**Copy of record**
Please note that the electronic theses currently available on this server have been originally submitted in a paper format. In all cases the bound paper thesis is the copy of record.
This research was undertaken for Bedfordshire County Council to investigate
appropriate mechanisms for the promotion of sustainable rural business in
Bedfordshire.
The research seeks to provide insights into the future ...
The growth of the world’s population and the consequent food shortage,
requires the expansion of agriculture into arid zones which constitute about 60
% of the earth’s land area and are characterized by high levels of ...
A GIS database for a study area (96 Km^) within the county of Bedfordshire
(southern England) was established to provide statistical and mapped information on
the distribution, extent and change through time of land-cover ...
A conventional rain gun system is adversely affected by windy conditions. Therefore, the robotic
self-travelling sprinkler (STS) system that controls the head and the water supply with relation to
instant windy ...
Little is known about soil population dynamics: how microbial communities are affected by
environmental stress; whether they respond adversely, or adjust to it; what the extent and
duration of these adjustments might be; ...
An experiment set up at four sites in Kericho, Kenya was used to investigate
Genotype x Environment interactions of four tea clones of commercial and scientific
interest.
Small differences in environment resulted in ...
The literature suggests that CD44 has the potential to be used as a non-invasive
tumour specific marker for early detection and monitoring. The gene transcript can
undergo alternative splicing, leading to the production ...
Due to desirable environmental reasons, peroxides have replaced halogenated
substances for disinfection purposes in the food and beverage industry. However, cost
issues and the requirement to completely remove these ...
A methodology was developed for assessing soil erosion hazard in the Upper Ewaso Ng’iro
basin of Kenya, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), the Universal Soil Loss
Equation (USLE) and the European Soil Erosion ...
The research problem was identified as a lack of means - end
theory linking choice behaviour to values. The aim of the
study was, therefore, to determine whether or not the means-end theory could be extended to linking ...
Molecular recognition is the basis for many of the chemical and biochemical
phenomena occurring in living organisms. For example, antibodies, which are one of
the different classes of natural receptor molecules, are ...
Chemical alternatives to the fungicides currently used to control Colletotrichum
musae infections on banana fruit have been investigated. Four isolates of C. musae
cultured from anthracnose lesions on imported banana ...
This work investigated the potential use of the electronic nose ( e-nose) for the rapid
and early detection of fungal spoilage in intermediate moisture bakery products. Four
xerophilic Eurotium spp., Penicillium chrysogenum ...
Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) is a growing sector in the financial world. SRI
involves selecting and investing in stocks based on the ethical views of investors, and
then screening, negatively and positively, ...
A novel integrated detection system· has been developed to protect the environment from
hydrocarbon fuels leaking from large-scale storage facilities. Over the last decade, land and
subsequent groundwater contamination ...
The study investigated the preparation treatment of rapeseed for the mechanical
extraction of oil. Current mechanical oil extraction processes achieve an extraction
efficiency of approximately 85% resulting in a residual ...
Nitrate polluted water from agricultural drainage systems is currently treated by the
water industry for mains supply. Moves towards a polluter pays policy resulting from
European Union legislation and consumer pressure ...
The objective of this project was to, improve the performance of the
furrow press, with particular regard to three applications:
i) consolidation in light land
ii) clod breaking in clay soils
iii) tilth production in ...
Despite the importance of efficient irrigation management for sustainable agriculture in
semi-arid and arid regions of the world, poor water delivery is widespread. Following
recent rural reforms in Iran, which have ...
Runoff from agricultural areas under sprinkler irrigation systems is a big
problem. This is because runoff not only reduces water use efficiency (WUE),
but also reduces soil fertility through depletion of fertilisers and ...