eine Dominanz der Bodeneigenschaft Feldkapazität. Dies deutet darauf hin, dass die Komplexität im Hinblick auf die Anzahl der Eingangsvariablen für langfristige Berechnungen reduziert werden kann. Allerdings sind die Aussagen durch fehlende beobachtete Bodenwasserwerte zur Validierung beschränkt. Die vorliegenden Studien zur Vulnerabilität und ihren Komponenten haben gezeigt, dass eine Anwendung noch immer wissenschaftlich herausfordernd ist. Folgt man der hier verwendeten Vulnerabilitätsdefinition, treten zahlreiche Probleme bei der Implementierung in regionalen Studien auf. Mit dieser Dissertation wurden Fortschritte bezüglich der aufgezeigten Lücken bisheriger Studien erzielt, indem eine systematische Struktur für die Beschreibung und Aggregierung von Vulnerabilitätskomponenten erarbeitet wurde. Hierfür wurden mehrere Ansätze diskutiert, die jedoch Vor- und Nachteile besitzen. Diese sollten vor der Anwendung von zukünftigen Studien daher ebenfalls sorgfältig abgewogen werden. Darüber hinaus hat sich gezeigt, dass ein Potential besteht einige Ansätze zu vereinfachen, jedoch sind hierfür weitere Untersuchungen nötig. Insgesamt konnte die Dissertation die Anwendung von Vulnerabilitätsstudien als Werkzeug zur Unterstützung von Anpassungsmaßnahmen stärken.

This master thesis focuses on modelling and simulation of impact tests of composite panels. Simulations and analysis were made by using Finite Element Method in software MSC Patran and Dytran. The first part of the thesis deals with describing the properties of composite panels during impact testing and other cases of impacts on composite structures. Next part deals with the used models and results from Dytran. These results are compared with experimental data from real low-velocity impact tests. Part of the thesis is devoted to impact on panels with the stacking sequences which is supposed to be used for design of air duct for airplane Aero L-39NG.

Social Impact Assessment (SIA) identifies the intended and unintended impacts that proposed projects or developments are likely to have on a community or individuals and suggest mitigation measures to prevent these impacts and enhance the positive impacts. The main aim of this dissertation is to explore the significance and the status of SIA in a South African context. EIA is currently in its third era of mandatory practice and with an increasing number of SIAs, it is essential that the practice of SIA should be investigated. The aim of this dissertation was firstly reached by exploring the perspectives of SIA practitioners in South Africa through a questionnaire. The practitioners’ perspectives showed that despite distinct weaknesses in the practice of SIA, i.e. the lack of a fixed set of guidelines and a shortage of SIA skill in the practitioner community, SIA practice has improved since 1997 with the promulgation of ECA, although there is still room for improvement. Secondly a quality review was conducted on a sample of SIARs in South Africa using an adapted review package. The results revealed relatively weak report quality compared to EIA report quality, but with an improvement, in report quality since 1997. The quality review findings appear to confirm the perspectives of the practitioners regarding the state of SIA practice in South Africa. Despite the weaknesses in the SIA process, it appears that the SIA practitioner community is driven by best practice considerations, and that SIA practice is in line with international trends. It appears therefore that despite the observed weaknesses, SIA practice in South Africa is relatively healthy. It is recommended that instead of seeking to strengthen SIA practice by means of regulation and guidelines, SIA practitioners should rather ensure that SIA delivers what it is intended to deliver by ongoing pursuance of best practice, and by improved training and skills development.
Thesis (MSc (Geography and Environmental Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Rockfall represents a significant hazard not only in mountainous areas, but also alongside coastal routes, major transport infrastructures and quarry faces. One aspect of the rockfall phenomenon that still requires further investigations is the fragmentation of falling blocks upon impact. The changes in size, shape and energy of the falling blocks upon fragmentation and the variation in trajectory of the fragments can seriously affect the optimization design of the rockfall mitigation measures. The fragmentation of boulders during a rockfall event can lead to significant changes in the global run-out distances and the maximum kinetic energy to be accounted in the protection systems design. This thesis presents an experimental program conducted to investigate the fragmentation phenomenon under controlled conditions to provide some useful insights in terms of block survival probability upon dynamic impact, fragments distribution, post impact velocity and energy dissipation upon impact. The result of this thesis will focus on a detailed description of the fragmentation process and study several fragmentation mechanisms involved, reproducing many experimental observations of fragment shapes and impact energy, and significantly improve the understanding of the fragmentation process for impact fracture. Spheres shapes were chosen because of their simple body geometry and consequent impact and stress field symmetry. So, the description of materials, sample preparation and tests program conducted for 175 mortar spheres of different diameter built for the current research will be presented to evaluate the survival probability of homogeneous artificial rocks with a known compressive strength dropped from a certain height and to observe the fragmentation process upon impact with a known impacting energy.

Lorsque nous parlons de relations internationales, nous parlons généralement de diplomatie et d'investissement, Le sport peut être utilisé comme outil pour améliorer la diplomatie entre les pays, ainsi que pour développer les intérêts économiques et sociaux. De plus, le sport occupe une place importante dans le repositionnement de l'image d'une nation, tout en améliorant le processus d'intégration des jeunes générations dans le monde. L'un des principaux intérêts, du point de vue du gouvernement, est de créer un lien affectif positif avec la nation hôte de l’évènement sportif. Ce qu'on appelle le soft power. Le but de ce travail est d'explorer certaines des façons dont le sport est utilisé pour générer ce pouvoir, et comment il peut contribuer à générer du contrôle ou à provoquer de l'influence, en se concentrant sur l'État du Qatar. Ce travail est séparé en trois parties principales. Je présente d'abord le développement du sport et la manière dont les événements sportifs ont été utilisés par différents pays et régimes politiques, ainsi que l'impact généré. Deuxièmement, j'essaie de comprendre l'impact généré par l'investissement du Qatar dans l'équipe de football française du Paris Saint-Germain. Et troisièmement, en mesurant l'impact socio-psychologique généré par la jeune génération en organisant des événements sportifs internationaux, le cas du championnat du monde de handball 2015. Ce travail vise à clarifier comment un tel investissement est perçu comme une opportunité de développement au sein de la société, et d'améliorer la diplomatie. En se concentrant sur l'évolution dont le sport est utilisé comme un outil important dans le processus de socialisation des jeunes dans la société mondiale. Sur la base de mes recherches, le résultat de l'investissement dans le Paris Saint-Germain était une situation «gagnant-gagnant» entre la France et le Qatar sur le plan social, économique et politique. De plus, l'utilisation des événements sportifs a eu un impact émotionnel positif, faisant admirer aux résidents la vision du gouvernement. La jeune génération, quelle que soit sa nationalité, a une vision positive des efforts du gouvernement pour s'améliorer et se développer. La vision du gouvernement du Qatar était saillante pour la jeune génération au Qatar
When we mention international relations, we generally talk about diplomacy and investment, but there are other ways of promoting the interests of a government on the international stage. Sport can be used as tool to improve diplomacy between countries, as well as developing economic and social interests. Additionally, sport takes an important place in shaping the image of a nation, while it improves the integration process of young generations into the world. One of the main interests, from a government perspective, in the use of sport, is to generate a positive emotional connection to a host nation - what is known as soft power. The aim of this work is to explore some of the ways in which sport is used to generate this power, and how it can provide a type of control or influence. Specifically, it will focus on the State of Qatar. This work is separated to three main parts. First I present the development of sport and the way sport events were used by different countries and political regimes, and the impact generated. Second, I try to understand the impact generated from Qatar investment in the French football team Paris Saint-Germain. And third, I measured the socio-psychological impact generated on the young generation from hosting international sport events, as in the case of the Handball World championship 2015.This work sets to clarify how allowing such investment is perceived as an opportunity for development within the society, and to improve diplomacy. Additionally, focussing on the young generation allows me to study the evolution of how sport is an important tool in the process of socialization of young people into global society. Based on my research, I argue that the result of the Paris Saint-Germain investment was a "win-win" situation between France and Qatar on the social, economic, and political level. Also, using sport events generated positive emotional impact, making the residents admire the vision of the government. The young generation, regardless nationality has a positive view of government efforts to improve and develop itself - the Qatari government's vision was salient to the young generation in Qatar