SCALES OF FLOWS: Qatar and the Urban Legacies of Mega Events

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Anna Grichting

2013-07-01

Full Text Available In 2022, Qatar will become the first Middle Eastern and Arab country to host such an  important Mega-Event as the FIFA World Cup. Global cultural and sporting Mega Events  ave driven the urban transformation of cities such as Barcelona, London, Rio, Beijing,Shanghai, and Lisbon and the spectacle and economic boosterism encourages cities to  compete on the World Stage for these events. The best practices of successful bids and  their enduring legacies create a knowledge and policy flow of Mega Event strategies for global branding and sustainable Urban, Social, and Economic Development at the local and regional scales. This paper discusses the urban legacies that will result from Qatar hosting the World Cup and other Mega Events, and questions how an emerging global host city like Doha will benefit on the long and short term.

Regional disparity and cost-effective SO2 pollution control in China: A case study in 5 mega-cities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanada, Momoe; Dong, Liang; Fujita, Tsuyoshi; Fujii, Minoru; Inoue, Tsuyoshi; Hirano, Yujiro; Togawa, Takuya; Geng, Yong

2013-01-01

With rapid development, increasing sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) emission becomes a key environmental issue in China. To respond to this challenge, the Chinese government established a top-down scheme to reduce its SO 2 emissions. However, regional disparity and the associated cost differences brought uncertainties to the policy effectiveness and efficiency. Few studies focus on this field. Therefore, this study tries to fill such a gap by investigating the differences of SO 2 emissions, reduction potential, and cost-effectiveness through use of the GAINS-China model in five mega-cities in China, namely, Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, and Hong Kong. A scenario analysis approach is employed, focusing on two technologies named flue gas desulfurization (FGD) and limestone injection (LINJ). Results demonstrated that a large SO 2 reduction potential exists, as well as a great disparity, among the five mega-cities. Chongqing had the largest reduction potential with lowest unit cost, while Beijng and Hong Kong showed the lowest reduction potential with higher unit cost. In Beijing and Shanghai, FGD and LINJ in the power generation sector had the larger reduction potential with the highest cost-effectiveness. However, in Chongqing, the industry sectors also had large reduction potentials. Finally, appropriate SO 2 control strategies and policies are raised by considering the local realities. - Highlights: • The cost-effectiveness of SO 2 control policy was analyzed in five mega-cities in China. • Reduction potential and cost-effectiveness were closely linked to regional disparity. • Beijing and Hong Kong showed lower reduction potential and higher marginal reduction cost. • Chongqing showed the largest reduction potential and the lowest marginal reduction cost

Aerosol optical properties in the mega-cities Beijing and Guangzhou: Measurements and implications for regional air pollution, aerosol sources and remote sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Garland, R. M.; Yang, H.; Schmid, O.; Rose, D.; Gunthe, S. S.

2009-04-01

Aerosol optical properties were measured in two mega-city regions in China. The first site (Backgarden) was in a rural area approximately 60 km northwest of the mega-city Guangzhou in south China and was part of the "Program of Regional Integrated Experiments of Air Quality over the Pearl River Delta" intensive campaign in July 2006 (PRIDE-PRD2006). The second site (Yufa) was in a suburban area approximately 40 km south of Beijing and was part of "Campaigns of Air Quality Research in Beijing" (CAREBeijing-2006) in August 2006. Both sites were designed to measure the regional pollution of the mega-cities. The optical parameters determined with a nephelometer and photoacoustic spectrometer include absorption and scattering coefficients, single scattering albedos and Angstrom exponents at multiple wavelengths (450-700 nm). In both measurement campaigns, we observed pronounced diurnal cycles in absorption and scattering coefficients and single scattering albedo, which can be explained by boundary layer mixing effects and enhanced light absorbing carbon emissions from traffic activity during the nighttime and early morning, respectively (diesel soot from regulated truck traffic). In Beijing both the extensive and the intensive properties were highly dependent upon the origin of the air mass, which indicates that not only does the aerosol concentration change with air mass origin, but so do the chemical composition and sources. When the measured air masses originated in the north and passed over Beijing, the single scattering albedo was generally low (transported into the city from the south. The scattering and absorption coefficients measured in the outflow of the Guangzhou area during PRIDE-PRD2006 were ~2 times smaller than the southerly inflow into Beijing during CARBeijing-2006, which indicates that the sources of particulate pollution south of Beijing are even stronger than those in the Pearl River Delta. In both mega-city regions the Angstrom exponent exhibited a

Events and mega events: leisure and business in tourism

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Ricardo Alexandre Paiva

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The promotion of events and mega events mobilizes at the same time, in a concatenated way or not, leisure and business practices, which are captured by the tourism industry as a stimulus for the reproduction of capitalism, by the amount of other activities which raise (primary, secondary and tertiary , placing the architecture and the city as protagonists in contemporary urban development. In this sense, the article analyzes the articulation of events and mega events to the provision of architecture and urban infrastructure, as well as the construction of the tourist image of the places, motivated by leisure and business activities. The methodological procedures have theoretical and exploratory character and have multidisciplinary intentions. This will be discussed, in a historical perspective, the concepts of leisure and business activities that raise as moving or traveling; next it will be delimited similarities and differences between tourism events and business tourism, entering after the analysis of the distinctions between events and mega events, highlighting the complexity and the role of mega-events as a major symptom of globalization; finally it will be presented the spatial scale developments in architecture and the city in the realization of (mega events, as well as its impact on the city's image. As a synthesis, it is important to notice that spatial developments business tourism, events and mega events are manifested in various scales and with different levels of complexity, revealing the strengths and / or weaknesses of the places. The urban planning, architecture and urbanism are important objects of knowledge and spatial intervention to ensure infrastructure and urban and architectural structures appropriate for events, which should be sensitive to the demands of tourists and host communities.

Festifavelisation: mega-events, slums and strategic city-staging – the example of Rio de Janeiro

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Steinbrink, Malte

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Mega-events are increasingly often taking place in countries of the Global South. In the socio-spatially deeply fragmented host cities these spectacles encompass extremely transformative urban processes. This paper will consider the festivalisation of Rio de Janeiro in the preparatory phase of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. It focuses on the urban policy in relation to how Rio deals with its favelas. The aim of the article is to critically assess current measures of ‘invisibilisation’, ‘pacification’, ‘beautification’ and ‘touristic staging’ of favelas against the backdrop of the upcoming events.

Analysis of Attraction Features of Tourism Destinations in a Mega-City Based on Check-in Data Mining—A Case Study of Shenzhen, China

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Zhihui Gu

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Location-based service information, provided by social networks, provides new data sources and perspectives to research tourism activities, especially in highly populated mega-cities. Based on three years (2012–2014 of approximately 340,000 check-in records collected from Sina micro-blog at 86 tourist attractions in Shenzhen, a first-tier city in southern China, we conducted a comprehensive study of the attraction features involving different aspects, such as tourist source, duration of stay, check-in activity index, and attraction correlation degree. The results showed that (1 theme parks established in the early 1990s were the most popular tourist attractions in Shenzhen, but a negative trend was detected in the check-in population; (2 compared with check-in times from surrounding activities and the kernel density of tourists, most destinations in Shenzhen showed a lack of attraction, failing to make the most of their geographic accessibility; and (3 the homogeneity and inconvenient traffic conditions of major tourist destinations leading to the construction of a tourism tour chain has become a challenge. The results of this study demonstrate the potential of big-data mining and provide valuable insights into tourism market design and management in mega-cities.

More Intense Mega Heat Waves in the Warmer World

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, G.; Robinson, D. A.

2017-12-01

In this study, changes in the occurrences of heat waves on the globe since the mid- 20th century and the synoptic characteristics of mega heat waves at regional scales in the warmer climate are examined. The NCEP-NCAR reanalysis surface data show that there have been no obvious linear changes in the heat wave frequencies at the continental scales since the mid-20th century, but amplified interdecadal variations led to unprecedented intense heat waves in the recent decades at the regional scales. Such mega heat waves have been more frequently observed in the poleward subtropical climate belts as well as in the interior region of continents. According to the analyses of upper tropospheric data, the occurrences of more intense mega heat waves since the late 20th century may be associated with the expansion of subtropical high pressures. These results suggest that populous cities near the subtropical climate zones should provide proactive mega heat wave warning systems for residents due to their vulnerability to the sudden attack of human lives harvest by mega heat waves in the warmer 21st century.

Sustainable urban transport indicators: tool for evaluating transport sustainability in the mega cities of Pakistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imran, M.

2005-01-01

Urban Transport is an important sector to accomplish the goal of sustainable development in Pakistan. This is important because of the high growth of the transport sector's energy consumption, road crashes and greenhouse gas emissions. This becomes significant in the Pakistani cities where motor vehicle fleet is growing at two to three times the rate of population. Transport Policies has resulted high growth of urban road traffic, increasing air and noise pollution throughout the country. This situation raised the question how to achieve sustainable urban transport in the mega cities of Pakistan? Development of sustainable urban transport indicators will provide an opportunity to analyze current transport policies to assess Pakistan progress towards or away from sustainability. Medium Term Development Framework (2005-10) has selected to analyze against establish sustainable urban transport indicators for Pakistan. On the basis of analysis, it has found that MWF has tried to address transport problem in a piecemeal manner, rather than adopting a holistic approach. Implementing MTDF policies on transport is not fully matched with a long term commitment to achieving sustainable development in Pakistan. (author)

Mega-event strategy as a tool of urban transformation : Sydney's experience

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chen, Y.; Spaans, M.

2009-01-01

Mega-event strategies and their impact on host cities have drawn increasing interest, as organising large-scale urban events has become part of a deliberate urban policy strategy to promote local economic growth and put the host city on the world agenda. Thus far, the research addressing what

Urban-Rural Humidity Contrasts in Mexico City

Science.gov (United States)

Jáuregui, E.; Tejeda, A.

1997-02-01

Data from one pair of urban-suburban (Tacubaya and Airport) andone pair of urban-rural (School of Mines and Plan Texcoco) temperature and humidity measuring stations were used to illustrate specific humidity(q) contrasts in Mexico City. Results show a marked seasonal variation of q from around 7.9 g kg-1 during the dry months to 10 g kg-1 in the wet season (May-October) on both urban and suburban sites. The mean monthly contrasts for this pair of stations, albeit small, show that the city air is somewhat drier during the first half of the year. Comparison of urban and rural q on an hourly basis shows that although urban air is more humid at night the reverse is true during the afternoon. Areal distribution of q shows two centres of maximum humidity over the city at night and a corresponding minimum during the afternoon. On average the urban-rural contrasts in q were found to be somewhat smaller than the estimated uncertainty. The above results are in agreement with mid-latitude experience.

Chemical Composition and Emission Sources of the Fine Particulate Matters in a Southeast Asian Mega City (Dhaka, Bangladesh)

Science.gov (United States)

Salam, Abdus

2016-04-01

Air pollution has significant impact on human health, climate change, agriculture, visibility reduction, and also on the atmospheric chemistry. There are many studies already reported about the direct relation of the human mortality and morbidity with the increase of the atmospheric particulate matters. Especially, fine particulate matters can easily enter into the human respiratory system and causes many diseases. Particulate matters have the properties to absorb the solar radiation and impact on the climate. Dhaka, Bangladesh is a densely populated mega-city in the world. About 16 million inhabitants are living within an area of 360 square kilometers. Air quality situation has been degrading due to unplanned growth, increasing vehicles, severe traffic jams, brick kilns, industries, construction, and also transboundary air pollution. A rapidly growing number of vehicles has worsen the air quality in spite of major policy interventions, e.g., ban of two-stroke and three-wheeled vehicles, phase out of 20 years old vehicles, conversion to compressed natural gas (CNGs), etc. Introduction of CNGs to reduce air pollution was not the solution for fine particles at all, as evidence shows that CNGs and diesel engines are the major sources of fine particles. High concentration of the air pollutants in Dhaka city such as PM, carbonaceous species (black and organic carbon), CO, etc. has already been reported. PM2.5 mass, chemical composition (e.g., BC, OC, SO42-, NO3-, trace elements, etc.), aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) and emission sources of our recent measurements at the highly polluted south East Asian Mega city (Dhaka) Bangladesh will be presented in the conference. PM2.5 samples were collected on filters with Digital PM2.5 sampler (Switzerland) and Air photon, USA. BC was measured from filters (with thermal and optical method) and also real time with an Aethalometer AE42 (Magee Scitific., USA). Water soluble ions were determined from filters with ion chromatogram. AOD

Cities within Cities: An Urbanization Approach in the Gulf Countries

OpenAIRE

Bamakhrama, Salim Salah

2015-01-01

Within Dubai, nineteen out of the original 112 mega-projects carried the word city in their names, a phenomenon that is common in Gulf cities such as Dubai, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. To further explore this phenomenon, this thesis focuses on three aspects that affect the dynamic relationship between the primary city and the cities within cities (sub-cities) in the Gulf region with special emphasis on Dubai. First, the naming problem of the sub-city illustrates why the tension between competing id...

Urban Agglomeration and Extension in Northern Coast of West Java: A Transformation into Mega Region

Science.gov (United States)

Octifanny, Y.; Hudalah, D.

2017-07-01

In the past decade, at least three neighbouring metropolitan areas in the northwestern part of the island have been merging with each other: Jakarta Metropolitan Area (Jabodetabek), Bandung Metropolitan Area (Bandung Raya), and Cirebon Metropolitan Area (Ciayumajakuning). It is expected to be the first island-based mega-conurbation. This paper explores the potential emergence of mega region as a ground study, where mega region can be used for economic, logistic, transportation development. Authors use scoring analysis from economic and demographic indicators. The outcomes found a new and larger formation of city-region in the northern coast road networks (Pantura) - specifically western part of Java Island.

Urban and peri-urban precipitation and air temperature trends in mega cities of the world using multiple trend analysis methods

Science.gov (United States)

Ajaaj, Aws A.; Mishra, Ashok K.; Khan, Abdul A.

2018-04-01

Urbanization plays an important role in altering local to regional climate. In this study, the trends in precipitation and the air temperature were investigated for urban and peri-urban areas of 18 mega cities selected from six continents (representing a wide range of climatic patterns). Multiple statistical tests were used to examine long-term trends in annual and seasonal precipitation and air temperature for the selected cities. The urban and peri-urban areas were classified based on the percentage of land imperviousness. Through this study, it was evident that removal of the lag-k serial correlation caused a reduction of approximately 20 to 30% in significant trend observability for temperature and precipitation data. This observation suggests that appropriate trend analysis methodology for climate studies is necessary. Additionally, about 70% of the urban areas showed higher positive air temperature trends, compared with peri-urban areas. There were not clear trend signatures (i.e., mix of increase or decrease) when comparing urban vs peri-urban precipitation in each selected city. Overall, cities located in dry areas, for example, in Africa, southern parts of North America, and Eastern Asia, showed a decrease in annual and seasonal precipitation, while wetter conditions were favorable for cities located in wet regions such as, southeastern South America, eastern North America, and northern Europe. A positive relationship was observed between decadal trends of annual/seasonal air temperature and precipitation for all urban and peri-urban areas, with a higher rate being observed for urban areas.

Fast food consumption and its associations with obesity and hypertension among children: results from the baseline data of the Childhood Obesity Study in China Mega-cities

OpenAIRE

Zhao, Yaling; Wang, Liang; Xue, Hong; Wang, Huijun; Wang, Youfa

2017-01-01

Background China has seen rapid increase in obesity and hypertension prevalence and fast food consumption over the past decade. We examined status and risk factors for Western- and Chinese fast food consumption and their associations with health outcomes in Chinese children, and examined how maternal factors were associated with child health outcomes. Methods Data of 1626 students aged 7–16 (11.6 ± 2.0) years and their parents in four mega-cities across China (Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, and ...

Meteorology and air-quality in a mega-city: application to Tehran, Iran

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malakooti, Hossein

2010-01-01

The influence of a mega-city on the atmospheric boundary layer and surface conditions was examined in the complex-terrain, semi-arid Tehran region using the Pennsylvania State University/National Center for Atmospheric Research fifth-generation Mesoscale Model (MM5) during a high pollution period. In addition, model sensitivity studies were conducted to evaluate the performance of the urban canopy and urban soil model 'SM2-U (3D)' parameterization on the meteorological fields and ground level air pollutant concentrations in this area. The topographic flows and urban effects were found to play important roles in modulating the wind and temperature fields, and the urbanized areas exerted important local effects on the boundary layer meteorology. An emission inventory of air pollutants and an inventory of heat generation were developed and updated for 2005 in this work. Emissions from on-road motor vehicles constitute a major portion of the emission inventory and play the most important role in terms of contributions of air pollutants to the atmosphere in Tehran. By using a detailed methodology, we calculated spatial and temporal distributions of the anthropogenic heat flux (Qf) for Tehran during 2005. Wintertime Qf is larger than summertime Qf, which reflects the importance of heating emissions from buildings and traffic during cold and warm period respectively. Different urban parameterizations were used as a tool to investigate the modifications induced by the presence of an urban area in the area of interest. It was found that, for local meteorological simulations, the drag-force approach coupled with an urban soil model (DA-SM2-U) is preferable to the roughness approach (RA-SLAB). The comparisons indicated that the most important features of the wind, temperature and turbulent fields in urban areas are well reproduced by the DA-SM2-U configuration with the anthropogenic heat flux being taken into account (i.e., 'DA-SM2-U Qf: On' option). This

Manila, mega city by the year 2000.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamson, W N

1990-01-01

Fueled by internal migration, Manila's rapid population has left the philippine capital unable to provide basic services to the city's population. With an annual growth rate of 2.3%, Manila's current population of 8 million is expected to increase to 10 million by the year 2000. The number of migrants to the city has steadily increased over the last 20 years; a recent study indicates that 1/2 of the population currently living in the Manila metropolitan area was born in the province. The growth that began in the 1970 has coincided with increases in the birth rate. As one expert noted, by the year 2000, 1/2 of the city's growth will be due to a high birth rate. The rapidly growing population has made it difficult for the government to provide adequate food, water systems, and other services. The increasing number of people living in squalor are at great risk on contracting communicable diseases, and suffer from poor maternal and child health, inadequate nutrition, and lack safe drinking water and waste disposal systems. Most of the migrants come to the city looking for employment and opportunity, but many are left economically trapped, working in low-paying and often gruelling jobs. Critics attribute the population imbalance to government policies that have favored the city and neglected the countryside. Realizing the dangers associated with the massive urban growth, the government has begun to address the problem. It has asked business to invest in the countryside, it has built roads and bridges there to spur economic growth, and has tried to convince people to return to the province.

Turism, mega sport events and 2014 world cup: a view at/from the amazonian tri-border Brazil-Peru-Colombia

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Alex Butel Ribeiro

2017-07-01

Full Text Available For the second time in history, Brazil hosted the most important football tournament on the planet: the fifa World Cup. In the edition held in 2014, the Amazon region participated directly in the process, with the city of Manaus as one of the 12 subsections elected. This article is based on considerations on this mega-sport event and its impacts on Pan-Amazonia. In order to understand the legacies and impacts of the 2014 World Cup as a mega-sport event in the Amazonian region of the Brazil-Peru-Colombia the cities of Tabatinga (br and Letícia (co were analysed. Considering that these cities were not host cities of the world championship, we recognize their importance as entry to the Brazilian territory to watch the games in Manaus and other Brazilian cities. Not much emphasis was given to cities outside the mega-event circuit in question, leaving aside the analysis of spatial and territorial reconfigurations linked to this global activity in the national territory. From extensive fieldwork in both cities in the period prior to the event (2013, during the year and season of the event (2014 and later (2015 we recognize some infrastructural transformations in the Letícia hotel chain and short-term impacts on the system of transportation in Tabatinga. Although relatively brief and relatively simple, the mobilizations that took place in the two cities proved to be relevant, making clear not only the "little" that was done, but especially the "much" that could have been done and was not. This "much" does not only concern urban infrastructures, hotels, communication and transport, which have not been improved. It refers mainly to the missed opportunity on the part of the public power and the tri-national private initiative to join forces to further consolidate the important pan-Amazonian urban network that the region of the Brazil-Peru-Colombia Triple Border establish.

Tsunami Hazard Assessment of Coastal South Africa Based on Mega-Earthquakes of Remote Subduction Zones

Science.gov (United States)

Kijko, Andrzej; Smit, Ansie; Papadopoulos, Gerassimos A.; Novikova, Tatyana

2017-11-01

After the mega-earthquakes and concomitant devastating tsunamis in Sumatra (2004) and Japan (2011), we launched an investigation into the potential risk of tsunami hazard to the coastal cities of South Africa. This paper presents the analysis of the seismic hazard of seismogenic sources that could potentially generate tsunamis, as well as the analysis of the tsunami hazard to coastal areas of South Africa. The subduction zones of Makran, South Sandwich Island, Sumatra, and the Andaman Islands were identified as possible sources of mega-earthquakes and tsunamis that could affect the African coast. Numerical tsunami simulations were used to investigate the realistic and worst-case scenarios that could be generated by these subduction zones. The simulated tsunami amplitudes and run-up heights calculated for the coastal cities of Cape Town, Durban, and Port Elizabeth are relatively small and therefore pose no real risk to the South African coast. However, only distant tsunamigenic sources were considered and the results should therefore be viewed as preliminary.

Tsunami Hazard Assessment of Coastal South Africa Based on Mega-Earthquakes of Remote Subduction Zones

Science.gov (United States)

Kijko, Andrzej; Smit, Ansie; Papadopoulos, Gerassimos A.; Novikova, Tatyana

2018-04-01

After the mega-earthquakes and concomitant devastating tsunamis in Sumatra (2004) and Japan (2011), we launched an investigation into the potential risk of tsunami hazard to the coastal cities of South Africa. This paper presents the analysis of the seismic hazard of seismogenic sources that could potentially generate tsunamis, as well as the analysis of the tsunami hazard to coastal areas of South Africa. The subduction zones of Makran, South Sandwich Island, Sumatra, and the Andaman Islands were identified as possible sources of mega-earthquakes and tsunamis that could affect the African coast. Numerical tsunami simulations were used to investigate the realistic and worst-case scenarios that could be generated by these subduction zones. The simulated tsunami amplitudes and run-up heights calculated for the coastal cities of Cape Town, Durban, and Port Elizabeth are relatively small and therefore pose no real risk to the South African coast. However, only distant tsunamigenic sources were considered and the results should therefore be viewed as preliminary.

The State of Ambient Air Quality of a Mega City in Southeast Asia (Karachi, Pakistan)

Science.gov (United States)

Khwaja, H. A.; Hussain, M. M.; Naqvi, I.; Malik, A.; Siddiqui, S. A.; Khan, A.

2016-12-01

Outdoor air pollution is a serious public health problem. Studies indicate that in recent years exposure levels have increased considerably in some parts of the world, particularly in developing countries of Asia with large populations. Simultaneous measurements of PM2.5 and gaseous pollutants NO, NO2 , SO2 , O3 , HONO, HNO3, HF, and HCl were carried out in the city of Karachi. This is the first systematic study of this kind carried out in a mega city of Pakistan. Mean concentration of PM2.5 was 186 µg/m3. Concentrations of NO, NO2 , SO2 , O3 , HONO , HNO3, HF, and HCl varied from 8.6 - 194 ppb, 15.7 - 131 ppb, 7.9 - 60 ppb, 5.0 - 218 ppb, 0.05 - 6.6 ppb, 0.1 - 10.8 ppb, 0.1 - 2.8 ppb, and 0.3 - 568 ppb, respectively. Daily patterns were observed. The 24 h mean PM2.5 on weekdays was significantly higher than the weekend value, indicating that vehicular pollution is one of the important source of PM2.5. The diurnal variations of both NO and NO2 showed higher concentrations during morning and evening rush-hours and lower concentrations at night, indicating that vehicular traffic is the principal source of NOx . Peak HONO concentration of 6.6 ppb was observed in the morning hours. The highest SO2 , HNO3 , HF, and HCl values occurred during the daytime when general pollution levels, particularly those of suspended particulate matter, were also high. Concentrations of O3 are observed to increase during the daytime, consistent with its formation by photochemical reactions. The present findings are compared with similar measurements worldwide. Results have demonstrated that WHO air quality standard for PM2.5 (20 µg/m3) were exceeded by a factor of 5 - 13. Concentrations of NO2 , SO2 and O3 were found to be significantly higher than the WHO air quality guidelines. The reported high levels were attributed to vehicular traffic and industrial activity. It has been concluded that air pollution levels in Karachi are extremely high and can be considered an alarming indicator

L’ASPETTO URBANO DEL SOTTOSVILUPPO: LE MEGA CONURBAZIONI

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Jesús Carlos Morett Sánchez

2016-06-01

Full Text Available As a result of globalization, in developing countries, the imbalance between the regions has increased, since the population is, more and more, addressed towards large settlements, inhabited by millions of people, in very precarious conditions, together with the lack of the most essential municipal services; therefore, these places are cities just for their size. They are concentrations of human beings, the result of the backwardness of their countries, making it even more difficult to develop. Are Mega Aglomeraciones Humanas Urbanas (MAHU, the impact of the unequal regional development in poor countries (whose economy is concentrated in some areas, and the ruin of small farms, for which it is very difficult to compete with large food companies. As a result, huge masses of people, who are unable to survive in rural areas of poor countries, migrate to the cities. It is not a process of attraction of the city, but the expulsion of people from fields, farms and forests, which - as a last option - move to urban areas that offer few opportunities for formal and well paid employment.

MEGA: A Low-Background Radiation Detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kazkaz, Kareem; Aalseth, Craig E.; Hossbach, Todd W.; Gehman, Victor M.; Kephart, Jeremy; Miley, Harry S.

2004-01-01

The multiple-element gamma assay (MEGA) is a low-background detector designed to support environmental monitoring and national security applications. MEGA also demonstrates technology needed or Majorana, a next generation neutrino mass experiment. It will also exploit multicoincidence signatures to identify specific radioactive isotopes. MEGA is expected to begin testing in late 2003 for eventual installation at the Waste Isolation Plant, Carlsbad, NM

Aspectos da miocardite em chagásicos crônicos com "megas" e sem "megas" com insuficiência cardíaca congestiva

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Hipólito de Oliveira Almeida

1984-06-01

Full Text Available O estudo microscópico de 20 corações de chagásicos com "megas" e de outros 20 sem "megas" com insuficiência cardíaca congestiva (ICC revelou que tanto a Jibrose quanto o exsudato inflamatório no miocárdio são discretos nos casos de "megas" e geralmente acentuados nos casos de ICC. Considerando-se que nos "megas" a ICC, a hipertrofia do miocárdio e a lesão vorticilar são fenômenos raros, nossos achados (atuais e anteriores sugerem que estes estejam relacionados principalmente com a agressão inflamatória ao miocárdio ventricular, uma vez que a desnervação é, geralmente, mais acentuada nos casos de "megas" que nos de ICC.The study of 20 hearts from chagasic patients with "megas " and of others 20 from chagasics without "megas" with heart failure, shows that both, myocardial Jibrosis and inflammatory exudate are light in cases with "megas" and severe in group with heart failure. In chagasic with "megas" the myocardial hypertrophy, the apical lesion and the cardiac insufficiency are infrequent. Ourfindings suggest that they are related to the myocardial ventricular inflammation and not to the cardiac denervation. This latter is more severe in cases of "megas" than in cases of congestive heart failure without "megas".

Urban strategies and post-event legacy : The case of summer Olympic cities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chen, Y.

2012-01-01

Mega-event strategies and their impact on host cities have drawn increasing interest, as organising large-scale urban events has become part of a deliberate urban policy strategy to promote local economic growth, improve the city image and put the host city on the world agenda. Most cities stressed

Pocket money, eating behaviors, and weight status among Chinese children: The Childhood Obesity Study in China mega-cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Miao; Xue, Hong; Jia, Peng; Zhao, Yaling; Wang, Zhiyong; Xu, Fei; Wang, Youfa

2017-07-01

Both the obesity rate and pocket money are rising among children in China. This study examined family correlates of children's pocket money, associations of pocket money with eating behaviors and weight status, and how the associations may be modified by schools' unhealthy food restrictions in urban China. Data were collected in 2015 from 1648 students in 16 primary and middle schools in four mega-cities in China (4 schools/city): Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, and Xi'an. Cluster robust negative binomial regression models were fit to assess family correlates of pocket money, associations of pocket money with child eating behaviors and weight outcomes, and possible modifying effects of schools' unhealthy food restrictions. Sixty-nine percent of students received pocket money weekly. Students received more pocket money if mothers frequently ate out of home (IRR=2.28 [1.76, 2.94]) and/or family rarely had dinner together (IRR=1.42, 95%=[1.01, 1.99]). Students got less pocket money if parents were concerned about child's future health due to unhealthy eating (IRR=0.56 [0.32,0.98]). Students with more pocket money more frequently consumed (by 25-89%) sugary beverages, snacks, fast food, or at street food stalls, and were 45-90% more likely to be overweight/obese. Associations of pocket money with unhealthy eating and overweight/obesity were weaker in schools with unhealthy food restrictions. Pocket money is a risk factor for unhealthy eating and obesity in urban China. School policies may buffer pocket money's negative influence on students' eating and weight status. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

THE CENTURY OF MEGA - DAGUOS. THE CHARTER OF PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE AMONG THE MEGA - DAGUOS

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Mădălina Virginia ANTONESCU

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The current paper discusses the origins of the concept of “daguo”, a term used in the Chinese academic literature to refer to the “great powers”. We will use a particular concept, i.e. “mega -daguo”, to refer to entities higher than the great powers (states, in the classic sense, that is new, trans-state or super -state actors of transcontinental or continental dimensions. Such entities create fusions among different civilizations; they have a specific behaviour, distinct from the behaviour of great powers, as currently perceived by us, in the traditional sense of the term. The current paper analyses the typology of mega-daguos; we will refer to the post-Huntingtonian age, that of a world which has overcome the dualist paradigm of the “inevitable conflict” among the civilizations, a world which has turned the principle of dialogue among the mega-daguos into a fundamental principle underlying a world of colossi. The last part of the paper proposes a fundamental document of the new world of post-state actors (mega-daguos, for the 21st century. We will call it the“Charter of peaceful coexistence among the mega-daguos”, with an approach to the issue of reorganizing the UN, in order to be able to come to terms with such reality, in the 21stcentury post-state world based on a global law, in which post - state actors are also legally responsible for their behaviour and their decisions, at global level.

Legacy creation strategy in Olympic cities : The path towards sustainable development?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chen, Y.

2015-01-01

Mega-event strategies and their impact on the development of host cities have drawn increasing interest as they have become part of wider city development strategies. However, many city leaders are challenged by a gigantic and complex task after the events: how to deal with the post-use of large

Temperate and boreal forest mega-fires: characteristics and challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Scott L. Stephens; Neil Burrows; Alexander Buyantuyev; Robert W. Gray; Robert E. Keane; Rick Kubian; Shirong Liu; Francisco Seijo; Lifu Shu; Kevin G. Tolhurst; Jan W. van Wagtendonk

2014-01-01

Mega-fires are often defined according to their size and intensity but are more accurately described by their socioeconomic impacts. Three factors - climate change, fire exclusion, and antecedent disturbance, collectively referred to as the "mega-fire triangle" - likely contribute to today's mega-fires. Some characteristics of mega-fires may emulate...

Global Climate Change and Solutions for Urban Sustainability of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dao Phan

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC, the largest city in Vietnam, is steadily growing, certainly towards a mega city in the near future. Like other mega cities at the boom stage, it has to face with serious environmental matters insolvable for many years. The situation may be worse under the effects of global climate change, geological subsidence due to non-standard construction and sea level rise. The situation of HCMC can be damaged or even broken by resonant effects of unsolved environmental matters and latent impacts of climate change. This article shows the challenges to the urban sustainable development under the duo effect of urban environmental matters and climate change in Ho Chi Minh City. Opportunities and strategic directions to overcome the challenges are also analyzed and recommended.

Stochastic strong motion generation using slip model of 21 and 22 May 1960 mega-thrust earthquakes in the main cities of Central-South Chile

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz, S.; Ojeda, J.; DelCampo, F., Sr.; Pasten, C., Sr.; Otarola, C., Sr.; Silva, R., Sr.

2017-12-01

In May 1960 took place the most unusual seismic sequence registered instrumentally. The Mw 8.1, Concepción earthquake occurred May, 21, 1960. The aftershocks of this event apparently migrated to the south-east, and the Mw 9.5, Valdivia mega-earthquake occurred after 33 hours. The structural damage produced by both events is not larger than other earthquakes in Chile and lower than crustal earthquakes of smaller magnitude. The damage was located in the sites with shallow soil layers of low shear wave velocity (Vs). However, no seismological station recorded this sequence. For that reason, we generate synthetic acceleration times histories for strong motion in the main cities affected by these events. We use 155 points of vertical surface displacements recopiled by Plafker and Savage in 1968, and considering the observations of this authors and local residents we separated the uplift and subsidence information associated to the first earthquake Mw 8.1 and the second mega-earthquake Mw 9.5. We consider the elastic deformation propagation, assume realist lithosphere geometry, and compute a Bayesian method that maximizes the probability density a posteriori to obtain the slip distribution. Subsequently, we use a stochastic method of generation of strong motion considering the finite fault model obtained for both earthquakes. We considered the incidence angle of ray to the surface, free surface effect and energy partition for P, SV and SH waves, dynamic corner frequency and the influence of site effect. The results show that the earthquake Mw 8.1 occurred down-dip the slab, the strong motion records are similar to other Chilean earthquake like Tocopilla Mw 7.7 (2007). For the Mw 9.5 earthquake we obtain synthetic acceleration time histories with PGA values around 0.8 g in cities near to the maximum asperity or that have low velocity soil layers. This allows us to conclude that strong motion records have important influence of the shallow soil deposits. These records

MEGA X: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis across Computing Platforms.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Sudhir; Stecher, Glen; Li, Michael; Knyaz, Christina; Tamura, Koichiro

2018-06-01

The Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (Mega) software implements many analytical methods and tools for phylogenomics and phylomedicine. Here, we report a transformation of Mega to enable cross-platform use on Microsoft Windows and Linux operating systems. Mega X does not require virtualization or emulation software and provides a uniform user experience across platforms. Mega X has additionally been upgraded to use multiple computing cores for many molecular evolutionary analyses. Mega X is available in two interfaces (graphical and command line) and can be downloaded from www.megasoftware.net free of charge.

Fast food consumption and its associations with obesity and hypertension among children: results from the baseline data of the Childhood Obesity Study in China Mega-cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yaling; Wang, Liang; Xue, Hong; Wang, Huijun; Wang, Youfa

2017-12-06

China has seen rapid increase in obesity and hypertension prevalence and fast food consumption over the past decade. We examined status and risk factors for Western- and Chinese fast food consumption and their associations with health outcomes in Chinese children, and examined how maternal factors were associated with child health outcomes. Data of 1626 students aged 7-16 (11.6 ± 2.0) years and their parents in four mega-cities across China (Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, and Xi'an) were collected in the 2015 baseline survey of the Childhood Obesity Study in China Mega-cities. Weight, height, waist circumference, and blood pressure were measured. Food intake was assessed using questionnaire. Mixed models were used to examine the associations. Among the children, 11.1% were obese, 19.7% were centrally obese, and 9.0% had hypertension. Obesity prevalence was much higher in boys than in girls (15.2% vs. 6.9% and 27.4% vs. 11.7%, respectively, both P fast food, respectively, over the past 3 months. Compared to those with college or above maternal education level, those with elementary school or below maternal education level were 49% more likely to consume Western fast food (odds ratio [OR] and 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.49 [1.10-2.03]). Chinese fast food consumption rate increased by 12% with each year of increase in child's age (OR and 95% CI: 1.12 [1.02-1.23]). No significant associations between fast food consumption and health outcomes were detected. Adjusting for Western fast food consumption, children with lower maternal education were 71% and 43% more likely to have obesity and central obesity (ORs and 95% CIs: 1.71 [1.12-2.61] and 1.43 [1.00-2.03], respectively), and maternal body mass index was positively associated with child obesity, central obesity, and hypertension (ORs and 95% CIs: 1.11 [1.06-1.17], 1.12 [1.07-1.17], and 1.09 [1.03-1.15], respectively). Results were similar when Chinese fast food consumption was adjusted for. The prevalence of

The IOC's Midas Touch: Summer Olympics and City Growth

OpenAIRE

Volker Nitsch; Nicolai Wendland

2013-01-01

Hosting a mega-event is a costly activity of short duration. Still, cities frequently compete to become host of all types of events. This paper examines the effect of staging the largest and most important sporting event in the world, the Summer Olympic Games, on the host city. Applying a difference-in-differences methodology, we analyze the rates of population growth of Olympic cities, candidate cities and other large cities in host and candidate countries over the period from 1860 to 2010. ...

Technology and economic impacts of mega-sports events: A key issue? Exploratory insights from literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chanaron Jean Jacques

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Mega-sport events such as Olympic Games or Football World Cup are always presented as providing the hosting nation and/or city with huge benefits. Supporters of such events quote economic, social and cultural impacts for the region as well as contributions to scientific and technological progress and innovation. obviously, they need to politically justify the impressive and growing financial investment required by organizing Olympic Games or World Cup. The article aims at looking at a quite abundant academic literature with the objectives of defining the various potential impacts and the methods used for their assessment. It concludes that there is no universal and scientifically valid model for evaluating the benefits of mega-sport events and that organizers should be very cautious when arguing in favor of deciding to host such events.

Air pollution impact on aerosol variability over mega cities using remote sensing technology: case study, Cairo, Egypt

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Askary, H.

2006-01-01

Air pollution problems over mega cities differ greatly and are influenced by a number of factors, including topography, demography, meteorology, level and rate of industrialization and socioeconomic development. Cairo is considered a key city for economy, education, politics industry and technology in the Middle East.Increasing business and industrial activities in the city accompanied by shortage of the institutional capabilities for monitoring and control, in addition to environmental impact negligence that prevails over many of the production sectors, have contributed to excessive air pollution problems that have reached the level of crisis. A contributor to this problem is natural and man made effects such as dust and aerosols uptakes. Such pollution episodes are observed during the months of October showing the so called B lack Cloud . Such pollution leads to wide variability of aerosols behavior over Cairo. Hence, aerosol related parameters obtained from satellite measurements have been studied here. Aerosol optical depth (AOD) behavior showed a dual maxima nature in each year from 2000 till 2005 during the months of (April, May) and October confirming dust and air pollution events, respectively. Such behavior is confirmed by the high negative correlation with the aerosol fine mode fraction (FMF) reaching -0.75. FMF product confirms a higher value during the months of October representing the Black Cloud episodes due to fine particles contribution in these events rather than during the dust events. However, lower values are observed in the last two years due to the new control measures enforced by the government for the environment protection. The difference between the AOD and FMF showed a higher contribution of the fine grains during the Black Cloud events rather than coarser grains during dust events as expected. Among the sources known to contribute to the black cloud formation is the fire burns over the Nile Delta region during the months of September

High Rise Building: The Mega Sculpture Made Of Steel, Concrete and Glass

Science.gov (United States)

Stefańska, Alicja; Załuski, Daniel

2017-10-01

High rise building has transformed from providing not only the expansion of floor space but functioning as mega sculpture in the city. The shift away from economic efficiency driven need is only expected to grow in the future. Based on literature studies; after analysing planning documents and case studies, it was examined whether the presumption that gaining the maximum amount of usable area is the only driving factor; or if the need for the creation of an image for the city provided a supplementary reason. The results showed that forming high rise buildings as three-dimensional sculptures is influenced not only by aesthetics, but also marketing. Visual distinction in the city skyline is economically beneficial for investors gaining not only functionality but art, enriching the cultural landscape. Organizing architectural competitions, public debates and following the latest art trends is therefore possible due to large budgets of such projects.

Aerosol optical properties in a rural environment near the mega-city Guangzhou, China: implications for regional air pollution, radiative forcing and remote sensing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. H. Zhang

2008-09-01

Full Text Available The scattering and absorption of solar radiation by atmospheric aerosols is a key element of the Earth's radiative energy balance and climate. The optical properties of aerosol particles are, however, highly variable and not well characterized, especially near newly emerging mega-cities. In this study, aerosol optical properties were measured at a rural site approximately 60 km northwest of the mega-city Guangzhou in southeast China. The measurements were part of the PRIDE-PRD2006 intensive campaign, covering the period of 1–30 July 2006. Scattering and absorption coefficients of dry aerosol particles with diameters up to 10 μm (PM₁₀ were determined with a three-wavelength integrating nephelometer and with a photoacoustic spectrometer, respectively.

Averaged over the measurement campaign (arithmetic mean ± standard deviation, the total scattering coefficients were 200±133 Mm⁻¹ (450 nm, 151±103 Mm⁻¹ (550 nm and 104±72 Mm⁻¹ (700 nm and the absorption coefficient was 34.3±26.5 Mm⁻¹ (532 nm. The average Ångström exponent was 1.46±0.21 (450 nm/700 nm and the average single scattering albedo was 0.82±0.07 (532 nm with minimum values as low as 0.5. The low single scattering albedo values indicate a high abundance, as well as strong sources, of light absorbing carbon (LAC. The ratio of LAC to CO concentration was highly variable throughout the campaign, indicating a complex mix of different combustion sources. The scattering and absorption coefficients, as well as the Ångström exponent and single scattering albedo, exhibited pronounced diurnal cycles, which can be attributed to boundary layer mixing effects and enhanced nighttime emissions of LAC (diesel soot from regulated truck traffic. The daytime average mid-visible single scattering albedo of 0.87 appears to be more suitable for climate modeling purposes than the 24-h average of 0.82, as the latter value is

(O)Mega split

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Benakli, Karim; Darmé, Luc; Goodsell, Mark D. [Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR 7589,LPTHE, F-75005, Paris (France); CNRS, UMR 7589,LPTHE, F-75005, Paris (France)

2015-11-16

We study two realisations of the Fake Split Supersymmetry Model (FSSM), the simplest model that can easily reproduce the experimental value of the Higgs mass for an arbitrarily high supersymmetry scale M{sub S}, as a consequence of swapping higgsinos for equivalent states, fake higgsinos, with suppressed Yukawa couplings. If the LSP is identified as the main Dark matter component, then a standard thermal history of the Universe implies upper bounds on M{sub S}, which we derive. On the other hand, we show that renormalisation group running of soft masses aboveM{sub S} barely constrains the model — in stark contrast to Split Supersymmetry — and hence we can have a “Mega Split” spectrum even with all of these assumptions and constraints, which include the requirements of a correct relic abundance, a gluino life-time compatible with Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and absence of signals in present direct detection experiments of inelastic dark matter. In an appendix we describe a related scenario, Fake Split Extended Supersymmetry, which enjoys similar properties.

Aspectos da miocardite em chagásicos crônicos com "megas" e sem "megas" com insuficiência cardíaca congestiva

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Hipólito de Oliveira Almeida

1984-06-01

Full Text Available O estudo microscópico de 20 corações de chagásicos com "megas" e de outros 20 sem "megas" com insuficiência cardíaca congestiva (ICC revelou que tanto a Jibrose quanto o exsudato inflamatório no miocárdio são discretos nos casos de "megas" e geralmente acentuados nos casos de ICC. Considerando-se que nos "megas" a ICC, a hipertrofia do miocárdio e a lesão vorticilar são fenômenos raros, nossos achados (atuais e anteriores sugerem que estes estejam relacionados principalmente com a agressão inflamatória ao miocárdio ventricular, uma vez que a desnervação é, geralmente, mais acentuada nos casos de "megas" que nos de ICC.

Aspectos da miocardite em chagásicos crônicos com "megas" e sem "megas" com insuficiência cardíaca congestiva

OpenAIRE

Almeida,Hipólito de Oliveira; Gobbi,Helenice; Teixeira,Vicente de Paula Antunes; Araújo,Waldir Ferreira; Fernandes,Paula Ávila

1984-01-01

O estudo microscópico de 20 corações de chagásicos com "megas" e de outros 20 sem "megas" com insuficiência cardíaca congestiva (ICC) revelou que tanto a Jibrose quanto o exsudato inflamatório no miocárdio são discretos nos casos de "megas" e geralmente acentuados nos casos de ICC. Considerando-se que nos "megas" a ICC, a hipertrofia do miocárdio e a lesão vorticilar são fenômenos raros, nossos achados (atuais e anteriores) sugerem que estes estejam relacionados principalmente com a agressão ...

Local Climate Zones Classification to Urban Planning in the Mega City of São Paulo - SP, Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Gonçalves Santos, Rafael; Saraiva Lopes, António Manuel; Prata-Shimomura, Alessandra

2017-04-01

Local Climate Zones Classification to Urban Planning in the Mega city of São Paulo - SP, Brazil Tropical megacities have presented a strong trend in growing urban. Urban management in megacities has as one of the biggest challenges is the lack of integration of urban climate and urban planning to promote ecologically smart cities. Local Climatic Zones (LCZs) are considered as important and recognized tool for urban climate management. Classes are local in scale, climatic in nature, and zonal in representation. They can be understood as regions of uniform surface cover, structure, material and human activity that have to a unique climate response. As an initial tool to promote urban climate planning, LCZs represent a simple composition of different land coverages (buildings, vegetation, soils, rock, roads and water). LCZs are divided in 17 classes, they are based on surface cover (built fraction, soil moisture, albedo), surface structure (sky view factor, roughness height) and cultural activity (anthropogenic heat flux). The aim of this study is the application of the LCZs classification system in the megacity of São Paulo, Brazil. Located at a latitude of 23° 21' and longitude 46° 44' near to the Tropic of Capricorn, presenting humid subtropical climate (Cfa) with diversified topographies. The megacity of São Paulo currently concentrates 11.890.000 inhabitants is characterized by large urban conglomerates with impermeable surfaces and high verticalization, having as result high urban heat island intensity. The result indicates predominance in urban zones of Compact low-rise, Compact Mid-rise, Compact High-rise and Open Low-rise. Non-urban regions are mainly covered by dense vegetation and water. The LCZs classification system promotes significant advantages for climate sensitive urban planning in the megacity of São Paulo. They offers new perspectives to the management of temperature and urban ventilation and allows the formulation of urban planning

Chemical speciation, transport and contribution of biomass burning smoke to ambient aerosol in Guangzhou, a mega city of China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhisheng; Engling, Guenter; Lin, Chuan-Yao; Chou, Charles C.-K.; Lung, Shih-Chun C.; Chang, Shih-Yu; Fan, Shaojia; Chan, Chuen-Yu; Zhang, Yuan-Hang

2010-08-01

Intensive measurements of aerosol (PM 10) and associated water-soluble ionic and carbonaceous species were conducted in Guangzhou, a mega city of China, during summer 2006. Elevated levels of most chemical species were observed especially at nighttime during two episodes, characterized by dramatic build-up of the biomass burning tracers levoglucosan and non-sea-salt potassium, when the prevailing wind direction had changed due to two approaching tropical cyclones. High-resolution air mass back trajectories based on the MM5 model revealed that air masses with high concentrations of levoglucosan (43-473 ng m -3) and non-sea-salt potassium (0.83-3.2 μg m -3) had passed over rural regions of the Pearl River Delta and Guangdong Province, where agricultural activities and field burning of crop residues are common practices. The relative contributions of biomass burning smoke to organic carbon in PM 10 were estimated from levoglucosan data to be on average 7.0 and 14% at daytime and nighttime, respectively, with maxima of 9.7 and 32% during the episodic transport events, indicating that biomass and biofuel burning activities in the rural parts of the Pearl River Delta and neighboring regions could have a significant impact on ambient urban aerosol levels.

Sistem Keamanan Pintu Berbasis Arduino Mega

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Akbar iskandar

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract  : This study aims is to 1 design prototype security room lecturer room based arduino mega integrated with Fingerprint and camera, 2 Testing the effectiveness of prototype security room door lecturer. This type of research is a type of research design that is within the scope of research R & D (Research and Development. Data were collected based on observations and interviews. Data analysis technique by descriptive method. The result of the research shows that prototype of latchroom room door STMIK AKBA using arduino mega camera and fingerprint can assist lecturers in improving security in lecturers room and based on descriptive analysis result found that the device can run effectively. Abstrak: Penelitian ini bertujuan adalah untuk 1 merancang prototype pengamanan pintu ruang dosen berbasis arduino mega yang terintegrasi dengan Fingerprint dan kamera, 2 Menguji Efektifitas prototype kemanan pintu ruang dosen. Jenis penelitian ini adalah jenis penelitian perancangan yang dalam lingkup penelitian R&D (Penelitian dan Pengembangan. Data dikumpulkan berdasarkan observasi dan wawancara. Teknik analisis data dengan cara deskriptif. Hasil penelitian itu menunjukkan bahwa prototype pengaman pintu ruang dosen STMIK AKBA menggunakan kamera dan fingerprint berbasis arduino mega dapat membantu dosen dalam meningkatkan keamanan pada ruang dosen dan berdasarkan hasil analisis secara deskriptif ditemukan bahwa perangkat tersebut dapat berjalan dengan efektif.

Dopo il Grande Evento: politiche “utili” per la mobilità Beyond the Mega Events: “Useful” Policies for Urban Mobility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Ceudech

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Il contributo indaga i limiti delle politiche urbane e in particolare di quelle sulla mobilità attuate per i Grandi Eventi, evidenziando in molti casi la tendenza a privilegiare la realizzazione di infrastrutture, più che politiche sui servizi, la cui reale utilità è spesso messa in dubbio dalla pratica e i cui costi manutentivi divengono spesso nuovi carichi per la collettività. Sulla base di una breve rassegna delle politiche sulla mobilità maggiormente implementate nella preparazione e gestione dei Grandi Eventi, il contributo evidenzia in maniera critica punti di forza e punti di debolezza delle esperienze analizzate in riferimento sia alla gestione del grande evento, sia in riferimento alla loro reale utilità per la collettività dopo che il grande evento è terminato. Nell’ultima parte del contributo si evidenziano i principali requisiti che le politiche sulla mobilità devono possedere affinché apportino reali vantaggi alla città anche una volta che il Grande Evento è terminato.The paper analyses, through different examples, the limits of the urban mobility policies implemented for mega events, highlighting the tendency to privilege the infrastructure realization, more than policies on services, whose real usefulness is often put in doubt from the practice and whose maintenance often become a new cost for the community. On the base of a short review of the mobility policies mainly implemented in the preparation and management of the mega events, the paper highlights, from a critical point of view, the strengths and weaknesses of some experiences with reference to the real usefulness of urban mobility for the community beyond the mega event. The outcomes and the so-called “legacy” of the mega events for the cities are very different. Mega sport events, like the Olympic Games, have often involved only the realization of works for the event while events like the International Expositions have determined the acquisition of

Economic Multipliers and Mega-Event Analysis

OpenAIRE

Victor Matheson

2004-01-01

Critics of economic impact studies that purport to show that mega-events such as the Olympics bring large benefits to the communities “lucky” enough to host them frequently cite the use of inappropriate multipliers as a primary reason why these impact studies overstate the true economic gains to the hosts of these events. This brief paper shows in a numerical example how mega-events may lead to inflated multipliers and exaggerated claims of economic benefits.

MEGAS multi-electrode gas sensor system. Final report; MEGAS - Multi-Elektroden-Gassensorsystem. Abschlussbericht

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kelleter, J.

2003-07-01

In the context of the MEGAS project, GTE developed and and constructed an electronic system for controlling and data acquisition of sensors for laboratory and test applications. The system is based on microcontrollers and has a data bus connection. Measurements made in order to find out whether the concentrations of a binary gas mixture and combustion gases are detected separately were successful. A demonstration system was constructed. The MEGAS project showed that it is possible to separate two gases by a sensitive layer at constant sensor temperature. The sensor element is a promising technology. Further research is required on suppressing sensor poisoning by siloxanes, and on reduced sensitivity to interfering gases (e.g. ethanol in the case of combustion gases). (orig.)

Bioaccessibility and health risk of arsenic, mercury and other metals in urban street dusts from a mega-city, Nanjing, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu Xin; Zhang, Yun; Luo Jun; Wang Tijian; Lian Hongzhen; Ding Zhuhong

2011-01-01

The oral bioaccessibility and the human health risks of As, Hg and other metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, Co, Cd, Cr, Mn, V and Fe) in urban street dusts from different land use districts in Nanjing (a mega-city), China were investigated. Both the total contents and the oral bioaccessibility estimated by the Simple Bioaccessibility Extraction Test (SBET) of the studied elements varied with street dusts from different land use districts. Cd, Zn, Mn, Pb, Hg and As showed high bioaccessibility. SBET-extractable contents of elements were significantly correlated with their total contents and the dust properties (pH, organic matter contents). The carcinogenic risk probability for As and Cr to children and adults were under the acceptable level ( -4 ). Hazard Quotient values for single elements and Hazard Index values for all studied elements suggested potential non-carcinogenic health risk to children, but not to adults. - Highlights: → Spatial variation of elements in street dusts from different land use districts. → Oral bioaccessibility of elements in street dusts from different land use districts. → Human health risks of elements in street dusts from different land use districts. - Bioaccessibility and health risks of trace elements differed with street dusts from different land use districts in Nanjing.

Cultural Mega-Events as an International, Cultural, and Political Tool

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julia Nikolaeva

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This article is an attempt to offer a conceptual understanding of various kinds of mega-events and to determine their significance as an instrument of the official international cultural policy. The article examines scientific approaches to understanding and classification of mega-events. The case studies focus on such mega-events as international cross-cultural years and cultural forums. The fact that the official foreign policy of¬ten defines and shapes the goals of mega-events proves their value in establishing and promoting a positive international image of the country. Recent Russian experience in organizing cross-cultural years is examined to discuss positive and negative socio-cultural impact.

Effects of Green Space and Land Use/Land Cover on Urban Heat Island in a Subtropical Mega-city in China

Science.gov (United States)

Qiu, G. Y.; Li, X.; Li, H.; Guo, Q.

2014-12-01

With the quick expansion of urban in size and population, its urban heat island intensity (UHII, expressed as the temperature difference between urban and rural areas) increased rapidly. However, very few studies could quantitatively reveal the effects of green space and land use/land cover (LULC) on urban thermal environment because of lacking of the detailed measurement. This study focuses on quantifying the effects of green space and LULC on urban Heat Island (UHI) in Shenzhen, a mega subtropical city in China. Extensive measurements (air temperature and humidity) were made by mobile traverse method in a transect of 8 km in length, where a variety of LULC types were included. Measurements were carried out at 2 hours interval for 2 years (totally repeated for 7011 times). According to LULC types, we selected 5 different LULC types for studying, including water body, village in the city, shopping center (commercial area), urban green space (well-vegetated area) and suburb (forest). The main conclusions are obtained as follows: (1) The temperature difference between the 5 different urban landscapes is obvious, i.e. shopping center > village in the city > urban water body > urban green space > suburb; (2) Air temperature and UHII decreases linearly with the increase of green space in urban; (3) Green space and water body in urban have obvious effects to reduce the air temperature by evapotranspiration. Compared to the commercial areas, urban water body can relieve the IUHI by 0.9℃, while the urban green space can relieve the IUHI by 1.57℃. The cooling effect of the urban green space is better than that of the urban water body; (4) Periodic activity of human being has obvious effects on urban air temperature. The UHII on Saturday and Sunday are higher than that from Monday to Friday, respectively higher for 0.65, 0.57, 0.26 and 0.21℃. Thursday and Friday have the minimum air temperature and UHII. These results indicate that increase in urban evapotranspiration

Pollution and health risk of potentially toxic metals in urban road dust in Nanjing, a mega-city of China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Enfeng; Yan, Ting; Birch, Gavin; Zhu, Yuxin

2014-01-01

Spatial variations in concentrations of a suite of potentially toxic metals (Ba, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) and Ca in road dusts (n = 99) from urban trunk roads (TR) in Nanjing, a mega-city in China, were established. Metal pollution levels, sources and human health risk (non-carcinogenic) were studied. In contrast to previous studies, we labeled the indicative metals relating to non-exhaust traffic emissions by comparing metal pollution between crossroad and park road dusts, and then anthropogenic sources of metals in TR dusts were assessed combining their spatial pollution patterns, principal component analysis and Pb isotopic compositions. Results showed that the metals were enriched in TR dusts compared to background soil concentrations with mean enrichment factors (EFs) of 2.2–23, indicating considerable anthropogenic influence. The degrees of metal pollution ranged from minimal to extremely high and ranked by Ca > Cu > Pb ≈ Zn > Cr ≈ Fe > Ni ≈ Ba > Mn on average. Pollution of Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn in TR dusts resulted primarily from industrial emissions (e.g., coal combustion and smelting) and high pollution levels were found close to suburb industrial complexes, whereas pollution of Ba and Ca was mainly related to construction/demolition sources and was generally distributed homogeneously. The relatively minor contribution of non-exhaust traffic emissions to metal pollution in TR dusts was considered to be due to overwhelming industrial and construction/demolition contributions, as well as to the dilution effect of natural soil particles. Ingestion appears to be the major route of exposure for road dust for both adults and children, followed by dermal contact. The non-carcinogenic health risk resulting from exposure to the potentially toxic metals in TR dusts was within the safe level based on the Hazard Index (HI), except in pollution hotspots where exposure to Pb, Cr, and Cu may be hazardous to children. - Highlights: • Pollution and

Pollution and health risk of potentially toxic metals in urban road dust in Nanjing, a mega-city of China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Enfeng, E-mail: efliu@niglas.ac.cn [State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008 (China); Yan, Ting [State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008 (China); Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Birch, Gavin [School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia); Zhu, Yuxin [State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008 (China)

2014-04-01

Spatial variations in concentrations of a suite of potentially toxic metals (Ba, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) and Ca in road dusts (n = 99) from urban trunk roads (TR) in Nanjing, a mega-city in China, were established. Metal pollution levels, sources and human health risk (non-carcinogenic) were studied. In contrast to previous studies, we labeled the indicative metals relating to non-exhaust traffic emissions by comparing metal pollution between crossroad and park road dusts, and then anthropogenic sources of metals in TR dusts were assessed combining their spatial pollution patterns, principal component analysis and Pb isotopic compositions. Results showed that the metals were enriched in TR dusts compared to background soil concentrations with mean enrichment factors (EFs) of 2.2–23, indicating considerable anthropogenic influence. The degrees of metal pollution ranged from minimal to extremely high and ranked by Ca > Cu > Pb ≈ Zn > Cr ≈ Fe > Ni ≈ Ba > Mn on average. Pollution of Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn in TR dusts resulted primarily from industrial emissions (e.g., coal combustion and smelting) and high pollution levels were found close to suburb industrial complexes, whereas pollution of Ba and Ca was mainly related to construction/demolition sources and was generally distributed homogeneously. The relatively minor contribution of non-exhaust traffic emissions to metal pollution in TR dusts was considered to be due to overwhelming industrial and construction/demolition contributions, as well as to the dilution effect of natural soil particles. Ingestion appears to be the major route of exposure for road dust for both adults and children, followed by dermal contact. The non-carcinogenic health risk resulting from exposure to the potentially toxic metals in TR dusts was within the safe level based on the Hazard Index (HI), except in pollution hotspots where exposure to Pb, Cr, and Cu may be hazardous to children. - Highlights: • Pollution and

γ radiation dosimetry in Mega rad range using sugar solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Venkataramani, R.; Mehta, S.K.; Soman, S.D.

1976-01-01

The formation of malonaldehyde under γ irradiation of solid sucrose and aqueous sucrose, fructose and arabinose solutions has been studied in the Mega rad range. Malonaldehyde (MA) concentration was estimated spectrophotometrically after complexing with 2-thio-barbituric acid. The effect of free radical scavengers (KI and N 2 O) on the yield of MA was investigated. Of the systems studied a 5% aqueous sucrose solution gave a proportional response of MA formation with dose in 0.2 to 5 Mega rad range. A 5% aqueous solution of sucrose prepared from sucrose irradiated in solid state also gave a smooth response of MA yield with dose from 8 to 30 Mega rad. The aqueous and solid sucrose systems together can be conveniently used for dosimetry in the range of 0.2 30 Mega rad. (author)

gamma. radiation dosimetry in Mega rad range using sugar solution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Venkataramani, R; Mehta, S K; Soman, S D [Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Bombay (India). Health Physics Div.

1976-09-01

The formation of malonaldehyde under ..gamma.. irradiation of solid sucrose and aqueous sucrose, fructose and arabinose solutions has been studied in the Mega rad range. Malonaldehyde (MA) concentration was estimated spectrophotometrically after complexing with 2-thio-barbituric acid. The effect of free radical scavengers (KI and N/sub 2/O) on the yield of MA was investigated. Of the systems studied a 5% aqueous sucrose solution gave a proportional response of MA formation with dose in 0.2 to 5 Mega rad range. A 5% aqueous solution of sucrose prepared from sucrose irradiated in solid state also gave a smooth response of MA yield with dose from 8 to 30 Mega rad. The aqueous and solid sucrose systems together can be conveniently used for dosimetry in the range of 0.2 30 Mega rad.

Further explication of mega-crisis concept and feasible responses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yen Victor Yew-Cho

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The contemporary world is in an era of mega-crises, caused by a host of physical, economic, political, social, and cultural factors. Through a step-by-step explication of the root concepts of problem, mess, and crisis, a mega-crisis is posited to be a set of interacting crises that are severe in impact, complex in nature, and global in fallout, with no seeming end in sight. Compared to a crisis, a mega-crisis is higher in severity and deeper in complexity. The paper argues for a stakeholder perspective in megacrisis response, as relying on the organizational standpoint is inadequate for reaching long-term resolutions.

Ambient levels and temporal variations of PM2.5 and PM10 at a residential site in the mega-city, Nanjing, in the western Yangtze River Delta, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Guo F; Yuan, Si Y; Xie, Yu N; Xia, Si J; Li, Li; Yao, Yu K; Qiao, Yue Z; Zhang, Jie; Zhao, Qiu Y; Ding, Ai J; Li, Bin; Wu, Hai S

2014-01-01

The deteriorating air quality in eastern China including the Yangtze River Delta is attracting growing public concern. In this study, we measured the ambient PM10 and fine PM2.5 in the mega-city, Nanjing at four different times. The 24-h average PM2.5 and PM10 mass concentrations were 0.033-0.234 and 0.042-0.328 mg/m(3), respectively. The daily PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations were 2.9 (2.7-3.2, at 95% confidence interval) and 4.2 (3.8-4.6) times the WHO air quality guidelines of 0.025 mg/m(3) for PM2.5 and 0.050 mg/m(3) for PM10, respectively, which indicated serious air pollution in the city. There was no obvious weekend effect. The highest PM10 pollution occurred in the wintertime, with higher PM2.5 loadings in the winter and summer. PM2.5 was correlated significantly with PM10 and the average mass fraction of PM2.5 in PM10 was about 72.5%. This fraction varied during different sampling periods, with the lowest PM2.5 fraction in the spring but minor differences among the other three seasons.

The Mega-Terrorism - The Challenge of the Third Millennium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Andrișan

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of this article is to describe the "new face" of terrorism in the twenty-first centuryindicating the transition to mass destruction weapons (nuclear terrorism, chemical, biological, toethnic-religious terrorism, the occurrence of massive gray area phenomena of terrorism and how thisphenomenon became a strategic weapon. Mega-terrorism has been existing, at a conceptual level,ever since the 70’s, when the experts of this phenomenon tried to find a semantic cover for thesituations that certain organizations, groups or terrorist or extremist sections would get someWeapons of Mass Destruction Systems. Actually, the 11th of September tragedy proves that megaterrorismrepresents the premeditated destruction, the lack of negotiations, of a tactical goal that wasto be accomplished by means of a threat. The mega-terrorism actors do not intend to get themselvesknown to the public, do not require anything, do not see the threat as means or device to reach theirpurpose. The 21 st century mega-terrorism simple logic is materialized in the systemic destroying ofthe enemy, no longer representing a political power or a government, but an entire ‘disobeying’,‘corrupted’, ‘unfaithful’ population indifferent to the mega-terrorist actors’ desires. New dimensionagainst mega-terrorism determines not only a rethinking of how to combat it, but also the realizationof a conceptual legal framework and measures established to materialize the political decision.

Have the “mega-journals” reached the limits to growth?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bo-Christer Björk

2015-05-01

Full Text Available A “mega-journal” is a new type of scientific journal that publishes freely accessible articles, which have been peer reviewed for scientific trustworthiness, but leaves it to the readers to decide which articles are of interest and importance to them. In the wake of the phenomenal success of PLOS ONE, several other publishers have recently started mega-journals. This article presents the evolution of mega-journals since 2010 in terms of article publication rates. The fastest growth seems to have ebbed out at around 35,000 annual articles for the 14 journals combined. Acceptance rates are in the range of 50–70%, and speed of publication is around 3–5 months. Common features in mega-journals are alternative impact metrics, easy reusability of figures and data, post-publication discussions and portable reviews from other journals.

The MEGA [Muon decays into an Electron and a GAmma ray] hardware trigger system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szymanski, J.J.; Amann, J.F.; Black, J.K.; Cooper, M.D.; Wright, S.C.; Crocker, J.; Sanders, H.

1988-01-01

The MEGA experiment is designed to search for the rare decay μ → e γ with a branching ratio sensitivity of /approximately/10 -13 . As is typical of rare-decay experiments, extensive, online filtering of the data is required for MEGA. The MEGA experiment uses a hardware pattern-recognition system based on Programmable Array Logic (PAL) devices. Additional events are eliminated in an online ACP system before data are written to tape. The MEGA trigger system is generally applicable where high-rate, short-propagation-delay trigger systems are required. This report contains an introduction to the MEGA experiment, a discussion of the MEGA hardware trigger system and a discussion of the system's measured performance. 4 refs., 3 figs

Rip Currents, Mega-Cusps, and Eroding Dunes

OpenAIRE

Thornton, E.B.; MacMahan, J.; Sallenger, A.H.

2006-01-01

Submitted to Marine Geology 1 November 2006 Dune erosion is shown to occur at the embayment of beach mega-cusps O(200m alongshore) that are associated with rip currents. The beach is the narrowest at the embayment of the mega-cusps allowing the swash of large storm waves coincident with high tides to reach the toe of the dune, to undercut the dune and to cause dune erosion. Field measurements of dune, beach, and rip current morphology are acquired along an 18 km shoreline in southern Mont...

Sunflower mega-environments in Serbia revealed by GGE biplot analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Balalić Igor

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Sunflower mega-environment analysis was conducted for the grain yield data of 20 hybrids and 19 test locations during 2006, and 20 hybrids and 16 test locations during 2007. Combined data included 15 hybrids and 9 test locations common for both years and it was analyzed as balanced experiment. The analysis of variance components showed that hybrid by location interaction explained 2.74, 5.8, and 3.72 times more variation than hybrid, for grain yield, for 2006, 2007, combined data, respectively, and indicated potential mega-environment existence. Our results showed the existence of two mega-environments in Serbia sunflower growing region: (1 Kula Vitovnica, Aleksa Šantić, Sombor and (2 Rimski Šančevi, Kikinda. It has been concluded that if we want promising sunflower hybrids to be optimally used, they should be cropped differently for the two determined mega-environments.

MEGA-CC: computing core of molecular evolutionary genetics analysis program for automated and iterative data analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Sudhir; Stecher, Glen; Peterson, Daniel; Tamura, Koichiro

2012-10-15

There is a growing need in the research community to apply the molecular evolutionary genetics analysis (MEGA) software tool for batch processing a large number of datasets and to integrate it into analysis workflows. Therefore, we now make available the computing core of the MEGA software as a stand-alone executable (MEGA-CC), along with an analysis prototyper (MEGA-Proto). MEGA-CC provides users with access to all the computational analyses available through MEGA's graphical user interface version. This includes methods for multiple sequence alignment, substitution model selection, evolutionary distance estimation, phylogeny inference, substitution rate and pattern estimation, tests of natural selection and ancestral sequence inference. Additionally, we have upgraded the source code for phylogenetic analysis using the maximum likelihood methods for parallel execution on multiple processors and cores. Here, we describe MEGA-CC and outline the steps for using MEGA-CC in tandem with MEGA-Proto for iterative and automated data analysis. http://www.megasoftware.net/.

Development of MicroMegas for a Digital Hadronic Calorimeter

OpenAIRE

Adloff, Catherine; Blaha, Jan; Espargiliere, Ambroise; Karyotakis, Yannis

2009-01-01

Recent developments on the MicroMegas prototypes built by use of the bulk technology with analog and digital readout electronics are presented. The main test beam results of a stack of several MicroMegas prototypes fully comply with the needs of a hadronic calorimeter for future particle physics experiments. A technical solution for a large scale prototype is also introduced.

Development and calibration of the tracking Compton/Pair telescope MEGA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanbach, G.; Andritschke, R.; Zoglauer, A.; Ajello, M.; McConnell, M.L.; Macri, J.R.; Ryan, J.M.; Bloser, P.; Hunter, S.; DiCocco, G.; Kurfess, J.; Reglero, V.

2005-01-01

We describe the development and tests of the prototype for a new telescope for Medium Energy Gamma-ray Astronomy (MEGA) in the energy band 0.4-50 MeV. As a successor to COMPTEL and EGRET (at low energies), MEGA aims to improve the sensitivity for astronomical sources by at least an order of magnitude. It could thus fill the severe sensitivity gap between scheduled or operating hard-X-ray and high-energy gamma-ray missions and open the way for a future Advanced Compton Telescope. MEGA records and images γ-rays by completely tracking Compton and Pair creation events in a stack of double-sided Si-strip track detectors surrounded by a pixelated CsI calorimeter. A scaled down prototype has been built and we describe technical details of its design and properties. Results from calibrations using radioactive sources and from measurements with an accelerator generated, fully polarized, γ-ray beam are presented and an outlook to future plans with MEGA is given

Rip currents, mega-cusps, and eroding dunes

Science.gov (United States)

Thornton, E.B.; MacMahan, J.; Sallenger, A.H.

2007-01-01

Dune erosion is shown to occur at the embayment of beach mega-cusps O(200 m alongshore) that are associated with rip currents. The beach is the narrowest at the embayment of the mega-cusps allowing the swash of large storm waves coincident with high tides to reach the toe of the dune, to undercut the dune and to cause dune erosion. Field measurements of dune, beach, and rip current morphology are acquired along an 18 km shoreline in southern Monterey Bay, California. This section of the bay consists of a sandy shoreline backed by extensive dunes, rising to heights exceeding 40 m. There is a large increase in wave height going from small wave heights in the shadow of a headland, to the center of the bay where convergence of waves owing to refraction over the Monterey Bay submarine canyon results in larger wave heights. The large alongshore gradient in wave height results in a concomitant alongshore gradient in morphodynamic scale. The strongly refracted waves and narrow bay aperture result in near normal wave incidence, resulting in well-developed, persistent rip currents along the entire shoreline. The alongshore variations of the cuspate shoreline are found significantly correlated with the alongshore variations in rip spacing at 95% confidence. The alongshore variations of the volume of dune erosion are found significantly correlated with alongshore variations of the cuspate shoreline at 95% confidence. Therefore, it is concluded the mega-cusps are associated with rip currents and that the location of dune erosion is associated with the embayment of the mega-cusp.

Megacity Indicator System for Disaster Risk Management in Istanbul (MegaIST)

Science.gov (United States)

Yahya Menteşe, Emin; Kılıç, Osman; Baş, Mahmut; Khazai, Bijan; Ergün Konukcu, Betul; Emre Basmacı, Ahmet

2017-04-01

Decision makers need tools to understand the priorities and to set up benchmarks and track progress in their disaster risk reduction activities, so that they can justify their decisions and investments. In this regard, Megacity Indicator System for Disaster Risk Management (MegaIST), is developed in order to be used in disaster risk management studies, for decision makers and managers to establish right strategies and proper risk reduction actions, enhance resource management and investment decisions, set priorities, monitor progress in DRM and validate decisions taken with the aim of helping disaster oriented urban redevelopment, inform investors about risk profile of the city and providing a basis for dissemination and sharing of risk components with related stakeholders; by Directorate of Earthquake and Ground Research of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM). MegaIST achieves these goals by analyzing the earthquake risk in three separate but complementary sub-categories consisting of "urban seismic risk, coping capacity and disaster risk management index" in an integrated way. MegaIST model fosters its analyses by presenting the outputs in a simple and user friendly format benefiting from GIS technology that ensures the adoptability of the model's use. Urban seismic risk analysis includes two components, namely; Physical Risk and Social Vulnerability Analysis. Physical risk analysis is based on the possible physical losses (such as building damage, casualties etc.) due to an earthquake while social vulnerability is considered as a factor that increases the results of the physical losses in correlation with the level of education, health, economic status and disaster awareness/preparedness of society. Coping capacity analysis is carried out with the aim of understanding the readiness of the Municipality to respond and recover from a disaster in Istanbul can be defined both in terms of the Municipality's operational capacities - the capacity of the

Mega-Planning in Population

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Sarah C.; Murray, Margo

2005-01-01

Clark and Murray examine the six Critical Performance Factors for Mega planning in an example drawn from the five-year history of the population program of a major west coast philanthropy. In this article, the authors describe the salience and scope of the population issue as it is relates to other global trends; the steps the foundation took to…

MEGA - A next generation mission in Medium Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanbach, Gottfried

2001-01-01

A Medium Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy (MEGA) detector is being developed and proposed for a small satellite mission. MEGA intends to improve the sensitivity at medium γ-ray energies (0.4-50 MeV) by at least an order of magnitude with respect to past instruments. Its large field of view will be especially important for the discovery of transient sources and for conducting all-sky surveys. Key science objectives for MEGA are the investigation of cosmic high-energy accelerators and of nucleosynthesis sites with γ-ray lines. The large-scale structure of the galactic and cosmic diffuse background is another important goal for this mission. MEGA records and images γ-ray events by completely tracking Compton and pair creation interactions in a stack of double sided Si-strip track detectors and 3-D resolving CsI calorimeters

Application of Queuing Theory to Petrol Stations in Benin-City Area ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper reports on a study conducted on five petrol stations in Benin City, namely: Oando petrol station Akpakpava, AP petrol station Ugbowo, Total petrol station Iselu, NNPC petrol station Benin-Auchi Road and NNPC Mega filling station Benin-Sapele Road. The average arrival rate of customers per hour for the five ...

Leverage of a sport mega-event branding : a case study of the 2010 FIFA World Cup

OpenAIRE

2014-01-01

D.Comm. (Sport Management) The primary objective of the study was to establish what brand leverage strategies could be implemented in sport mega-event branding based on the case study of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. The secondary objectives focused on discovering the dimensions of sport mega-event branding, investigating the areas of sport mega-event impacts and leverage, identifying sport mega-event brand leverage activation tools and understanding the role of mega-event brand le...

Overview on the Air Pollution Issues of the City Clusters in China and its Control Strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, X.

2007-12-01

Mega-cities in China, such as Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Shanghai are located in three large city clusters, Bo-Hai Bay surrounding area, Pearl River Delta (PRD) and Yangtze River Delta. Like the rest of the coastal regions in China, these mega-cities have been experiencing fast economic developments and consequently serious environmental pollution. Air pollution in those areas is characterized by concurrent occurrence of high concentrations of multiple primary pollutants and secondary pollutants, which lead to the development of "air pollution complex" (perhaps typically Chinese) problem. Several campaigns of field experiments covering the regions such as PRD and Beijing City with surrounding areas have been conducted critically to understand the chemical and physical processes leading to the formation of regional scale air pollution since 2004. Some policy-relevant suggestions for air quality attainment have been made after these campaigns, specially the attainment of air quality during 2008 Beijing Olympic game, which has been attracted as an important concern worldwide. A scientific field campaign was conducted during August of 2007 for testing the control strategies suggested for air quality attainment in 2008-Olympic. An overview of the results of PRD and Beijing Campaigns will be presented.

Global mega forces: Implications for the future of natural resources

Science.gov (United States)

George H. Kubik

2012-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of leading global mega forces and their importance to the future of natural resource decisionmaking, policy development, and operation. Global mega forces are defined as a combination of major trends, preferences, and probabilities that come together to produce the potential for future high-impact outcomes. These...

Accessing the mega-region : evaluating the role of livable community patterns in Gulf Coast mega-region planning.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-03-01

This research analyzes both the need and mechanisms for integrating livability components such as : transit and active transportation into a broader mega-regions transportation framework. The research : builds a conceptual framework for understanding...

Tratamento cirúrgico do megaesôfago recidivado

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Luiz Braga de Aquino

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Avaliar os resultados do tratamento cirúrgico em uma série de pacientes submetidos ao tratamento prévio para megaesôfago que evoluíram com recidiva de sintomas. MÉTODO: Analisou-se os resultados das diversas técnicas operatórias realizadas em 47 pacientes pelo Serviços de Cirurgia Geral e Torácica do HMCP-PUC-Campinas. A morbidade pós-cirúrgica, mortalidade, o alívio ou nova recidiva de sintomas e o tempo de seguimento foram os principais indicadores. Dividiu-se a série em três grupos, de acordo com o grau da afecção: Incipiente (nove casos, Não-avançado (18 casos e avançado (20 casos. As técnicas operatórias utilizadas foram: à cardiomiectomia com fundoplicatura anterior, esofagocardioplastia à Tahl, esofagocardioplastia à Serra-Dória, Esofagectomia Subtotal e Mucosectomia com conservação da túnica muscular esofágica. RESULTADOS: Obteve-se índices de resolutividade satisfatórios com a técnica de cardiomiectomia com fundoplicatura para o megaesôfago Incipiente, com baixa morbidade. Nos megaesôfago não-avançado, as cardiopatias, em especial a esofagocardioplastia à Serra-Dória mostram se mais adequadas. A terapêutica do megaesôfago avançado apresentou as maiores taxas de morbidade e demonstrou superioridade das técnicas mais agressivas em relação às técnicas conservadoras, em especial a mucosectomia com preservação da túnica muscular, sendo esta a técnica com menor morbidade dentro do grupo avançado. CONCLUSÃO: A difícil padronização do tratamento cirúrgico do megaesôfago recidivado deve-se às inúmeras técnicas disponíveis, às habilidades pessoais dos cirurgiões e atenta para a criação de protocolos terapêuticos.

Open-Access Mega-Journals: A Bibliometric Profile.

Science.gov (United States)

Wakeling, Simon; Willett, Peter; Creaser, Claire; Fry, Jenny; Pinfield, Stephen; Spezi, Valérie

2016-01-01

In this paper we present the first comprehensive bibliometric analysis of eleven open-access mega-journals (OAMJs). OAMJs are a relatively recent phenomenon, and have been characterised as having four key characteristics: large size; broad disciplinary scope; a Gold-OA business model; and a peer-review policy that seeks to determine only the scientific soundness of the research rather than evaluate the novelty or significance of the work. Our investigation focuses on four key modes of analysis: journal outputs (the number of articles published and changes in output over time); OAMJ author characteristics (nationalities and institutional affiliations); subject areas (the disciplinary scope of OAMJs, and variations in sub-disciplinary output); and citation profiles (the citation distributions of each OAMJ, and the impact of citing journals). We found that while the total output of the eleven mega-journals grew by 14.9% between 2014 and 2015, this growth is largely attributable to the increased output of Scientific Reports and Medicine. We also found substantial variation in the geographical distribution of authors. Several journals have a relatively high proportion of Chinese authors, and we suggest this may be linked to these journals' high Journal Impact Factors (JIFs). The mega-journals were also found to vary in subject scope, with several journals publishing disproportionately high numbers of articles in certain sub-disciplines. Our citation analsysis offers support for Björk & Catani's suggestion that OAMJs's citation distributions can be similar to those of traditional journals, while noting considerable variation in citation rates across the eleven titles. We conclude that while the OAMJ term is useful as a means of grouping journals which share a set of key characteristics, there is no such thing as a "typical" mega-journal, and we suggest several areas for additional research that might help us better understand the current and future role of OAMJs in

Extraction and Analysis of Mega Cities’ Impervious Surface on Pixel-based and Object-oriented Support Vector Machine Classification Technology: A case of Bombay

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, S. S.; Sun, Z. C.; Sun, L.; Wu, M. F.

2017-02-01

The object of this paper is to study the impervious surface extraction method using remote sensing imagery and monitor the spatiotemporal changing patterns of mega cities. Megacity Bombay was selected as the interesting area. Firstly, the pixel-based and object-oriented support vector machine (SVM) classification methods were used to acquire the land use/land cover (LULC) products of Bombay in 2010. Consequently, the overall accuracy (OA) and overall Kappa (OK) of the pixel-based method were 94.97% and 0.96 with a running time of 78 minutes, the OA and OK of the object-oriented method were 93.72% and 0.94 with a running time of only 17s. Additionally, OA and OK of the object-oriented method after a post-classification were improved up to 95.8% and 0.94. Then, the dynamic impervious surfaces of Bombay in the period 1973-2015 were extracted and the urbanization pattern of Bombay was analysed. Results told that both the two SVM classification methods could accomplish the impervious surface extraction, but the object-oriented method should be a better choice. Urbanization of Bombay experienced a fast extending during the past 42 years, implying a dramatically urban sprawl of mega cities in the developing countries along the One Belt and One Road (OBOR).

The primary opinion on the formation mechanisms of mega dunes and lakes in the Badain jaran desert

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo Yonghai; Li Yawei

2010-01-01

Badain Jaran Desert is famous in distribution of many lakes and mega dunes in the world. Up to now, there are several different opinions about formation problems of lakes and mega dunes. Actually, these problems are directly correlated to the groundwater circulation and alternation in the area. Refering to the prevenient research results and combining with the current hydrogeological investigation in the desert, the paper discussed the problems about the formation mechanisms of lakes and mega dunes. The Primary cognition is that: the lakes in the desert were formed mainly by the lateral recharge of groundwaters both from Yabulai mountain and mega dunes. The formation of the mega dunes was related nearly to the rainfall and groundwater in the area. The formation and coexistence relationship between lakes and mega dunes is that: the mega dunes were formed firstly, and then the lakes. That is to say the mega dunes are the basic conditions for the lake formation. (authors)

Different impacts of mega-ENSO and conventional ENSO on the Indian summer rainfall: developing phase

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Lei; Wu, Zhiwei; Zhou, Yefan

2016-04-01

Mega-El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a boarder version of conventional ENSO, is found to be a main driving force of Northern Hemisphere summer monsoon rainfall including the Indian summer rainfall (ISR). The simultaneous impacts of "pure" mega-ENSO and "pure" conventional ENSO events on the ISR in its developing summer remains unclear. This study examines the different linkages between mega-ENSO-ISR and conventional ENSO-ISR. During the developing summer of mega-El Niño, negative rainfall anomalies are seen over the northeastern Indian subcontinent, while the anomalous rainfall pattern is almost the opposite for mega-La Niña; as for the conventional ENSO, the approximate "linear opposite" phenomenon vanishes. Furthermore, the global zonal wave trains anomalous are found at mid-latitude zones, with a local triple circulation pattern over the central-east Eurasia during mega-ENSO events, which might be an explanation of corresponding rainfall response over the Indian Peninsula. Among 106-year historical run (1900-2005) of 9 state-of-the-art models from the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5), HadGEM2-ES performs a promising skill in simulating the anomalous circulation pattern over mid-latitude and central-east Eurasia while CanESM2 cannot. Probably, it is the models' ability of capturing the mega-ENSO-ISR linkage and the characteristic of mega-ENSO that make the difference.

Mega-Analysis of School Psychology Blueprint for Training and Practice Domains

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Matthew K.; Kanive, Rebecca; Zaslofsky, Anne F.; Parker, David C.

2013-01-01

Meta-analytic research is an effective method for synthesizing existing research and for informing practice and policy. Hattie (2009) suggested that meta-analytic procedures could be employed to existing meta-analyses to create a mega-analysis. The current mega-analysis examined a sample of 47 meta-analyses according to the "School…

Strategies simulation model for the gas business chain MEGAS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez, S.M. de; Uzcategui, R.; Brea, E.; Diaz, R.

1994-01-01

MEGAS is a simulation model representing fundamental parameters of Corpoven's natural gas and NGL production, handling, processing, transportation and distribution systems in the Venezuelan mid-east, as well as its financial implications. Various strategies regarding development, prices, costs, new business opportunities, production scenarios, demand and energy policies can be evaluated through this model in order to determine, after analyzing the economics results, a set of strategies to follow in the mid and long term. MEGAS could be also used to make risk analysis studies, considering that probabilistic parameters and variables like gas quality, production, demand, plant shutdowns and others are to be represented by their distinctive function. It is possible to set up a probabilistic function for each economic indicator or operating variables with an appropriate experiment design. MEGAS is based on a dynamic simulation language, which facilitates both the real system components representation and the main variables statistical data accumulation. It also allows graphical representation of results and the simulation animation. Demand and price forecasts, new projects, costs and capabilities of the systems are some of the model input data. MEGAS should be considered as a tool that eases the strategic planning of the business, making it possible for the Corporation to foresee changes, both in the domestic and international market, to predict how these changes could affect its business affairs and to visualize different return scenarios

Effect of Diwali Firecrackers on Air Quality and Aerosol Optical Properties over Mega City (Delhi) in India

Science.gov (United States)

Sateesh, M.; Soni, V. K.; Raju, P. V. S.

2018-06-01

In this paper, the variations of aerosol properties due to crackers burning during Diwali event (11th-18th 2012) over mega city Delhi were investigated. The sky radiometer POM-2 aerosol optical property data from Skynet-India along with ambient air pollution data were critically analyzed. The aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 500 nm was 1.60 on 13th November, the Diwali day, and its value a maximum of 1.84 on 16th November. Due to stable atmosphere over Delhi during post Diwali, aerosols accumulate and remain in the atmosphere for longer time, which leads to higher AOD on 16th November. A lower value of single-scattering albedo (SSA) was observed at a longer wavelength (1020 nm) during the entire period that clearly indicates the dominance of absorbing-type black carbon aerosol. SSA showed a steep decrease after 16th November. Asymmetry parameter decreased to a maximum of 0.79 for the shorter wavelength at 340 nm and 0.632 is reported at the higher wavelength 1020 nm. Asymmetry parameter showed a decrease in value just after Diwali on 14th November, this suggesting the dominance of fine-mode aerosol from anthropogenic activities. The lowest value of the refractive index (1.4527) on 14th and 15th November indicates the higher loading of absorbing-type aerosol which may be associated with firecracker burning of Diwali festival. The significant correlation with the value of r = 0.9 was observed between sky radiometer and MODIS AOD with a standard deviation of 0.31 and an RMSE of 0.17 during the event. Radiative forcing and heating rate were estimated using SBDART. The maximum average concentrations 2641 and 1876 μg/m3 of PM10 and PM2.5, respectively, were observed on the Diwali night. A highest of 109 ppb surface ozone was reported in the night at 23:00 IST, which can be attributed to burning of the firecrackers.

Sports Mega-Events: Reflections About the Legacies of Uefa Euro Cup

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fillipe Soares Romano

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This essay conducted a literature review of the legacy of sports mega-events, emphasizing the UEFA European Championship. In order to review the academic literature about the subject, we used the following keywords: legacies; sports mega-events and its legacies; UEFA European Championship; and their corresponding terms in Spanish and Portuguese. It was also reviewed some important research basis: Annals; BVS; DOAJ; EBSCO; REDALYC; Periódicos CAPES; PubMed; Scielo; Scopus; Science Direct; and, Scholar Google. The results were analyzed by categories. Regarding the sport mega-event Eurocopa, it was found that the tourism legacies, the economics impacts and the social aspect have been discussed more often, as well as projections and predictions of events that will occur later. It was also concluded that most of the articles shows an absence of discussion about the negative impacts of sports mega-events. It is therefore recommended to use standard methods with comparisons of results and longitudinal studies to better understand the impacts and the use of legacy.

Indian manpower for mega nuclear project

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

"India is supplying critical scientific manpower and high-tech components needed for building a Large Hadron Collider (LHC) - an accelerator used in particle physics research - a mega scientific project of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) worth billions of dollars" (1/2 page).

Unemployment, Entrepreneurial Education and Mega Universities ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Individuals acquire education for two broad fundamental reasons, as an investment and as consumption. The investment function of education has continued to create tension for job search leading to cases of unemployment. Entrepreneurship education and establishment of mega universities have being identified as ...

City Size, Housing Price and Resident Income Gap

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

FAN Hong-zhong; ZHANG Ting; LI Ming-liang

2014-01-01

Taking the urban population size and urban housing price as the proxy variable of city size,this paper conducts an empirical analysis with the data of CHIPS 2002 and 2008.It is found that the rising of city size and housing prices has important promotion effects on income inequality of city residents.The main reason is that the wage of migrant workers is separated from the housing price of the cities in which they reside;while their wage level can balance the wage level of the ordinary workers of city residents,making it separate from the urban housing price.But the wage of high quality worker of city residents is closely connected with the housing price.The combined action of the multy sizes in China's urban labor market leads to such a result that the greater the size of cities,the higher the urban housing prices,and the larger the income gap between urban residents.This means that in the construction of the new urbanization,to limit the over-expansion of such mega-cities as Beijing,Shanghai and so on and to develop the middle and small cities is an effective way to narrow the income gap between urban residents in China.

Tuning the city: Johannesburg and the 2010 World Cup Ajustando a cidade: Joanesburgo e a Copa do Mundo 2010

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Pavoni

2011-12-01

Full Text Available This paper is about space, security and control, how their relationship unfolds in the contemporary city, how normative ordering(s emerge out of the urban ‘mess’, and specifically how this occurs in the extraordinary spatio-temporal context of the mega-event (ME. Theoretically inspired by contemporary ecological and post-phenomenological strands of geographical research, and empirically grounded on a fieldwork carried out in the city of Johannesburg during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the paper seeks to think the urban spatiality beyond the familiar dichotomies in which it is usually forced,2 addressing the multiple agglomerations of human and nonhuman, tangible and intangible elements which constitute it. The main purpose is to account for the way the spacing of the World Cup impacts on such spatiality or, in other words, for how the orderings of the mega-event and that of the city encounter, and with what consequences. This goal is pursued by focusing on discourses, practices and perceptions of safety and security, given the key role they play in the production of urban order and in the implementation of MEs, as well as the paramount significance they assume in the context of post-apartheid South Africa, and particularly in its most troubled metropolis, Johannesburg. I believe that more sophisticated theorisations and less conventional methodologies are needed if we are to grasp the spatial impact of mega-events on the city, whose deeply contextualised and always unique outcome must be emphasised against the tendency to develop standardised ways to look at it. This paper is a partial move in this direction.

Model elucidating the sources and formation mechanisms of severe haze pollution over Northeast mega-city cluster in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Ting; Gbaguidi, Alex; Yan, Pingzhong; Zhang, Wending; Zhu, Lili; Yao, Xuefeng; Wang, Zifa; Chen, Hui

2017-11-01

Recent studies on regional haze pollution over China come up in general with strong variability of main causes of heavy polluted episodes, in linkage with local specificities, sources and pollution characteristics. This paper therefore aims at elucidating the main specific sources and formation mechanisms of observed strong haze pollution episodes over 1-15 November 2015 in Northeast region considered as one of biggest megacity clusters in China. The Northeast China mega-city cluster, including Heilong Jiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces, is adjacent to Russia in the north, Mongolian at the west, North Korea at east, and representing key geographical location in the regional and transnational air pollution issues in China due to the presence of heavy industries and intense economic activities. The present study, based on air quality monitoring, remote sensing satellite data and sensitivity experiments carried on the Nested Air Quality Prediction Modeling System (NAQPMS), quantitatively assesses the impact of meteorological conditions and potential contributions from regional chemical transport, intensive energy combustion, illegal emission and biomass burning emissions to PM 2.5 concentration variation. The results indicate strong inversion occurrence at lower atmosphere with weak near-surface wind speed and high relative humidity, leading to PM 2.5 concentration increase of about 30-50%. Intensive energy combustion (plausibly for heating activities) and illegal emission also significantly enhance the overall PM 2.5 accumulation by 100-200 μg m -3 (60-70% increase), against 75-100 μg m -3 from the biomass burning under the northeast-southwest transport pathway, corresponding to a contribution of 10-20% to PM 2.5 concentration increase. Obviously, stagnant meteorological conditions, energy combustion, illegal emission and biomass burning are main drivers of strong haze formation and spatial distribution over Northeast China megacity cluster. In clear, much

When is a Tsunami a Mega-Tsunami?

Science.gov (United States)

Chague-Goff, C.; Goff, J. R.; Terry, J. P.; Goto, K.

2014-12-01

The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami is commonly called a mega-tsunami, and this attribute has also been linked to the 2011 Tohoku-oki tsunami. However, since this term was first coined in the early 1990's there have been very few attempts to define it. As such it has been applied in a rather arbitrary fashion to a number of tsunami characteristics, such as wave height or amplitude at both the source and at distant locations, run-up height, geographical extent and impact. The first use of the term is related to a tsunami generated by a large bolide impact and indeed it seems entirely appropriate that the term should be used for such rare events on geological timescales. However, probably as a result of media-driven hyperbole, scientists have used this term at least twice in the last decade, which is hardly a significant portion of the geological timescale. It therefore seems reasonable to suggest that these recent unexpectedly large events do not fall in the category of mega-tsunami but into a category of exceptional events within historical experience and local perspective. The use of the term mega-tsunami over the past 14 years is discussed and a definition is provided that marks the relative uniqueness of these events and a new term, appropriately Japanese in origin, namely that of souteigai-tsunami, is proposed. Examples of these tsunamis will be provided.

Asteroids from a Martian Mega Impact

Science.gov (United States)

Kohler, Susanna

2018-04-01

Like evidence left at a crime scene, the mineral olivine may be the clue that helps scientists piece together Marss possibly violent history. Could a long-ago giant impact have flung pieces of Mars throughout our inner solar system? Two researchers from the Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan are on the case.A Telltale MineralOlivine, a mineral that is common in Earths subsurface but weathers quickly on the surface. Olivine is a major component of Marss upper mantle. [Wilson44691]Olivine is a major component of the Martian upper mantle, making up 60% of this region by weight. Intriguingly, olivine turns up in other places in our solar system too for instance, in seven out of the nine known Mars Trojans (a group of asteroids of unknown origin that share Marss orbit), and in the rare A-type asteroids orbiting in the main asteroid belt.How did these asteroids form, and why are they so olivine-rich? An interesting explanation has been postulated: perhaps this olivine all came from the same place Mars as the result of a mega impact billions of years ago.Evidence for ImpactMars bears plenty of signs pointing to a giant impact in its past. The northern and sourthern hemispheres of Mars look very different, a phenomenon referred to as the Mars hemisphere dichotomy. The impact of a Pluto-sized body could explain the smooth Borealis Basin that covers the northern 40% of Marss surface.This high-resolution topographic map of Mars reveals the dichotomy between its northern and sourthern hemispheres. The smooth region in the northern hemisphere, the Borealis basin, may have been formed when a giant object impacted Mars billions of years ago. [NASA/JPL/USGS]Other evidence piles up: Marss orbit location, its rotation speed, the presence of its two moons all could be neatly explained by a large impact around 4 billion years ago. Could such an impact have also strewn debris from Marss mantle across the solar system?To test this theory, we need to determine if a mega impact is

Applicability of "MEGA"[Eighth Note] to Sexually Abusive Youth with Low Intellectual Functioning

Science.gov (United States)

Miccio-Fonseca, L. C.; Rasmussen, Lucinda A.

2013-01-01

The study explored the predictive validity of "Multiplex Empirically Guided Inventory of Ecological Aggregates for Assessing Sexually Abusive Children and Adolescents (Ages 4 to 19)" ("MEGA"[eighth note]; Miccio-Fonseca, 2006b), a comprehensive developmentally sensitive risk assessment outcome tool. "MEGA"[eighth note] assesses risk for coarse…

Governance and institutions of transportation investments in U.S. mega-regions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. L. Vega

2008-09-01

Full Text Available From a planning perspective, a mega-region can be defined as an extended network of metropolitan centers and their surrounding areas, crossing county and state lines, linked by integrated labor markets, land use systems and transportation and communication infrastructure. From a governance perspective, delimiting the jurisdictional borders of a mega-region is rather challenging due to the overlap of hierarchy of governance systems. It has been suggested that the effective management of existing transportation infrastructure and the planning and financing of new investments in these areas will need to operate under a regional framework of governance. What such regional framework might look like is still subject to debate. Despite years in the planning, currently no mega-regional transportation initiative has been implemented in the U.S. This article uses descriptive and interpretative analysis to further the debate in two areas. It first reviews definitional issues in the existing literature as they apply to mega-regions and transportation. Second, it undertakes a comprehensive survey of regional initiatives, such as the Corridors of the Future Program, to highlight the complexity of multi-state transportation projects. Lessons from this survey can be useful when developing future transport policy, as policymakers increase their efforts to adopt regional governance initiatives to finance transportation investments worldwide.

Mega hub for intermodal transport - the planning of the most advanced container terminal in the world; Mega-Drehscheibe fuer den Kombinierten Verkehr - Planung des modernsten Containerbahnhofes der Welt

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Franke, K.P. [Noell Stahl- und Maschinenbau GmbH, Wuerzburg (Germany). Abt. Hafentechnik

1998-12-31

The introduction of innovative mega hub systems for the operation of cargo trains is a promising starting point for increasing the efficiency of intermodal transport. A first mega hub as it is known has been planned for Northern Germany with its centre in Lehrte near Hannover. Instead of shunting the waggons, containers will be transferred from train to train at the mega hub. This is not only faster, but also more economical and thus more attractive to rail transport clients. No other known system can achieve such high transhipment/shunting capacities per surface unit. The design of the system guarantees the maximum degree of flexibility in transhipment operations. A high degree of automation will ensure the quality and speed of transhipment. The technical development of the fast transhipment system (FTS) by Noell has been completed. (orig.) [Deutsch] Ein vielversprechender Ansatz fuer die Steigerung der Leistungsfaehigkeit des Kombinierten Verkehrs (KV) ist die Einfuehrung von innovativen Drehscheibensystemen fuer den Betrieb der Cargo-Zuege. Eine erste sogenannte Mega-Drehscheibe wurde fuer den Norden Deutschlands mit Zentrum Lehrte bei Hannover geplant. Statt zu rangieren sollen in der Mega-Drehscheibe die Behaelter zwischen den Zuegen umsteigen. Das ist schneller, kostenguenstiger und damit attraktiver fuer den Bahnkunden. Darueber hinaus ist kein System bekannt, bei dem eine so hohe Umschlag-/Umstelleistung je Flaecheneinheit realisiert werden kann. Die Gestaltung der Anlage gewaehrt eine maximale Flexibilitaet im Umschlagbetrieb. Ein hoher Automatisierungsgrad wird Qualitaet und Schnelligkeit des Umschlages sichern. Die technische Entwicklung der Schnellumschlagtechnik seitens Noell ist abgeschlossen. (orig.)

The world cup in the city of Belo Horizonte: impacts and legacies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Eduardo Dias Munaier Lages

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The announced impacts and legacies of the World Cup in the city of Belo Horizonte were investigated. Methodologically, this was a qualitative study, in which 6 managers were interviewed as a method of collecting data. It was concluded that there is a relationship of subordination between the event's logic and capital market's dynamics. This limitates any social gains which may be obtained. The managers only see the mega event as a 'business' and an opportunity of anticipating decisions and governmental support, to increase the flow of tourists and to promote the image of the city.

Qualitative Approach on Investigating Failure Factors of Yemeni Mega Construction Projects

OpenAIRE

Gamil Yaser; Abdul Rahman Ismail; Nagapan Sasitharan; Alemad Nashwan

2017-01-01

Large construction projects in Yemen face many impediments and challenges to be completed successfully. This article presents an investigative cases study of three mega construction projects which are considered failed to achieve their assigned plans and objectives. An exploratory interview was implied in this study via telephone to three construction experts who involved directly in these mega projects at the managerial level. Semi-structured questions based on literature were designed as gu...

Mesozoic evolution of the Tisza Mega-unit

Science.gov (United States)

Haas, János; Péró, Csaba

The south-eastern part of the basement of the Pannonian Basin is made up of Variscan crystalline complexes and early Mesozoic formations showing striking affinity with the corresponding formations in the southern margin of the European Plate. This large composite structural unit, which is actually an exotic terrane of European Plate origin, has been named the Tisza Mega-unit. Based upon relevant data of the pre-Tertiary basement of southern Hungary the reconstruction of the position of the Tisza Terrane in the early Alpine evolutionary stages, the process of its separation and break-off from the European Plate, and results of its Eo-Alpine deformations are summarised in the present paper. In the Variscan and early Alpine evolutionary stages the area of the later Tisza Mega-unit was located at the margin of the European Plate. During Variscan orogeny terrane accretion led to intensive deformation and metamorphism in this belt. This was followed by transpressional tectonics and the development of molasse basins in the late and post-Variscan stages, and passive margin evolution after the Neotethys opening in the Middle Triassic. The separation of the Tisza Mega-unit began with incipient continental rifting along the axis of the later Ligurian-Penninic-Vahic oceanic branch in the Late Triassic. The end of terrigenous material deposition in the most external zones, and a coeval change in fossil assemblage, point to the separation of the Tisza Block from the European Plate in the Early Bathonian. Significant rotation of the Tisza Mega-unit and coeval paroxysm of alkaline rift-type basalt volcanism took place in the Early Cretaceous. In the mid-Cretaceous, due to the northward motion of the Adria Block and the related closure of the westernmost Neotethys basin, the extensional regime changed to a compressional one, leading to onset of the nappe stacking and low-grade regional metamorphism within the Tisza microplate. In the foreland of the nappe systems flexural basins

Facilitators and Inhibitors of Bidding and Hosting Mega Sporting Events in Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Koosha

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Legacies of hosting mega sporting events have been attempting idea for both the developed and the developing nations to participate in "bidding" competitions. Through mega sporting events bid process, despite all defined essentials infrastructures, the viewpoint of local organizing committee play a significant role to propose a winning bid and delivery of successful games. This research aims to identify the facilitators and inhibitors of bidding and hosting mega sporting events in Iran from the viewpoints of the Iranian distinguished professors in the sport management and the sport executive managers. Researcher questionnaire and Semi-structure interviews were conducted to gain in depth data. The results indicated that Iran currently has limitations to have winning bid and successful host mega sporting events; even though, it possesses the potential to do so. Public interest and support for hosting the sport events, good security condition against terrorism and tourist attractions are known as the strong points and he challenges and inhibitors which Iran is faced with includes: the qualitative and quantitative weakness in the transportation infrastructures and sport venues, west countries economic boycott, unstable government support and the lack of long-run planning for the events.

MAST: a Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Darke, A.C.; Harbar, J.R.; Hay, J.H.; Hicks, J.B.; Hill, J.W.; McKenzie, J.S.; Morris, A.W.; Nightingale, M.P.S.; Todd, T.N.; Voss, G.M.; Watkins, J.R.

1995-01-01

The highly successful tight aspect ratio tokamak research pioneered on the START machine at Culham, together with the attractive possibilities of the concept, suggest a larger device should be considered. The design of a Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak is described, operating at much higher currents and over longer pulses than START and compatible with strong additional heating. (orig.)

Parole, Sintagmatik, dan Paradigmatik Motif Batik Mega Mendung

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rudi - Nababan

2012-04-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT   Discussing traditional batik is related a lot to the organization system of fine arts element ac- companying it, either the pattern of the motif or the technique of the making. In this case, the motif of Mega Mendung Cirebon certainly has patterns and rules which are traditionally different from the other motifs in other areas. Through  semiotics analysis especially with Saussure and Pierce concept, it can be traced that batik with Cirebon motif, in this case Mega Mendung motif, has parole and langue system, as unique fine arts language in batik, and structure of visual syntagmatic and paradigmatic. In the context of batik motif as fine arts language, it is surely related to sign system as symbol and icon.       Keywords: visual semiotic, Cirebon’s batik.

Mega Tsunamis of the World Ocean and Their Implication for the Tsunami Hazard Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Gusiakov, V. K.

2014-12-01

Mega tsunamis are the strongest tsunamigenic events of tectonic origin that are characterized by run-up heights up to 40-50 m measured along a considerable part of the coastline (up to 1000 km). One of the most important features of mega-tsunamis is their ability to cross the entire oceanic basin and to cause an essential damage to its opposite coast. Another important feature is their ability to penetrate into the marginal seas (like the Sea of Okhotsk, the Bering Sea) and cause dangerous water level oscillations along the parts of the coast, which are largely protected by island arcs against the impact of the strongest regional tsunamis. Among all known historical tsunamis (nearly 2250 events during the last 4000 years) they represent only a small fraction (less than 1%) however they are responsible for more than half the total tsunami fatalities and a considerable part of the overall tsunami damage. The source of all known mega tsunamis is subduction submarine earthquakes with magnitude 9.0 or higher having a return period from 200-300 years to 1000-1200 years. The paper presents a list of 15 mega tsunami events identified so far in historical catalogs with their basic source parameters, near-field and far-field impact effects and their generation and propagation features. The far-field impact of mega tsunamis is largely controlled by location and orientation of their earthquake source as well as by deep ocean bathymetry features. We also discuss the problem of the long-term tsunami hazard assessment when the occurrence of mega tsunamis is taken into account.

The Mega Events in the processes of foundation and transformation of the city

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mario Coletta

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Every city arises from an event, an individual decision supported by a collective engagement, disciplined by rules defining technical and legal norms for implementing and managing, breeding customs, traditions, rituals and shared behaviours, as roots of culture and civilization. The origin of the foundation city, both in the ancient time and in the medieval and modern ages, represents the first major event for the city which resumes, in its physical and management setting-up, the matrix characteristics of urban planning complexity, putting into a dialectic comparison not only “where” (place and space, “when” (age and time and “how” (form and behaviour, but also “why” and “for whom”, turning out as the dominant subjects of the residential making-process since the beginning of civilisations. “Why” resumes the ambit of needs, material and spiritual instances, concrete and abstract instances, strictly connected with the ambit of will, wishes and ambitions, leading decisions and policies at the basis of plans, programmes and projects dominated by “must-can” binomial dialectics. “For whom” determines the transition from the material to the immaterial, from the concreteness of actions to relative aims, from the object to the subject, from the operator to the addressee of the operation, recalling the “ethical reason” which finds its deepest roots in the ideology of “idea” sublimation, fulfilled by new linguistic assumptions, symbolic messages aiming at exalting the membership extension from the family, brotherhood and tribe to the native land, to the territory and the city. In this perspective, the pyramid verticalisation of social relationships, disciplining the urban order, finds a convenient and comfortable acceptance for a faithful commonality (which guarantees trust relations and a progressive process of “civic sense”, which makes the general particular and the particular general, connecting rationality

An Internet-Based GIS Platform Providing Data for Visualization and Spatial Analysis of Urbanization in Major Asian and African Cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hao Gong

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Rapid urbanization in developing countries has been observed to be relatively high in the last two decades, especially in the Asian and African regions. Although many researchers have made efforts to improve the understanding of the urbanization trends of various cities in Asia and Africa, the absence of platforms where local stakeholders can visualize and obtain processed urbanization data for their specific needs or analysis, still remains a gap. In this paper, we present an Internet-based GIS platform called MEGA-WEB. The Platform was developed in view of the urban planning and management challenges in developing countries of Asia and Africa due to the limited availability of data resources, effective tools, and proficiency in data analysis. MEGA-WEB provides online access, visualization, spatial analysis, and data sharing services following a mashup framework of the MEGA-WEB Geo Web Services (GWS, with the third-party map services using HTML5/JavaScript techniques. Through the integration of GIS, remote sensing, geo-modelling, and Internet GIS, several indicators for analyzing urbanization are provided in MEGA-WEB to give diverse perspectives on the urbanization of not only the physical land surface condition, but also the relationships of population, energy use, and the environment. The design, architecture, system functions, and uses of MEGA-WEB are discussed in the paper. The MEGA-WEB project is aimed at contributing to sustainable urban development in developing countries of Asia and Africa.

Astrocyte mega-domain hypothesis of the autistic savantism.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitterauer, Bernhard J

2013-01-01

Individuals with autism who show high abilities are called savants. Whereas in their brains a disconnection in and between neural networks has been identified, savantism is yet poorly understood. Focusing on astrocyte domain organization, it is hypothesized that local astrocyte mega-organizations may be responsible for exerting high capabilities in brains of autistic savants. Astrocytes, the dominant glial cell type, modulate synaptic information transmission. Each astrocyte is organized in non-overlapping domains. Formally, each astrocyte contacting n-neurons with m-synapses via its processes generates dynamic domains of synaptic interactions based on qualitative computation criteria, and hereby it structures neuronal information processing. If the number of processes is genetically significantly increased, these astrocytes operate in a mega-domain with a higher complexitiy of computation. From this model savant abilities are deduced. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bridge Approach Remedies Implemented at Western Mega Site

Science.gov (United States)

2017-09-01

As part of the heavy axle load (HAL) revenue service mega site testing program, the Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) has worked closely with the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) to address bridge approach problems under HAL operations. The te...

Disruptive Innovation Patterns Driven by Mega-Projects: A Sustainable Development Pattern Case of China’s High-Speed Rail

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bingxiu Gui

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Sustainable development of mega-projects has drawn many concerns around the world. The theory of disruptive innovation in mega-projects is a typical sustainable development pattern but still lacks systematic understanding. This article takes China’s high-speed rail (CHSR project as an example to analyze the disruptive innovation pattern of mega-projects. First, this paper systematically traces the theories of disruptive innovation and summarizes the connotations of disruptive innovation. Simultaneously, from the historical development of several typical mega-projects in China, this paper summarizes the connotations of mega-projects. Based on two connotations, this paper summarizes the theoretical basis of disruptive innovation in mega-projects. Second, this paper takes the CHSR project as a case to analyze its innovation pattern from the analysis of the development process, operation mechanism and influence in sustainability; the disruptive innovation pattern is put forward afterward. Third, the discussion is drawn from the perspectives of the characteristics, scope of application and innovation environment of the disruptive innovation of CHSR. Last, the conclusions of this article are summarized.

The Mega-MUSCLES HST Treasury Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Froning, Cynthia S.; France, Kevin; Loyd, R. O. Parke; Youngblood, Allison; Brown, Alexander; Schneider, Christian; Berta-Thompson, Zachory; Kowalski, Adam

2018-01-01

JWST will be able to observe the atmospheres of rocky planets transiting nearby M dwarfs. A few such planets are already known (around GJ1132, Proxima Cen, and Trappist-1) and TESS is predicted to find many more, including ~14 habitable zone planets. To interpret observations of these exoplanets' atmospheres, we must understand the high-energy SED of their host stars: X-ray/EUV irradiation can erode a planet's gaseous envelope and FUV/NUV-driven photochemistry shapes an atmosphere's molecular abundances, including potential biomarkers like O2, O3, and CH4. Our MUSCLES Treasury Survey (Cycles 19+22) used Hubble/COS+STIS UV observations with contemporaneous X-ray and ground-based data to construct complete SEDs for 11 low-mass exoplanet hosts. MUSCLES is the most widely used database for early-M and K dwarf (>0.3 M_sun) irradiance spectra and has supported a wide range of atmospheric stability and biomarker modeling work. However, TESS will find most of its habitable planets transiting stars less massive than this, and these will be the planets to characterize with JWST. Here, we introduce the Mega-MUSCLES project, an approved HST Cycle 25 Treasury program. Following on the successful MUSCLES survey, Mega-MUSCLES will expand our target list to focus on: (a) new M dwarf exoplanet hosts with varying properties; (b) reference M dwarfs below 0.3 solar masses that may be used as proxies for M dwarf planet hosts discovered after HST's lifetime; and (c) more rapidly rotating stars of GJ1132's mass to probe XUV evolution over gigayear timescales. We will also gather the first panchromatic SEDs of rocky planet hosts GJ1132 and Trappist-1. Here, we present an overview of the Mega-MUSCLES motivation, targets list, and status of the survey and show how it extends proven methods to a key new sample of stars, upon which critically depends the long-term goal of studying habitable planet atmospheres with JWST and beyond.

Cities and Health: A Response to the Recent Commentaries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael K. Gusmano

2015-10-01

Full Text Available We are grateful to our many colleagues who took the time to respond to our analysis of Shanghai’s declining “avoidable mortality.”1 The range of their perspectives across 5 recent commentaries reassures us that the topic is worthy of sustained study. Indeed, the presumption behind our comparative research on healthcare in world cities 2 is that the city is a strategic unit of analysis for understanding the health sector and that world cities share a host of important characteristics. Contrary to Cheng’s 3 comment that we compared“disparate cities whose only common characteristic is that they are of mega-size,” we have relied on a “most similar systems” approach to comparative analysis.4 World cities are characterized by high population size and density, similar commuting patterns between their outer rings and urban cores, and similar functions in the realms of international finance, culture, media, and provision of tertiary and quaternary medical care. Likewise, they exhibit flagrant socioeconomic inequalities, share many of the same strengths and weaknesses, but exist within nations with strikingly different health policies.

Photon detector for MEGA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gagliardi, C.A.; Tribble, R.E.

1991-01-01

During the past year, we have continued work on the photon detector for the MEGA experiment at Los Alamos, a search for the rare decay μ → eγ to a sensitivity of a few parts in 10 13 . The MEGA photon detector is designed to observe the 52.38 MeV photon produced in a μ → eγ decay with an energy resolution of 1.25 MeV, a position resolution of 2 x 5 mm 2 , a directional resolution of 10 degrees, a time resolution of 500 ps, and an efficiency of 7%. It will consists of four independent concentric cylindrical pair spectrometers mounted within a 1.5 T magnetic field produced by a superconducting solenoid magnet. Each pair spectrometer includes two thin Pb foils to convert photons into e + e - pairs, and thereby, determine both their locations and their vector momenta. The inner drift chamber layer includes a delay line cathode to determine the z coordinates needed for track reconstruction. An MWPC located between two Pb layers identifies the conversion layer so that energy loss corrections may be applied, while plastic scintillators provide timing information. Our, group together with a group from the University of Houston, is responsible for the design and construction of the photon detector, as well as developing the computer codes necessary for Monte Carlo simulations and data analysis. During the past year, our efforts have focused primarily on two tasks, delay line cathode read-out and software development. This report describes our recent work on delay lines and data analysis along with a discussion of the new plans for multiplexing in the photon arm

The Spatiotemporal Trend of City Parks in Mainland China between 1981 and 2014: Implications for the Promotion of Leisure Time Physical Activity and Planning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kai Wang

2017-09-01

Full Text Available City parks, important environments built for physical activity, play critical roles in preventing chronic diseases and promoting public health. We used five commonly used park indicators to investigate the spatiotemporal trend of city parks in mainland China between 1981 and 2014 at three scales: national, provincial and city class. City parks in China increased significantly with a turning point occurring around the year 2000. Up until the end of 2014, there were 13,074 city parks totaling 367,962 ha with 0.29 parks per 10,000 residents, 8.26 m2 of park per capita and 2.00% of parkland as a percentage of urban area. However, there is still a large gap compared to the established American and Japanese city park systems, and only 5.4% of people aged above 20 access city parks for physical activity. The low number of parks per 10,000 residents brings up the issue of the accessibility to physical activity areas that public parks provide. The concern of spatial disparity, also apparent for all five city park indicators, differed strongly at provincial and city class scales. The southern and eastern coastal provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang and Shandong have abundant city park resources. At the scale of the city classes, mega-city II had the highest of the three ratio indicators and the large city class had the lowest. On one hand, the leading province Guangdong and its mega-cities Shenzhen and Dongguan had park indicators comparable to the United States and Japan. On the other hand, there were still five cities with no city parks and many cities with extremely low park indicators. In China, few cities have realized the importance of city parks for the promotion of leisure time physical activity. It is urgent that state and city park laws or guidelines are passed that can serve as baselines for planning a park system and determining a minimum standard for city parks with free, accessible and safe physical activity areas and sports facilities.

The Spatiotemporal Trend of City Parks in Mainland China between 1981 and 2014: Implications for the Promotion of Leisure Time Physical Activity and Planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Kai; Liu, Jianjun

2017-09-29

City parks, important environments built for physical activity, play critical roles in preventing chronic diseases and promoting public health. We used five commonly used park indicators to investigate the spatiotemporal trend of city parks in mainland China between 1981 and 2014 at three scales: national, provincial and city class. City parks in China increased significantly with a turning point occurring around the year 2000. Up until the end of 2014, there were 13,074 city parks totaling 367,962 ha with 0.29 parks per 10,000 residents, 8.26 m² of park per capita and 2.00% of parkland as a percentage of urban area. However, there is still a large gap compared to the established American and Japanese city park systems, and only 5.4% of people aged above 20 access city parks for physical activity. The low number of parks per 10,000 residents brings up the issue of the accessibility to physical activity areas that public parks provide. The concern of spatial disparity, also apparent for all five city park indicators, differed strongly at provincial and city class scales. The southern and eastern coastal provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang and Shandong have abundant city park resources. At the scale of the city classes, mega-city II had the highest of the three ratio indicators and the large city class had the lowest. On one hand, the leading province Guangdong and its mega-cities Shenzhen and Dongguan had park indicators comparable to the United States and Japan. On the other hand, there were still five cities with no city parks and many cities with extremely low park indicators. In China, few cities have realized the importance of city parks for the promotion of leisure time physical activity. It is urgent that state and city park laws or guidelines are passed that can serve as baselines for planning a park system and determining a minimum standard for city parks with free, accessible and safe physical activity areas and sports facilities.

La estrategia comunicacional en el sector mega-minero. Un estudio del caso La Alumbrera en Argentina

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julieta Godfrid

2016-06-01

Full Text Available En los últimos años se produjo en la Argentina una rápida expansión de la mega-minería a cielo abierto, lo que vino acompañado de un creciente aumento de la conflictividad socio-ambiental que cuestiona en profundidad las consecuencias de la actividad extractiva. En este contexto, las múltiples críticas a la mega-minería deslegitimaron profundamente la imagen del sector y de las empresas que llevan adelante este tipo de actividad. A partir de allí, las corporaciones mega-mineras se vieron frente a la necesidad de construir una nueva estrategia comunicacional integral que les permitiera mejorar su imagen y construir consenso en torno a la actividad. El presente trabajo indaga en torno a las nuevas estrategias comunicacionales del sector mega-minero que se llevan a cabo bajo el paradigma de la Responsabilidad Social Empresaria y el “marketing experiencial”. Para ello se trabaja a partir del estudio de caso del emprendimiento mega-minero más antiguo del país, la empresa La Alumbrera (Provincia de Catamarca.

Start-Up Mega Planning--A Case History

Science.gov (United States)

Forbes, Ronald; Forbes, Dylan; Hoskins, Peter

2005-01-01

Social Responsibility is becoming a key issue for organizations today. They talk about it and they make social contributions, but how do we know if anything is being achieved? A framework is required and has existed at least since 1992. Roger Kaufman's Mega Planning has slowly gathered momentum in organizations worldwide. For a faster take-up we…

Local meanings of a sport mega-event's legacies : Stories from a South African urban neighbourhood

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Waardenburg, Maikel; van den Bergh, Marjolein; van Eekeren, Frank

2015-01-01

Studies on sport mega-events and their legacies often seem only loosely connected to local experiences. Stories on sport mega-event legacy appear as a setting-the-scene or function as a reference to illustrate specific types of legacy. However, stories themselves are never the primary focus in these

Activation induced changes in GABA: Functional MRS at 7T with MEGA-sLASER.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chen; Sigurdsson, Hilmar P; Pépés, Sophia E; Auer, Dorothee P; Morris, Peter G; Morgan, Paul S; Gowland, Penny A; Jackson, Stephen R

2017-08-01

Functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy (fMRS) has been used to assess the dynamic metabolic responses of the brain to a physiological stimulus non-invasively. However, only limited information on the dynamic functional response of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, is available. We aimed to measure the activation-induced changes in GABA unambiguously using a spectral editing method, instead of the conventional direct detection techniques used in previous fMRS studies. The Mescher-Garwood-semi-localised by adiabatic selective refocusing (MEGA-sLASER) sequence was developed at 7T to obtain the time course of GABA concentration without macromolecular contamination. A significant decrease (-12±5%) in the GABA to total creatine ratio (GABA/tCr) was observed in the motor cortex during a period of 10min of hand-clenching, compared to an initial baseline level (GABA/tCr =0.11±0.02) at rest. An increase in the Glx (glutamate and glutamine) to tCr ratio was also found, which is in agreement with previous findings. In contrast, no significant changes in NAA/tCr and tCr were detected. With consistent and highly efficient editing performance for GABA detection and the advantage of visually identifying GABA resonances in the spectra, MEGA-sLASER is demonstrated to be an effective method for studying of dynamic changes in GABA at 7T. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Size Matters: The Contribution of Mega-Infauna to the Food ...

Science.gov (United States)

Large-bodied, invertebrates are common to infaunal communities of NE Pacific estuaries (e.g., bivalves, polychaetes, burrowing shrimps), but their contribution to the ecological structure, function and ecosystem services of most estuaries has been poorly characterized because they are difficult to sample and quantify. In a study of Yaquina estuary (Oregon) food webs, particular effort was made to quantify intertidal and subtidal mega-infauna using suction-excavated 40-cm diameter corers in addition to conventional sampling of macro-infauna. Additionally, the abundance and biomass of all floral and other faunal guilds (except microbial and mammalian guilds) were directly quantified or estimated from published studies, carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes were measured for abundant species, and inverse analysis was used to generate models of carbon flow within food webs of the lower and upper reaches of Yaquina estuary. Benthic invertebrates dominated the biomass and respiration among faunal guilds in both estuarine reaches, whereas biomass and respiration of birds and fish were two orders-of-magnitude smaller. Mega-infauna, particularly intertidal burrowing shrimps and bivalves, constituted most of the benthic invertebrate biomass, respiration and secondary production in both reaches, although only a small fraction of the total infaunal abundance. Mega-infauna were dominant consumers of phytoplankton, major contributors of carbon to sediment organic matter, a

Teacher Counter Stories to a Citizenship Education Mega Policy Narrative. Preparing for Citizenship in Chile

Science.gov (United States)

Cavieres-Fernández, Eduardo

2017-01-01

The present article focuses on the counter stories of two Chilean social studies high school teachers. Counter stories describe how teachers use their professional experience to confront those mega narratives composed of dominant educational policies that impinge upon their pedagogical practices. The mega narrative described in this study as a…

MEGA5: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis Using Maximum Likelihood, Evolutionary Distance, and Maximum Parsimony Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Tamura, Koichiro; Peterson, Daniel; Peterson, Nicholas; Stecher, Glen; Nei, Masatoshi; Kumar, Sudhir

2011-01-01

Comparative analysis of molecular sequence data is essential for reconstructing the evolutionary histories of species and inferring the nature and extent of selective forces shaping the evolution of genes and species. Here, we announce the release of Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis version 5 (MEGA5), which is a user-friendly software for mining online databases, building sequence alignments and phylogenetic trees, and using methods of evolutionary bioinformatics in basic biology, biomedicine, and evolution. The newest addition in MEGA5 is a collection of maximum likelihood (ML) analyses for inferring evolutionary trees, selecting best-fit substitution models (nucleotide or amino acid), inferring ancestral states and sequences (along with probabilities), and estimating evolutionary rates site-by-site. In computer simulation analyses, ML tree inference algorithms in MEGA5 compared favorably with other software packages in terms of computational efficiency and the accuracy of the estimates of phylogenetic trees, substitution parameters, and rate variation among sites. The MEGA user interface has now been enhanced to be activity driven to make it easier for the use of both beginners and experienced scientists. This version of MEGA is intended for the Windows platform, and it has been configured for effective use on Mac OS X and Linux desktops. It is available free of charge from http://www.megasoftware.net. PMID:21546353

The Role of Sister Cities' Staff Exchanges in Developing "Learning Cities": Exploring Necessary and Sufficient Conditions in Social Capital Development Utilizing Proportional Odds Modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Buckley, Patrick Henry; Takahashi, Akio; Anderson, Amy

2015-06-24

In the last half century former international adversaries have become cooperators through networking and knowledge sharing for decision making aimed at improving quality of life and sustainability; nowhere has this been more striking then at the urban level where such activity is seen as a key component in building "learning cities" through the development of social capital. Although mega-cities have been leaders in such efforts, mid-sized cities with lesser resource endowments have striven to follow by focusing on more frugal sister city type exchanges. The underlying thesis of our research is that great value can be derived from city-to-city exchanges through social capital development. However, such a study must differentiate between necessary and sufficient conditions. Past studies assumed necessary conditions were met and immediately jumped to demonstrating the existence of structural relationships by measuring networking while further assuming that the existence of such demonstrated a parallel development of cognitive social capital. Our research addresses this lacuna by stepping back and critically examining these assumptions. To accomplish this goal we use a Proportional Odds Modeling with a Cumulative Logit Link approach to demonstrate the existence of a common latent structure, hence asserting that necessary conditions are met.

The role of creative industries in regional development of East Asian cities

OpenAIRE

Kim, Ho Yeon

2010-01-01

Recently, the so-called creative industry is gaining attention as a new engine of regional economic growth. Using this new industrial classification, many countries are starting to promote the cultural creation activities with the purpose of seeking out new directions in regional development. The synergy effects can also be attained by promoting the traditional sectors to the creative industry. This concept is useful not only for mega cities like Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing and Shanghai, but also f...

[A high sensitivity search for mu gamma: The mega experiment at LAMPF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

During the past 12 month period the Valparaiso University group has been active on LAMPF experiment 969, known as the MEGA experiment. This experiment is a search for the decay μ -> e γ, a decay which would violate lepton number conservation and which is strictly forbidden by the standard model for electroweak interactions. Previous searches for this decay mode have set limit the present day limit of 4.9 x 10 -11 . The MEGA experiment is designed to test the standard model predictions to one part in 10 +13

An update on MEGA: An experimental search for lepton number non-conservation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hungerford, E.V.

1998-01-01

Mega is an experiment to search for the decay μ→eγ. It is designed to test lepton-number conservation in muon decay by a background free measurement in this branching ratio at a sensitivity of a few x10 -13 . This paper reports particularly on the design and performance of the MEGA detector, as the lessons learned previously are important when new experiments are proposed which would increase the sensitivity of such a measurement down to a branching ratio on the order of 10 -14 . copyright 1998 American Institute of Physics

A socio-ecological adaptive approach to contaminated mega-site management: From 'control and correct' to 'coping with change'

Science.gov (United States)

Schirmer, Mario; Lyon, Ken; Armstrong, James E.; Farrell, Katharine N.

2012-01-01

Mega-sites have a notable impact on surrounding ecological systems. At such sites there are substantial risks associated with complex socio-ecological interactions that are hard to characterize, let alone model and predict. While the urge to control and clean-up mega-sites (control and correct) is understandable, rather than setting a goal of cleaning up such sites, we suggest a more realistic response strategy is to address these massive and persistent sources of contamination by acknowledging their position as new features of the socio-ecological landscapes within which they are located. As it seems nearly impossible to clean up such sites, we argue for consideration of a 'coping with change' rather than a 'control and correct' approach. This strategy recognizes that the current management option for a mega-site, in light of its physical complexities and due to changing societal preferences, geochemical transformations, hydrogeology knowledge and remedial technology options may not remain optimal in future, and therefore needs to be continuously adapted, as community, ecology, technology and understanding change over time. This approach creates an opportunity to consider the relationship between a mega-site and its human and ecological environments in a different and more dynamic way. Our proposed approach relies on iterative adaptive management to incorporate mega-site management into the overall socio-ecological systems of the site's context. This approach effectively embeds mega-site management planning in a triple bottom line and environmental sustainability structure, rather than simply using single measures of success, such as contaminant-based guidelines. Recognizing that there is probably no best solution for managing a mega-site, we present a starting point for engaging constructively with this seemingly intractable issue. Therefore, we aim to initiate discussion about a new approach to mega-site management, in which the complexity of the problems posed

Development of large area resistive electrodes for ATLAS NSW MicroMEGAS

CERN Document Server

Ochi, Atsuhiko; The ATLAS collaboration

2015-01-01

MicroMegas with resistive anode will be used for the NSW upgrade of the ATLAS experiment at LHC. The resistive electrode is one of key technology for MPGDs to prevent sparks. Large area resistive electrodes for the MM have been developed using two different technology; screen printing and carbon sputtering. Maximum size of each resistive foil is 45cm x 220cm with printed pattern of 425 micron pitch strips. Those technologies are also suitable to mass production. The prototypes of series production model have been produced successfully. We will report the development and production status and test results of the resistive MicroMegas.

Construction and performance of MEGAs low-mass, high-rate cylindrical MWPCs

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, M. D.; Armijo, V.; Black, J. K.; Bolton, R. D.; Carius, S.; Espinoza, C.; Hart, G.; Hogan, G. E.; Gonzales, A.; Kroupa, M. A.; Mischke, R. E.; Sandoval, J.; Schilling, S.; Sena, J.; Suazo, G.; Whitehouse, D. A.; Wilkinson, C. A.; Stantz, K.; Szymanski, J. J.; Jui, C. C.; Gagliardi, C. A.; Tribble, R. E.; Tu, X.-L.; Fisk, R. J.; Koetke, D. D.; Manweiler, R. W.; Nord, P. M.; Stanislaus, S.; Piilonen, L. E.; Zhang, Y. D.

A design for extremely low mass, high-resolution multiwire proportional chambers (MWPC) was achieved by the MEGA collaboration in its experiment to search for the lepton family number violating decay μ→eγ. To extend the present branching ratio limit by over an order of magnitude, these MWPCs were operated in high particle fluxes. They showed minimal effects of aging, and evidenced spatial and energy resolutions for the orbiting positrons from muon decay which were consistent with our design parameters. The unique features of these chambers, their assembly into the MEGA positron spectrometer, and their performance during the experiment are described in this paper.

Mega-minería y colonialidad. Nuevas estrategias de legitimación, viejos binomios

OpenAIRE

Julieta Godfrid

2016-01-01

The new international division of labor that takes place under neoliberal globalization relegates Latin American countries to mere commodity producers. In this scenario, in Argentina in recent years it has rapidly expanded the mega-opencast mining, producing a multiplicity of socio-environmental impacts and bringing the emergence of a lot of conflicts. Successive socio-environmental critics contributed to delegitimize the corporate image of the sector, discrediting the mega-mining activity. F...

Implantation of Martian Materials in the Inner Solar System by a Mega Impact on Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Hyodo, Ryuki; Genda, Hidenori

2018-04-01

Observations and meteorites indicate that the Martian materials are enigmatically distributed within the inner solar system. A mega impact on Mars creating a Martian hemispheric dichotomy and the Martian moons can potentially eject Martian materials. A recent work has shown that the mega-impact-induced debris is potentially captured as the Martian Trojans and implanted in the asteroid belt. However, the amount, distribution, and composition of the debris has not been studied. Here, using hydrodynamic simulations, we report that a large amount of debris (∼1% of Mars’ mass), including Martian crust/mantle and the impactor’s materials (∼20:80), are ejected by a dichotomy-forming impact, and distributed between ∼0.5–3.0 au. Our result indicates that unmelted Martian mantle debris (∼0.02% of Mars’ mass) can be the source of Martian Trojans, olivine-rich asteroids in the Hungarian region and the main asteroid belt, and some even hit the early Earth. The evidence of a mega impact on Mars would be recorded as a spike of 40Ar–39Ar ages in meteorites. A mega impact can naturally implant Martian mantle materials within the inner solar system.

A genetic epidemiological mega analysis of smoking initiation in adolescents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Maes, H.H.; Prom-Wormley, E.; Eaves, L.J.; Rhee, S.H.; Hewitt, J.K.; Young, S.; Corley, R.; McGue, M.K.; Iacono, W.G.; Legrand, L.; Samek, D.; Murrelle, E.L.; Silberg, J.L.; Miles, D.; Schieken, R.M.; Beunen, G.P.; Thomis, M.; Rose, R.J.; Dick, D.M.; Boomsma, D.I.; Bartels, M.; Vink, J.M.; Lichtenstein, P.; White, V.; Kaprio, J.; Neale, M.C.

2017-01-01

Introduction. Previous studies in adolescents were not adequately powered to accurately disentangle genetic and environmental influences on smoking initiation across adolescence. Methods. Mega-analysis of pooled genetically informative data on smoking initiation was performed, with structural

Mega-rings Surrounding Timber Mountain Nested Calderas, Geophysical Anomalies: Rethinking Structure and Volcanism Near Yucca Mountain (YM), Nevada

Science.gov (United States)

Tynan, M. C.; Smith, K. D.; Savino, J. M.; Vogt, T. J.

2004-12-01

Observed regional mega-rings define a zone ˜80-100 km in diameter centered on Timber Mountain (TM). The mega-rings encompass known smaller rhyolitic nested Miocene calderas ( ˜11-15 my, structural relationships. Mega-rings consist of arcuate faulted blocks with deformation (some remain active structures) patterns showing a genetic relationship to the TM volcanic system; they appear to be spatially associated and temporally correlated with Miocene volcanism and two geophysically identified crustal/upper mantle features. A 50+ km diameter pipe-like high velocity anomaly extends from crustal depth to over 200 km beneath TM (evidence for 400km depth to NE). The pipe is located between two ˜100 km sub-parallel N/S linear trends of small-magnitude earthquake activity, one extending through the central NV Test Site, and a second located near Beatty, NV. Neither the kinematics nor relational mechanism of 100km seismically active N/S linear zones, pipe, and mega-rings are understood. Interpreted mega-rings are: 1) Similar in size to larger terrestrial volcanic complexes (e.g., Yellowstone, Indonesia's Toba system); 2) Located in the region of structural transition from the Mohave block to the south, N/S Basin and Range features to the north, Walker Lane to the NW, and the Las Vegas Valley shear zone to the SE; 3) Associated with the two seismically active zones (similar to other caldera fault-bounded sags), the mantle high velocity feature, and possibly a regional bouguer gravity anomaly; 4) Nearly coincident with area hydrologic basins and sub-basins; 5) Similar to features described from terrestrial and planetary caldera-collapse studies, and as modeled in laboratory scaled investigations (ice melt, balloon/sand). Post Mid-Miocene basalts commonly occur within or adjacent to the older rhyolitic caldera moats; other basaltic material occurs marginal to both the outer rings of the interpreted mega-ring system and high velocity pipe. The YM repository may be situated in

Mega-impacts and mantle-melting episodes: tests of possible correlations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glikson, A.Y.

1996-01-01

The criteria for recognising the effects of impacts by large-diameter extraterrestrial projectiles (D p >>10 km) on thin, geothermally active crust must vary fundamentally from those pertaining to impacts on thick, cooler continental crust. Although the bulk of the terrestrial cratering records has been destroyed by both erosion of elevated terrains and plate subduction, or obscured by burial, a search for Precambrian mega-impacts is facilitated by the preservation of their likely secondary effects: mega-earthquake-triggered faults; ensuing diamictites, and the deposits of turbidity currents; microtektites; spherulitic condensates of vaporised asteroid and target materials; and distal tectonic and igeneous effects. Clues to the origin of thermal events are provided by peaks on isotopic-age histograms of precise U-Pb, Ar-Ar, amd Sm-Nd mineral-whole-rock ages. These peaks, spatially corroborated by detailed mapping of Precambrian terrains, support an episodic nature of at least certain major Precambrian events and some correlations with impact events. Preliminary time-series analyses of Precambrian events yield values consistent with the Phanerozoic galactic rotation period (250 ± 50 Ma), and the solar system's cross-galactic-plane oscillation period (33 ± 3 Ma). It has been demonstrated that possible correlations between mega-impacts and tectonic/thermal events are capable of being tested through isotopic-age studies of diamictites and spherule units of impact origin and of rifting and mafic igneous events. 123 refs., 2 tabs., 7 figs

Review of laser mega joule target area: Design and processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geitzholz, M.; Lanternier, C.

2006-01-01

The Laser Mega Joule (LMJ) target area is currently designed to achieve ignition and significant fusion gain in laboratory. LMJ will be composed of 240 identical large 370 mm * 370 mm square laser beams. These beams will focus 2 mega-joules of energy at the wavelength of 351 nm on the center of an experiment chamber. Design studies for target equipment are well advanced, target chamber and target holder (concrete) works have already begun. A detailed overview of the target area equipment is presented: target chamber, frame, diagnostic inserter manipulator, final optic assembly, dual diagnostic and laser reference, non cryogenic target positioner. Recent technical and architectural choices are detailed including safety transfers and alignment processes (target, laser and diagnostic). All this target equipment allows us to optimize shot chrono-gram, from target metrology to the shot, including calibration process. (authors)

Towards Post-carbon Cities: Six Contrasting Scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Theys, Jacques; Vidalenc, Eric

2013-01-01

international gatherings at the highest level have raised awareness among the general public of the serious risks posed, on the one hand, by global warming and, on the other, by the possible exhaustion of fossil fuel resources. In this context, the idea of a transition towards a so-called 'post-carbon' society has gradually been gaining ground. This has a number of central objectives: the reduction of greenhouse gases by 2050 to one quarter of their 1990 levels (in the countries of the North), near autonomy with regard to carbon- based energies (oil, gas and coal), an adequate capacity for adaptation to climate change and, lastly, greater attention to situations of energy precariousness. This is why in 2009 a programme was launched, steered jointly by the Foresight Mission of the French Ecology Ministry and by the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME), called 'Rethinking Cities in a Post-carbon Society'. This programme's work is still on-going to wards a final report planned for - 2013. This month, Futuribles is devoting a special dossier to it, coordinated by Jacques Theys, who launched this programme, and Eric Vidalenc who now coordinates it with Nathalie Etahiri. Their article, which opens this dossier, outlines the approach and thinking at the heart of this study, which provides a deep analysis of the role cities play -or might play- in the promotion of major developments and changes to encourage a post-carbon society. In it, most importantly, the authors present the six transition scenarios that have been developed with the aim of proposing various possible routes to post-carbon cities in 2050 through highly concrete initiatives and measures in the fields of transport and housing policy, on decisions around energy, housing conditions, lifestyles etc. Lastly, they stress a major issue underlying such an ambition -namely, the way that short-, medium- and long-term goals hang together. (authors)

“Corte Transversal”: una mega escultura entre el río Mapocho y la autopista Costanera Norte en Santiago de Chile/ “Corte Transversal”: a mega sculpture between the Mapocho River and the Costanera Norte toll road in Santiago de Chile

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Revista de Urbanismo, Departamento de Urbanismo de la Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo de la Universidad de Chile. (Reportaje de M.I.PavezR.- M.P.Henríquez.O

2008-12-01

Full Text Available “Corte Transversal”: una mega escultura entre el río Mapocho y la autopista Costanera Norte en Santiago de Chile/“Corte Transversal”: a mega sculpture between the Mapocho River and the Costanera Norte toll road in Santiago de Chile

Smart City trends and ambitions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Wijs, Lisanne; Witte, P.A.; de Klerk, Daniel; Geertman, S.C.M.

2017-01-01

Research into smart city projects and applications has been increasing in recent years (Meijer & Bolivar, 2015). The smart city concept is mostly considered from a technology-oriented perspective that stresses the usage of data technologies, big data and ICT to ‘smarten up’ cities. In contrast,

Using isotope geochemistry to discuss the role of crust-mantle interaction in the formation of endogenetic mega-deposits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Lisheng

2005-01-01

Isotope characteristics of some mega-deposits from literature and new results on twenty deposits (ten of them are mega-deposits) show that there exists traces of crust-mantle interaction. It has been established that the interaction all took place in the mantle under many situations. The theory of isotope geochemistry on the genesis of mega-deposits has been discussed. According to the theory, these deposits are a kind of special phenomena, but they have a common factor, i.e. mantle metasomatism produced by the crust-mantle interaction in the mantle no matter what the ore-forming elements diversity may be. The granites with great accumulation of uncompatible elements can be considered as the analogues of mega-deposits. According to the statistical results, it is possible that they formed at a period before about 2 Ga during which the recycling of the materials was accompanied with the obvious crust-mantle interaction and can produce the volatile components which are poor in the mantle. (authors)

Research on Trypanosoma cruzi and Analysis of Inflammatory Infiltrate in Esophagus and Colon from Chronic Chagasic Patients with and without Mega

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eliângela de Castro Côbo

2012-01-01

Full Text Available To compare parasitism and inflammatory process in esophagus and colon from chronic chagasic patients, immunohistochemistry was carried out to research for T. cruzi and to evaluate the inflammatory infiltrate in the muscular and myenteric plexus in 39 esophagi (20 with and 19 without megaesophagus and 50 colons (25 with and 25 without megacolon. The frequency of T. cruzi in megaesophagus was 20%, and in megacolon it was 4%. No amastigotes were found in organs without mega; considering the total of esophagi (with and without mega, the frequency of T. cruzi would be 10% and 2% in the colon. Myositis and ganglionitis were more frequent and intense in organs with mega compared to those without mega, and in esophagus compared to colon. Qualitatively, inflammatory infiltration in esophagus and colon, with or without mega, was similar, consisting predominantly of T lymphocytes (CD3+, scarce macrophages (CD68+, and rare B lymphocytes (CD20+.

Research on Trypanosoma cruzi and Analysis of Inflammatory Infiltrate in Esophagus and Colon from Chronic Chagasic Patients with and without Mega

Science.gov (United States)

Côbo, Eliângela de Castro; Silveira, Thales Parenti; Micheletti, Adilha Misson; Crema, Eduardo; Adad, Sheila Jorge

2012-01-01

To compare parasitism and inflammatory process in esophagus and colon from chronic chagasic patients, immunohistochemistry was carried out to research for T. cruzi and to evaluate the inflammatory infiltrate in the muscular and myenteric plexus in 39 esophagi (20 with and 19 without megaesophagus) and 50 colons (25 with and 25 without megacolon). The frequency of T. cruzi in megaesophagus was 20%, and in megacolon it was 4%. No amastigotes were found in organs without mega; considering the total of esophagi (with and without mega), the frequency of T. cruzi would be 10% and 2% in the colon. Myositis and ganglionitis were more frequent and intense in organs with mega compared to those without mega, and in esophagus compared to colon. Qualitatively, inflammatory infiltration in esophagus and colon, with or without mega, was similar, consisting predominantly of T lymphocytes (CD3+), scarce macrophages (CD68+), and rare B lymphocytes (CD20+). PMID:22131997

Assessment of the Regenerative Potential of Organic Waste Streams in Lagos Mega-City

Science.gov (United States)

Opejin, Adenike Kafayat

There is never a better time for this study than now when Nigeria as a country is going through the worst time in power supply. In Lagos city about 12,000 tons of waste is generated daily, and is expected to increase as the city adds more population. The management of these waste has generated great concern among professionals, academia and government agencies. This study examined the regenerative management of organic waste, which accounts for about 45% of the total waste generated in Lagos. To do this, two management scenarios were developed: landfill methane to electricity and compost; and analyzed using data collected during field work and from government reports. While it is understood that landfilling waste is the least sustainable option, this study argued that it could be a viable method for developing countries. Using U.S EPA LandGEM and the IPCC model, estimates of capturable landfill methane gas was derived for three landfills studied. Furthermore, a 35-year projection of waste and landfill methane was done for three newly proposed landfills. Assumptions were made that these new landfills will be sanitary. It was established that an average of 919,480,928m3 methane gas could be captured to generate an average of 9,687,176 MW of electricity annually. This makes it a significant source of power supply to a city that suffers from incessant power outages. Analysis of composting organics in Lagos was also done using descriptive method. Although, it could be argued that composting is the most regenerative way of managing organics, but it has some problems associated with it. Earthcare Compost Company processes an average of 600 tons of organics on a daily basis. The fraction of waste processed is infinitesimal compared to the rate of waste generated. One major issue identified in this study as an obstacle to extensive use of this method is the marketability of compost. The study therefore suggests that government should focus on getting the best out of the

Why Academics Choose to Publish in a Mega-Journal

Science.gov (United States)

Shopovski, Jovan; Marolov, Dejan

2017-01-01

With their broad scope, high publishing volume, a peer review process based on the scientific soundness of the content, and an open access model, mega journals have become an important part of scholarly publishing. The main aim of this paper is to determine the most important factor that influenced researchers' decisions to submit their academic…

Systems Engineering in the Information Age: The Challenge of Mega-Systems

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Stevens, Renee

2004-01-01

.... We call these mega-systems. This paper focuses on the engineering of this class of systems which is characterized by increasing scale, the nature and pace of change of the technologies involved, the complexity of system...

Comportamento do peso do coração e do corpo em chagásicos crônicos com e sem "megas"

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hipólito de Oliveira Almeida

1980-12-01

Full Text Available O peso do coração é menor nos chagásicos com "megas" do que nos falecidos subitamente ou em I.C.C., sendo, porém, maior que nos controles. Já o peso corporal ésemelhante nos chagásicos falecidos subitamente e nos controles, havendo redução moderada no grupo com I.C.C., e rtiais acentuada nos chagásicos com "megas" (redução de 20% em relação aos controles. A relação percentual peso cardíaco/peso corporal é de 1,1% no grupo com I.C.C.; 0,71% no grupo de morte súbita; 0,77% no grupo com "megas"; 0,49% no grupo controle e 0,60% ne grupo de doenças caquetizantes. Com base nas médias dos pesos cardíacos e corporal dos grupos controle, de doenças caquetizantes e de megas, calculou-se que o emagrecimento ocorrido nos megas reduziria o peso cardíaco médio de apenas 6,8%.Heart weight is less in chagasic patients with "mega" syndromes than in those which have died suddenly or with congestive heart failure, it is, however, greater than in the Controls. Body weight is similar in chagasic patients who have died suddenly and in the Controls, there is a moderate body weight reduction in the group with congestive heart failure, and a more accentuated reduction in chagasic patients with "mega" syndromes (a reduction of 20% in comparíson with the Controls. The relationship between heart - weight and body - weight, expressed as a percentage is 1,1% in the group with congestive heart failure; 0,71% in the group which died suddenly; 0.77% in the group with "mega" syndromes, 0.49% in the Controls group and 0.60% in the group with cachexia producing diseases. On the basis of mean heart - weights and body - weights of the control group, group with cachexia producing diseases and group with "mega" syndromes it was calculated that the emaciation which occurred in those with "mega"syndromes could reduce mean heart - weight by at least 6.8%.

An evaluation of the hybrid car technology for the Mexico Mega City

Science.gov (United States)

Jazcilevich, Aron D.; Reynoso, Agustin Garcia; Grutter, Michel; Delgado, Javier; Ayala, Ulises Diego; Lastra, Manuel Suarez; Zuk, Miriam; Oropeza, Rogelio Gonzalez; Lents, Jim; Davis, Nicole

The introduction of hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) technology in the private car fleet of Mexico City is evaluated in terms of private costs, energy, public health and CO 2 emission benefits. In addition to constructing plausible scenarios for urban expansion, emission, car fleet, and fuel consumption for year 2026 and comparing them with a 2004 base case, a time series is built to obtain accumulated economic benefits. Experimental techniques were used to build a vehicle library for a car simulator that included a Prius 2002, chosen as the HEV technology representative for this work. The simulator is used to estimate the emissions and fuel consumption of the car fleet scenarios. In the context of an urban scenario for year 2026, a complex air quality model obtains the concentrations of criterion pollutants corresponding to these scenarios. Using a technology penetration model, the hybridized fleet starts unfolding in year 2009 reaching to 20% in 2026. In this year, the hybridized fleet resulted in reductions of about 10% of CO 2 emissions, and yielded reductions in daytime mean concentrations of up to 7% in ozone and 3.4% in PM 2.5 compared to the 2004 base case. These reductions are concentrated in the densely populated areas of Mexico City. By building a time series of costs and benefits it is shown that, depending on fuel prices and using a 5% return rate, positive accumulated benefits (CO 2 benefits + energy benefits + public health benefits - private costs) will start generating in year 2015 reaching between 2.8 and 4.5 billion US Dlls in 2026. Another modernized private fleet consisting exclusively of Tier I and II cars did not yield appreciable results, signaling that a change in private car technology towards HEV's is needed to obtain significant accumulated benefits.

The Power of Micro Urban Structures, Theory of EEPGC - the Micro Urban Energy Distribution Model as a Planning Tool for Sustainable City Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tkáč Štefan

2015-11-01

Full Text Available To achieve the smart growth and equitable development in the region, urban planners should consider also lateral energies represented by the energy urban models like further proposed EEPGC focused on energy distribution via connections among micro-urban structures, their onsite renewable resources and the perception of micro-urban structures as decentralized energy carriers based on pre industrialized era. These structures are still variously bound when part of greater patterns. After the industrial revolution the main traded goods became energy in its various forms. The EEPGC is focused on sustainable energy transportation distances between the villages and the city, described by the virtual “energy circles”. This more human scale urbanization, boost the economy in micro-urban areas, rising along with clean energy available in situ that surely gives a different perspective to human quality of life in contrast to overcrowded multicultural mega-urban structures facing generations of problems and struggling to survive as a whole.

The Power of Micro Urban Structures, Theory of EEPGC - the Micro Urban Energy Distribution Model as a Planning Tool for Sustainable City Development

Science.gov (United States)

Tkáč, Štefan

2015-11-01

To achieve the smart growth and equitable development in the region, urban planners should consider also lateral energies represented by the energy urban models like further proposed EEPGC focused on energy distribution via connections among micro-urban structures, their onsite renewable resources and the perception of micro-urban structures as decentralized energy carriers based on pre industrialized era. These structures are still variously bound when part of greater patterns. After the industrial revolution the main traded goods became energy in its various forms. The EEPGC is focused on sustainable energy transportation distances between the villages and the city, described by the virtual "energy circles". This more human scale urbanization, boost the economy in micro-urban areas, rising along with clean energy available in situ that surely gives a different perspective to human quality of life in contrast to overcrowded multicultural mega-urban structures facing generations of problems and struggling to survive as a whole.

MEGA - A search for μ → eγ

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mischke, R.E.

1998-01-01

The MEGA experiment is a search for the decay μ → eγ. Even though there is no fundamental reason to expect lepton number to be a conserved quantity, processes such as μ → eγ have not been observed. (The present upper limit for the branching ratio for μ → eγ is 4.9 x 10 -11 .) The minimal standard model of electroweak interactions, which is enormously successful, builds in lepton number conservation. However, the decay μ → eγ is expected in many extensions to the standard model, in particular in supersymmetry models. The experimental signature for μ → eγ from decays at rest is the observation of a positron and photon, each of 52.8 MeV , that are back-to-back, in time coincidence, and originate from a common spatial point. The MEGA detector consists of two spectrometers designed to measure the kinematic characteristics of positrons and photons to search for events with this signature. The primary difficulty in the analysis of these data has been the development of reconstruction algorithms that balance efficiency and resolution. Also, many calibrations and corrections are needed to get optimum resolutions. Most surviving candidate events are accidentals. Results of analysis are given

Predictors of certification in infection prevention and control among infection preventionists: APIC MegaSurvey findings.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalp, Ericka L; Harris, Jeanette J; Zawistowski, Grace

2018-06-06

The 2015 APIC MegaSurvey was completed by 4,078 members to assess infection prevention practices. This study's purpose was to examine MegaSurvey results to relate infection preventionist (IP) certification status with demographic characteristics, organizational structure, compensation benefits, and practice and competency factors. Descriptive statistics were used to examine population characteristics and certification status. Bivariate logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships between independent variables and certification status. Variables demonstrating statistical significance (P Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mega sporting events: A poisoned chalice or a new dawn for low- and middle-income

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark Tomlinson

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Mega sporting events in South Africa, which has the largest number of HIV-positive people in the world, and India, with 1.8 million deaths of children under 5 each year and 52 million stunted children, raise questions about the effective and, as importantly, the moral imperative of spending billions of dollars to host a sporting event. From a health perspective, selling alcohol and debt tarnishes further the notion of any intangible benefits of mega events to low- and middle-income countries.

Prevalência de megas em necrópsias realizadas no triângulo mineiro no período de 1954 a 1988

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edison Reis Lopes

1989-12-01

Full Text Available Dentre 1708 necrópsias de chagásicos crônicos, de um total de 4690, diagnosticamos 273 megas. Destes o mais freqüente foi o megacólon, seguido pelo megaesôfago, ocupando a associação megacólon e megaesôfago o terceiro lugar. Discutem-se e comparam-se os achados com outros de ordem clinico-epidemiológica e anatomopatológica. Confirmando dados da literatura, nossos achados atuais mostram, que a exemplo do que sucede na cardiopatia chagásica, o megacólon e o megaesôfago predominam no sexo masculino, discutindo-se os fatores que poderiam explicar a razão desse fato.

Mega borg oil spill: Fate and effect studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

The Mega Borg, a Norwegian tanker, released an estimated 5.1 million gallons (gal) of Palanca Angola crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico during a lightering accident and subsequent fire. The collection of reports was designed to provide a comprehensive overview of the spill chronology, the fate of the oil released, and subsequent studies that were conducted to assess the impacts of the oil spill on the environment and its biota

Comparative evolutionary diversity and phylogenetic structure across multiple forest dynamics plots: a mega-phylogeny approach

Science.gov (United States)

Erickson, David L.; Jones, Frank A.; Swenson, Nathan G.; Pei, Nancai; Bourg, Norman A.; Chen, Wenna; Davies, Stuart J.; Ge, Xue-jun; Hao, Zhanqing; Howe, Robert W.; Huang, Chun-Lin; Larson, Andrew J.; Lum, Shawn K. Y.; Lutz, James A.; Ma, Keping; Meegaskumbura, Madhava; Mi, Xiangcheng; Parker, John D.; Fang-Sun, I.; Wright, S. Joseph; Wolf, Amy T.; Ye, W.; Xing, Dingliang; Zimmerman, Jess K.; Kress, W. John

2014-01-01

Forest dynamics plots, which now span longitudes, latitudes, and habitat types across the globe, offer unparalleled insights into the ecological and evolutionary processes that determine how species are assembled into communities. Understanding phylogenetic relationships among species in a community has become an important component of assessing assembly processes. However, the application of evolutionary information to questions in community ecology has been limited in large part by the lack of accurate estimates of phylogenetic relationships among individual species found within communities, and is particularly limiting in comparisons between communities. Therefore, streamlining and maximizing the information content of these community phylogenies is a priority. To test the viability and advantage of a multi-community phylogeny, we constructed a multi-plot mega-phylogeny of 1347 species of trees across 15 forest dynamics plots in the ForestGEO network using DNA barcode sequence data (rbcL, matK, and psbA-trnH) and compared community phylogenies for each individual plot with respect to support for topology and branch lengths, which affect evolutionary inference of community processes. The levels of taxonomic differentiation across the phylogeny were examined by quantifying the frequency of resolved nodes throughout. In addition, three phylogenetic distance (PD) metrics that are commonly used to infer assembly processes were estimated for each plot [PD, Mean Phylogenetic Distance (MPD), and Mean Nearest Taxon Distance (MNTD)]. Lastly, we examine the partitioning of phylogenetic diversity among community plots through quantification of inter-community MPD and MNTD. Overall, evolutionary relationships were highly resolved across the DNA barcode-based mega-phylogeny, and phylogenetic resolution for each community plot was improved when estimated within the context of the mega-phylogeny. Likewise, when compared with phylogenies for individual plots, estimates of

Modern Integration Processes in the Asia-Pacific Region: the Formation of Trans-Regional Mega-Agreements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maliuta Iryna A.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In the 21st century, especially in the last decade, new intercontinental integration projects appear on the global stage with a high potential for influencing the regional economic structure and at the same time bearing certain challenges for the international geo-economic and geo-political map of the world. Comprehensive new-generation inter-regional agreements are being formed, such as the TTP, the TTIP, the RCEP, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the EU (CETA, the Japan-EU Economic Partnership. The Asia-Pacific region has been an active participant in the creation and promotion of mega-regional trade agreements. Mega-regional trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific region, namely the TTP and the RCEP, are analyzed as mega-projects with an unprecedented scale of liberalization within the framework of the agreement that include provisions complementing the WTO framework or extending beyond it. There identified reasons for the emergence of mega-regional trade agreements and prospects for the implementation of these projects, as well as possible consequences for the international economic system. It is established that new trans-regional projects, providing certain advantages to the participating countries, simultaneously carry both opportunities and challenges for the world economy. The latter are associated with the threats of crowding the countries that do not take an active part in the integration processes out of the global chains of value creation as well as of the processes of international trade.

Contrasting natural regeneration and tree planting in fourteen North American cities

Science.gov (United States)

David J. Nowak

2012-01-01

Field data from randomly located plots in 12 cities in the United States and Canada were used to estimate the proportion of the existing tree population that was planted or occurred via natural regeneration. In addition, two cities (Baltimore and Syracuse) were recently re-sampled to estimate the proportion of newly established trees that were planted. Results for the...

Results from beam tests of MEGA's low-mass, high-rate cylindrical MWPCs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stanislaus, S.; Armijo, V.; Black, J.K.; Bolton, R.D.; Carius, S.; Cooper, M.D.; Espinoza, C.; Hart, G.; Hogan, G.; Gonzales, A.; Mischke, R.E.; Piilonen, L.E.; Sandoval, J.; Schilling, S.; Sena, J.; Suazo, G.; Szymanski, J.J.; Whitehouse, D.A.; Wilkinson, C.A.; Fisk, R.; Koetke, D.D.; Manweiler, R.W.; Jui, C.C.

1991-01-01

One of the leading experimental projects at LAMPF has been the MEGA experiment. This is an experiment to search for the rare decay μ → eγ with a sensitivity of 10 -13 . A prime component of this project has been the design and construction of high-rate, low mass MWPCs for the tracking of positrons from muon decay. With rate capabilities of 2 x 10 4 e + /mm 2 /s and a thickness of 3 x 10 -4 radiation lengths, these chambers are state-of-the-art cylindrical MWPCs. Cylindrical chambers of this size (0.9 m 2 ) and thinness have never been previously constructed. The MEGA project at LAMPF has recently succeeded in building chambers with these necessary performance characteristics as demonstrated by data taken from muon decays, cosmic rays, and sources

On-board measurements of emissions from light-duty gasoline vehicles in three mega-cities of China

Science.gov (United States)

Huo, Hong; Yao, Zhiliang; Zhang, Yingzhi; Shen, Xianbao; Zhang, Qiang; Ding, Yan; He, Kebin

2012-03-01

This paper is the second in a series of three papers aimed at understanding the emissions of vehicles in China by conducting on-board emission measurements. This paper focuses on light-duty gasoline vehicles. In this study, we measured 57 light-duty gasoline vehicles (LDGVs) in three Chinese mega-cites (Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen), covering Euro 0 through Euro IV technologies, and generated CO, HC, and NOx emission factors and deterioration rates for each vehicle technology. The results show that the vehicle emission standards have played a significant role in reducing vehicle emission levels in China. The vehicle emission factors are reduced by 47-81%, 53-64%, 46-71%, and 78-82% for each phase from Euro I to Euro IV. Euro 0 vehicles have a considerably high emission level, which is hundreds of times larger than that of Euro IV vehicles. Three old taxis and four other Euro I and Euro II LDGVs are also identified as super emitters with equivalent emission levels to Euro 0 vehicles. Of the measured fleet, 23% super emitters were estimated to contribute 50-80% to total emissions. Besides vehicle emission standards, measures for restricting super emitters are equally important to reduce vehicle emissions. This study is intended to improve the understanding of the vehicle emission levels in China, but some key issues such as emission deterioration rates are yet to be addressed with the presence of a sufficient amount of vehicle emission measurements.

Environmental issues in cities and mega cities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad, M.

2005-01-01

Environmental deterioration is one of the major issues of today's world. It not only poses serious threats to human life, health and property at local level but also presents big challenges for the sustain ability of global environment The developing countries like Pakistan are facing much bigger problems due to their rapid urbanization and lack of resources to meet the increasing demands of urban areas. Although, the problems have global dimensions, their solution lies at the local level. This paper presents an overview of the environmental issues with special reference to Pakistan and identifies the role of various stakes holders including the national, provincial and local governments, industrial and trade community, NGO's and citizens for rehabilitation and improvement of the environment. The combination of a large population and poor resource environment means that judicious means of energy use and minimum waste systems of production as well as lifestyles must be employed for sustainable development.(author)

Assessment of MEGA BORG impacts on sea turtles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gitschlag, G.

1993-01-01

Studies were conducted to assess the impacts of the MEGA BORG oil spill on sea turtles in the path of the oil plume. Aerial surveys were performed to determine the presence of turtles and provide a gross visual assessment of potential impacts. Although extensive efforts were made to capture sea turtles around oil and gas platforms only one loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta, was captured. Neither external visual inspection nor laboratory fecal analysis showed evidence of petroleum contamination

Comportamento do peso do coração e do corpo em chagásicos crônicos com e sem "megas"

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hipólito de Oliveira Almeida

1980-12-01

Full Text Available O peso do coração é menor nos chagásicos com "megas" do que nos falecidos subitamente ou em I.C.C., sendo, porém, maior que nos controles. Já o peso corporal ésemelhante nos chagásicos falecidos subitamente e nos controles, havendo redução moderada no grupo com I.C.C., e rtiais acentuada nos chagásicos com "megas" (redução de 20% em relação aos controles. A relação percentual peso cardíaco/peso corporal é de 1,1% no grupo com I.C.C.; 0,71% no grupo de morte súbita; 0,77% no grupo com "megas"; 0,49% no grupo controle e 0,60% ne grupo de doenças caquetizantes. Com base nas médias dos pesos cardíacos e corporal dos grupos controle, de doenças caquetizantes e de megas, calculou-se que o emagrecimento ocorrido nos megas reduziria o peso cardíaco médio de apenas 6,8%.

Treasure Chase: Mega Gifts Are Down--But Are They out?

Science.gov (United States)

Mayer, Caroline E.

2010-01-01

Just a few years ago, the University of Notre Dame averaged about six mega gifts--$10 million or more--a year. Last year, however, the Fighting Irish received only one such donation. "That multimillion donation has become more difficult to obtain," says Lou Nanni, vice president for university relations at the Indiana institution.…

The effects of the MEGA BORG spill on Gulf of Mexico shrimp

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nance, J.

1993-01-01

A brown shrimp stock model was developed at the NMFS Galveston Laboratory to assess the effects of the MEGA BORG oil spill on the brown shrimp population along the Texas coast. Water and sediment samples from near the MEGA BORG spill area were collected and analyzed by the Geochemical and Environmental Research Group at Texas A ampersand M University. Hydrocarbon concentrations found at the sediment collection stations ranged from 1.38 ug/g to 7.42 ug/g, while concentrations at the water column sampling sites ranged from 0.69 ug/l to 27.39 ug/l. Evaluation of chromatograms and analytical data suggested that sediments from the area contained primarily biogenic hydrocarbons. Only one station had elevated hydrocarbon levels. However, these values were only three to five times higher than the concentrations measured at the other stations. Evaluation of the water samples from the area showed only very low concentration levels of hydrocarbons were present in the water column. A bioassay study was conducted by the US Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Research Laboratory in Gulf Breeze, Florida. The main conclusion from the bioassay study was that the concentrations of hydrocarbons measured at the field sites where water samples were taken tended to be three orders of magnitude lower than the hydrocarbon concentrations causing toxic responses in mysid and white shrimp. There were no detected effects of the brown shrimp population along the Texas coast from the MEGA BORG oil spill

Current results for μ→e+γ decay search with the MEGA experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Y.

1993-01-01

The MEGA experiment at LAMPF is designed to search for the rare decay μ → e+γ with a branching ratio sensitivity of 4x10 -13 . The detector consists of an electron spectrometer (a set of low-mass MPWCs and two barrels of scintillators) and a photon arm (three-layer pair spectrometer) in a 1.5-T solenoidal magnetic field. The experimental design maximizes rate capability, retains large solid angle, and suppresses the background to below the experimental sensitivity. In the summer of 1992, the MEGA collaboration successfully finished whole-system tests and got 163.6 million μ→E+γ candidate events by using the electron arm and two of the three photon pair spectrometers. The status of the data analysis will be described

Sustainability as Global Norm: The Greening of Mega-Events in China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mol, A.P.J.; Zhang, L.

2011-01-01

This volume explores sports mega-events, their social, political, and cultural characters, the value systems that they inscribe and draw on, the claims they make on us and the claims the organisers make for them, the spatial and ethical relationships they create, and the responses of civil societies

Ground-level air pollution changes during a boreal wildland mega-fire

Science.gov (United States)

Andrzej Bytnerowicz; Yu-Mei Hsu; Kevin Percy; Allan Legge; Mark E. Fenn; Susan Schilling; Witold Frączek; Diane Alexander

2016-01-01

The 2011 Richardson wildland mega-fire in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) in northern Alberta, Canada had large effects on air quality. At a receptor site in the center of the AOSR ambient PM2.5, O3, NO, NO2, SO2, NH3, HONO, HNO3...

Prevalência de megas em necrópsias realizadas no triângulo mineiro no período de 1954 a 1988

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edison Reis Lopes

1989-12-01

Full Text Available Dentre 1708 necrópsias de chagásicos crônicos, de um total de 4690, diagnosticamos 273 megas. Destes o mais freqüente foi o megacólon, seguido pelo megaesôfago, ocupando a associação megacólon e megaesôfago o terceiro lugar. Discutem-se e comparam-se os achados com outros de ordem clinico-epidemiológica e anatomopatológica. Confirmando dados da literatura, nossos achados atuais mostram, que a exemplo do que sucede na cardiopatia chagásica, o megacólon e o megaesôfago predominam no sexo masculino, discutindo-se os fatores que poderiam explicar a razão desse fato.One thousand seven hundred and eight chronic chagasic post-mortem examinations studied from a total of4690 autopsies perfomed at our Institution. Two hundred and seventy-three chagasic had megas. Megacolon was the most frequent, followed by megaesophagus. Megacolon associated with megaesophagus was, the third mostcommom finding. Our data are discussed and compared with the literature. Megacolon and megaesophagus were more prevalent in man, as shown by other workers. Higher parasitemia perhaps could explain this finding.

From event to impact: International Exhibition and urban mobility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosa Anna La Rocca

2008-08-01

Full Text Available The realization of a mega event mainly affects the city life. On the one hand, the exceptional event represents a factor which speeds up urban transformations, that could not be realized otherwise. This characteristic has been defined as “pulsar effect” to explicate the impulse given to normal course of urban living by the mega events. On the other hand, mega events ask for actions aimed at managing the intense displacements due to their organizations and attractive capacity. Among the different types of events, this study considers the Universal Expositions, as they have been defined by the Bureau International des Expositions (the non-governmental organization having the decision power about great exposition. Universal or International Expo’s realization affects specific urban areas, interested by important transformations, especially referred to realization of infrastructure (mobility or dedicated to the event. While the management of urban mobility requires to define specific actions aimed at traffic congestion minimization. Increasing transport demand (visitors and tourists + residents and city-users is one of mega event effects. This work deals with individuations of mega event effects on city organization by analysing some case studies of Expos cities. Particularly referred to transformations occurred in transport infrastructures this articles sketches out the contemporary Expos profile and theirs effects on city.

Investigating fusion plasma instabilities in the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak using mega electron volt proton emissions (invited)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perez, R. V., E-mail: rvale006@fiu.edu; Boeglin, W. U.; Angulo, A.; Avila, P.; Leon, O.; Lopez, C. [Department of Physics, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8 ST, CP204, Miami, Florida 33199 (United States); Darrow, D. S. [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, James Forrestal Campus, P.O. Box 451, Princeton, New Jersey 08543 (United States); Cecconello, M.; Klimek, I. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Uppsala SE-751 20 (Sweden); Allan, S. Y.; Akers, R. J.; Keeling, D. L.; McClements, K. G.; Scannell, R.; Conway, N. J. [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Turnyanskiy, M. [ITER Physics Department, EFDA CSU Garching, Boltzmannstrasse 2, D-85748, Garching (Germany); Jones, O. M. [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Department of Physics, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom); Michael, C. A. [Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200 (Australia)

2014-11-15

The proton detector (PD) measures 3 MeV proton yield distributions from deuterium-deuterium fusion reactions within the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST). The PD’s compact four-channel system of collimated and individually oriented silicon detectors probes different regions of the plasma, detecting protons (with gyro radii large enough to be unconfined) leaving the plasma on curved trajectories during neutral beam injection. From first PD data obtained during plasma operation in 2013, proton production rates (up to several hundred kHz and 1 ms time resolution) during sawtooth events were compared to the corresponding MAST neutron camera data. Fitted proton emission profiles in the poloidal plane demonstrate the capabilities of this new system.

Gas and Dust Phenomena of Mega-earthquakes and the Cause

Science.gov (United States)

Yue, Z.

2013-12-01

A mega-earthquake suddenly releases a large to extremely large amount of kinetic energy within a few tens to two hundreds seconds and over ten to hundreds kilometer distances in the Earth's crust and on ground surface. It also generates seismic waves that can be received globally and co-seismic ground damages such co-seismic ruptures and landslides. However, such vast, dramatic and devastating kinetic actions in the Earth's crustal rocks and on the ground soils cannot be known or predicted by people at few weeks, days, hours, or minutes before they are happening. Although seismologists can develop and use seismometers to report the locations and magnitudes of earthquakes within minutes of their occurrence, they cannot predict earthquakes at present. Therefore, damage earthquakes have caused and would continue to cause huge disasters, fatalities and injuries to our human beings. This problem may indicate that it is necessary to re-examine the cause of mega-earthquakes in addition to the conventional cause of active fault elastic rebounding. In the last ten years, many mega-earthquakes occurred in China and around the Pacific Ocean and caused many casualties to human beings and devastating disasters to environments. The author will give a brief review on the impacts of the mega-earthquakes happened in recent years. He will then present many gas and dust related phenomena associated with the sudden occurrences of these mega earthquakes. They include the 2001 Kunlunshan Earthquake M8.1, 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake M8.0 and the 2010 Yushu Earthquake M7.1 in China, the 2010 Haiti Earthquake M7.0, the 2010 Mexicali Earthquake M7.2, the 2010 Chile Earthquake M8.8, the 2011 Christchurch earthquake M6.3 and the 2011 Japan Earthquake M9.0 around the Pacific Ocean. He will discuss the cause of these gas and dust related phenomena. He will use these phenomena and their common cause to show that the earthquakes were caused the rapid migration and expansion of highly compressed and

Analyzing Land Cover Change and Urban Growth Trajectories of the Mega-Urban Region of Dhaka Using Remotely Sensed Data and an Ensemble Classifier

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Mehedy Hassan

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Accurate information on, and human interpretation of, urban land cover using satellite-derived sensor imagery is critical given the intricate nature and niches of socioeconomic, demographic, and environmental factors occurring at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Detailed knowledge of urban land and their changing pattern over time periods associated with ecological risk is, however, required for the best use of critical land and its environmental resources. Interest in this topic has increased recently, driven by a surge in the use of open-source computing software, satellite-derived imagery, and improved classification algorithms. Using the machine learning algorithm Random Forest, combined with multi-date Landsat imagery, we classified eight periods of land cover maps with up-to-date spatial and temporal information of urban land between the period of 1972 and 2015 for the mega-urban region of greater Dhaka in Bangladesh. Random Forest—a non-parametric ensemble classifier—has shown a quantum increase in satellite-derived image classification accuracy due to its outperformance over traditional approaches, e.g., Maximum Likelihood. Employing Random Forest as an image classification approach for this study with independent cross-validation techniques, we obtained high classification accuracy, user and producer accuracy. Our overall classification accuracy ranges were between 85% and 97% with kappa values between 0.81 and 0.94. The area statistics derived from the thematic land cover map show that the built-up area in the 43-year study period expanded quickly, from 35 km2 in 1972 to 378 km2 in 2015, with a net increase rate of approximately 980% and an average annual growth rate of 6%. This growth rate, however, was higher in peripheral areas, with a 2903% increase and an annual expansion rate of 8%, compared to a 460% increase with an annual growth rate of 4% in the core city area (Dhaka City Corporation. This huge urban expansion took

A New City.

OpenAIRE

Clay, Allyson

1990-01-01

Allyson Clay’s "Traces of a City in the Spaces Between Some People" is a series of twenty diptychs contrasting fabricated faux finishing with expressionist painting and text. The fabricated paint applications evoke city surfaces like concrete and granite; they also evoke modernist painting.  Unlike modernist painting, however, the faux surfaces are decorative and mechanically painted. The choice to have the surfaces fabricated serves to disrupt the egoism of modern abstraction and the im...

The MEGA BORG: The value of cooperative damage assessment to trustees, PRPs, and the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Helton, D.

1993-01-01

The Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process provides natural resource trustees with a method for restoring publicly owned or managed natural resources and their services that are injured as a result of an oil or chemical release. The NRDA process is simple in concept, but provides significant challenges for natural resource trustees. Although the impacts of marine pollution have been studied for many years, the quantification, economic evaluation, and restoration of these impacts brings up controversial scientific, legal, and economic issues. The 1990 MEGA BORG spill in the Gulf of Mexico is an example of a cooperative assessment. Within a few days of the spill, the Texas Water Commission and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reached and agreement with the owners of the MEGA BORG under which the owners would fund a preliminary assessment of the environmental impact of the spill. Five projects were funded to determine whether there was sufficient injury to justify the completion of a natural resource damage assessment. The MEGA BORG provides an example of a cooperative and scientifically balanced approach to the initiation of damage assessment activities and illustrates the benefits of a cooperative assessment

Incidência da cardiopatia chagásica em 15.000 necrópsias consecutivas e sua associação com os «megas»

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. J. A. Barbosa

1970-08-01

Full Text Available Os AA. estudaram, a incidência da cardiopatia chagásica em 15.000 necrópsias consecutivas e sua associação com os megas. Em 875 cardiopatias chagásicas houve 145 casos de megas, ou seja, 16,56%, com predominância do sexo masculino. No branco houve maior incidência (55 de megas do que no mulato (53 e no negro (31 dentre 858 cardiopatias chagásicas. Em 848 cardiopatias chagásicas, 85,78% eram de indivíduos que faleceram entre 21 e 60 anos. O maior número de cardiopatias (120 ou 14,14% e de "megas'' (21 ou 15,78% foi encontrado nos indivíduos entre 36 a 40 anos. Os nossos resultados mostram uma incidência diferente da associação cardiopatia-mega, em comparação da observada em outras regiões do País e em outros países da América do Sul.

The Uruguayan Per mic mega flora. A synthesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cornaglia, L.; Ruiz, F.; Introcaso, A.

2007-01-01

The Permian mega floras of Uruguay. A synthesis. An analysis of the impression and fossil wood floras from the Permian of Uruguay is given through a series of Tables. These show : (1) the list of taxa, (2) anatomical characters of the woods, (3) data on the micro floral associations, (4) paleoenvironmental information and (5) comparisons with contemporaneous Gondwana floras. The evolutionary degree of the woods is briefly analyzed where they correspond to the so-called transition xilotaphofloras as they present typical Paleozoic anatomical characters but with secondary xylem of more advanced characteristics. (author)

Geographically explicit urban land use change scenarios for Mega cities: a case study in Tokyo

Science.gov (United States)

Yamagata, Y.; Bagan, H.; Seya, H.; Nakamichi, K.

2010-12-01

In preparation for the IPCC 5th assessment report, the international modeling community is developing four Representative Concentration Paths employing the scenarios developed by four different Integrated Assessment Models. These RCPs will be employed as an input to climate models, such as Earth System Models. In these days, the importance of assessment of not only global but also local (city/zone level) impacts of global change has gradually been recognized, thereby downscaling climate models are one of the urgent problems to be solved. Needless to say, reliable downscaling requires spatially high resolution land use change scenarios. So far, there has been proposed a lot of methods for constructing land use change scenarios with considering economic behavior of human, such as agent-based model (e.g., Parker et al., 2001), and land use transport (LUT) model (e.g., Anas and Liu, 2007). The latter approach in particular has widely been applied to actual urban/transport policy; hence modeling the interaction between them is very important for creating reliable land use change scenarios. However, the LUT models are usually built based on the zones of cities/municipalities whose spatial resolutions are too low to derive sensible parameters of the climate models. Moreover, almost all of the works which attempt to build spatially high resolution LUT model employs very small regions as the study area. The objective of this research is deriving various input parameters to climate models such as population density, fractional green vegetation cover, and anthropogenic heat emission with spatially high resolution land use change scenarios constructed with LUT model. The study area of this research is Tokyo metropolitan area, which is the largest urban area in the world (United Nations., 2010). Firstly, this study employs very high ground resolution zones composed of micro districts around 1km2. Secondly, the research attempt to combine remote sensing techniques and LUT models

Generation of low KV x-ray portal images with mega-voltage electron beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kenny, J.; Ebert, M.

2004-01-01

Full text: The increasing complexity of radiation therapy plans and reduced target margins, have made accurate localization of patients at treatment a crucial quality assurance issue. Mega-voltage portal images, the standard for treatment localization, are inherently low in contrast because x-ray attenuation at these energies is similar for most body tissues. Thus anatomical features are difficult to distinguish and match to features on a reference diagnostic image. This project investigates the possibly of using x-rays created by an external target placed in the path of a clinical mega-voltage electron beam. This target is optimised to produce a higher proportion of useful imaging x-rays in the range of 50-200kV. It is thought that a high efficiency Varian aSi500 amorphous silicon EPID will be sufficient to compensate for the very low efficiency of x-ray production. The project was undertaken with concurrent theoretical and experimental components. The former involved Monte Carlo models of low Z target design while in the later, experimental data was gathered to validate the model and explore the practical issues associated with electron mode image acquisition. A 6 MeV electron beam model for a Varian Clinac 21EX was developed with EGS4/BEAMnrc User Code and compared to measured beam data. Phase space data scored at the secondary collimator then became the input for simulations of a target placed in the accessory tray. Target materials were predominately low atomic number (Z) because a) production of high energy x-rays is minimized and, b) fewer low energy x-rays produced will be absorbed within the target. Photon and electron energy spectrums of the modified beam were evaluated for a range of target geometries. Ultimately, several materials were used in combination to optimise an x-ray yield for energies <200kV while removing electrons and very low energy x-rays, that contribute to patient dose but not to image formation. Low energy images of a PIPs EPID QA

Studies of MicroMegas Chamber for the New Small Wheel using Cosmic Muons

CERN Document Server

Klapdor-kleingrothaus, Thorwald; The ATLAS collaboration

2016-01-01

Micromesh Gaseous (MicroMegas) Detectors will be implemented in the ATLAS detector in the framework of the New Small Wheel Upgrade during the long shut down II in 2019/20. These detectors are used for position measurement and have a high spatial resolution of 100$\\mu$m. In parallel to the ongoing constructions of the later modules, additional performance studies with small MicroMegas prototypes of a size of 10 $\\times$ 10 cm$^2$ are performed. The studies include a cosmic muon test stand in combination with a scalable readout system, such that the influences of variations in the pressure of the operation gas or changes in the humidity at the lower ppm level to the detector performance are investigated. These parameters will impact the later design of detector slow control system at the New Small Wheel in ATLAS.

Agricultural net primary production in relation to that liberated by the extinction of Pleistocene mega-herbivores: an estimate of agricultural carrying capacity?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Doughty, Christopher E; Field, Christopher B, E-mail: chris.doughty@ouce.ox.ac.uk, E-mail: cfield@ciw.edu [Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States)

2010-10-15

Mega-fauna (defined as animals > 44 kg) experienced a global extinction with 97 of 150 genera going extinct by {approx} 10 000 years ago. We estimate the net primary production (NPP) that was liberated following the global extinction of these mega-herbivores. We then explore how humans, through agriculture, gradually appropriated this liberated NPP, with specific calculations for 800, 1850, and 2000 AD. By 1850, most of the liberated NPP had been appropriated by people, but NPP was still available in the Western US, South America and Australia. NPP liberated following the extinction of the mega-herbivores was {approx} 2.5% ({approx}1.4 (between 1.2 and 1.6) Pg yr{sup -1} of 56 Pg C yr{sup -1}; Pg: petagrams) of global terrestrial NPP. Liberated NPP peaked during the onset of agriculture and was sufficient for sustaining human agriculture until {approx} 320 (250-500) years ago. Humans currently use {approx} 6 times more NPP than was utilized by the extinct Pleistocene mega-herbivores.

Agricultural net primary production in relation to that liberated by the extinction of Pleistocene mega-herbivores: an estimate of agricultural carrying capacity?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doughty, Christopher E; Field, Christopher B

2010-01-01

Mega-fauna (defined as animals > 44 kg) experienced a global extinction with 97 of 150 genera going extinct by ∼ 10 000 years ago. We estimate the net primary production (NPP) that was liberated following the global extinction of these mega-herbivores. We then explore how humans, through agriculture, gradually appropriated this liberated NPP, with specific calculations for 800, 1850, and 2000 AD. By 1850, most of the liberated NPP had been appropriated by people, but NPP was still available in the Western US, South America and Australia. NPP liberated following the extinction of the mega-herbivores was ∼ 2.5% (∼1.4 (between 1.2 and 1.6) Pg yr -1 of 56 Pg C yr -1 ; Pg: petagrams) of global terrestrial NPP. Liberated NPP peaked during the onset of agriculture and was sufficient for sustaining human agriculture until ∼ 320 (250-500) years ago. Humans currently use ∼ 6 times more NPP than was utilized by the extinct Pleistocene mega-herbivores.

OER on the Asian Mega Universities: Developments, Motives, Openness, and Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Farisi, Mohammad Imam

2013-01-01

The OER movement originated and integrated into ODE developments. Mega Universities (MUs) are among the most important of ODE providers worldwide should be to be the primary organizations for providing access to OER. So far, however, in-depth studies on OER developments in the Asian MUs were very limited. This study focuses on the developments,…

Deep-Sea Mega-Epibenthic Assemblages from the SW Portuguese Margin (NE Atlantic Subjected to Bottom-Trawling Fisheries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sofia P. Ramalho

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Bottom-trawling fisheries are a common threat to the health of continental margins worldwide. Together with numerous environmental and biological processes, physical disturbance induced by trawlers can largely shape the benthic habitats and their associated assemblages. At the SW Portuguese Margin, crustacean bottom trawlers have exploited deep-sea habitats for a few decades, but its effects on the benthic biodiversity are practically unknown. During the spring-summer of 2013 and 2014, several Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV video transects were used to investigate mega-epibenthic abundance, composition, and diversity in soft-sediment areas subjected to varying trawling pressures off Sines and Setúbal (200–800 m. Differences in mega-epibenthic assemblages were linked with environmental changes (depth, grain size, primary productivity and trawling disturbance. The effect of trawling was assessed between segments with similar habitat characteristics, i.e., muddy-sand bottoms between 300 and 500 m. Areas subjected to intensive trawling pressure showed a generally flattened seabed, with abundant recent trawl marks (up to 3 scars.100 m−1, indicating that the seabed physical integrity was compromised. Significant negative correlations were detected between various mega-epibenthic diversity indices [S, H′, and ET(20] and trawling pressure (h.cell−1.y−1. Furthermore, the distinct mega-epibenthic assemblages and absence of several sessile erect morphospecies at both low and highly disturbed locations by trawling off Sines, namely all seapen morphospecies found in non-trawled areas, demonstrates the negative influence of trawling fisheries on the benthic component of the study area. Also, low dissimilarity between assemblages from the main fishing grounds and the adjacent low-disturbance locations, suggests that the potentially negative influence of trawling can extend beyond the targeted areas (e.g., by the plumes of re-suspended sediments. The

Handling technology of Mega-Watt millimeter-waves for optimized heating of fusion plasmas

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shimozuma, T.; Kubo, S.; Yoshimura, Y.; Igami, H.; Takahashi, H.; Takita, Y.; Kobayashi, S.; Ito, S.; Mizuno, Y.; Idei, H.; Notake, T.; Shapiro, M.A.; Temkin, R.J.; Felici, F.; Goodman, T.P.; Sauter, O.; Minami, R.; Kariya, T.; Imai, T.; Mutoh, T.

2009-01-01

Millimeter-wave components were re-examined for high power (Mega-Watt) and steady-state (greater than one hour) operation. Some millimeter-wave components, including waveguide joints, vacuum pumping sections, power monitors, sliding waveguides, and injection windows, have been improved for high

The evolution of the atlantic mega-undation : Causing the American continental drift

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bemmelen, R.W. van

Mega-undations are the largest class of deformations of the earth's surface, with diameters of many thousands of kilometers. They result from deepseated mass-circuits, probably in the inner mantle. Though their potential amplitude may be in the order of 100 km, their actual height is not more than

Enhancing contrast of magnetic resonance imaging in patients with ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

DTPA), a recent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent, in hepatobiliary system of patients with liver cirrhosis. Methods: Liver cirrhosis patients that underwent contrast MRI examination at Renai Hospital, Taipei City, Taiwan were ...

Aspectos raciais dos "megas" e da cardiopatia na doença de Chagas crônica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lineu José Miziara

1981-06-01

Full Text Available O estudo de 724 pacientes chagásicos crônicos mostrou que a insuficiência cardíaca congestiva é mais freqüente e de aparecimento mais precoce nos pacientes de raça negra do que nos brancos. A ocorrência de "megas" foi ligeiramente inferior nos chagásicos negros não sendo estatisticamente significativa a diferença observada. A maior freqüência de insuficiência cardíaca nos pretos parece estar relacionada a características biológicas do tecido conjuntivo que condicionam uma resposta fibrosante mais acentuada no miocârdio agredido pela Tripanossomose. Estas observações estariam de acordo com outros estudos sobre a doença de Chagas que admitem ser a denervação o fator mais importante para o aparecimento dos "megas" e a inflamação com fibrose miocârdica acentuada um elemento básico para explicar a insuficiência cardíaca.The study of 724 patients with chronic chagas's disease showed that the cardiac faiture is more frequent and appears earlier in negroes patients when compared to white patients. The occurrence of "megas" was slightly lover in the negroes but the difference was not statisticaiiy significant. The higher frequency of cardiac faiture in the negrões seems to be caused by biological characteristics of the conective tissue which respond to trypanossomiasis with a more severe degree of fibrosis. These findings agree with other reports on Chagas's disease in which it is admitted that the "megas" are chiefly the result of dennervation and cardiac faiture is principally caused by infiammation with myocardial fibrosis.

Managing the Urban Image. Cities as Scenery for Events: A White Night Event as a Case Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ELENI ATHANASOPOULOU

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Organizing street events in the cities is not something new. Many cultural, social or religious events take place on the streets, whereas many of them have become international events and attract pan-european attention and coverage. Mega cities are organizing festivals and cultural events in order to attract tourists and contribute to local and regional development. This trend has started growing and spreading around Europe. Medium-sized cities are also organising such multi-dimensional public space events. As a case study it is interesting to present a white night event that took place in Kalamata (a medium-sized city in southern Greece, in August 2013. The shops stayed open until 3 in the morning, offering their products at reduced prices and encouraging people to consume. The city center provided the scenery for an alternative massive celebration. Parties were thrown and concerts took place, around the city. Many people from the Kalamata Region visited Kalamata City. The success was unexpected. This article describes what good can come out of the adoption of a successful north-European cultural white night event (in St. Petersburg and elsewhere. The implementation of an interesting idea, adjusted to the local circumstances, is worth to be looked into. The article concludes that urban scenery can play an important role to the organisation and success of such multicultural events.

Authority, Legitimacy, and Fragmentation in the (Envisaged) Dispute Settlement Disciplines in Mega-Regionals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schill, S.W.; Griller, S.; Obwexer, W.; Vranes, E.

2017-01-01

This chapter analyses the inter-state and investor-state dispute settlement disciplines included in mega-regionals, focusing on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. It argues that dispute settlement assumes a pivotal role in trade and investment

Do women in major cities experience better health? A comparison of chronic conditions and their risk factors between women living in major cities and other cities in Indonesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Christiani, Yodi; Byles, Julie E; Tavener, Meredith; Dugdale, Paul

2015-01-01

Inhabitants of rural areas can be tempted to migrate to urban areas for the type and range of facilities available. Although urban inhabitants may benefit from greater access to human and social services, living in a big city can also bring disadvantages to some residents due to changes in social and physical environments. We analysed data from 4,208 women aged >15 years old participating in the fourth wave of the Indonesia Family Life Survey. Chronic condition risk factors - systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP), body mass index (BMI), and tobacco use - among women in four major cities in Indonesia (Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, and Bandung) were compared against other cities. Fractional polynomial regression models were applied to examine the association between living in the major cities and SBP, DBP, BMI, and tobacco use. The models were also adjusted for age, education, employment status, migration status, ethnic groups, and religion. The patterns of SBP, DBP, and BMI were plotted and contrasted between groups of cities. Chronic condition prevalence was higher for women in major cities than in contrasting cities (p<0.005). Living in major cities increased the risk of having higher SBP, DBP, BMI and being a current smoker. Chronic disease risk factors in major cities were evident from younger ages. Women residing in Indonesia's major cities have a higher risk of developing chronic conditions, starting at younger ages. The findings highlight the challenges inherent in providing long-term healthcare with its associated cost within major Indonesian cities and the importance of chronic disease prevention programmes targeting women at an early age.

Do women in major cities experience better health? A comparison of chronic conditions and their risk factors between women living in major cities and other cities in Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yodi Christiani

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Inhabitants of rural areas can be tempted to migrate to urban areas for the type and range of facilities available. Although urban inhabitants may benefit from greater access to human and social services, living in a big city can also bring disadvantages to some residents due to changes in social and physical environments. Design: We analysed data from 4,208 women aged >15 years old participating in the fourth wave of the Indonesia Family Life Survey. Chronic condition risk factors – systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP, body mass index (BMI, and tobacco use – among women in four major cities in Indonesia (Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, and Bandung were compared against other cities. Fractional polynomial regression models were applied to examine the association between living in the major cities and SBP, DBP, BMI, and tobacco use. The models were also adjusted for age, education, employment status, migration status, ethnic groups, and religion. The patterns of SBP, DBP, and BMI were plotted and contrasted between groups of cities. Results: Chronic condition prevalence was higher for women in major cities than in contrasting cities (p<0.005. Living in major cities increased the risk of having higher SBP, DBP, BMI and being a current smoker. Chronic disease risk factors in major cities were evident from younger ages. Conclusions: Women residing in Indonesia's major cities have a higher risk of developing chronic conditions, starting at younger ages. The findings highlight the challenges inherent in providing long-term healthcare with its associated cost within major Indonesian cities and the importance of chronic disease prevention programmes targeting women at an early age.

CityGML - Interoperable semantic 3D city models

Science.gov (United States)

Gröger, Gerhard; Plümer, Lutz

2012-07-01

CityGML is the international standard of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) for the representation and exchange of 3D city models. It defines the three-dimensional geometry, topology, semantics and appearance of the most relevant topographic objects in urban or regional contexts. These definitions are provided in different, well-defined Levels-of-Detail (multiresolution model). The focus of CityGML is on the semantical aspects of 3D city models, its structures, taxonomies and aggregations, allowing users to employ virtual 3D city models for advanced analysis and visualization tasks in a variety of application domains such as urban planning, indoor/outdoor pedestrian navigation, environmental simulations, cultural heritage, or facility management. This is in contrast to purely geometrical/graphical models such as KML, VRML, or X3D, which do not provide sufficient semantics. CityGML is based on the Geography Markup Language (GML), which provides a standardized geometry model. Due to this model and its well-defined semantics and structures, CityGML facilitates interoperable data exchange in the context of geo web services and spatial data infrastructures. Since its standardization in 2008, CityGML has become used on a worldwide scale: tools from notable companies in the geospatial field provide CityGML interfaces. Many applications and projects use this standard. CityGML is also having a strong impact on science: numerous approaches use CityGML, particularly its semantics, for disaster management, emergency responses, or energy-related applications as well as for visualizations, or they contribute to CityGML, improving its consistency and validity, or use CityGML, particularly its different Levels-of-Detail, as a source or target for generalizations. This paper gives an overview of CityGML, its underlying concepts, its Levels-of-Detail, how to extend it, its applications, its likely future development, and the role it plays in scientific research. Furthermore, its

Urban adaptation to mega-drought: Anticipatory water modeling, policy, and planning in Phoenix

Science.gov (United States)

Gober, P.; Sampson, D. A.; Quay, R.; White, D. D.; Chow, W.

2016-12-01

There is increasing interest in using the results of water models for long-term planning and policy analysis. Achieving this goal requires more effective integration of human dimensions into water modeling and a paradigm shift in the way models are developed and used. A user-defined focus argues in favor of models that are designed to foster public debate and engagement about the difficult trade-offs that are inevitable in managing complex water systems. These models also emphasize decision making under uncertainty and anticipatory planning, and are developed through a collaborative and iterative process. This paper demonstrates the use of anticipatory modeling for long-term drought planning in Phoenix, one of the largest and fastest growing urban areas in the southwestern USA. WaterSim 5, an anticipatory water policy and planning model, was used to explore groundwater sustainability outcomes for mega-drought conditions across a range of policies, including population growth management, water conservation, water banking, direct reuse of RO reclaimed water, and water augmentation. Results revealed that business-as-usual population growth, per capita use trends, and management strategies may not be sustainable over the long term, even without mega-drought conditions as years of available groundwater supply decline over the simulation period from 2000 to 2060. Adding mega-drought increases the decline in aquifer levels and increases the variability in flows and uncertainty about future groundwater supplies. Simulations that combine drought management policies can return the region to sustainable. Results demonstrate the value of long-term planning and policy analysis for anticipating and adapting to environmental change.

Structuring a mega-project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kutryk, T. [Husky Oil Operations Ltd., Calgary, AB (Canada)

2004-07-01

This paper presented an overview of mega-project management. Issues concerning scope, cost and schedule were discussed, with reference to the idea that a choice must be made from the outset as to which of the 3 is a main priority. The importance of preparation and the development of a fully resourced plan was emphasized. The use of the parametric 4-D model was discussed. Lessons that the construction industry may learn from manufacturers were presented along with issues of contract development and the role and importance of the project manager. Issues concerning performance measurement were reviewed, including lagging indicators. Project division factors were also discussed, with reference to data lags, naturally concurrent processes and over the fence units. A case study of Walmart was presented. Project design packages and long lead time items were discussed, as were issues concerning human resources. Functional units were examined in relation to zones of influence and unit integration. Various combinations of zones of influence were presented. Issues concerning span of control and varying relationships within a project were discussed. It was emphasized that great deeds can be accomplished by attracting the best people. tabs., figs.

Precambrian mega lineaments across the Indian sub-continent - Preliminary evidence from offshore magnetic data

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Subrahmanyam, V.; Subrahmanyam, A.S.; Murthy, K.S.R.; Murty, G.P.S.; Sarma, K.V.L.N.S.; SuneetaRani, P.; Anuradha, A.

junction/contact between two major geological provinces, viz. the Southern Granulite Terrain (SGT) and the Dharwar Craton. In addition to these two mega lineaments, major faults have been inferred, which acted as controlling parameters to create a bulge...

The antioxidant effect of Green Tea Mega EGCG against electromagnetic radiation-induced oxidative stress in the hippocampus and striatum of rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Nawal A; Radwan, Nasr M; Aboul Ezz, Heba S; Salama, Noha A

2017-01-01

Electromagnetic radiation (EMR) of cellular phones may affect biological systems by increasing free radicals and changing the antioxidant defense systems of tissues, eventually leading to oxidative stress. Green tea has recently attracted significant attention due to its health benefits in a variety of disorders, ranging from cancer to weight loss. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of EMR (frequency 900 MHz modulated at 217 Hz, power density 0.02 mW/cm 2 , SAR 1.245 W/kg) on different oxidative stress parameters in the hippocampus and striatum of adult rats. This study also extends to evaluate the therapeutic effect of green tea mega EGCG on the previous parameters in animals exposed to EMR after and during EMR exposure. The experimental animals were divided into four groups: EMR-exposed animals, animals treated with green tea mega EGCG after 2 months of EMR exposure, animals treated with green tea mega EGCG during EMR exposure and control animals. EMR exposure resulted in oxidative stress in the hippocampus and striatum as evident from the disturbances in oxidant and antioxidant parameters. Co-administration of green tea mega EGCG at the beginning of EMR exposure for 2 and 3 months had more beneficial effect against EMR-induced oxidative stress than oral administration of green tea mega EGCG after 2 months of exposure. This recommends the use of green tea before any stressor to attenuate the state of oxidative stress and stimulate the antioxidant mechanism of the brain.

The economic performance of supply chain(s) served by the mega freight transport vehicles

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Janic, M.

2014-01-01

This paper deals with the economic performances of supply chain(s) served by different including the mega freight transport vehicles. These performances are considered as a dimension of the supply chain’s sustainability together with the infrastructural, technical/technological, operational,

Communicating mega-projects in the face of uncertainties: Israeli mass media treatment of the Dead Sea Water Canal.

Science.gov (United States)

Fischhendler, Itay; Cohen-Blankshtain, Galit; Shuali, Yoav; Boykoff, Max

2015-10-01

Given the potential for uncertainties to influence mega-projects, this study examines how mega-projects are deliberated in the public arena. The paper traces the strategies used to promote the Dead Sea Water Canal. Findings show that the Dead Sea mega-project was encumbered by ample uncertainties. Treatment of uncertainties in early coverage was dominated by economics and raised primarily by politicians, while more contemporary media discourses have been dominated by ecological uncertainties voiced by environmental non-governmental organizations. This change in uncertainty type is explained by the changing nature of the project and by shifts in societal values over time. The study also reveals that 'uncertainty reduction' and to a lesser degree, 'project cancellation', are still the strategies most often used to address uncertainties. Statistical analysis indicates that although uncertainties and strategies are significantly correlated, there may be other intervening variables that affect this correlation. This research also therefore contributes to wider and ongoing considerations of uncertainty in the public arena through various media representational practices. © The Author(s) 2013.

The future of mega sport events : Examining the ‘Dutch Approach’ to legacy planning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hartman, S.; Zandberg, T.

2015-01-01

Purpose – Mega sport events (MSE) are immensely popular but also highly criticized because these nclude large public budgets and involve politically sensitive topics. In this context, there is an increasing attention toward legacy planning, the effort to confer long-term benefits to a host

Mega-science accelerator projects in China and their impact on economy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Chuang

2012-01-01

Along with the rapid development of national economy in China, a number of mega-science projects have been or being constructed. In respect to the large accelerator-based projects, the Beijing Electron-Positron Colliders (BEPC) and its upgrading project BEPCⅡ, the Hefei Light Source (HLS), the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL) and its Cooling Storage Rings (HIRFL-CSR) and the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF) were successfully constructed and put into operation. The Beijing Radioactive Ion Facility (BRIF) and the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) are under construction. A particle accelerator is an integration of many HI-tech components. In order to reach the scientific goal of an accelerator project, a great deal new technologies need to be developed during its construction and operation and thus speed up technology development and this will positively impact on the economy. In this paper, the mega-science accelerator projects are briefly described and applications of accelerators in the economy are reviewed. The paper emphasizes spin-off of the accelerator technology developed during R and D and construction of the projects. Approaches of collaboration between academia and industry are discussed. With some examples, the benefits experienced in the laboratory-industry collaboration and approach of its economic compact are illustrated. (author)

Photon pair spectrometers in a μ → eγ decay search with the MEGA experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dzemidzic, M.

1993-01-01

The MEGA experiment at LAMPF is conducting a search for the lepton family number violating decay μ + →e + γ with a branching ratio sensitivity of a few parts in 10 -13 . The detectors are contained in a 1.5 T solenoidal magnetic field. Positrons are confined to the central region and are measured by a set of cylindrical MWPCs. Photons are converted into e + e - pairs by one of three pair spectrometers in the outer region. Each pair spectrometer consists of an inner layer of plastic scintillator, two lead converters separated by a MWPC and three layers of drift chambers. The MEGA collaboration successfully concluded 1992 data taking with a set of positron MWPCs and two pair spectrometers. A brief overview of the pair spectrometer design and performance will be followed by a presentation of results to date of the data analysis

Recent Mega-Thrust Tsunamigenic Earthquakes and PTHA

Science.gov (United States)

Lorito, S.

2013-05-01

The occurrence of several mega-thrust tsunamigenic earthquakes in the last decade, including but not limited to the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman, the 2010 Maule, and 2011 Tohoku earthquakes, has been a dramatic reminder of the limitations in our capability of assessing earthquake and tsunami hazard and risk. However, the increasingly high-quality geophysical observational networks allowed the retrieval of most accurate than ever models of the rupture process of mega-thrust earthquakes, thus paving the way for future improved hazard assessments. Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Analysis (PTHA) methodology, in particular, is less mature than its seismic counterpart, PSHA. Worldwide recent research efforts of the tsunami science community allowed to start filling this gap, and to define some best practices that are being progressively employed in PTHA for different regions and coasts at threat. In the first part of my talk, I will briefly review some rupture models of recent mega-thrust earthquakes, and highlight some of their surprising features that likely result in bigger error bars associated to PTHA results. More specifically, recent events of unexpected size at a given location, and with unexpected rupture process features, posed first-order open questions which prevent the definition of an heterogeneous rupture probability along a subduction zone, despite of several recent promising results on the subduction zone seismic cycle. In the second part of the talk, I will dig a bit more into a specific ongoing effort for improving PTHA methods, in particular as regards epistemic and aleatory uncertainties determination, and the computational PTHA feasibility when considering the full assumed source variability. Only logic trees are usually explicated in PTHA studies, accounting for different possible assumptions on the source zone properties and behavior. The selection of the earthquakes to be actually modelled is then in general made on a qualitative basis or remains implicit

Photon detector for MEGA. Final report, July 16, 1992--May 31, 1993

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gagliardi, C.A.; Tribble, R.E.

1993-01-01

During the past year, we have continued our work on the photon detector for the MEGA experiment at Los Alamos. The MEGA photon detector is designed to observe the 52.83 MeV photon produced in a π → eγ decay with an energy resolution of 1.25 MeV, a position resolution of 2 x 5 mm 2 , a directional resolution of 10 degree, a time resolution of 500 ps, and an efficiency of about 5.4%. (All quoted resolutions are FWHM.) It consists of three independent concentric cylindrical pair spectrometers mounted within a 1.5 T magnetic field produced by a superconducting solenoid magnet. Each pair spectrometer includes two thin (0.045 radiation lengths each) Pb foils to convert photons into e + e - pairs. The two smaller pair spectrometers have three drift chamber layers to track the e + e - pairs and thereby determine both their locations and their vector momenta. The third pair spectrometer has four layers of drift chamber, together with a larger turning region, to provide better tracking information for high energy photons such as those from the π 0 → 2γ decay

Subaltern urbanism in India beyond the mega-city slum: The civic politics of occupancy and development in two peripheral cities in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Dijk, T.K.

2014-01-01

Tara van Dijk leverages concepts from subaltern urbanism, namely political society and occupancy urbanism, to look at how residence and locality development are constituted and governed in practice across three types of settlements in two 'satellite' cities of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region:

Global sport mega-events and the politics of mobility: the case of the London 2012 Olympics.

Science.gov (United States)

Giulianotti, Richard; Armstrong, Gary; Hales, Gavin; Hobbs, Dick

2015-03-01

This paper examines the politics of mobility which surrounded the London 2012 Olympics. We provide a critical discussion of the mobility conflicts, problems and criticisms which emerged from our research with local people in the Stratford and wider Newham areas of London, where most Olympic events were located. The paper is divided into four broad parts. First, we identify and discuss the relevant components of the 'mobilities paradigm' in social science which underpin our analysis. Second, we briefly outline our research methods, centring particularly on fieldwork and interviews with different social groups. Third, we examine in detail the six main themes of mobility politics which were evident at London 2012, relating to social context, event construction, event mobility systems, commercial mobilities, the mobile politics of exclusion, and contested modes of mobility. In doing so, we seek to extend the mobilities paradigm by introducing various concepts and keywords - notably on the three-speed city, entryability, mobility panics, instrumental mobility, and corporate kettling - which may be utilized by social scientists to examine mobility systems in other social contexts. We conclude by reaffirming the significance of mobility-focused research at sport and other mega-events, and by indicating future lines of inquiry for social scientists. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2014.

Mega-pixel PQR laser chips for interconnect, display ITS, and biocell-tweezers OEIC

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, O'Dae; Yoon, J. H.; Kim, D. K.; Kim, Y. C.; Lee, S. E.; Kim, S. S.

2008-02-01

We describe a photonic quantum ring (PQR) laser device of three dimensional toroidal whispering gallery cavity. We have succeeded in fabricating the first genuine mega-pixel laser chips via regular semiconductor technology. This has been realized since the present injection laser emitting surface-normal dominant 3D whispering gallery modes (WGMs) can be operated CW with extremely low operating currents (μA-nA per pixel), together with the lasing temperature stabilities well above 140 deg C with minimal redshifts, which solves the well-known integration problems facing the conventional VCSEL. Such properties unusual for quantum well lasers become usual because the active region, involving vertically confining DBR structure in addition to the 2D concave WGM geometry, induces a 'photonic quantum ring (PQR)-like' carrier distribution through a photonic quantum corral effect. A few applications of such mega-pixel PQR chips are explained as follows: (A) Next-generation 3D semiconductor technologies demand a strategy on the inter-chip and intra-chip optical interconnect schemes with a key to the high-density emitter array. (B) Due to mounting traffic problems and fatalities ITS technology today is looking for a revolutionary change in the technology. We will thus outline how 'SLEEP-ITS' can emerge with the PQR's position-sensing capability. (C) We describe a recent PQR 'hole' laser of convex WGM: Mega-pixel PQR 'hole' laser chips are even easier to fabricate than PQR 'mesa' lasers. Genuine Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) beam patterns of PQR holes are very promising for biocell manipulations like sorting mouse myeloid leukemia (M1s) cells. (D) Energy saving and 3D speckle-free POR laser can outdo LEDs in view of red GaAs and blue GaN devices fabricated recently.

Ácidos graxos poliinsaturados ômega-3 e ômega-6: importância e ocorrência em alimentos Omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids: importance and occurrence in foods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clayton Antunes Martin

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Os ácidos graxos poliinsaturados abrangem as famílias de ácidos graxos ômega-3 e ômega-6. Os ácidos graxos de cadeia muito longa, como os ácidos araquidônico e docosaexaenóico, desempenham importantes funções no desenvolvimento e funcionamento do cérebro e da retina. Esse grupo de ácidos graxos não pode ser obtido pela síntese de novo, mas pode ser sintetizado a partir dos ácidos linoléico e alfa-linolênico presentes na dieta. Neste artigo são considerados os principais fatores que podem inibir a atividade das enzimas dessaturases envolvidas na síntese dos ácidos graxos de cadeia muito longa. São apresentadas as recomendações da razão ômega-6/ômega-3 na dieta, propostas em diversos países, sendo verificada a convergência para o intervalo de 4 a 5:1. São relacionados alimentos que podem contribuir para aumentar a ingestão do ácido alfa-linolênico e dos ácidos graxos de cadeia muito longa. A essencialidade dos ácidos graxos de cadeia muito longa é muito dependente do metabolismo do indivíduo, sendo que a razão n-6/n-3 da dieta exerce grande influência nesse sentido.Polyunsaturated fatty acids include the classes of fatty acids designated as omega-3 and omega-6. Very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids as arachidonic and docosahexaenoic have important roles in the development and functioning of the brain and retina. This group of fatty acids cannot be synthesized by de novo pathway, but can be formed from linoleic and alpha-linolenic acid present in diet. In this article, the main factors that can inhibit desaturase enzymes activity involved in the synthesis of MLC-PUFAs are considered. Recommendations of omega-6/omega-3 ratio in diet proposed in several countries are presented, showing a coverage range from 4 to 5:1. Foods that are sources of alpha-linolenic acid and Very-long-chain are listed. The essentiality of Very-long-chain is very dependent of individual metabolism, and omega-6/omega-3 dietary ratio

The Open Education System, Anadolu University, Turkey: E-Transformation in a Mega-University

Science.gov (United States)

Latchem, Colin; Ozkul, Ali Ekrem; Aydin, Cengiz Hakan; Mutlu, Mehmet Emin

2006-01-01

Anadolu University in Turkey is one of the world's largest and least known mega-universities. Well over one million students in Turkey, the European Union and Northern Cyprus are enrolled in its Open Education System and yet few accounts of this dual-mode provider appear in the international literature. This article describes the evolution of the…

A quantitative evaluation of the environmental impact of the mega constellations

OpenAIRE

Rossi, A.; Alessi, E.M.; Valsecchi, G.B.; Lewis, H.; Radtke, J.; Bombardelli, C.; Bastida Virgili, B.

2017-01-01

The main focus of this work is to highlight the main parameters driving the future evolution of the debris environment, in presence of the planned LEO mega constellation of satellites. First, in order to identify the most important parameters that are actually driving the evolution of the environment and in an effort to discriminate between possibly equivalent scenarios, we applied tools from the statistical sciences, namely the Wilcoxon signed rank test, a non-parametric test which allows us...

MegaFlex Scale-Up Cost & Risk Reduction for >50kW Future Power Demands, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — As the MegaFlex solar array is scaled for power demands greater than 50kW over the next 20 years and deployed load requirements remain high or increase, advanced...

The Economic Effects of the Mega Sport Events on Tourism in the BRICS Countries Case

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iuliana Pop

2016-11-01

Full Text Available At the beginning of the 21st century, events tourism witnessed an impressive development in a series of countries due to the increase of the spare time and of the people’s income, to the cheaper and more diversified world transport, especially the air transport and due to the emergence of new destinations. Emergent countries, such as China and Russia, recorded not only an increase in the number of tourists but also in the revenues from tourism activities. One of the reasons is the opening of these countries frontiers in order to reaffirm their power on international level (Golubchikov, 2016. Besides the relaxation, business and religious tourism, the sport tourism becomes more and more important. It also comprises the tourism for mega sport events, such as the Summer and Winter Olympics or the World Championships in different sports. For the organising countries, there is a real challenge to ensure the investments for the infrastructure, although it supports their economic development, being used after the sport events conclusion. Considering the available data from the World Bank and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO, the authors make a quantitative investigation regarding the impact of the mega sport events on the tourism phenomenon in the BRICS countries. The article also researches a small and specific group of countries (BRICS, considering a niche tourism phenomenon. The article aims to emphasize the role of the mega sport events in the BRICS countries, directly connected with their capacity to economically support the organization of these events and also with the desire to internationally promote their national values.

Mega-fire Recovery in Dry Conifer Forests of the Interior West

Science.gov (United States)

Malone, S. L.; Fornwalt, P.; Chambers, M. E.; Battaglia, M.

2015-12-01

Wildfire is a complex landscape process with great uncertainty in whether trends in size and severity are shifting trajectories for ecosystem recovery that are outside of the historical range of variability. Considering that wildfire size and severity is likely to increase into the future with a drier climate, it is important that we understand wildfire effects and ecosystem recovery. To evaluate how ecosystems recover from wildfire we measured spatial patterns in regeneration and mapped tree refugia within mega-fire perimeters (Hayman, Jasper, Bobcat, and Grizzly Gulch) in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) dominated forest. On average, high severity fire effects accounted for > 15% of burned area and increased with fire size. Areas with high severity fire effects contained 1 - 15% tree refugia cover, compared to 37 - 70% observed in low severity areas . Large high severity patches with low coverage of tree refugia, were more frequent in larger fires and regeneration distances required to initiate forest recovery far exceeded 1.5 canopy height or 200 m, distances where the vast majority of regeneration is likely to arise. Using a recovery model driven by distance, we estimate recovery times between 300 to > 1000 years for these mega-fires. In Western dry conifer forests, large patches of stand replacing fire are likely to lead to uneven aged forest and very long recovery times.

Spatial-temporal change of land surface temperature across 285 cities in China: An urban-rural contrast perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Jian; Ma, Jing; Liu, Qianyuan; Liu, Yanxu; Hu, Yi'na; Li, Yingru; Yue, Yuemin

2018-09-01

As an important theme in global climate change and urban sustainable development, the changes of land surface temperature (LST) and surface urban heat island (SUHI) have been more and more focused by urban ecologists. This study used land-use data to identify the urban-rural areas in 285 cities in China and comparatively analyzed LST in urban-rural areas with the perspective of spatial-temporal dynamics heterogeneity. The results showed that, 98.9% of the cities exhibited SUHI effect in summer nighttime and the effect was stronger in northern cities than that in southern cities. In 2010, the mean SUHI intensity was the largest in summer daytime, with 4.6% of the cities having extreme SUHI of over 4°C. From 2001 to 2010, the nighttime LST of most cities increased more quickly in urban areas compared with rural areas, with an increasing tendency of the urban-rural LST difference. The difference in the urban- rural LST change rate was concentrated in the range of 0-0.1°C/year for 68.0% of cities in winter and 70.8% of cities in summer. For the higher LST increasing in urban areas compared with rural areas, there were more cities in summer than winter, indicating that the summer nighttime was the key temporal period for SUHI management. Based on the change slope of urban-rural LST, cities were clustered into four types and the vital and major zones for urban thermal environment management were identified in China. The vital zone included cities in Hunan, Hubei and other central rising provinces as well as the Beibu Gulf of Guangxi Province. The major zone included most of the cities in Central Plain Urban Agglomeration, Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta. These results can provide scientific basis for SUHI adaptation in China. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Energy and urban innovation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2010-09-15

This report outlines the energy-related challenges that cities, particularly large and 'mega-cities', will face during the coming decades. It analyses the technical and policy actions that must be taken to meet these challenges and the role the energy industry and business can play in designing and implementing efficient solutions. The report is the result of a bottom-up process in which World Energy Council members carried out case studies on a comprehensive set of large to 'mega' cities, both in the developed and emerging world. It is complemented by an extensive literature study.

Mega Thinking and Planning: An Introduction to Defining and Delivering Individual and Organizational Success

Science.gov (United States)

Kaufman, Roger

2009-01-01

All organizations are means to societal ends, and thus Mega thinking and planning starts with a primary focus on adding value for all stakeholders, including our shared society. It is pragmatic, realistic, practical, and ethical. Defining and achieving continual organizational success is possible. It relies on three basic elements: (1) a societal…

Multiple-endpoints gene alteration-based (MEGA) assay: A toxicogenomics approach for water quality assessment of wastewater effluents.

Science.gov (United States)

Fukushima, Toshikazu; Hara-Yamamura, Hiroe; Nakashima, Koji; Tan, Lea Chua; Okabe, Satoshi

2017-12-01

Wastewater effluents contain a significant number of toxic contaminants, which, even at low concentrations, display a wide variety of toxic actions. In this study, we developed a multiple-endpoints gene alteration-based (MEGA) assay, a real-time PCR-based transcriptomic analysis, to assess the water quality of wastewater effluents for human health risk assessment and management. Twenty-one genes from the human hepatoblastoma cell line (HepG2), covering the basic health-relevant stress responses such as response to xenobiotics, genotoxicity, and cytotoxicity, were selected and incorporated into the MEGA assay. The genes related to the p53-mediated DNA damage response and cytochrome P450 were selected as markers for genotoxicity and response to xenobiotics, respectively. Additionally, the genes that were dose-dependently regulated by exposure to the wastewater effluents were chosen as markers for cytotoxicity. The alterations in the expression of an individual gene, induced by exposure to the wastewater effluents, were evaluated by real-time PCR and the results were validated by genotoxicity (e.g., comet assay) and cell-based cytotoxicity tests. In summary, the MEGA assay is a real-time PCR-based assay that targets cellular responses to contaminants present in wastewater effluents at the transcriptional level; it is rapid, cost-effective, and high-throughput and can thus complement any chemical analysis for water quality assessment and management. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Identifying the driving forces of urban expansion and its environmental impact in Jakarta-Bandung mega urban region

Science.gov (United States)

Pravitasari, A. E.; Rustiadi, E.; Mulya, S. P.; Setiawan, Y.; Fuadina, L. N.; Murtadho, A.

2018-05-01

The socio-economic development in Jakarta-Bandung Mega Urban Region (JBMUR) caused the increasing of urban expansion and led to a variety of environmental damage such as uncontrolled land use conversion and raising anthropogenic disaster. The objectives of this study are: (1) to identify the driving forces of urban expansion that occurs on JBMUR and (2) to analyze the environmental quality decline on JBMUR by producing time series spatial distribution map and spatial autocorrelation of floods and landslide as the proxy of anthropogenic disaster. The driving forces of urban expansion in this study were identified by employing Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) model using 6 (six) independent variables, namely: population density, percentage of agricultural land, distance to the center of capital city/municipality, percentage of household who works in agricultural sector, distance to the provincial road, and distance to the local road. The GWR results showed that local demographic, social and economic factors including distance to the road spatially affect urban expansion in JBMUR. The time series spatial distribution map of floods and landslide event showed the spatial cluster of anthropogenic disaster in some areas. Through Local Moran Index, we found that environmental damage in one location has a significant impact on the condition of its surrounding area.

Urban Big Data and the Development of City Intelligence

OpenAIRE

Pan, Yunhe; Tian, Yun; Liu, Xiaolong; Gu, Dedao; Hua, Gang

2016-01-01

This study provides a definition for urban big data while exploring its features and applications of China's city intelligence. The differences between city intelligence in China and the “smart city” concept in other countries are compared to highlight and contrast the unique definition and model for China's city intelligence in this paper. Furthermore, this paper examines the role of urban big data in city intelligence by showing that it not only serves as the cornerstone of this trend as it...

Modeling Thermal Comfort and Optimizing Local Renewal Strategies—A Case Study of Dazhimen Neighborhood in Wuhan City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chong Peng

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Modeling thermal comfort provides quantitative evidence and parameters for effective and efficient urban planning, design, and building construction particularly in a dense and narrow inner city, which has become one of many concerns for sustainable urban development. This paper aims to develop geometric and mathematical models of wind and thermal comfort and use them to examine the impacts of six small-scale renewal strategies on the wind and thermal environment at pedestrian level in Dazhimen neighborhood, Wuhan, which is a typical case study of urban renewal project in a mega-city. The key parameters such as the solar radiation, natural convection, relative humidity, ambient crosswind have been incorporated into the mathematical models by using user-defined-function (UDF method. Detailed temperature and velocity distributions under different strategies have been compared for the optimization of local renewal strategies. It is concluded that five rules generated from the simulation results can provide guidance for building demolition and reconstruction in a neighborhood and there is no need of large-scale demolition. Particularly, combining the local demolition and city virescence can both improve the air ventilation and decrease the temperature level in the study area.

The Kalimantan Border Oil Palm Mega-project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wakker, E. [AIDEnvironment, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

2006-04-15

A few years ago, the Indonesian government and sections of the palm oil industry united in the Indonesian Palm Oil Commission (IPOC) to undertake efforts to restore the atrocious public image that the palm oil industry had earned abroad for its role in the demise of Indonesia's tropical rainforests, the massive forest fires and haze in 1997-1998, and for the widespread conflicts between plantation companies and local communities. If IPOC succeeded in restoring the palm oil industry's image abroad, it was shattered again after June 2005 when the Indonesian Minister of Agriculture revealed details of a government plan to develop the world's largest oil palm plantation in a 5-10 kilometer band along the border of Kalimantan and Malaysia. To finance the USD 567 million plantation project, the Indonesian President and Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) had already met up with the Chinese government and private sector several times, resulting in Memoranda of Understanding between (among other) the Artha Graha and Sinar Mas groups from Indonesia and the Chinese CITIC group and Chinese Development Bank (CDB). The oil palm mega-project, launched in Indonesia under the banner of 'bringing prosperity, security and environmental protection to the Kalimantan border area', turned sour when a business plan developed by the Indonesian State Plantation Corporation (PTPN) began to circulate. This document contained a map that showed beyond doubt how the 1.8 million hectare oil palm project would trash the primary forests of three National Parks, cut through rugged slopes and mountains utterly unsuitable for oil palm cultivation and annihilate the customary rights land of the indigenous Dayak communities in the border area. This report describes what has come of the Kalimantan border oil palm mega-plan since it was announced, who is involved and what research, lobby and campaigning has led to so far. In particular, this study aims to inform civil

The Kalimantan Border Oil Palm Mega-project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wakker, E.

2006-04-01

A few years ago, the Indonesian government and sections of the palm oil industry united in the Indonesian Palm Oil Commission (IPOC) to undertake efforts to restore the atrocious public image that the palm oil industry had earned abroad for its role in the demise of Indonesia's tropical rainforests, the massive forest fires and haze in 1997-1998, and for the widespread conflicts between plantation companies and local communities. If IPOC succeeded in restoring the palm oil industry's image abroad, it was shattered again after June 2005 when the Indonesian Minister of Agriculture revealed details of a government plan to develop the world's largest oil palm plantation in a 5-10 kilometer band along the border of Kalimantan and Malaysia. To finance the USD 567 million plantation project, the Indonesian President and Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) had already met up with the Chinese government and private sector several times, resulting in Memoranda of Understanding between (among other) the Artha Graha and Sinar Mas groups from Indonesia and the Chinese CITIC group and Chinese Development Bank (CDB). The oil palm mega-project, launched in Indonesia under the banner of 'bringing prosperity, security and environmental protection to the Kalimantan border area', turned sour when a business plan developed by the Indonesian State Plantation Corporation (PTPN) began to circulate. This document contained a map that showed beyond doubt how the 1.8 million hectare oil palm project would trash the primary forests of three National Parks, cut through rugged slopes and mountains utterly unsuitable for oil palm cultivation and annihilate the customary rights land of the indigenous Dayak communities in the border area. This report describes what has come of the Kalimantan border oil palm mega-plan since it was announced, who is involved and what research, lobby and campaigning has led to so far. In particular, this study aims to inform civil society organizations, palm oil

Voxel-based morphometry multi-center mega-analysis of brain structure in social anxiety disorder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janna Marie Bas-Hoogendam

2017-01-01

An international multi-center mega-analysis on the largest database of SAD structural T1-weighted 3T MRI scans to date was performed to compare GM volume of SAD-patients (n = 174 and healthy control (HC-participants (n = 213 using voxel-based morphometry. A hypothesis-driven region of interest (ROI approach was used, focusing on the basal ganglia, the amygdala-hippocampal complex, the prefrontal cortex, and the parietal cortex. SAD-patients had larger GM volume in the dorsal striatum when compared to HC-participants. This increase correlated positively with the severity of self-reported social anxiety symptoms. No SAD-related differences in GM volume were present in the other ROIs. Thereby, the results of this mega-analysis suggest a role for the dorsal striatum in SAD, but previously reported SAD-related changes in GM in the amygdala, hippocampus, precuneus, prefrontal cortex and parietal regions were not replicated. Our findings emphasize the importance of large sample imaging studies and the need for meta-analyses like those performed by the Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA Consortium.

Malaysian Mega Science Framework: The Need for Social Impact and Sustainability Assessment

OpenAIRE

Ahmad Zainal A.; Ahmad Zulfadli

2015-01-01

This review focuses on issues surrounding wastewater management as part of the National Sustainable Development (2013-2050) under the Malaysian Mega Science Framework. In line with the national priority area of water security, this review will highlight the technical reports compiled by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) on the challenges of water resource development and wastewater management and treatment. The discussion will dwell on the social impact of pollution in water and wastewat...

Mega-events, Local Economies, and Global Status: What Happened before the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jian Sun

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Mega-events such as the World Cup and the Olympics have been used for economic development, urban transformation and global status enhancement. Beijing and Shanghai embraced these purposes when they won the bids for the 2008 Olympics and the 2010 World Expo respectively. This article examines the pre-event economic changes in Beijing and Shanghai that are associated with their pursuit of mega-events. Changes in a group of economic indicators are tracked from 1997 to 2006. It was found that after winning the bids for the Olympics and the World Expo, Beijing and Shanghai experienced greater growth in construction and tourism, a speeding-up in economic development and restructuring, and an improvement in physical infrastructure. However, the enhancement of global exposure was not accompanied by growth in foreign trade and in the finance, insurance and real estate (FIRE industries. The empirical analyses place the mega-events in large economic contexts and provide a base for future post-event studies.

Tsunami simulations of mega-thrust earthquakes in the Nankai–Tonankai Trough (Japan) based on stochastic rupture scenarios

KAUST Repository

Goda, Katsuichiro; Yasuda, Tomohiro; Mai, Paul Martin; Maruyama, Takuma; Mori, Nobuhito

2017-01-01

In this study, earthquake rupture models for future mega-thrust earthquakes in the Nankai–Tonankai subduction zone are developed by incorporating the main characteristics of inverted source models of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. These scenario

The dilemma of dykes - Risk and opportunities in a simulation of geomorphology at mega timescales

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hagen - Zanker, A.H.; de Vries, Ies; Hartholt, H.

2007-01-01

SimDelta dynamically simulates the geomorphology of the ‘Dutch Delta’ at a mega time scale. Scientifically a success, the model has scope for development as a game. Through challenging game play policy makers, spatial planners and students learn about the dilemmas posed by short and long term

Unemployment, Entrepreneurial Education and Mega Universities: Challenges to Expanding Access in Education in Nigeria University

Science.gov (United States)

Undie, John Atewhoble; Okafor, Victor

2014-01-01

In fundamental economics, individuals acquired education for two broad reasons, as an investment and as consumption. The investment function of education has continued to create tension for job search leading to cases of unemployment. Entrepreneurship education and establishment of mega universities have been identified as panaceas. This paper…

Pembelajaran Embedded System Berbasis Arduino Mega 2560 dan MIT App Inventor

OpenAIRE

Tukadi, Tukadi

2017-01-01

This paper describes the learning process of the Embedded System course with a practical approach based on Arduino Mega 2560 and Android using MIT App inventor software. Learning materials include digital I / O and analog I / O access via android mobile phone. The method used in its implementation premises to provide tasks in the form of projects. The next step is to find the theories that can support in completing the project task. The project task is to control or read electronic devices co...

Difference optimization: Automatic correction of relative frequency and phase for mean non-edited and edited GABA 1H MEGA-PRESS spectra

Science.gov (United States)

Cleve, Marianne; Krämer, Martin; Gussew, Alexander; Reichenbach, Jürgen R.

2017-06-01

Phase and frequency corrections of magnetic resonance spectroscopic data are of major importance to obtain reliable and unambiguous metabolite estimates as validated in recent research for single-shot scans with the same spectral fingerprint. However, when using the J-difference editing technique 1H MEGA-PRESS, misalignment between mean edited (ON ‾) and non-edited (OFF ‾) spectra that may remain even after correction of the corresponding individual single-shot scans results in subtraction artefacts compromising reliable GABA quantitation. We present a fully automatic routine that iteratively optimizes simultaneously relative frequencies and phases between the mean ON ‾ and OFF ‾ 1H MEGA-PRESS spectra while minimizing the sum of the magnitude of the difference spectrum (L1 norm). The proposed method was applied to simulated spectra at different SNR levels with deliberately preset frequency and phase errors. Difference optimization proved to be more sensitive to small signal fluctuations, as e.g. arising from subtraction artefacts, and outperformed the alternative spectral registration approach, that, in contrast to our proposed linear approach, uses a nonlinear least squares minimization (L2 norm), at all investigated levels of SNR. Moreover, the proposed method was applied to 47 MEGA-PRESS datasets acquired in vivo at 3 T. The results of the alignment between the mean OFF ‾ and ON ‾ spectra were compared by applying (a) no correction, (b) difference optimization or (c) spectral registration. Since the true frequency and phase errors are not known for in vivo data, manually corrected spectra were used as the gold standard reference (d). Automatically corrected data applying both, method (b) or method (c), showed distinct improvements of spectra quality as revealed by the mean Pearson correlation coefficient between corresponding real part mean DIFF ‾ spectra of Rbd = 0.997 ± 0.003 (method (b) vs. (d)), compared to Rad = 0.764 ± 0.220 (method (a) vs

Defining a quantitative framework for evaluation and optimisation of the environmental impacts of mega-event projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Parkes, Olga; Lettieri, Paola; Bogle, I David L

2016-02-01

This paper presents a novel quantitative methodology for the evaluation and optimisation of the environmental impacts of the whole life cycle of a mega-event project: construction and staging the event and post-event site redevelopment and operation. Within the proposed framework, a mathematical model has been developed that takes into account greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from use of transportation fuel, energy, water and construction materials used at all stages of the mega-event project. The model is applied to a case study - the London Olympic Park. Three potential post-event site design scenarios of the Park have been developed: Business as Usual (BAU), Commercial World (CW) and High Rise High Density (HRHD). A quantitative summary of results demonstrates that the highest GHG emissions associated with the actual event are almost negligible compared to those associated with the legacy phase. The highest share of emissions in the legacy phase is attributed to embodied emissions from construction materials (almost 50% for the BAU and HRHD scenarios) and emissions resulting from the transportation of residents, visitors and employees to/from the site (almost 60% for the CW scenario). The BAU scenario is the one with the lowest GHG emissions compared to the other scenarios. The results also demonstrate how post-event site design scenarios can be optimised to minimise the GHG emissions. The overall outcomes illustrate how the proposed framework can be used to support decision making process for mega-event projects planning. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Using internet search queries to predict human mobility in social events

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borysov, Stanislav; Lourenco, Mariana; Rodrigues, Filipe

2016-01-01

While our transport systems are generally designed for habitual behavior, the dynamics of large and mega cities systematically push it to its limits. Particularly, transport planning and operations in large events are well known to be a challenge. Not only they imply stress to the system...... on an irregular basis, their associated mobility behavior is also difficult to predict. Previous studies have shown a strong correlation between number of public transport arrivals with the semi-structured data mined from online announcement websites. However, these models tend to be complex in form and demand...... substantial information retrieval, extraction and data cleaning work, and so they are difficult to generalize from city to city. In contrast, this paper focuses on enriching previously mined information about special events using automated web search queries. Since this context data comes in unstructured...

[A microbiological investigation of the effectiveness of Micro Megas E-spray].

Science.gov (United States)

Kardel, K; Hegna, I K; Kardel, M

1976-06-01

The disinfecting effect of Micro Megas E-spray was tested using a microbiological technique which also included a practical test. Contra-angels and straight handpieces which were sprayed after being used for treatment on patients, and then dried and incubated in a liquid medium, showed a marked growth of microorganisms. The spray had a weak and barely significant growth inhibiting effect on contaminated, simulated instrument surfaces. using Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus as test bacteria. It is concluded that the spray is not suitable for distinfection of contra-angels and straight handpieces.

Narrow linewidth picosecond UV pulsed laser with mega-watt peak power.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Chunning; Deibele, Craig; Liu, Yun

2013-04-08

We demonstrate a master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) burst mode laser system that generates 66 ps/402.5 MHz pulses with mega-watt peak power at 355 nm. The seed laser consists of a single frequency fiber laser (linewidth laser is operating in a 5-μs/10-Hz macropulse mode. The laser output has a transform-limited spectrum with a very narrow linewidth of individual longitudinal modes. The immediate application of the laser system is the laser-assisted hydrogen ion beam stripping for the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS).

Energy and urban innovation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2010-09-15

This report outlines the energy-related challenges that cities, particularly large and 'mega-cities', will face during the coming decades. It analyses the technical and policy actions that must be taken to meet these challenges and the role the energy industry and business can play in designing and implementing efficient solutions. The report is the result of a bottom-up process in which World Energy Council members carried out case studies on a comprehensive set of large to 'mega' cities, both in the developed and emerging world. It is complemented by an extensive literature study.

Deep sea mega-geomorphology: Progress and problems

Science.gov (United States)

Bryan, W. B.

1985-01-01

Historically, marine geologists have always worked with mega-scale morphology. This is a consequence both of the scale of the ocean basins and of the low resolution of the observational remote sensing tools available until very recently. In fact, studies of deep sea morphology have suffered from a serious gap in observational scale. Traditional wide-beam echo sounding gave images on a scale of miles, while deep sea photography has been limited to scales of a few tens of meters. Recent development of modern narrow-beam echo sounding coupled with computer-controlled swath mapping systems, and development of high-resolution deep-towed side-scan sonar, are rapidly filling in the scale gap. These technologies also can resolve morphologic detail on a scale of a few meters or less. As has also been true in planetary imaging projects, the ability to observe phenomena over a range of scales has proved very effective in both defining processes and in placing them in proper context.

Impacts of Mega-droughts on Water and Food Security in the Indo-Gangetic Plains: A Paleoclimate Scenario Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, T.; Pitois, G.; Ringler, C.; Wang, D.; Rosegrant, M. W.

2014-12-01

Spanning over Pakistan, northern India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) is the home of several hundred million people and the "bread basket" for much of South Asia. The flat terrain, fertile soils, and favorable climate of the IGP make it agriculturally productive. However prolonged droughts caused by consecutive monsoon failures can seriously affect crop production and social wellbeing, in particular for the eastern part of the plains where agriculture remains largely rain-fed. Severe droughts were observed in the IGP historically, and recent paleoclimate studies reveal that more severe and long-lasting "mega-droughts" had happened in the distant past. Agricultural losses from major droughts can dramatically affect food systems and increase the vulnerability of resource-poor people given the delicate balance between food supply and demand under growing natural resource scarcity. To estimate the potential impacts of "mega-droughts" on the water and food systems in the IGP, we develop worst-case drought scenarios through inverse modeling of tree-ring-based PDSI reconstruction that covers the period 1300-1899 (A.D.), and analyze these historic mega-drought scenarios using IFPRI's IMPACT global water and food projections model. The base year of the IMPACT model is parameterized using socioeconomic and engineering data that reflect today's water management and infrastructure, agricultural technologies, population, income, and market institutions. The base year simulation is validated against observations to ensure model fidelity. Anticipated changes of the above factors in the future out to 2050 are specified using demographic and economic growth projections and literature data. Model simulation results represent the consequences of mega-droughts in the IGP given technological and socioeconomic conditions of today and in the future. We also explore policy options for increasing the resilience of water and food systems in the IGP, through scenario

The bidding paradox : how economists and politicians might agree on the attractiveness of mega sports events

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van den Berg, Marcel; de Nooij, Michiel

The ambition to host mega sports events is (or can be) perfectly justifiable with various arguments. The most persistently used argument is the supposed financial or direct economic gain for the host economy, of which the compelling body of evidence is discouraging. This implies that the

Adding value to the decision-making process of mega projects : Fostering strategic ambiguity, redundancy, and resilience

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Giezen, Mendel; Salet, Willem; Bertolini, Luca

2015-01-01

Current practice in decision-making about mega projects seems to be aimed at reducing complexity by simplification. However, this is often detrimental to the resilience and added value of these projects. This article uses the concept of strategic capacity for analyzing the decision-making process on

Navigating mega projects through complexity and uncertainty: strategic and adaptive capacity in planning and decision-making

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Giezen, M.

2012-01-01

Over the last few decades, there has been an increasing interest in mega projects from both policy makers and academics. Of particular concern to both has been the seemingly structural time and cost overruns associated with these projects. In response a tendency, especially of policy makers, has

Das práticas de gestão de grandes projetos urbanos Management practices of urban mega projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Letícia Nerone Gadens

2012-12-01

Full Text Available O presente artigo busca contribuir para o maior aprofundamento da discussão sobre um fenômeno comum a algumas cidades brasileiras: os Grandes Projetos Urbanos (GPUs. Para tanto, parte-se da assertiva de que se trata ainda de um conceito em formação na literatura acadêmica. Nesse sentido, baseado em uma pesquisa bibliográfica, o artigo discute seu delineamento conceitual e sua implementação no cenário brasileiro a partir da década de 1970, estabelecendo relações com as práticas e modelos de gestão urbana presenciados ao longo das últimas quatro décadas de análise. Os resultados evidenciam aspectos similares e díspares no debate teórico sobre GPUs, enquanto as conclusões demonstram a necessidade de maior aprofundamento conceitual do tema, tendo em vista a relevância da discussão e reflexão sobre esse tipo de intervenção urbanística no planejamento do território das cidades contemporâneas.This article aims to contribute to further deepen the discussion of a phenomenon common to several Brazilian cities: the Urban Mega Projects (UMPs. To do so, it starts from the assertion that it's still an emergent concept in the academic literature. Based on a bibliographic research, the article discusses its formation and implementation in the Brazilian context since the 1970s, establishing relationships with the practices and models of urban management witnessed over the last four decades of analysis. The results reveal similarities and dissimilarities in the theoretical debate on UMPs, while the final conclusions show the need for deepening conceptual reflections on this topic, as it is a central question on this kind of intervention in territorial planning of contemporary cities.

Aspectos raciais dos "megas" e da cardiopatia na doença de Chagas crônica

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Lineu José Miziara

1981-06-01

Full Text Available O estudo de 724 pacientes chagásicos crônicos mostrou que a insuficiência cardíaca congestiva é mais freqüente e de aparecimento mais precoce nos pacientes de raça negra do que nos brancos. A ocorrência de "megas" foi ligeiramente inferior nos chagásicos negros não sendo estatisticamente significativa a diferença observada. A maior freqüência de insuficiência cardíaca nos pretos parece estar relacionada a características biológicas do tecido conjuntivo que condicionam uma resposta fibrosante mais acentuada no miocârdio agredido pela Tripanossomose. Estas observações estariam de acordo com outros estudos sobre a doença de Chagas que admitem ser a denervação o fator mais importante para o aparecimento dos "megas" e a inflamação com fibrose miocârdica acentuada um elemento básico para explicar a insuficiência cardíaca.

Mega wildfire in the World Biosphere Reserve (UNESCO), Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia - Chile 2012: Work experience in extreme behavior conditions in the context of global warming

Science.gov (United States)

René Cifuentes Medina

2013-01-01

Mega wildfires are critical, high-impact events that cause severe environmental, economic and social damage, resulting, in turn, in high-cost suppression operations and the need for mutual support, phased use of resources and the coordinated efforts of civilian government agencies, the armed forces, private companies and the international community. The mega forest...

Consumer behavior in the property market: Relevant attributes for purchase of flat in the city of Rio de Janeiro

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno Tanure Lopes Silva

2013-08-01

Full Text Available The Brazilian property market, especially in the city of Rio de Janeiro, after a long time, heat up again. The increase of income of the population, coupled with easy credit and high expectations, with the arrival of mega-events like the FIFA 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, are considered the main causes of overvaluation of properties. Given this scenario, this study was to investigate the main attributes that the consumer considers a higher priority to buy its apartment in Rio de Janeiro city. Through in-depth research, qualitative study identified that the consumer goes through conflicting situations of choice, when, for example, it gives up the location attribute for an internal space according to its preferences, since the price does not allows obtaining both. On top of that, it is concluded that at the time, consumers will not find their dream house, but one that just will fulfill their needs.

Comparative evolutionary diversity and phylogenetic structure across multiple forest dynamics plots: a mega-phylogeny approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Lee Erickson

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Forest dynamics plots, which now span longitudes, latitudes, and habitat types across the globe, offer unparalleled insights into the ecological and evolutionary processes that determine how species are assembled into communities. Understanding phylogenetic relationships among species in a community has become an important component of assessing assembly processes. However, the application of evolutionary information to questions in community ecology has been limited in large part by the lack of accurate estimates of phylogenetic relationships among individual species found within communities, and is particularly limiting in comparisons between communities. Therefore, streamlining and maximizing the information content of these community phylogenies is a priority. To test the viability and advantage of a multi-community phylogeny, we constructed a multi-plot mega-phylogeny of 1,347 species of trees across 15 forest dynamics plots in the ForestGEO network using DNA barcode sequence data (rbcL, matK and psbA-trnH and compared community phylogenies for each individual plot with respect to support for topology and branch lengths, which affect evolutionary inference of community processes. The levels of taxonomic differentiation across the phylogeny were examined by quantifying the frequency of resolved nodes throughout. In addition, three phylogenetic distance metrics that are commonly used to infer assembly processes were estimated for each plot (Phylogenetic Distance [PD], Mean Phylogenetic Distance [MPD], and Mean Nearest Taxon Distance [MNTD]. Lastly, we examine the partitioning of phylogenetic diversity among community plots through quantification of inter-community MPD and MNTD. Overall, evolutionary relationships were highly resolved across the DNA barcode-based mega-phylogeny, and phylogenetic resolution for each community plot was improved when estimated within the context of the mega-phylogeny. Likewise, when compared with phylogenies for

Does activity fulfil aspiration? a contextual comparison of smart city applications in practice

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Wijs, Lisanne; Witte, Patrick; de Klerk, Daniel; Geertman, Stan

2017-01-01

Research on smart city projects and applications has been increasing in recent years (Meijer and Bolivar 2015). The smart city concept is mostly considered from a technology-oriented perspective that stresses the use of data technologies, big data and ICT to ‘smarten up’ cities. In contrast,

Câncer do esôfago em paciente com megaesôfago chagásico Esophageal cancer in patient with chagasic megaesophagus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Aparecida Coelho de Arruda Henry

2007-06-01

Full Text Available RACIONAL: O megaesôfago constitui problema de saúde pública em nosso país, pois acomete indivíduos em sua fase de maior produtividade. Os doentes com essa afecção podem apresentar em sua evolução associação com câncer do esôfago. OBJETIVO: Analisar os aspectos clínicos e epidemiológicos de pacientes com megaesôfago e câncer do esôfago. MÉTODOS: Foram avaliados de maneira retrospectiva 20 pacientes com megaesôfago e câncer (grupo 1 e 20 com câncer do esôfago (grupo 2. Estudaram-se os dados demográficos, hábitos (etilismo e tabagismo, tipo histológico do tumor, localização da lesão, diferenciação celular, estádio, tratamento e sobrevida. RESULTADOS: Não foi observada diferença entre os grupos, com relação à idade, sexo, localização da lesão, tipo histológico do tumor, diferenciação celular, estádio e sobrevida. Com relação aos hábitos de vida, a associação de etilismo e tabagismo foi observada em maior número de pacientes com câncer do esôfago sem o antecedente de megaesôfago. CONCLUSÃO: As características clínicas dos pacientes com megaesôfago e câncer não diferem daqueles com neoplasia maligna esofágica não associada ao megaesôfago, principalmente no que se refere ao prognóstico desfavorável frente ao tratamento instituído. Nos pacientes com megaesôfago o tumor pode se localizar em qualquer porção do órgão.BACKGROUND: Megaesophagus constitutes a public health problem in our country since it affects individuals in the most productive phase of their lives. During the development of the disease, people suffering from it may present association with esophageal cancer. AIM: To analyze the clinical and epidemiological aspects of patients with megaesophagus and esophageal cancer. METHODS: Twenty patients with megaesophagus and cancer (group 1 and 20 patients with esophageal cancer (group 2 were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic data, habits (alcoholism and smoking, tumor

A New Species of Frog (Anura: Dicroglossidae) Discovered from the Mega City of Dhaka.

Science.gov (United States)

Howlader, Mohammad Sajid Ali; Nair, Abhilash; Merilä, Juha

2016-01-01

We describe a new species of frog of the genus Zakerana discovered from the urban core of Dhaka, Bangladesh, one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Although the new species is morphologically similar to the geographically proximate congeners in the Bangladeshi cricket frog group, we show that it can be distinguished from all congeners on the basis of morphological characters, advertisement calls and variation in two mitochondrial DNA genes (12S rRNA and 16S rRNA). Apart from several diagnostic differences in body proportions, the new species differs from other Zakerana species in having a flattened snout (from ventral view) projecting over the lower jaw, and diagnostic trapezoid-shaped red markings on the vocal sac in males. Molecular genetic analyses show that the new species is highly divergent (3.1-20.1% sequence divergence) from all congeneric species, and forms a well-supported clade with its sister species, Zakerana asmati. The discovery of a new amphibian species from the urban core of Dhaka together with several recent descriptions of new amphibian species from Bangladesh may indicate that more amphibian species remain to be discovered from this country.

[A review of the firefighting techniques used on the tanker 'Mega Borg' explosion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Driscoll, J.

1992-01-01

This paper reviews the events leading up to the explosion and fire of the Mega Borg, a Norwegian tanker which exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in June of 1990. It briefly discusses the fire fighting strategy used to cool the ship prior to foam application and the types of equipment used. It also briefly discusses the lightering operation and the cargo recovery and dewatering operations which took place after the fire was extinguished

Rupture process of the 2013 Okhotsk deep mega earthquake from iterative backprojection and compress sensing methods

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, W.; Yin, J.; Yao, H.

2013-12-01

On May 24th 2013 a Mw 8.3 normal faulting earthquake occurred at a depth of approximately 600 km beneath the sea of Okhotsk, Russia. It is a rare mega earthquake that ever occurred at such a great depth. We use the time-domain iterative backprojection (IBP) method [1] and also the frequency-domain compressive sensing (CS) technique[2] to investigate the rupture process and energy radiation of this mega earthquake. We currently use the teleseismic P-wave data from about 350 stations of USArray. IBP is an improved method of the traditional backprojection method, which more accurately locates subevents (energy burst) during earthquake rupture and determines the rupture speeds. The total rupture duration of this earthquake is about 35 s with a nearly N-S rupture direction. We find that the rupture is bilateral in the beginning 15 seconds with slow rupture speeds: about 2.5km/s for the northward rupture and about 2 km/s for the southward rupture. After that, the northward rupture stopped while the rupture towards south continued. The average southward rupture speed between 20-35 s is approximately 5 km/s, lower than the shear wave speed (about 5.5 km/s) at the hypocenter depth. The total rupture length is about 140km, in a nearly N-S direction, with a southward rupture length about 100 km and a northward rupture length about 40 km. We also use the CS method, a sparse source inversion technique, to study the frequency-dependent seismic radiation of this mega earthquake. We observe clear along-strike frequency dependence of the spatial and temporal distribution of seismic radiation and rupture process. The results from both methods are generally similar. In the next step, we'll use data from dense arrays in southwest China and also global stations for further analysis in order to more comprehensively study the rupture process of this deep mega earthquake. Reference [1] Yao H, Shearer P M, Gerstoft P. Subevent location and rupture imaging using iterative backprojection for

Potential climatic mechanisms associated with the mega drought at 4200 cal yr BP: linking proxy data with modern climate analogues

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, V.; Shinker, J. J.

2017-12-01

Roughly 4200 years ago, a 150-year long mega drought occurred in the central Rocky Mountains, as indicated by pollen evidence from lake sediments from Long Lake, south-eastern Wyoming. However, pollen evidence does not record the climate mechanisms that caused the drought; they only provide evidence that the drought occurred. A modern climate analogue technique using North American Regional Reanalysis data was applied to the sedimentary data in order to identify possible synoptic and dynamic patterns that may have caused the mega drought at 4200 cal yr BP. Our results suggest warm and dry conditions were a result of anomalously higher-than-normal geopotential heights that were centred over the Great Plains beginning in the spring and persisting through the fall. Drought conditions during the growing seasons was the result of the anomalous high-pressure ridge, which suppressed moisture transport via the low level jet from the Gulf of Mexico, as well as brought in dry continental air from in the interior region of North America. The conditions associated with modern analogues offer a potential climate mechanism that caused the mega drought 4200 years ago, and likely led to the changes in vegetation composition as evidenced by the pollen record from Long Lake, Wyoming.

Upgrade of the TAMU MDM-focal plane detector with MicroMegas technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spiridon, A., E-mail: aspiridon@comp.tamu.edu [Cyclotron Institute, Texas A& M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); Pollacco, E. [IRFU, CEA Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Roeder, B.T.; Saastamoinen, A.; Chyzh, R.; Dag, M.; Tribble, R.E. [Cyclotron Institute, Texas A& M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); Trache, L.; Pascovici, G. [National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Bucharest-Magurele RO-077125 (Romania); De Oliveira, R. [CERN, Geneva (Switzerland)

2016-06-01

A gridded ionization chamber used as a focal plane detector at the back of the TAMU-MDM spectrometer was modified to use MicroMegas technology for the purpose of improving energy resolution and particle identification. The upgraded system was tested in experimental conditions with several heavy-ion beams at 12 MeV/u and found to achieve resolutions between 3.2% and 4.8%. This is a significant improvement over the previous performance of 10–15% obtained using the existing, conventional ionization chambers.

Upgrade of the TAMU MDM-focal plane detector with MicroMegas technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spiridon, A.; Pollacco, E.; Roeder, B.T.; Saastamoinen, A.; Chyzh, R.; Dag, M.; Tribble, R.E.; Trache, L.; Pascovici, G.; De Oliveira, R.

2016-01-01

A gridded ionization chamber used as a focal plane detector at the back of the TAMU-MDM spectrometer was modified to use MicroMegas technology for the purpose of improving energy resolution and particle identification. The upgraded system was tested in experimental conditions with several heavy-ion beams at 12 MeV/u and found to achieve resolutions between 3.2% and 4.8%. This is a significant improvement over the previous performance of 10–15% obtained using the existing, conventional ionization chambers.

Responsiveness to a Prospective Student E-Mail Inquiry by Community Colleges in the Nine Mega-States

Science.gov (United States)

Shadinger, David A.

2014-01-01

This quantitative study investigated e-mail responsiveness by community colleges in the nine mega-states to an inquiry from a prospective student. Noel-Levitz (2006b) reported that prospective students want to receive an e-mail with information about an institution prior to applying for admission. Specifically, high school juniors and seniors want…

Sustainable innovation in intensive animal husbandry; policy and public protests towards a mega-farm in the Netherlands.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Horlings, L.G.; Hinssen, J.P.P.

2014-01-01

In this paper the planning and implementation of a specific mega-farm in the Netherlands is discussed, the so called ‘New Mixed Business’ (NMB). The central question is: how did communication, contestation and controversies play a role in the implementation of this innovative concept for sustainable

StegNet: Mega Image Steganography Capacity with Deep Convolutional Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pin Wu

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Traditional image steganography often leans interests towards safely embedding hidden information into cover images with payload capacity almost neglected. This paper combines recent deep convolutional neural network methods with image-into-image steganography. It successfully hides the same size images with a decoding rate of 98.2% or bpp (bits per pixel of 23.57 by changing only 0.76% of the cover image on average. Our method directly learns end-to-end mappings between the cover image and the embedded image and between the hidden image and the decoded image. We further show that our embedded image, while with mega payload capacity, is still robust to statistical analysis.

Tsunami simulations of mega-thrust earthquakes in the Nankai–Tonankai Trough (Japan) based on stochastic rupture scenarios

KAUST Repository

Goda, Katsuichiro

2017-02-23

In this study, earthquake rupture models for future mega-thrust earthquakes in the Nankai–Tonankai subduction zone are developed by incorporating the main characteristics of inverted source models of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. These scenario ruptures also account for key features of the national tsunami source model for the Nankai–Tonankai earthquake by the Central Disaster Management Council of the Japanese Government. The source models capture a wide range of realistic slip distributions and kinematic rupture processes, reflecting the current best understanding of what may happen due to a future mega-earthquake in the Nankai–Tonankai Trough, and therefore are useful for conducting probabilistic tsunami hazard and risk analysis. A large suite of scenario rupture models is then used to investigate the variability of tsunami effects in coastal areas, such as offshore tsunami wave heights and onshore inundation depths, due to realistic variations in source characteristics. Such investigations are particularly valuable for tsunami hazard mapping and evacuation planning in municipalities along the Nankai–Tonankai coast.

Multi-site study of additive genetic effects on fractional anisotropy of cerebral white matter: comparing meta and mega analytical approaches for data pooling

Science.gov (United States)

Kochunov, Peter; Jahanshad, Neda; Sprooten, Emma; Nichols, Thomas E.; Mandl, René C.; Almasy, Laura; Booth, Tom; Brouwer, Rachel M.; Curran, Joanne E.; de Zubicaray, Greig I.; Dimitrova, Rali; Duggirala, Ravi; Fox, Peter T.; Hong, L. Elliot; Landman, Bennett A.; Lemaitre, Hervé; Lopez, Lorna; Martin, Nicholas G.; McMahon, Katie L.; Mitchell, Braxton D.; Olvera, Rene L.; Peterson, Charles P.; Starr, John M.; Sussmann, Jessika E.; Toga, Arthur W.; Wardlaw, Joanna M.; Wright, Margaret J.; Wright, Susan N.; Bastin, Mark E.; McIntosh, Andrew M.; Boomsma, Dorret I.; Kahn, René S.; den Braber, Anouk; de Geus, Eco JC; Deary, Ian J.; Hulshoff Pol, Hilleke E.; Williamson, Douglas E.; Blangero, John; van ’t Ent, Dennis; Thompson, Paul M.; Glahn, David C.

2014-01-01

Combining datasets across independent studies can boost statistical power by increasing the numbers of observations and can achieve more accurate estimates of effect sizes. This is especially important for genetic studies where a large number of observations are required to obtain sufficient power to detect and replicate genetic effects. There is a need to develop and evaluate methods for joint-analytical analyses of rich datasets collected in imaging genetics studies. The ENIGMA-DTI consortium is developing and evaluating approaches for obtaining pooled estimates of heritability through meta-and mega-genetic analytical approaches, to estimate the general additive genetic contributions to the intersubject variance in fractional anisotropy (FA) measured from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). We used the ENIGMA-DTI data harmonization protocol for uniform processing of DTI data from multiple sites. We evaluated this protocol in five family-based cohorts providing data from a total of 2248 children and adults (ages: 9–85) collected with various imaging protocols. We used the imaging genetics analysis tool, SOLAR-Eclipse, to combine twin and family data from Dutch, Australian and Mexican-American cohorts into one large “mega-family”. We showed that heritability estimates may vary from one cohort to another. We used two meta-analytical (the sample-size and standard-error weighted) approaches and a mega-genetic analysis to calculate heritability estimates across-population. We performed leave-one-out analysis of the joint estimates of heritability, removing a different cohort each time to understand the estimate variability. Overall, meta- and mega-genetic analyses of heritability produced robust estimates of heritability. PMID:24657781

Análisis general del mega-deslizamiento Ortiga-Potrerillos, Acosta, San José, Costa Rica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Madrigal Mora, Julio

2011-12-01

Full Text Available El artículo ofrece un acercamiento a los antecedentes y características del mega-deslizamiento Ortiga-Potrerillos, producido en el cantón de Acosta. Realiza una descripción general de la amenaza y la vulnerabilidad de la zona, desde un enfoque mayormente geológico. Identifica algunos de los problemas suscitados en el sitio del deslizamiento. Proporciona un análisis de la condición de la ruta 209, que une las comunidades Aserrí - Acosta y la cual se ve afectada por las condiciones del terreno. Por último, presenta unas observaciones finales a modo de conclusiones The article approaches the background and characteristics of the mega-landslide at Ortiga-Potrerillos, in Acosta. It provides a general description of the threat and vulnerability of the zone, mainly from a geological focus. It identifies some of the problems generated in the area due to the landslide. It provides an analysis in the condition of route 209, that unites the communities of Aserrí - Acosta and that is affected by the terrain conditions. Lastly, it presents final observations as conclusions

Green Spaces as an Indicator of Urban Health: Evaluating Its Changes in 28 Mega-Cities

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Conghong Huang

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Urban green spaces can yield considerable health benefits to urban residents. Assessing these health benefits is a key step for managing urban green spaces for human health and wellbeing in cities. In this study, we assessed the change of health benefits generated by urban green spaces in 28 megacities worldwide between 2005 and 2015 by using availability and accessibility as proxy indicators. We first mapped land covers of 28 megacities using 10,823 scenes of Landsat images and a random forest classifier running on Google Earth Engine. We then calculated the availability and accessibility of urban green spaces using the land cover maps and gridded population data. The results showed that the mean availability of urban green spaces in these megacities increased from 27.63% in 2005 to 31.74% in 2015. The mean accessibility of urban green spaces increased from 65.76% in 2005 to 72.86% in 2015. The increased availability and accessibility of urban green spaces in megacities have brought more health benefits to their residents.

Finding ultracool brown dwarfs with MegaCam on CFHT: method and first results

Science.gov (United States)

Delorme, P.; Willott, C. J.; Forveille, T.; Delfosse, X.; Reylé, C.; Bertin, E.; Albert, L.; Artigau, E.; Robin, A. C.; Allard, F.; Doyon, R.; Hill, G. J.

2008-06-01

Aims: We present the first results of a wide field survey for cool brown dwarfs with the MegaCam camera on the CFHT telescope, the Canada-France Brown Dwarf Survey, hereafter CFBDS. Our objectives are to find ultracool brown dwarfs and to constrain the field-brown dwarf mass function thanks to a larger sample of L and T dwarfs. Methods: We identify candidates in CFHT/MegaCam i' and z' images using optimised psf-fitting within Source Extractor, and follow them up with pointed near-infrared imaging on several telescopes. Results: We have so far analysed over 350 square degrees and found 770 brown dwarf candidates brighter than z'_AB=22.5. We currently have J-band photometry for 220 of these candidates, which confirms 37% as potential L or T dwarfs. Some are among the reddest and farthest brown dwarfs currently known, including an independent identification of the recently published ULAS J003402.77-005206.7 and the discovery of a second brown dwarf later than T8, CFBDS J005910.83-011401.3. Infrared spectra of three T dwarf candidates confirm their nature, and validate the selection process. Conclusions: The completed survey will discover ~100 T dwarfs and ~500 L dwarfs or M dwarfs later than M8, approximately doubling the number of currently known brown dwarfs. The resulting sample will have a very well-defined selection function, and will therefore produce a very clean luminosity function. Based on observations obtained with MegaPrime/MegaCam, a joint project of CFHT and CEA/DAPNIA, at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) which is operated by the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada, the Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) of France, and the University of Hawaii. This work is based in part on data products produced at TERAPIX and the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre as part of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey, a collaborative project of NRC and CNRS. Based on observations made

La Preparación de un mega evento: El mundial de fútbol FIFA 2014 en Brasil

OpenAIRE

Formaggio Patricio, Raquel

2014-01-01

Este trabajo pretende investigar como Brasil, un país que en los últimos años ha crecido a nivel económico, social y cultural, está planificando, en el ámbito del Turismo, la organización de un mega evento deportivo: El Mundial de Futbol FIFA 2014

Mega-mining in Mexico. Structural reforms and resistance

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Darcy Tetreault

2013-11-01

Full Text Available This article analyzes the structural causes of social environmental conflicts around mega-mining in Mexico and describes the emergence and coordination of resistance movements. It argues that neoliberal reforms have facilitated ‘accumulation by dispossession’ on two levels: first, by transferring public resources in the form of mineral reserves and state-run mining companies to the private sector; and second, bydispossessing smallholder farmers and indigenous communities of their land, water and cultural landscapes, in order to allow mining companies to carry out their activities. Furthermore, it argues that some factions of the resistance movements reflect ‘the environmentalism of the poor’ insofar as they seek to maintain natural resources outside of the sphere of the capitalist mode of production. Through a systematic revision of newspaper articles, blogs and scholarly publications, 29 high-profile eco-territorial mining conflicts are identified and a preliminary analysis of these is provided.

Synthesis and evaluation of nanoglobule-cystamine-(Gd-DO3A, a biodegradable nanosized magnetic resonance contrast agent for dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance urography

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Rongzuo Xu

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Rongzuo Xu1, Todd Lyle Kaneshiro1, Eun-Kee Jeong2, Dennis L Parker2, Zheng-Rong Lu31Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; 2Department of Radiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; 3Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USAAbstract: Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging has been recently shown to be effective for diagnostic urography. High-resolution urographic images can be acquired with T1 contrast agents for the kidney and urinary tract with minimal noise in the abdomen. Currently, clinical contrast agents are low molecular weight agents and can rapidly extravasate from blood circulation, leading to slow contrast agent elimination through kidney and consequently providing limited contrast enhancement in urinary tract. In this study, a new biodegradable macromolecular contrast agent, nanoglobule-G4-cystamine-(Gd-DO3A, was prepared by conjugating Gd-DO3A chelates on the surface of a generation 4 nanoglobule, poly-l-lysine octa(3-aminopropylsilsesquioxane dendrimer, via a disulfide spacer, where the carrier had a precisely defined nanosize that is far smaller than the renal filtration threshold. The in vivo contrast enhancement and dynamic imaging of the urinary tract of the agent was evaluated in nude mice using a low molecular weight agent Gd(DTPA-BMA as a control. The agent eliminated rapidly from blood circulation and accumulated more abundantly in urinary tract than Gd(DTPA-BMA. The fast elimination kinetics is ideal for functional evaluation of the kidneys. The morphology of the kidneys and urinary tract was better visualized by the biodegradable nanoglobular contrast agent than Gd(DTPA-BMA. The agent also resulted in low liver contrast enhancement, indicating low nonspecific tissue deposition. These features render the G4 nanoglobule-cystamine-(Gd-DO3A conjugate a promising contrast agent for magnetic

Bilateral cartilage T2 mapping 9 years after Mega-OATS implantation at the knee: a quantitative 3T MRI study.

Science.gov (United States)

Jungmann, P M; Brucker, P U; Baum, T; Link, T M; Foerschner, F; Minzlaff, P; Banke, I J; Saier, T; Imhoff, A B; Rummeny, E J; Bauer, J S

2015-12-01

To evaluate morphological and quantitative MR findings 9 years after autograft transfer of the posterior femoral condyle (Mega-OATS) and to correlate these findings with clinical outcomes. Quantitative MR measurements were also obtained of the contralateral knee and the utility as reference standard was investigated. Both knees of 20 patients with Mega-OATS osteochondral repair at the medial femoral condyle (MFC) were studied using 3T MRI 9 years after the procedure. MR-sequences included morphological sequences and a 2D multislice multiecho (MSME) spin echo (SE) sequence for quantitative cartilage T2 mapping. Cartilage segmentation was performed at the cartilage repair site and six additional knee compartments. Semi-quantitative MR observation of cartilage repair tissue (MOCART) scores and clinical Lysholm scores were obtained. Paired t-tests and Spearman correlations were used for statistical analysis. Global T2-values were significantly higher at ipsilateral knees compared to contralateral knees (42.1 ± 3.0 ms vs 40.4 ± 2.6 ms, P = 0.018). T2-values of the Mega-OATS site correlated significantly with MOCART scores (R = -0.64, P = 0.006). The correlations between MOCART and Lysholm scores and between absolute T2-values and Lysholm scores were not significant (P > 0.05). However, higher T2 side-to-side differences at the femoral condyles correlated significantly with more severe clinical symptoms (medial, R = -0.53, P = 0.030; lateral, R = -0.51, P = 0.038). Despite long-term survival, 9 years after Mega-OATS procedures, T2-values of the grafts were increased compared to contralateral knees. Clinical scores correlated best with T2 side-to-side differences of the femoral condyles, indicating that intraindividual adjustment may be beneficial for outcome evaluation. Copyright © 2015 Osteoarthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Microplastics in Freshwater River Sediments in Shanghai, China: A Case Study of Risk Assessment in Mega Cities

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, G.; Xu, P.

2017-12-01

Microplastics are plastics that measure less than 5 mm, which attracted exponential interest in recent years. Microplastics are widely distributed in water, sediments, and biotas. Most of distribution studies focus on the marine environment, yet methods to conduct risk assessment are limited. Widespread of microplastics has raised alarm for the well-being of marine living resources because of its negative ecological effects that has been proved. To understand the distribution of microplastics in urban rivers and source of marine microplastics, we investigated into river sediments in Shanghai, the biggest city in China. Seven sampling sites covered most of city central districts including one sampling site from a tidal flat. Density separation, microscopic inspection and identification were conducted to analyze microplastic abundance, shape and color. It is found that pellets were the most prevalent shape, followed by fiber and fragment. White microplastics were the most common type in terms of color. White foamed microplastic pellets were widely distributed in urban river sediments. Microplastic abundance from rivers was one to two orders of magnitude higher than that from the tidal flat. The significant difference between river and tidal flat samples lead to the conclusion that coastal rivers may be the source of microplastics, therefore in situ data and legitimate estimation should be considered by policy-makers. Seven types of microplastics were identified by μ-FT-IR analysis, indicating a secondary source. Comparison between two types of μ-FT-IR instruments was summarized. Framework for environmental risk assessment for microplastics in sediments was proposed. Indicators and ranks were select for the assessment of microplastic in sediments. It is recommended to select the index, integrate statistical data, follow expert opinions extensively and construct comprehensive evaluation method and ecological risk assessment system for the Chinese context.

Arduino Mega 2560 Microcontroller Built 3-Phase Seven Level Inverter

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PAVANKUMAR Shriram Mehtre

2017-10-01

Full Text Available n this paper, the implementation of 3-phase seven level cascaded H-bridge inverter is discussed with Arduino microcontroller and harmonic analysis is performed using Fourier series. The multilevel inverters (MLI give several benefits as reduced switching voltage stresses and the capability to operate in higher level voltage applications. A new and simple architecture Arduino Mega 2560 microcontroller is employed to produce the control signals for the seven level cascaded H-bridge MLI switches. The computer simulation is carried out in PSIM environment and prototype experimental model is developed with TLP 250 driver ICs and power MOSFET switches to validate the simulation results. The THDs present in different voltage level inverters are mathematically analysed using Fourier series.

Locked on course: Hydro-Quebec's commitment to mega-projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maxwell, J.; Briscoe, F.; Suzuki, Tatsujiro; Lee, J.; Stewart, A.

1997-01-01

Large organizations often escalate their commitments to mega-project development, even after evidence becomes available of adverse environmental consequences or lack of economic feasibility. This escalation of commitment transcends both sectorial and national boundaries. Preeminent examples include controversial nuclear projects in the US, hydroelectric projects like the Three Gorges Dam in China, and transport projects like the Chunnel and the Concorde. In this article, the authors examine the experience of Hydro-Quebec with the Great Whale Project. They argue that Hydro-Quebec escalated its commitment even after serious questions emerged about its environmental impacts and economic feasibility, because of (1) its earlier success with large projects, (2) its engineering culture''s norms for consistency, and (3) its role in the government''s desire for economic and cultural autonomy. Finally, they discuss the changes that are necessary to break commitments to such projects

Test results from the MEGA experiment: A search for the rare decay of the muon to an electron and a gamma ray

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jui, C.C.H.

1992-06-01

This thesis reports on recent progress of the MEGA experiment. MEGA is the latest in a series of muon decay experiments at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility. The primary goal of the group is to look for the lepton family number violating decay mode of μ + → e + γ with a branching ratio sensitivity of 3 x 10 -13 . The experiment employs an innovative two-arm magnetic spectrometer, where photons are converted into e + e - pairs within thin sheets of lead. This design maximizes rate capability, retains large solid angle, and suppresses the background to below experimental sensitivity. Both arms of the MEGA detector are state-of-the-art in design. The high-rate, low mass cylindrical MWPCs used in the positron arm are especially challenging. The fabrication of these chambers required many technical innovations, including precision-machined ceramic spacers, thin, inflatable cathode foils, and circular garlands made from annealed glass fibers. After several years of detector development, MEGA conducted a test run in 1990, where prototypes of various detector components were successfully tested in beam. A trial μ → eγ search was also conducted. Results from the positron chamber tests verified performance expectations in most respects. Within the limits of the tests, position and momentum resolutions are in good agreement with Monte Carlo simulations. The trial eγ search provided a much needed opportunity to test the detector system as a whole. No serious problems were uncovered in the search, which reached a sensitivity of 2.3 x 10 -7 in less than a day's running with an incomplete detector system severely limited in acceptance and efficiency. From these results, it is projected that a sensitivity of 5 x 10 -12 will be reached in 1992, to be improved to 3 x 10 -13 in 1993--94

Malaysian Mega Science Framework: The Need for Social Impact and Sustainability Assessment

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Ahmad Zainal A.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This review focuses on issues surrounding wastewater management as part of the National Sustainable Development (2013-2050 under the Malaysian Mega Science Framework. In line with the national priority area of water security, this review will highlight the technical reports compiled by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM on the challenges of water resource development and wastewater management and treatment. The discussion will dwell on the social impact of pollution in water and wastewater and mitigation plans that need to be put in place to ensure sustainable national development and making water as a National Key Economic Area (NKEA.

Can interpreting sediment toxicity tests a mega sites benefit from novel approaches to normalization to address batching of tests?

Science.gov (United States)

Sediment toxicity tests are a key tool used in Ecological Risk Assessments for contaminated sediment sites. Interpreting test results and defining toxicity is often a challenge. This is particularly true at mega sites where the testing regime is large, and by necessity performed ...

Rise of Culture and Fall of Planning in Izmir, Turkey

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Şebnem Gökçen Dündar

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Culture-led regeneration is now a rising feature of cities as they seek to establish themselves as competitive cities of culture. The rise of culture impacts considerably upon the quality of life in cities. The competition takes two major strategies: mega projects and mega-events. While the main cities of the economically advanced nations go through a wide range of experiences, their successes and failures should be taken into consideration by those other cities that wish to imitate the ones leading in the ranking. Cities of the developing world, however, may meet completely different problems even during the stage of planning. This paper reviews such a case, namely Izmir, by way of stating the city’s intentions to benefit from culture-driven strategies as seen through its indicators, and showing the evidence that cause it to fail in reaching its goals. The final statement shall emphasize the importance of cultural policiesto be formulated on a wider perspective.

Eco2 Cities : Ecological Cities as Economic Cities

OpenAIRE

Suzuki, Hiroaki; Dastur, Arish; Moffatt, Sebastian; Yabuki, Nanae; Maruyama, Hinako

2010-01-01

This book provides an overview of the World Bank's Eco2 cities : ecological cities as economic cities initiative. The objective of the Eco2 cities initiative is to help cities in developing countries achieve a greater degree of ecological and economic sustainability. The book is divided into three parts. Part one describes the Eco2 cities initiative framework. It describes the approach, be...

Sustainability of mega water diversion projects: Experience and lessons from China.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Min; Wang, Chaoran; Liu, Yi; Olsson, Gustaf; Wang, Chunyan

2018-04-01

Water availability and water demand are not evenly distributed in time and space. Many mega water diversion projects have been launched to alleviate water shortages in China. This paper analyzes the temporal and spatial features of 59 mega water diversion projects in China using statistical analysis. The relationship between nine major basins is measured using a network analysis method, and the associated economic, environmental and social impacts are explored using an impact analysis method. The study finds the development of water diversion has experienced four stages in China, from a starting period through to a period of high-speed development. Both the length of water diversion channels and the amount of transferred water have increased significantly in the past 50years. As of 2015, over 100billionm 3 of water was transferred in China through 16,000km in channels. These projects reached over half of China's provinces. The Yangtze River Basin is now the largest source of transferred water. Through inter-basin water diversion, China gains the opportunity to increase Gross Domestic Product by 4%. However, the construction costs exceed 150 billion US dollars, larger than in any other country. The average cost per unit of transferred water has increased with time and scale but decreased from western to eastern China. Furthermore, annual total energy consumption for pumping exceeded 50billionkilowatt-hours and the related greenhouse gas emissions are estimated to be 48milliontons. It is worth noting that ecological problems caused by water diversion affect the Han River and Yellow River Basins. Over 500 thousand people have been relocated away from their homes due to water diversion. To improve the sustainability of water diversion, four kinds of innovative measures have been provided for decision makers: national diversion guidelines, integrated water basin management, economic incentives and ex-post evaluation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Journey to Planet Earth: The Urban Explosion. The Public Television Series. [Videotape].

Science.gov (United States)

1999

This videotape attempts to show students how the uncontrolled development of the world's major cities has led to a series of problems such as air pollution, water pollution, limited room for waste disposal, housing shortages, and loss of farmland. The videotape profiles four mega-cities: Mexico City, Shanghai, Istanbul, and New York City. Students…

An Overview of Air Pollution Problem in Megacities and City Clusters in China

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, X.

2007-05-01

China has experienced the rapid economic growth in last twenty years. City clusters, which consist of one or several mega cities in close vicinity and many satellite cities and towns, are playing a leading role in Chinese economic growth, owing to their collective economic capacity and interdependency. However, accompanying with the economic boom, population growth and increased energy consumption, the air quality has been degrading in the past two decades. Air pollution in those areas is characterized by concurrent occurrence of high concentrations of multiple primary pollutants leading to form complex secondary pollution problem. After decades long efforts to control air pollution, both the government and scientific communities have realized that to control regional scale air pollution, regional efforts are needed. Field experiments covering the regions like Pearl River Delta region and Beijing City with surrounding areas are critical to understand the chemical and physical processes leading to the formation of regional scale air pollution. In order to formulate policy suggestions for air quality attainment during 2008 Beijing Olympic game and to propose objectives of air quality attainment in 2010 in Beijing, CAREBEIJING (Campaigns of Air Quality Research in Beijing and Surrounding Region) was organized by Peking University in 2006 to learn current air pollution situation of the region, and to identify the transport and transformation processes that lead to the impact of the surrounding area on air quality in Beijing. Same as the purpose for understanding the chemical and physical processes happened in regional scale, the fall and summer campaigns in 2004 and 2006 were carried out in Pearl River Delta. More than 16 domestic and foreign institutions were involved in these campaigns. The background, current status, problems, and some results of these campaigns will be introduced in this presentation.

Cool city mornings by urban heat

Science.gov (United States)

Theeuwes, Natalie E.; Steeneveld, Gert-Jan; Ronda, Reinder J.; Rotach, Mathias W.; Holtslag, Albert A. M.

2015-11-01

The urban heat island effect is a phenomenon observed worldwide, i.e. evening and nocturnal temperatures in cities are usually several degrees higher than in the surrounding countryside. In contrast, cities are sometimes found to be cooler than their rural surroundings in the morning and early afternoon. Here, a general physical explanation for this so-called daytime urban cool island (UCI) effect is presented and validated for the cloud-free days in the BUBBLE campaign in Basel, Switzerland. Simulations with a widely evaluated conceptual atmospheric boundary-layer model coupled to a land-surface model, reveal that the UCI can form due to differences between the early morning mixed-layer depth over the city (deeper) and over the countryside (shallower). The magnitude of the UCI is estimated for various types of urban morphology, categorized by their respective local climate zones.

TERRITORIOS SOLIDARIOS DE AMÉRICA LATINA Y TURISMO COMUNITARIO EN REBOTE A LOS MEGA EMPREEMDIMENTOS TRANSNACIONAL

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Luzia Neide Coriolano

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Este estudio analiza territorios solidarios de turismo comunitario en países de América Latina como un contrapunto al turismo convencional, de los mega emprendimientos transnacionales. Cambios en el modelo socioeconómico con movimientos de resistencia a la supuesta hegemonía de los países ricos, superposiciones de  megaempresas a la de pequeña escala, en relación al turismo global, convencional, dedicado a los mega emprendimientos vinculados con la especulación inmobiliaria. Verifica como países fortalecen territorios de economías solidarias, comunitarias. Como se crean sinergias, socialización de conocimientos en territorios como una forma de reducir las disparidades espaciales y las desigualdades sociales. Identifica experiencias con referencia de políticas de inclusión social, que promueven pequeñas ciudades, barrios, suburbios y comunidades, mitigan distancias entre ricos y pobres. Articulaciones entre aspectos políticos e institucionales para gestiones participativas y estrategias como cuestiones ambientales y de sostenibilidad socio-económica y desarrollo de comunidades que buscan soluciones económicas y sociales por el turismo, en América Latina.

A Case with Mega Cisterna Magna Renal and Ear Anomalies: Is This a New Syndrome?

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Çapan Konca

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Extrarenal pathologies may be associated with renal position and fusion anomalies. According to the literature, our patient is the first horseshoe kidney case that had mega cisterna magna, arachnodactyly, and mild mental retardation. Case Report. A 9-year-old boy admitted because of the myoclonic jerks. He had a dysmorphic face, low-set and cup-shaped ears, arachnodactyly, and mild mental retardation. The patient’s laboratory findings were normal except for a mild leucocytosis and hypochromic microcytic anemia. His cerebrospinal fluid was cytologically and biochemically normal. Cranial MRI revealed 1.5 cm diametered mega cisterna magna in the retrocerebellar region. Although there were no significant epileptical discharges in the electroencephalography, there were slow wave discharges arising from the anterior regions of both hemispheres. Because he had stomachache, abdominal ultrasonography was performed, and horseshoe kidney was determined. Abdominal CT did not reveal any abnormalities except the horseshoe kidney. There were not any cardiac pathologies in echocardiography. He had normal 46XY karyotype and there were no repeated chromosomal derangements, but we could not evaluate for molecular and submicroscopic somatic changes. He was treated with valproic acid and myoclonic jerks did not repeat. Conclusion. We suggest that the presence of these novel findings may represent a newly recognized, separate syndrome.

HUBUNGAN ANTARA PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPITAL DENGAN WORK ENGAGEMENT PADA KARYAWAN PT. BANK MEGA REGIONAL AREA SEMARANG

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Dwi Ari Setyo Nugroho

2015-07-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to assess the relationship between psychological capital with work engagement employees of PT. Bank Mega Regional Area Semarang. Psychological capital is an individual’s positive psychological state of development and is characterized by self- efficacy, optimism, hope and resiliency. Then, work engagement is defined as a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption. This study used proportional sampling technique. The subjects were all employees of PT. Bank Mega Regional Area Semarang which have staff levels (N=73. The research instrument was psychological capital scales with 28 items (α = 0.953 and work engagement scales with 29 items (α = 0.938. The results by simple regression analysis obtained rxy = 0.716, with p value = 0.000 (p <0.05. The results indicated that there was a positive correlation between psychological capital and work engagement. The higher psychological capital was higher work engagement. Coefficient of determination by 51,3, it meaning that psychological capital effectively contributed for 51,3 % of work engagement. The remaining 48,7 % determined by other factors that are not revealed in this study, for example: job resources and job demands. Keywords: Psychological capital, work engagement, employee

An Overview of the MILAGRO 2006 Campaign: Mexico City Emissions and their Transport and Transformation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Molina, Luisa T.; Madronich, Sasha; Gaffney, Jeffrey; Apel, Eric; de Foy, B.; Fast, Jerome D.; Ferrare, R.; Herndon, Scott C.; Jimenez, Jose L.; Lamb, Brian K.; Orsonio-Vargas, A. R.; Russell, P. B.; Schauer, James J.; Stevens, P. S.; Volkamer, Rainer M.; Zavala, Miguel A.

2010-03-25

The world’s population is projected to increase 33% during the next three decades, to 8.1 billion. Nearly all of the projected growth is expected to be concentrated in urban centers. These rapidly expanding urban regions and surrounding suburban areas are leading to the phenomenon of megacities (metropolitan areas with populations exceeding 10 million inhabitants). Well governed, densely populated settlements can reduce the need for land conversion and provide proximity to infrastructure and services. However, many urban areas experience uncontrolled sprawl and their activities are the leading cause of environmental problems. These mega-centers of human population are tied directly to increasing demands for energy and associated industrial activities and motorization that lead to more emission of pollutants into the atmosphere. Air pollution is one of the most important environmental challenges of this century. This challenge is particularly acute in the developing world where the rapid growth of megacities is producing atmospheric pollution of unprecedented severity and extent. MILAGRO (Megacity Initiative: Local And Global Research Observations) is the first international collaborative project to examine the behavior and the export of atmospheric pollutants generated in megacities. The Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) - one of the world’s largest megacities and North America’s most populous city -- was selected as the initial case study to characterize the sources and processes of emissions from the urban center and to evaluate the regional and global impacts of the Mexico City air pollution plume

First physics results from the MAST Mega-Amp Spherical Tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sykes, A.; Ahn, J.-W.; Akers, R.; Arends, E.; Carolan, P.G.; Counsell, G.F.; Fielding, S. J.; Gryaznevich, M.; Martin, R.; Price, M.; Roach, C.; Shevchenko, V.; Tournianski, M.; Valovic, M.; Walsh, M.J.; Wilson, H.R.

2001-01-01

First physics results are presented from MAST (Mega-Amp Spherical Tokamak), one of the new generation of purpose built spherical tokamaks (STs) now commencing operation. Some of these results demonstrate, for the first time, the novel effects of low aspect ratio, for example, the enhancement of resistivity due to neo-classical effects. H-mode is achieved and the transition to H-mode is accompanied by a tenfold steepening of the edge density gradient which may enable the successful application of electron Bernstein wave heating in STs. Studies of halo currents show that these less than expected from conventional tokamak results, and measurements of divertor power loading confirm that most of the power flows to the outer strike points, easing the power handling on the inner points (a critical issue for STs)

Mechanical properties of a co-extruded Metallic Glass/Alloy (MeGA) rod-Effect of the metallic glass volume fraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gravier, S.; Blandin, J.J.; Suery, M.

2010-01-01

A Metallic Glass/Alloy (MeGA) rod with a core in zirconium-based bulk metallic glass and a sleeve in aluminium alloy has been successfully elaborated by co-extrusion. SEM observations of the cross-section of the rod show that the interface between the glass and the alloy is defect-free. Compression tests are carried out at room temperature on the MeGA rods containing various glass volume fractions. The yield stress is well described by the rule of mixtures which combines the strength of the glass and that of the alloy, suggesting isostrain behaviour as could be expected. During compression, a good mechanical bonding is observed in the MeGA-rod even after the first fracture of the metallic glass. Finally, push-out tests are performed to evaluate the bonding quality between the two materials. Large values of the shear strength are measured which confirms that co-extrusion leads to good bonding between the glass and the aluminium alloy.

Monitoring tumor motion with on-line mega-voltage cone-beam computed tomography imaging in a cine mode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reitz, Bodo; Gayou, Olivier; Parda, David S; Miften, Moyed

2008-01-01

Accurate daily patient localization is becoming increasingly important in external-beam radiotherapy (RT). Mega-voltage cone-beam computed tomography (MV-CBCT) utilizing a therapy beam and an on-board electronic portal imager can be used to localize tumor volumes and verify the patient's position prior to treatment. MV-CBCT produces a static volumetric image and therefore can only account for inter-fractional changes. In this work, the feasibility of using the MV-CBCT raw data as a fluoroscopic series of portal images to monitor tumor changes due to e.g. respiratory motion was investigated. A method was developed to read and convert the CB raw data into a cine. To improve the contrast-to-noise ratio on the MV-CB projection data, image post-processing with filtering techniques was investigated. Volumes of interest from the planning CT were projected onto the MV-cine. Because of the small exposure and the varying thickness of the patient depending on the projection angle, soft-tissue contrast was limited. Tumor visibility as a function of tumor size and projection angle was studied. The method was well suited in the upper chest, where motion of the tumor as well as of the diaphragm could be clearly seen. In the cases of patients with non-small cell lung cancer with medium or large tumor masses, we verified that the tumor mass was always located within the PTV despite respiratory motion. However for small tumors the method is less applicable, because the visibility of those targets becomes marginal. Evaluation of motion in non-superior-inferior directions might also be limited for small tumor masses. Viewing MV-CBCT data in a cine mode adds to the utility of MV-CBCT for verification of tumor motion and for deriving individualized treatment margins

Contrastive analysis in mother tongue teaching in Sweden – teacher’sperceptions and practices

OpenAIRE

Reis, Marina

2017-01-01

This study is about contrastive analysis in mother tongue teaching in Sweden. Contrastive analysis between mother tongue and Swedish is part of the Swedish syllabus for the school subject mother tongue and is therefore a pertinent subject to be investigated. The study analyzes how five mother tongue teachers in a medium-sized Swedish city work with contrastive analysis in their classes and how they evaluate the importance of this content in mother tongue teaching. The question concerning the ...

Deep-sea seabed habitats: Do they support distinct mega-epifaunal communities that have different vulnerabilities to anthropogenic disturbance?

Science.gov (United States)

Bowden, David A.; Rowden, Ashley A.; Leduc, Daniel; Beaumont, Jennifer; Clark, Malcolm R.

2016-01-01

Growing economic interest in seabed resources in the deep-sea highlights the need for information about the spatial distribution and vulnerability to disturbance of benthic habitats and fauna. Categorisation of seabed habitats for management is often based on topographic features such as canyons and seamounts that can be distinguished using regional bathymetry ('mega-habitats'). This is practical but because such habitats are contiguous with others, there is potential for overlap in the communities associated with them. Because concepts of habitat and community vulnerability are based on the traits of individual taxa, the nature and extent of differences between communities have implications for strategies to manage the environmental effects of resource use. Using towed video camera transects, we surveyed mega-epifaunal communities of three topographically-defined habitats (canyon, seamount or knoll, and continental slope) and two physico-chemically defined meso-scale habitats (cold seep and hydrothermal vent) in two regions off New Zealand to assess whether each supports a distinct type of community. Cold seep and hydrothermal vent communities were strongly distinct from those in other habitats. Across the other habitats, however, distinctions between communities were often weak and were not consistent between regions. Dissimilarities among communities across all habitats were stronger and the density of filter-feeding taxa was higher in the Bay of Plenty than on the Hikurangi Margin, whereas densities of predatory and scavenging taxa were higher on the Hikurangi Margin. Substratum diversity at small spatial scales (the general utility of topographically-defined mega-habitats in environmental management, (2) fine-scale survey of individual features is necessary to identify the locations, characteristics, and extents of ecologically important or vulnerable seabed communities, and (3) evaluation of habitat vulnerability to future events should be in the context of

Monitoring and Evaluation for the Focus Cities Program in Asia ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

... for comparing and contrasting the performance of the various Focus Cities ... IDRC “unpacks women's empowerment” at McGill University Conference ... Special journal issue highlights IDRC-supported findings on women's paid work.

Study of dynamics, sources and speciation of trace elements in the Orge River watershed (Essonne, France)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Pape, Pierre

2012-01-01

The aim of this work is to study the dynamics of trace elements (TE) in the water column of the Orge River. In the upstream part of the watershed, land uses consist mainly in forests and agricultural soils, whereas downstream, the population density reaches up to 8,000 inh. km"-"2, in the suburbs of Paris Mega-city. The sampling sites were chosen to describe a gradation in urbanization influence from up to downstream in this particularly contrasted catchment. Four sampling campaigns were performed at seven selected sites along the Orge River during an hydrological year (2010/2011). The spatio-temporal monitoring of the concentrations in the dissolved phase ( [fr

Voxel-based morphometry multi-center mega-analysis of brain structure in social anxiety disorder

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bas-Hoogendam, Janna Marie; van Steenbergen, Henk; Nienke Pannekoek, J.

2017-01-01

was used, focusing on the basal ganglia, the amygdala-hippocampal complex, the prefrontal cortex, and the parietal cortex. SAD-patients had larger GM volume in the dorsal striatum when compared to HC-participants. This increase correlated positively with the severity of self-reported social anxiety...... symptoms. No SAD-related differences in GM volume were present in the other ROIs. Thereby, the results of this mega-analysis suggest a role for the dorsal striatum in SAD, but previously reported SAD-related changes in GM in the amygdala, hippocampus, precuneus, prefrontal cortex and parietal regions were...

An attempt for unification of microcosmos and mega(macro)cosmos on the base of the order (causality)

Science.gov (United States)

Kartsaklis, Anastassios

1986-05-01

An axiomatic system of causal space and its topological structure is given that is convenient for many kinds of spacetime frame reference. Also presented is a topology of the pure states, according to axiomatic foundation of quantum mechanics by Jauch (1968). Finally, an attempt is made to unify, from a causality point of view, the microcosmos and mega(macro)cosmos supported by the transition probability.

On the Strength of the Carbon Nanotube-Based Space Elevator Cable: From Nano- to Mega-Mechanics

OpenAIRE

Pugno, Nicola M.

2006-01-01

In this paper different deterministic and statistical models, based on new quantized theories proposed by the author, are presented to estimate the strength of a real, thus defective, space elevator cable. The cable, of ~100 megameters in length, is composed by carbon nanotubes, ~100 nanometers long: thus, its design involves from the nano- to the mega-mechanics. The predicted strengths are extensively compared with the experiments and the atomistic simulations on carbon nanotubes available i...

Overview of the ARGOS X-ray framing camera for Laser MegaJoule

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trosseille, C., E-mail: clement.trosseille@cea.fr; Aubert, D.; Auger, L.; Bazzoli, S.; Brunel, P.; Burillo, M.; Chollet, C.; Jasmin, S.; Maruenda, P.; Moreau, I.; Oudot, G.; Raimbourg, J.; Soullié, G.; Stemmler, P.; Zuber, C. [CEA, DAM, DIF, F-91297 Arpajon (France); Beck, T. [CEA, DEN, CADARACHE, F-13108 St Paul lez Durance (France); Gazave, J. [CEA, DAM, CESTA, F-33116 Le Barp (France)

2014-11-15

Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives has developed the ARGOS X-ray framing camera to perform two-dimensional, high-timing resolution imaging of an imploding target on the French high-power laser facility Laser MegaJoule. The main features of this camera are: a microchannel plate gated X-ray detector, a spring-loaded CCD camera that maintains proximity focus in any orientation, and electronics packages that provide remotely-selectable high-voltages to modify the exposure-time of the camera. These components are integrated into an “air-box” that protects them from the harsh environmental conditions. A miniaturized X-ray generator is also part of the device for in situ self-testing purposes.

Teores de ácidos graxos em ovos comerciais convencionais e modificados com ômega-3 Fatty acids levels in conventional and designer omega-3 commercial eggs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thaiz Marinho Magalhães Cedro

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Objetivou-se comparar os teores de ácidos graxos em ovos comerciais convencionais e em ovos modificados com ômega-3. Foram utilizadas 864 poedeiras da linhagem Isa Brown aleatoriamente distribuídas em dois grupos, de modo que cada gaiola com quatro aves foi considerada uma repetição, totalizando 216 repetições. No grupo para produção de ovos convencionais, as aves foram alimentadas durante toda a vida produtiva com ração à base de milho e farelo de soja, enquanto, no grupo para produção de ovos modificados, foram alimentadas, a partir da 22ª semana de idade, com ração contendo 1,5% de substrato de algas marinhas e 1,8% de óleo de peixe. Foram coletados, aleatoriamente, 180 ovos de cada grupo de poedeira (totalizando 360 ovos, que foram distribuídos em delineamento de blocos ao acaso, considerando cada ovo uma repetição. Os ovos modificados com ômega-3 apresentaram menores de índice de gema, mas não diferiram dos ovos convencionais quanto aos demais parâmetros de qualidade. As médias de ácidos graxos poliinsaturados ômega-3 e de ácidos graxos monoinsaturados foram mais altas nos ovos modificados. As relações entre ácidos graxos poliinsaturados e saturados e entre ômega-6 e ômega-3 nos ovos modificados foram próximas ao ideal estimado para alimentação humana. As médias de ácidos graxos poliinsaturados da série ômega-6 e de ácidos graxos saturados nos ovos convencionais foram significativamente maiores que dos ovos modificados com ômega-3.The objective of this work was to compare the levels of fatty acids between conventional commercial eggs and designer omega-3 eggs. It was used 864 Isa Brown line laying hens randomly distributed in two groups, so each cage with four birds was considered a replicate, totalizing 216 repetitions. In the group for production of conventional eggs, birds were fed corn- and soybean-based rations during the entire productive life while in the group for production of designer

The Copper Balance of Cities: Exploratory Insights into a European and an Asian City.

Science.gov (United States)

Kral, Ulrich; Lin, Chih-Yi; Kellner, Katharina; Ma, Hwong-Wen; Brunner, Paul H

2014-05-01

Material management faces a dual challenge: on the one hand satisfying large and increasing demands for goods and on the other hand accommodating wastes and emissions in sinks. Hence, the characterization of material flows and stocks is relevant for both improving resource efficiency and environmental protection. This article focuses on the urban scale, a dimension rarely investigated in past metal flow studies. We compare the copper (Cu) metabolism of two cities in different economic states, namely, Vienna (Europe) and Taipei (Asia). Substance flow analysis is used to calculate urban Cu balances in a comprehensive and transparent form. The main difference between Cu in the two cities appears to be the stock: Vienna seems close to saturation with 180 kilograms per capita (kg/cap) and a growth rate of 2% per year. In contrast, the Taipei stock of 30 kg/cap grows rapidly by 26% per year. Even though most Cu is recycled in both cities, bottom ash from municipal solid waste incineration represents an unused Cu potential accounting for 1% to 5% of annual demand. Nonpoint emissions are predominant; up to 50% of the loadings into the sewer system are from nonpoint sources. The results of this research are instrumental for the design of the Cu metabolism in each city. The outcomes serve as a base for identification and recovery of recyclables as well as for directing nonrecyclables to appropriate sinks, avoiding sensitive environmental pathways. The methodology applied is well suited for city benchmarking if sufficient data are available.

Widespread Forest Vertebrate Extinctions Induced by a Mega Hydroelectric Dam in Lowland Amazonia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maíra Benchimol

Full Text Available Mega hydropower projects in tropical forests pose a major emergent threat to terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity worldwide. Despite the unprecedented number of existing, under-construction and planned hydroelectric dams in lowland tropical forests, long-term effects on biodiversity have yet to be evaluated. We examine how medium and large-bodied assemblages of terrestrial and arboreal vertebrates (including 35 mammal, bird and tortoise species responded to the drastic 26-year post-isolation history of archipelagic alteration in landscape structure and habitat quality in a major hydroelectric reservoir of Central Amazonia. The Balbina Hydroelectric Dam inundated 3,129 km2 of primary forests, simultaneously isolating 3,546 land-bridge islands. We conducted intensive biodiversity surveys at 37 of those islands and three adjacent continuous forests using a combination of four survey techniques, and detected strong forest habitat area effects in explaining patterns of vertebrate extinction. Beyond clear area effects, edge-mediated surface fire disturbance was the most important additional driver of species loss, particularly in islands smaller than 10 ha. Based on species-area models, we predict that only 0.7% of all islands now harbor a species-rich vertebrate assemblage consisting of ≥80% of all species. We highlight the colossal erosion in vertebrate diversity driven by a man-made dam and show that the biodiversity impacts of mega dams in lowland tropical forest regions have been severely overlooked. The geopolitical strategy to deploy many more large hydropower infrastructure projects in regions like lowland Amazonia should be urgently reassessed, and we strongly advise that long-term biodiversity impacts should be explicitly included in pre-approval environmental impact assessments.

A MegaCam Survey of Outer Halo Satellites. I. Description of the Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Muñoz, Ricardo R.; Côté, Patrick; Santana, Felipe A.; Geha, Marla; Simon, Joshua D.; Oyarzún, Grecco A.; Stetson, Peter B.; Djorgovski, S. G.

2018-06-01

We describe a deep, systematic imaging study of satellites in the outer halo of the Milky Way. Our sample consists of 58 stellar overdensities—i.e., substructures classified as either globular clusters, classical dwarf galaxies, or ultra-faint dwarf galaxies—that are located at Galactocentric distances of R GC ≥ 25 kpc (outer halo) and out to ∼400 kpc. This includes 44 objects for which we have acquired deep, wide-field, g- and r-band imaging with the MegaCam mosaic cameras on the 3.6 m Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope and the 6.5 m Magellan-Clay telescope. These data are supplemented by archival imaging, or published gr photometry, for an additional 14 objects, most of which were discovered recently in the Dark Energy Survey (DES). We describe the scientific motivation for our survey, including sample selection, observing strategy, data reduction pipeline, calibration procedures, and the depth and precision of the photometry. The typical 5σ point-source limiting magnitudes for our MegaCam imaging—which collectively covers an area of ≈52 deg2—are g lim ≃ 25.6 and r lim ≃ 25.3 AB mag. These limits are comparable to those from the coadded DES images and are roughly a half-magnitude deeper than will be reached in a single visit with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. Our photometric catalog thus provides the deepest and most uniform photometric database of Milky Way satellites available for the foreseeable future. In other papers in this series, we have used these data to explore the blue straggler populations in these objects, their density distributions, star formation histories, scaling relations, and possible foreground structures.

Widespread Forest Vertebrate Extinctions Induced by a Mega Hydroelectric Dam in Lowland Amazonia.

Science.gov (United States)

Benchimol, Maíra; Peres, Carlos A

2015-01-01

Mega hydropower projects in tropical forests pose a major emergent threat to terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity worldwide. Despite the unprecedented number of existing, under-construction and planned hydroelectric dams in lowland tropical forests, long-term effects on biodiversity have yet to be evaluated. We examine how medium and large-bodied assemblages of terrestrial and arboreal vertebrates (including 35 mammal, bird and tortoise species) responded to the drastic 26-year post-isolation history of archipelagic alteration in landscape structure and habitat quality in a major hydroelectric reservoir of Central Amazonia. The Balbina Hydroelectric Dam inundated 3,129 km2 of primary forests, simultaneously isolating 3,546 land-bridge islands. We conducted intensive biodiversity surveys at 37 of those islands and three adjacent continuous forests using a combination of four survey techniques, and detected strong forest habitat area effects in explaining patterns of vertebrate extinction. Beyond clear area effects, edge-mediated surface fire disturbance was the most important additional driver of species loss, particularly in islands smaller than 10 ha. Based on species-area models, we predict that only 0.7% of all islands now harbor a species-rich vertebrate assemblage consisting of ≥80% of all species. We highlight the colossal erosion in vertebrate diversity driven by a man-made dam and show that the biodiversity impacts of mega dams in lowland tropical forest regions have been severely overlooked. The geopolitical strategy to deploy many more large hydropower infrastructure projects in regions like lowland Amazonia should be urgently reassessed, and we strongly advise that long-term biodiversity impacts should be explicitly included in pre-approval environmental impact assessments.

Spatially explicit assessment of heat health risk by using multi-sensor remote sensing images and socioeconomic data in Yangtze River Delta, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Qian; Ding, Mingjun; Yang, Xuchao; Hu, Kejia; Qi, Jiaguo

2018-05-25

The increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events, which are potentially associated with climate change in the near future, highlights the importance of heat health risk assessment, a significant reference for heat-related death reduction and intervention. However, a spatiotemporal mismatch exists between gridded heat hazard and human exposure in risk assessment, which hinders the identification of high-risk areas at finer scales. A human settlement index integrated by nighttime light images, enhanced vegetation index, and digital elevation model data was utilized to assess the human exposure at high spatial resolution. Heat hazard and vulnerability index were generated by land surface temperature and demographic and socioeconomic census data, respectively. Spatially explicit assessment of heat health risk and its driving factors was conducted in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), east China at 250 m pixel level. High-risk areas were mainly distributed in the urbanized areas of YRD, which were mostly driven by high human exposure and heat hazard index. In some less-urbanized cities and suburban and rural areas of mega-cities, the heat health risks are in second priority. The risks in some less-developed areas were high despite the low human exposure index because of high heat hazard and vulnerability index. This study illustrated a methodology for identifying high-risk areas by combining freely available multi-source data. Highly urbanized areas were considered hotspots of high heat health risks, which were largely driven by the increasing urban heat island effects and population density in urban areas. Repercussions of overheating were weakened due to the low social vulnerability in some central areas benefitting from the low proportion of sensitive population or the high level of socioeconomic development. By contrast, high social vulnerability intensifies heat health risks in some less-urbanized cities and suburban areas of mega-cities.

Mega-electron-volt ultrafast electron diffraction at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weathersby, S. P.; Brown, G.; Chase, T. F.; Coffee, R.; Corbett, J.; Eichner, J. P.; Frisch, J. C.; Fry, A. R.; Gühr, M.; Hartmann, N.; Hast, C.; Hettel, R.; Jobe, R. K.; Jongewaard, E. N.; Lewandowski, J. R.; Li, R. K., E-mail: lrk@slac.stanford.edu; Lindenberg, A. M.; Makasyuk, I.; May, J. E.; McCormick, D. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025 (United States); and others

2015-07-15

Ultrafast electron probes are powerful tools, complementary to x-ray free-electron lasers, used to study structural dynamics in material, chemical, and biological sciences. High brightness, relativistic electron beams with femtosecond pulse duration can resolve details of the dynamic processes on atomic time and length scales. SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory recently launched the Ultrafast Electron Diffraction (UED) and microscopy Initiative aiming at developing the next generation ultrafast electron scattering instruments. As the first stage of the Initiative, a mega-electron-volt (MeV) UED system has been constructed and commissioned to serve ultrafast science experiments and instrumentation development. The system operates at 120-Hz repetition rate with outstanding performance. In this paper, we report on the SLAC MeV UED system and its performance, including the reciprocal space resolution, temporal resolution, and machine stability.

High-power optical coatings for a mega-joule class ICF laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kozlowski, M.R.; Thomas, I.M.; Campbell, J.H.; Rainer, F.

1992-11-01

As a consequence of advancements in Inertial Confinement Fusion research, LLNL is developing plans for a new 1.5 to 2 mega-joule solid-state Nd:glass laser designed to achieve fusion ignition. The new design is possible in part due to advances in optical coatings suitable for high power laser systems. High damage threshold mirrors and polarizers are comprised of electron beam deposited dielectric multilayers. Subthreshold illumination, or laser conditioning, of the multilayer coatings results in an increase in the damage thresholds by factors of 2 to 3 at 1.06μm, thus meeting the fluence requirements of the advanced architecture. For anti-reflective coatings, protective organic coatings for non-linear crystals and phase plates for beam smoothing, sol-gel films provide high damage thresholds coatings at low cost

Generation of mega-electron-volt electron beams by an ultrafast intense laser pulse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Xiaofang; Saleh, Ned; Krishnan, Mohan; Wang Haiwen; Backus, Sterling; Murnane, Margaret; Kapteyn, Henry; Umstadter, Donald; Wang Quandong; Shen Baifei

2003-01-01

Mega-electron-volt (MeV) electron emission from the interaction of an ultrafast (τ∼29 fs), intense (>10 18 W/cm 2 ) laser pulse with underdense plasmas has been studied. A beam of MeV electrons with a divergence angle as small as 1 deg. is observed in the forward direction, which is correlated with relativistic filamentation of the laser pulse in plasmas. A novel net-energy-gain mechanism is proposed for electron acceleration resulting from the relativistic filamentation and beam breakup. These results suggest an approach for generating a beam of femtosecond, MeV electrons at a kilohertz repetition rate with a compact ultrafast intense laser system

Country Image of Kazakhstan: From Stereotype and Critique to Positive National Branding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Svetlana Shakirova

2015-03-01

Full Text Available In the framework of nation building processes, Kazakhstani government   works on a positive national branding. For this, it decided to host international mega events such as Olympics and World Expo.   In 2011, Asian Olympic Games took place in Astana and Almaty cities. In 2017, Kazakhstan   will host the World Expo ‘Future Energy’ and 28th Winter Universiade, in 2022 Kazakhstan is going to host Winter Olympics. After ambitious transfer of the capital city from Almaty to Astana, these mega events serve to promote economic growth, infrastructure upgrading and leadership in Central Asian region.The paper shows that the country branding should not contradict to the views and believes of the citizens. Sociological study of  national identification of the people, their assessment of positive and negative sides of life, as well as  cultural heritage and traditions, intercultural communication lay in one research area with the mega projects planning and management.

Student Engagement and Completion in Precalculus Precalculus Mega Section: Efficiently Assisting Student Engagement and Completion with Communications and Information Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Brusi, Rima; Portnoy, Arturo; Toro, Nilsa

2013-01-01

The Precalculus Mega Section project was developed with the main purpose of improving the overall performance of the student body in Precalculus, an important gatekeeper course that affects student engagement and completion, with typical drop/failure rates of over 50 percent. Strategies such as integration of technology and additional practice…

Floristic analysis of domestic gardens in the Tlokwe City Municipality, South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. S. Lubbe

2011-12-01

Full Text Available This paper is a first attempt to describe the flora of domestic gardens from an urban environment in South Africa. A total of 835 plant species of 501 genera in 145 families was recorded from 100 gardens in a 54.9 km2 area of the Tlokwe City Municipality [Potchefstroom], North-West Province. A substantial number of alien species (580 were recorded, but also many indigenous species (255 that included South African endemics (61 and protected species on the National Red Data List (18. A number of the alien species that were commonly cultivated are declared invasive plants in South Africa (88. Most of the cultivated indigenous taxa originated from the southeastern provinces of South Africa. This study provides new knowledge on the often overlooked biodiversity of urban areas in a developing, mega-diverse country. Most studies of a similar nature were conducted in the developed countries of Europe and are of limited use in the development of management plans of urban ecosystems in southern Africa.

The Copper Balance of Cities

Science.gov (United States)

Kral, Ulrich; Lin, Chih-Yi; Kellner, Katharina; Ma, Hwong-wen; Brunner, Paul H

2014-01-01

Material management faces a dual challenge: on the one hand satisfying large and increasing demands for goods and on the other hand accommodating wastes and emissions in sinks. Hence, the characterization of material flows and stocks is relevant for both improving resource efficiency and environmental protection. This article focuses on the urban scale, a dimension rarely investigated in past metal flow studies. We compare the copper (Cu) metabolism of two cities in different economic states, namely, Vienna (Europe) and Taipei (Asia). Substance flow analysis is used to calculate urban Cu balances in a comprehensive and transparent form. The main difference between Cu in the two cities appears to be the stock: Vienna seems close to saturation with 180 kilograms per capita (kg/cap) and a growth rate of 2% per year. In contrast, the Taipei stock of 30 kg/cap grows rapidly by 26% per year. Even though most Cu is recycled in both cities, bottom ash from municipal solid waste incineration represents an unused Cu potential accounting for 1% to 5% of annual demand. Nonpoint emissions are predominant; up to 50% of the loadings into the sewer system are from nonpoint sources. The results of this research are instrumental for the design of the Cu metabolism in each city. The outcomes serve as a base for identification and recovery of recyclables as well as for directing nonrecyclables to appropriate sinks, avoiding sensitive environmental pathways. The methodology applied is well suited for city benchmarking if sufficient data are available. PMID:25866460

Soil heating during the complete combustion of mega-logs and broadcast burning in central Oregon USA pumice soils

Science.gov (United States)

Jane E. Smith; Ariel D. Cowan; Stephen A. Fitzgerald

2016-01-01

The environmental effect of extreme soil heating, such as occurs with the complete combustion of large downed wood during wildfires, is a post-fire management concern to forest managers. To address this knowledge gap, we stacked logs to create ‘mega-log’ burning conditions and compared the temperature, duration and penetration of the soil heat pulse in nine high...

Mega-History and the 21st century singularity puzzle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akop P. Nazaretyan

2015-06-01

Full Text Available A series of calculations carried out independently by the Australian, Russian and American re- searchers have demonstrated that a crucial global polyfurcation is expected near the middle of the 21st century. This result is drawn by extrapolating into the future the logarithmic acceleration law, which involves the phase transitions in the evolution of biosphere and anthroposphere. The paper investigates the palliatives of the planetary civilization beyond the big evolutionary Singularity in the context of Mega-history and complexity theory worldviews. It gives the mathematical deduction a universal ground and besides, helps involve some recent discoveries in psychology and cultural anthropology to tracing the forecasting attractors and scenarios. The destiny of the Earth (as well as any other planetary civilization may conclusively depend on whether or not the intellectual ac- tor succeeds in developing his inner regulation to balance the potentially unlimited developments in technological power. Particularly, this includes overcoming the macro-group identities, religious and quasi-religious ideologies, which always suggest a friend-or-foe discrimination matrix.

A mega-ethnography of eleven qualitative evidence syntheses exploring the experience of living with chronic non-malignant pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Toye, Fran; Seers, Kate; Hannink, Erin; Barker, Karen

2017-08-01

Each year over five million people develop chronic non-malignant pain and can experience healthcare as an adversarial struggle. The aims of this study were: (1) to bring together qualitative evidence syntheses that explore patients' experience of living with chronic non-malignant pain and develop conceptual understanding of what it is like to live with chronic non-malignant pain for improved healthcare; (2) to undertake the first mega-ethnography of qualitative evidence syntheses using the methods of meta-ethnography. We used the seven stages of meta-ethnography refined for large studies. The innovation of mega-ethnography is to use conceptual findings from qualitative evidence syntheses as primary data. We searched 7 bibliographic databases from inception until February 2016 to identify qualitative evidence syntheses that explored patients' experience of living with chronic non-malignant pain. We identified 82 potential studies from 556 titles, screened 34 full text articles and included 11 qualitative evidence syntheses synthesising a total of 187 qualitative studies reporting more than 5000 international participants living with chronic pain. We abstracted concepts into 7 conceptual categories: (1) my life is impoverished and confined; (2) struggling against my body to be me; (3) the quest for the diagnostic 'holy grail'; (4) lost personal credibility; (5) trying to keep up appearances; (6) need to be treated with dignity; and (7) deciding to end the quest for the grail is not easy. Each conceptual category was supported by at least 7 of the 11 qualitative evidence syntheses. This is the first mega-ethnography, or synthesis of qualitative evidence syntheses using the methods of meta-ethnography. Findings help us to understand that the decision to end the quest for a diagnosis can leave patients feeling vulnerable and this may contribute to the adversarial nature of the clinical encounter. This knowledge demonstrates that treating a patient with a sense that they

Urban Big Data and the Development of City Intelligence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yunhe Pan

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This study provides a definition for urban big data while exploring its features and applications of China's city intelligence. The differences between city intelligence in China and the “smart city” concept in other countries are compared to highlight and contrast the unique definition and model for China's city intelligence in this paper. Furthermore, this paper examines the role of urban big data in city intelligence by showing that it not only serves as the cornerstone of this trend as it also plays a core role in the diffusion of city intelligence technology and serves as an inexhaustible resource for the sustained development of city intelligence. This study also points out the challenges of shaping and developing of China's urban big data. Considering the supporting and core role that urban big data plays in city intelligence, the study then expounds on the key points of urban big data, including infrastructure support, urban governance, public services, and economic and industrial development. Finally, this study points out that the utility of city intelligence as an ideal policy tool for advancing the goals of China's urban development. In conclusion, it is imperative that China make full use of its unique advantages—including using the nation's current state of development and resources, geographical advantages, and good human relations—in subjective and objective conditions to promote the development of city intelligence through the proper application of urban big data.

Microbiota do megaesôfago e carcinogênese Megaesophagus microbiota and carcinogenesis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denis Pajecki

2003-03-01

Full Text Available INTRODUÇÃO: O risco de desenvolvimento de carcinoma esofágico em portadores de megaesôfago é 33 vezes superior ao da população em geral. Possível explicação para este fenômeno poderia estar relacionada à produção de compostos N-nitrosos na luz do órgão, a partir da transformação de nitratos da dieta em nitritos, mediada por bactérias em suspensão no líquido de estase e com o contato crônico destes carcinógenos com a mucosa esofágica. OBJETIVO: Analisar a microbiota esofágica em pacientes portadores de megaesôfago de etiologia chagásica, com especial atenção para a presença de bactérias com capacidade de redução de nitratos. CASUÍSTICA: Foram estudados prospectivamente 15 pacientes portadores de megaesôfago chagásico com idades variando de 28 a 73 anos, sendo 9 do sexo feminino e 6 do sexo masculino, que foram divididos em 3 grupos iguais de 5, de acordo com o grau de dilatação do esôfago, segundo a classificação de Rezende et al. (Grau I, Grau II e Grau III. MÉTODO: A coleta do líquido de estase para estudo microbiológico era realizada através de sonda de Levine nº 14, que era passada pela boca, por dentro de uma cânula de intubação orotraqueal nº 7,5, mantendo-se sua extremidade escondida, a fim de evitar sua contaminação. RESULTADOS: Foram obtidas 93,3% de culturas positivas com grande variedade de microrganismos e predomínio de aeróbios Gram-positivos e anaeróbios. As concentrações de microrganismos foram tanto maiores, quanto maior o grau de dilatação do esôfago. Entre os microrganismos encontrados, o Staphylococcus sp, Corynebacterium sp, Peptostreptococcus sp e a Veillonella sp foram aqueles identificados como tendo a capacidade de redução de nitratos a nitritos. CONCLUSÃO: No megaesôfago chagásico há bactérias na luz do órgão com capacidade de redução de nitratos da dieta, passo importante na produção de compostos N-nitrosos.BACKGROUND: The risk of development of

The Ethical City: A Rationale for an Urgent New Urban Agenda

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brendan F. D. Barrett

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The ethical city, in contrast to many other adjectives used to describe our cities, implies an approach to urban development that is about doing the right thing for and by urban citizens. Acknowledging the rich traditions of urban development studies and human ethics, this article draws on examples of existing practices in cities that reflect a principled and ethical approach to leadership, governance, planning, economic development, sustainability and citizen engagement. An increased focus on ethics and justice is central in shaping how we respond effectively to global pressing issues such as climate change while at the same time tackling diverse social and economic problems in our cities including inequality, marginalization and lack of access to opportunities for the most vulnerable. While an ethical city points towards sustainability, resilience, inclusion and shared prosperity, the opposite direction could lead to corruption, poverty and social disaffection.

Mega-phylogeny approach for comparative biology: an alternative to supertree and supermatrix approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Stephen A; Beaulieu, Jeremy M; Donoghue, Michael J

2009-02-11

Biology has increasingly recognized the necessity to build and utilize larger phylogenies to address broad evolutionary questions. Large phylogenies have facilitated the discovery of differential rates of molecular evolution between trees and herbs. They have helped us understand the diversification patterns of mammals as well as the patterns of seed evolution. In addition to these broad evolutionary questions there is increasing awareness of the importance of large phylogenies for addressing conservation issues such as biodiversity hotspots and response to global change. Two major classes of methods have been employed to accomplish the large tree-building task: supertrees and supermatrices. Although these methods are continually being developed, they have yet to be made fully accessible to comparative biologists making extremely large trees rare. Here we describe and demonstrate a modified supermatrix method termed mega-phylogeny that uses databased sequences as well as taxonomic hierarchies to make extremely large trees with denser matrices than supermatrices. The two major challenges facing large-scale supermatrix phylogenetics are assembling large data matrices from databases and reconstructing trees from those datasets. The mega-phylogeny approach addresses the former as the latter is accomplished by employing recently developed methods that have greatly reduced the run time of large phylogeny construction. We present an algorithm that requires relatively little human intervention. The implemented algorithm is demonstrated with a dataset and phylogeny for Asterales (within Campanulidae) containing 4954 species and 12,033 sites and an rbcL matrix for green plants (Viridiplantae) with 13,533 species and 1,401 sites. By examining much larger phylogenies, patterns emerge that were otherwise unseen. The phylogeny of Viridiplantae successfully reconstructs major relationships of vascular plants that previously required many more genes. These demonstrations

Shanghai's Huangpu Riverbank Redevelopment Beyond World Expo 2010

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chen, Y.; Tu, Q.; Su, N.

2014-01-01

Event-led regeneration has become part of a deliberate urban policy strategy to position the host cities on the world agenda. Mega events such as the world expo need different facilities and services for an efficient operation of the expo during those three or six months. Most cities stressed

Measuring the regional economic impact of mega-events: what are the benefits of the 2014 Olympics for Sochi?

OpenAIRE

Mueller, Martin

2009-01-01

The economic benefits of mega-events such as the Olympic Games are much touted but little quantified. This paper first presents a systematisation of the money streams associated with hosting the Olympic Games and then introduces basic concepts from regional economics. On this basis it outlines a general model that could be employed to estimate the regional economic impact of tourism associated with the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi in 2014.

Type of Violence, Age, and Gender Differences in the Effects of Family Violence on Children's Behavior Problems: A Mega-Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Sternberg, Kathleen J.; Baradaran, Laila P.; Abbott, Craig B.; Lamb, Michael E.; Guterman, Eva

2006-01-01

A mega-analytic study was designed to exploit the power of a large data set combining raw data from multiple studies (n=1870) to examine the effects of type of family violence, age, and gender on children's behavior problems assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Our findings confirmed that children who experienced multiple forms of…

Assessment of a Mega-Float on water quality and ecosystem in Tokyo bay; Choogata futaishiki kaiyo kozobutsu ga Tokyowan no suishitsu to seitaikei ni oyobosu eikyo ni tsuite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kyozuka, Y.; Hu, C.; Hasemi, H. [Kyushu University, Fukuoka (Japan). Faculty of Engineering; Hikai, A.

1997-08-01

The effect on the marine environment in the bay when a Mega-Float is installed in a bay was investigated. The physical process such as a residual flow (including tidal currents, water temperature, salt, density, and density currents), and the ecosystem model for which floating organic matter and plankton are handled were incorporated to develop a program for water quality calculation in a bay. The program was used for Tokyo Bay and compared with the conventional calculation result and the oceanograhpic observation result. Simultaneously, the effect on the Mega-Float was considered. On the flow in Tokyo Bay in summer, the calculation result that comparatively coincided with the observation value in a residual flow level was obtained. The horizontal distribution of COD comparatively coincides with the existing observation result. The influence that the Mega-Float exerts on the flow, water temperature, water quality, and ecosystem in the ambient sea area was little and local in the calculation scale (L {times} B {times} d = 6 km {times} 3 km {times} 2 m) of this time. However, the difference occurring due to the design position must also be investigated in future. 12 refs., 8 figs., 5 tabs.

Leveraging the World Cup: Mega Sporting Events, Human Rights Risk, and Worker Welfare Reform in Qatar

OpenAIRE

Sarath Ganji

2016-01-01

Qatar will realize its decades-long drive to host a mega sporting event when, in 2022, the opening ceremony of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup commences. By that time, the Qatari government will have invested at least $200 billion in real estate and development projects, employing anywhere between 500,000 and 1.5 million foreign workers to do so. The scale of these preparations is staggering — and not necessarily positive. Between 2010 and 2013, more tha...

A mega-analysis of genome-wide association studies for major depressive disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Ripke, Stephan; Wray, Naomi R; Lewis, Cathryn M; Hamilton, Steven P; Weissman, Myrna M; Breen, Gerome; Byrne, Enda M; Blackwood, Douglas H R; Boomsma, Dorret I; Cichon, Sven; Heath, Andrew C; Holsboer, Florian; Lucae, Susanne; Madden, Pamela A F; Martin, Nicholas G; McGuffin, Peter; Muglia, Pierandrea; Noethen, Markus M; Penninx, Brenda P; Pergadia, Michele L; Potash, James B; Rietschel, Marcella; Lin, Danyu; Müller-Myhsok, Bertram; Shi, Jianxin; Steinberg, Stacy; Grabe, Hans J; Lichtenstein, Paul; Magnusson, Patrik; Perlis, Roy H; Preisig, Martin; Smoller, Jordan W; Stefansson, Kari; Uher, Rudolf; Kutalik, Zoltan; Tansey, Katherine E; Teumer, Alexander; Viktorin, Alexander; Barnes, Michael R; Bettecken, Thomas; Binder, Elisabeth B; Breuer, René; Castro, Victor M; Churchill, Susanne E; Coryell, William H; Craddock, Nick; Craig, Ian W; Czamara, Darina; De Geus, Eco J; Degenhardt, Franziska; Farmer, Anne E; Fava, Maurizio; Frank, Josef; Gainer, Vivian S; Gallagher, Patience J; Gordon, Scott D; Goryachev, Sergey; Gross, Magdalena; Guipponi, Michel; Henders, Anjali K; Herms, Stefan; Hickie, Ian B; Hoefels, Susanne; Hoogendijk, Witte; Hottenga, Jouke Jan; Iosifescu, Dan V; Ising, Marcus; Jones, Ian; Jones, Lisa; Jung-Ying, Tzeng; Knowles, James A; Kohane, Isaac S; Kohli, Martin A; Korszun, Ania; Landen, Mikael; Lawson, William B; Lewis, Glyn; Macintyre, Donald; Maier, Wolfgang; Mattheisen, Manuel; McGrath, Patrick J; McIntosh, Andrew; McLean, Alan; Middeldorp, Christel M; Middleton, Lefkos; Montgomery, Grant M; Murphy, Shawn N; Nauck, Matthias; Nolen, Willem A; Nyholt, Dale R; O'Donovan, Michael; Oskarsson, Högni; Pedersen, Nancy; Scheftner, William A; Schulz, Andrea; Schulze, Thomas G; Shyn, Stanley I; Sigurdsson, Engilbert; Slager, Susan L; Smit, Johannes H; Stefansson, Hreinn; Steffens, Michael; Thorgeirsson, Thorgeir; Tozzi, Federica; Treutlein, Jens; Uhr, Manfred; van den Oord, Edwin J C G; Van Grootheest, Gerard; Völzke, Henry; Weilburg, Jeffrey B; Willemsen, Gonneke; Zitman, Frans G; Neale, Benjamin; Daly, Mark; Levinson, Douglas F; Sullivan, Patrick F

2013-04-01

Prior genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of major depressive disorder (MDD) have met with limited success. We sought to increase statistical power to detect disease loci by conducting a GWAS mega-analysis for MDD. In the MDD discovery phase, we analyzed more than 1.2 million autosomal and X chromosome single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 18 759 independent and unrelated subjects of recent European ancestry (9240 MDD cases and 9519 controls). In the MDD replication phase, we evaluated 554 SNPs in independent samples (6783 MDD cases and 50 695 controls). We also conducted a cross-disorder meta-analysis using 819 autosomal SNPs with P<0.0001 for either MDD or the Psychiatric GWAS Consortium bipolar disorder (BIP) mega-analysis (9238 MDD cases/8039 controls and 6998 BIP cases/7775 controls). No SNPs achieved genome-wide significance in the MDD discovery phase, the MDD replication phase or in pre-planned secondary analyses (by sex, recurrent MDD, recurrent early-onset MDD, age of onset, pre-pubertal onset MDD or typical-like MDD from a latent class analyses of the MDD criteria). In the MDD-bipolar cross-disorder analysis, 15 SNPs exceeded genome-wide significance (P<5 × 10(-8)), and all were in a 248 kb interval of high LD on 3p21.1 (chr3:52 425 083-53 822 102, minimum P=5.9 × 10(-9) at rs2535629). Although this is the largest genome-wide analysis of MDD yet conducted, its high prevalence means that the sample is still underpowered to detect genetic effects typical for complex traits. Therefore, we were unable to identify robust and replicable findings. We discuss what this means for genetic research for MDD. The 3p21.1 MDD-BIP finding should be interpreted with caution as the most significant SNP did not replicate in MDD samples, and genotyping in independent samples will be needed to resolve its status.

Modeling gas migration experiments in repository host rocks for the MEGAS project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Worgan, K.; Impey, M.; Volckaert, G.; DePreter, P.

1993-01-01

In response to concerns over the possibility of hydrogen gas generation within an underground repository for high-level radioactive waste, and its implications for repository safety, a joint European research study (MEGAS) is underway. Its aims are to understand and characterize the behavior of gas migration within an argillacious, host-rock. Laboratory experiments are being carried out by SCK/CEN, BGS and ISMES. SCK/CEN are also conducting in situ experiments at the underground laboratory at Mol, Belgium. Modeling of gas migration is being done in parallel with the experiments, by Intera Information Technologies. A two-phase flow code, TOPAZ, has been developed specifically for this work. In this paper the authors report on the results of some preliminary calculations performed with TOPAZ, in advance of the in situ experiments

Korea’s Trade Strategies for Mega Free Trade Agreements in Regional and Global Economic Integration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sang-Chul Park

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Korea has developed rapidly since the 1960s. It is one of the four Asian tiger economies and a good model for developing countries. Korea shows the world how a developing country can develop its economy rapidly and become industrialized. Its development strategy has mainly been an export-oriented trade policy. As a result, its trade volume grew from $1 billion in 1966 to $1 trillion in 2011, which is a 1,000-fold increase within five decades. Since 2011, Korea has become one of seven countries with a trade volume over $1 trillion. However, the Korean economy has experienced turbulence as well as positive growth. It underwent severe economic crises such as the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and the global financial crisis in 2008. Its economy has been extremely vulnerable to the external economic environment, although it has improved and strengthened, particularly since the global financial crisis. During those two crises, the government carried out an appropriate trade policy with a strategic approach to upgrade its industrial structure and competitiveness in global markets. This article comprehensively discusses Korean trade policy and strategy over the last five decades, and how its national economy has developed rapidly. It also explores how the government sets its strategic targets in Asia and the Asia Pacific region. It considers two mega free trade agreements (FTAs — the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the Trans-Pacific Partnership — as new opportunities for further development. Therefore, it is wise to analyze these regional mega FTAs in order to maximize the national interest.

Individual differences in individualism and collectivism predict ratings of virtual cities' liveability and environmental quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Rubin, Mark; Morrison, Tessa

2014-01-01

The present research investigated individual differences in individualism and collectivism as predictors of people's reactions to cities. Psychology undergraduate students (N = 148) took virtual guided tours around historical cities. They then evaluated the cities' liveability and environmental quality and completed measures of individualism and collectivism. Mediation analyses showed that people who scored high in self-responsibility (individualism) rated the cities as more liveable because they perceived them to be richer and better resourced. In contrast, people who scored high in collectivism rated the cities as having a better environmental quality because they perceived them to (1) provide a greater potential for community and social life and (2) allow people to express themselves. These results indicate that people's evaluations of virtual cities are based on the degree to which certain aspects of the cities are perceived to be consistent with individualist and collectivist values.

EDUCATIONAL USE OF CLOUD COMPUTING AND AT-MEGA MICROCONTROLLER - A CASE STUDY OF AN ALARM SYSTEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomasz Cieplak

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The article shows a case study of Cloud Computing model combined with AT-Mega microcontrollers for educational purposes. The presented system takes advantage of many aspects of Internet of Things model, thus conjoining Cloud Management system with measurement-execution module based on Arduino platform. One benefit of this solution is a cost-effective way of showcasing machine and device integration with distinct cloud services. This article is based on practical experience with students' projects and an home alarm system with use of a Cloud Computing services will be described.

The False Panacea of City Charters? A Political Perspective on the Case of Toronto

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew Sancton

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Toronto is unlike any other city, as its local boosters will not hesitate to point out. That was the basis, after all, of the “charter movement” that demanded special rights for a mega-city that the movement’s backers insisted was so vital that it even warranted a status similar to that of an entire province. Their efforts culminated in the province’s passage in 2006 of the City of Toronto Act, which appeared on its face to grant the metropolis the power it believed it required and merited. In reality, the Ontario government may have actually set Toronto back, leaving it more at the mercy of provincial power than other smaller municipalities. The few additional taxation powers that were granted by the ostensible Toronto “charter” — the City of Toronto Act — are, in reality, still overseen by the province, which retains the right to limit those revenue tools if it considers it “desirable in the provincial interest to do so.” But while Toronto may have been given just a small number of revenue tools, which it has used only sparingly, and the use of those tools is ultimately decided by Queen’s Park, their very existence has given the province licence to sidestep the city’s calls for more funding. The provincial Liberals have, in the past, insisted that Toronto make use of its own taxes before it demands more provincial funds. Meanwhile, the City of Toronto Act did nothing to curtail the power of the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB. Because municipal zoning decisions made in Toronto can be appealed to the OMB, which can substitute its own idea of “good planning” for elected local government, the City of Toronto is ultimately left with limited control over its planning decisions. In sum, virtually none of the desires that Toronto expected would be served by a city charter have been fulfilled. Quite the opposite, it would appear that the dreams once imagined by charter-city proponents have been snuffed out, and there is no

The bidding paradox: why economists, consultants and politicians disagree on the economic effects of mega sports events but might agree on their attractiveness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van den Berg, M.R.; de Nooij, M.

2013-01-01

The ambition to host mega sports events is (or can be) perfectly justifiable with various arguments. The most persistently used argument is the supposed financial or direct economic gain for the host economy, of which the compelling body of evidence is discouraging. This implies that the

Heat island and spatio-temporal changes of temperature in the city of Bogota

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Angel, L; Ramirez, A; Dominguez, E.

2010-01-01

The planet Earth, as a whole, has experienced a warming process caused principally by the accumulation of atmospheric greenhouse gases. Otherwise, it has been well demonstrated that thermic islands exist inside of cities, essentially as a result of the replacement of forest areas with urban materials such as asphalt, concrete, bricks, etc. Based on this foundation, this research evaluated the minimum, median and maximum temperature changes that occurred in the city of Bogota over the last 40 years. This research makes evident the presence of a heat island 3o Cover the periphery median temperature in most of the city. There were also periods with increases and decreases in city temperatures, not affected in its main tendency by the Nino Phenomena which in contrast affected the periphery.

Integrated predictive modeling simulations of the Mega-Amp Spherical Tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nguyen, Canh N.; Bateman, Glenn; Kritz, Arnold H.; Akers, Robert; Byrom, Calum; Sykes, Alan

2002-01-01

Integrated predictive modeling simulations are carried out using the BALDUR transport code [Singer et al., Comput. Phys. Commun. 49, 275 (1982)] for high confinement mode (H-mode) and low confinement mode (L-mode) discharges in the Mega-Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST) [Sykes et al., Phys. Plasmas 8, 2101 (2001)]. Simulation results, obtained using either the Multi-Mode transport model (MMM95) or, alternatively, the mixed-Bohm/gyro-Bohm transport model, are compared with experimental data. In addition to the anomalous transport, neoclassical transport is included in the simulations and the ion thermal diffusivity in the inner third of the plasma is found to be predominantly neoclassical. The sawtooth oscillations in the simulations radially spread the neutral beam injection heating profiles across a broad sawtooth mixing region. The broad sawtooth oscillations also flatten the central temperature and electron density profiles. Simulation results for the electron temperature and density profiles are compared with experimental data to test the applicability of these models and the BALDUR integrated modeling code in the limit of low aspect ratio toroidal plasmas

Beyond the MEGA BORG: The future of cooperative damage assessments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmidt, J.P.; Seiler, R.; Mauseth, G.

1993-01-01

Prespill planning and coordination are the major requirements of industry and government to ensure future cooperative natural resource damage assessments (NRDA). Since oil spills most often occur without warning, both parties must be prepared prior to an oil spill into the environment. Federal and State co-trustees should enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to ensure cooperation and coordination among trustees in all NRDA activities. The MOU should provide the framework whereby each trustee's resource interests can be represented. Ideally, MOUs should be prepared during the prespill planning process, although the MEGA BORG MOU was prepared soon after the actual discharge. The establishment of co-trustee working groups will foster the positive working relationships necessary in cooperative NRDAs. The trustees should identify all potential co-trustees in a given area and agree on a mechanism for trustee notification. Criteria for the rapid designation of the Lead Administrative Trustee and approaches for coordination with response agencies and potential responsible parties (PRPs) need to be developed. Most importantly, the trustees should identify PRPs and invite their participation in the prespill planning process

Smart City: Adding to the Complexity of Cities

OpenAIRE

Thompson, Emine Mine

2016-01-01

This paper seeks to further the state-of-the-art knowledge on what a smart city is by analysing the smart cities across the world. It also seeks to find out how different approaches to smart city creation influence the city. This work is based on the ongoing review on Smart Cities that was started in 2014 and is structured as follows: first, definitions of "smart city" are reviewed, then typologies of smart cities are generated by analysing the different types of smart cities across the world...

The city # cyberspace: New dimensions of urbanity, as contrast to the information highway or its continuation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alenka Fikfak

1997-01-01

Full Text Available “With the construction of the tunnel connecting Europe with Great Britain, the city of Lille has become closer to the centre of London, than have London’s own outskirts. This is a new way of mobility of the urban society ...” The system of different speeds already exists in the city(space and is modifying our perception, as well as use of space. These speeds/forces have different characteristics and directions. They are adjusted through individual layers which co-jointly represent “chaos”, a complexity of physical structures, which is adjusted by changing interactions between consumers. The structure is no longer stationary. It is constantly in motion. The central point of space is man/individual. The interplay of motion, speed and purpose strengthens dispersion, which is the answer to negative forces of accumulation, concentration, closure and immovability of space, to the changing social, economic and political conditions.

Enhancing Treatment Outcome of Patients at Risk of Treatment Failure: Meta-Analytic and Mega-Analytic Review of a Psychotherapy Quality Assurance System

Science.gov (United States)

Shimokawa, Kenichi; Lambert, Michael J.; Smart, David W.

2010-01-01

Objective: Outcome research has documented worsening among a minority of the patient population (5% to 10%). In this study, we conducted a meta-analytic and mega-analytic review of a psychotherapy quality assurance system intended to enhance outcomes in patients at risk of treatment failure. Method: Original data from six major studies conducted…

Performance measurement of electricity suppliers using PROMETHEE and balance scorecard

OpenAIRE

Mona Osati; Manouchehr Omidvari

2016-01-01

Performance measurement in energy industry plays an important role on increasing the productivity. Electricity is also among the most essential components of energy in mega cities like Tehran. The lack of a good service in this city may result unpleasant consequences on most civilians who live in this city. This paper presents an empirical investigation to measure the performance of six major electricity contractors in city of Tehran, Iran. The study implements grey numbers to handle any unce...

City rats: From rat behaviour to human spatial cognition in urban environments

OpenAIRE

David Eilam; Juval Portugali; Osnat Yaski

2010-01-01

The structure and shape of an urban environment influence our ability to find our way about in the city^1-2^. Indeed, urban designers who face the challenge of planning environments that facilitate wayfinding^3^, have a consequent need to understand the relations between the urban environment and spatial cognition^4^. Previous studies have suggested that certain qualities of city elements, such as a distinct contrast with the background (e.g. The Eiffel Tower in Paris), or a clear morphology ...

Estudo das vias biliares extrahepáticas em pacientes portadores de "megas" chagásieos

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Donald Huggins

1972-06-01

Full Text Available Em 22 pacientes internados no Hospital das Clinicas da F. M. U. F. Pe e portadores de "megas" chagásicos. cuja etiologia foi comprovada através de pesquisas epidemiológicas, clínicas e laboratoriais, realizamos a colecisto-colangiografia intravenosa. Verificamos em 21 enfermos a vesícula e o colédoco com topografia, morfologia e dmãmica normais. Em apenas um doente encontramos a vesícula bastante aumentada de volume e o coledoco de calibre dilatado, sem imagem de cálculo no seu interior. O tempo de esvaziamento colédoco-duodeno muito prolongado, sugeriu alterações motoras.

Mega-phylogeny approach for comparative biology: an alternative to supertree and supermatrix approaches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beaulieu Jeremy M

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Biology has increasingly recognized the necessity to build and utilize larger phylogenies to address broad evolutionary questions. Large phylogenies have facilitated the discovery of differential rates of molecular evolution between trees and herbs. They have helped us understand the diversification patterns of mammals as well as the patterns of seed evolution. In addition to these broad evolutionary questions there is increasing awareness of the importance of large phylogenies for addressing conservation issues such as biodiversity hotspots and response to global change. Two major classes of methods have been employed to accomplish the large tree-building task: supertrees and supermatrices. Although these methods are continually being developed, they have yet to be made fully accessible to comparative biologists making extremely large trees rare. Results Here we describe and demonstrate a modified supermatrix method termed mega-phylogeny that uses databased sequences as well as taxonomic hierarchies to make extremely large trees with denser matrices than supermatrices. The two major challenges facing large-scale supermatrix phylogenetics are assembling large data matrices from databases and reconstructing trees from those datasets. The mega-phylogeny approach addresses the former as the latter is accomplished by employing recently developed methods that have greatly reduced the run time of large phylogeny construction. We present an algorithm that requires relatively little human intervention. The implemented algorithm is demonstrated with a dataset and phylogeny for Asterales (within Campanulidae containing 4954 species and 12,033 sites and an rbcL matrix for green plants (Viridiplantae with 13,533 species and 1,401 sites. Conclusion By examining much larger phylogenies, patterns emerge that were otherwise unseen. The phylogeny of Viridiplantae successfully reconstructs major relationships of vascular plants that previously

Micelle size modulation and phase behavior in MEGA-10/Triton X-100 mixtures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naous, M., E-mail: elzahraadz@yahoo.fr; Molina-Bolívar, J.A.; Ruiz, C. Carnero, E-mail: ccarnero@uma.es

2014-12-20

Highlights: • The size of micelles was studied as a function of the micellar composition, NaCl addition and temperature. • Cloud point can be modulated by changing both micellar composition and NaCl addition. • The energetic quantities at the cloud point were evaluated and discussed. - Abstract: This paper reports the effect of temperature and NaCl addition on micelle size and phase behavior in mixtures of N-decanoyl-N-methylglucamide (MEGA-10) and p-tert-octyl-phenoxy polyethylene (9.5) ether (Triton X-100 or TX100). The size of mixed micelles, as determined by dynamic light scattering (DLS), was found to increase with temperature but to be less pronounced at higher proportions of MEGA-10 in the solution. The cloud point was found to increase with an initial increase in the percentage of sugar-based surfactant in the mixture. This phase separation was sensitive to the presence of NaCl in the micellar solution, which induced a cloud point depression, thereby suggesting that the presence of electrolyte produces a marked alteration of the hydration layer of micelles. A thermodynamic analysis was performed assuming the clouding phenomenon to be a liquid–liquid phase-separation process. The resulting ΔG{sub CP}{sup 0} values were positive for all solutions. The cloud point process was exothermic in nature for the mixed micellar system, as proven by the negative value of ΔH{sub CP}{sup 0}. The process was more exothermic as the proportion of sugar-based surfactant in the mixed micelle increased (with and without NaCl in the solution). Furthermore, the negative values of ΔS{sub CP}{sup 0} indicate that the association of micelles in the clouding phenomenon is entropically unfavorable. It was observed from the enthalpy–temperature plots that the change in heat capacity is negative, thus indicating the important role played by dehydration in this thermodynamic process. This study found that the enthalpy–entropy compensation relationship holds for this

Learning Cities as Healthy Green Cities: Building Sustainable Opportunity Cities

Science.gov (United States)

Kearns, Peter

2012-01-01

This paper discusses a new generation of learning cities we have called EcCoWell cities (Economy, Community, Well-being). The paper was prepared for the PASCAL International Exchanges (PIE) and is based on international experiences with PIE and developments in some cities. The paper argues for more holistic and integrated development so that…

Pengaruh Layanan Perpustakaan Terhadap Minat Kunjung Pemustaka di Perpustakaan STIKES Mega Rezky Makassar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Habir Habir

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Academic library has provided a variety of services. Its services are maintained for the end-users. The best servies are considered to all academic libraries around the world. The current study is an associative research and using quantitave approach to measure. The location of the study is in STIKE Mega Rezk Makassar library. The number of population was 926 users with the sample of the respondents were 255. The respondents were gathered by using proportianete stratified random sampling technique. The data was analysed with IBM SPSS v19. The study found that the library services were in good category with score 78,73% while users’ interest was in high category with score 79,05%. It has indeed 0,648 relationship between the library services and the library visit interest.

Contrasting trends of tuberculosis in the cities of San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa, Honduras, 2005-2014.

Science.gov (United States)

Varela-Martínez, Cecilia; Yadon, Zaida E; Marín, Diana; Heldal, Einar

2016-01-01

Objective To 1) describe and compare the trends of tuberculosis (TB) case notification rates (CNRs) and treatment outcomes in the two largest cities in Honduras (San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa) for the period 2005-2014 and 2) identify possible related socioeconomic and health sector factors. Methods This retrospective ecological operational research study used aggregated data from the National TB Program (socioeconomic and health sector information and individual data from the 2014 TB case notification report). Results TB CNRs declined steadily over the study period in Tegucigalpa (from 46 to 28 per 100 000 inhabitants) but remained high in San Pedro Sula (decreasing from 89 to 78 per 100 000 inhabitants). Similar trends were observed for smear-positive TB. While presumptive TB cases examined were similar for both cities, in San Pedro Sula the proportions of presumptive cases with a positive smear; (7.7% versus 3.6%) relapses (8.9% versus 4.2%); and patients lost to follow-up (10.9% versus 2.7%) were significantly higher, and the treatment success lower (75.7% versus 87.0%). San Pedro Sula had lower annual income per capita, fewer public sector health workers and facilities, and a higher and increasing homicide index. The 2014 TB case data from San Pedro Sula showed a significantly lower median age and a higher proportion of assembly plant workers, prisoners, drug abusers, and diabetes. Conclusions The TB rate was higher and treatment success lower, and health care resources and socio-demographic indicators less favorable, in San Pedro Sula versus Tegucigalpa. City authorities, the NTP, and the health sector overall should strengthen early case detection, treatment, and infection control, involving both public and private health sectors.

Contribuição ao estudo da anatomia patológica do megaesôfago chagásico Contribution to the study of the pathology and pathogenesis of the chagasic megaesophagus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sheila J. Adad

1991-12-01

Full Text Available Estudo anatomopatológico sistematizado foi feito em 56 esôfagos de chagásicos crônicos (17 com e 39 sem mega e em 26 de não chagásicos com as seguintes finalidades: 1 avaliar as variações de calibre e espessura da parede do órgão; 2 analisar qualitativa e quantitativamente o plexo mientérico, na tentativa de avaliar a eventual relação entre suas lesões e o aparecimento de megaesôfago (ME; 3 estudar as lesões das musculares procurando verificar sua contribuição na gênese da visceromegalia; 4 pesquisar formas amastigotas do T. cruzi e sua possível relação com o processo inflamatorio; 5 identificar as principais alterações da mucosa. Confirmou-se que as lesões mais intensas localizavam-se na muscular própria e no plexo de Auerbach. Na primeira, as principais alterações foram miosite e fibrose e nos gânglios mientéricos observou-se inflamação e despopulação neuronal, maior nos esôfagos dos chagásicos com dilatação em relação aos sem dilatação e destes em relação aos controles. Entretanto, foram vistos esôfagos de calibre normal, com intensa denervação. Conclui-se que parecem ser múltiplos os fatores que desencadeiam a esofagopatia, especialmente, o ME. A pesquisa de parasitas em oito esófagos com mega e em oito sem ME foi positiva somente em quatro casos, do primeiro grupo. As lesões da mucosa e submucosa não parecem participar do processo.Systematized study was made in 56 esophagi of chronic chagasics (17 with and 39 without megas aiming to: 1 to avaluate the esophageal caliber and thickness ranges; 2 analyse qualitative and quantitatively, the myenteric plexuses, trying to evaluate the relation of their lesions and the development of megaesophagus (ME; 3 study the lesions of the muscularis propria to verify if they contribute or not to the beginning of the process; 4 search for T. cruzi and its eventual relationship with the inflammation; 5 identify the principal mucosal alterations. It was

US cities can manage national hydrology and biodiversity using local infrastructure policy.

Science.gov (United States)

McManamay, Ryan A; Surendran Nair, Sujithkumar; DeRolph, Christopher R; Ruddell, Benjamin L; Morton, April M; Stewart, Robert N; Troia, Matthew J; Tran, Liem; Kim, Hyun; Bhaduri, Budhendra L

2017-09-05

Cities are concentrations of sociopolitical power and prime architects of land transformation, while also serving as consumption hubs of "hard" water and energy infrastructures. These infrastructures extend well outside metropolitan boundaries and impact distal river ecosystems. We used a comprehensive model to quantify the roles of anthropogenic stressors on hydrologic alteration and biodiversity in US streams and isolate the impacts stemming from hard infrastructure developments in cities. Across the contiguous United States, cities' hard infrastructures have significantly altered at least 7% of streams, which influence habitats for over 60% of North America's fish, mussel, and crayfish species. Additionally, city infrastructures have contributed to local extinctions in 260 species and currently influence 970 indigenous species, 27% of which are in jeopardy. We find that ecosystem impacts do not scale with city size but are instead proportionate to infrastructure decisions. For example, Atlanta's impacts by hard infrastructures extend across four major river basins, 12,500 stream km, and contribute to 100 local extinctions of aquatic species. In contrast, Las Vegas, a similar size city, impacts cities have local policy choices that can reduce future impacts to regional aquatic ecosystems as they grow. By coordinating policy and communication between hard infrastructure sectors, local city governments and utilities can directly improve environmental quality in a significant fraction of the nation's streams reaching far beyond their city boundaries.

Theme city or gated community - images of future cities

OpenAIRE

Helenius-Mäki, Leena

2002-01-01

The future of the cities has been under discussion since the first city. It has been typical in every civilisation and era to hope for a better city. Creek philosopher Platon created image of future city where all men were equal and the city was ruled by philosophers minds. Many philosopher or later social scientist have ended up to similar "hope to be city". The form and type of the better city has depended from creators of those future city images. The creators have had their future city im...

500 Cities: City Boundaries

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — This city boundary shapefile was extracted from Esri Data and Maps for ArcGIS 2014 - U.S. Populated Place Areas. This shapefile can be joined to 500 Cities...

Esofagectomia trans-hiatal no tratamento do megaesôfago chagásico avançado

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

João Batista Neto

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Avaliar os resultados da esofagectomia trans-hiatal no tratamento do megaesôfago chagásico avançado. MÉTODO: Foram estudados retrospectivamente 28 pacientes portadores de megaesôfago chagásico avançado (MCA, graus III e IV, segundo a classificação radiológica de Rezende (adotada pela Organização Mundial de Saúde, e que foram submetidos à esofagectomia subtotal trans-hiatal no Serviço de Clínica Cirúrgica do Hospital Universitário Prof. Alberto Antunes (HUPAA da Universidade Federal de Alagoas, entre 1982 e 2000. Foram analisadas, as seguintes variáveis: A Queixas clínicas pré-operatórias versus as pós-operatórias (disfagia, regurgitação, pirose, diarréia, dumping, plenitude pós-prandial, pneumonia e o estado ponderal. B avaliação radiológica pós-operatória da boca anastomótica esofagogástrica cervical e do estômago transposto. C avaliação endoscópica pós-operatória do coto esofágico e da boca anastomótica. RESULTADOS: O seguimento variou de 4 a 192 meses, média de 58,18 meses. Dezesseis pacientes eram do sexo feminino e 12 masculinos. Idade mínima de 16 e máxima de 67 anos, média de 36,5 anos. Não houve mortalidade nesta série. Houve resolução plena da disfagia na maioria dos pacientes (20/28 - 71,4%, um (3,6% referiu disfagia leve que não necessitou tratamento e 7/28 (25% necessitaram de uma ou mais sessões de dilatação. Nenhum necessitou de dilatação permanente. A pirose foi o sintoma mais importante no seguimento tardio (35,7%, seguida da regurgitação (25%, diarréia (14,3%, plenitude pós-prandial (10,7% e dumping (3,6%. Houve ganho ponderal em 87,5% dos pacientes avaliados. A esofagite no coto esofágico foi o achado endoscópico mais significativo (46,4%. O esôfago de Barrett no coto remanescente foi encontrada em 10,7% dos casos. A maioria dos achados radiológicos foi normal, embora três doentes (10,7% tenham apresentado estase gástrica. CONCLUSÃO: A esofagectomia

X-ray calibration facility for plasma diagnostics of the MegaJoule laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hubert, S.; Prevot, V.

2013-01-01

The Laser MegaJoule (LMJ) located at CEA-CESTA will be equipped with x-ray plasma diagnostics using different kinds of x-ray components such as filters, mirrors, crystals, detectors and cameras. To guarantee LMJ measurements, detectors such as x-ray cameras need to be regularly calibrated. An x-ray laboratory is devoted to this task and performs absolute x-ray calibrations for similar x-ray cameras running on Laser Integration Line (LIL). This paper presents the x-ray calibration bench with its x-ray tube based High Energy x-ray Source (HEXS) and some calibration results. By mean of an ingenious transposition system under vacuum absolute x-ray calibration of x-ray cameras, like streak and stripline ones, can be carried out. Coupled to a new collimation system with micrometric accuracy on aperture sensitivity quantum efficiency measurements can be achieved with reduced uncertainties. (authors)

Does being an Olympic city help improve recreational resources? Examining the quality of physical activity resources in a low-income neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro.

Science.gov (United States)

de Sousa-Mast, Fabiana R; Reis, Arianne C; Vieira, Marcelo C; Sperandei, Sandro; Gurgel, Luilma A; Pühse, Uwe

2017-03-01

To assess the quality of public physical activity resources (PARs) in a low socio-economic community in the Olympic city of Rio de Janeiro. The Physical Activity Resource Assessment (PARA) instrument was used to assess all 29 public PARs located in this community. A quality indicator (QI) was developed based on PARA results. The average QI of the areas assessed was 1.3 ± 6.40 and the median 1 point, a considerably low score if compared to scores of public PARs across the city (13.6 ± 4.91 and 13 points). The urban regeneration necessary for hosting mega-sport events is frequently promoted as an opportunity to enhance PARs and therefore to improve health through physical activity (PA) participation. Findings indicate that the high number of elements that can discourage the use of these spaces may help explain the low level of PA during leisure time that has been previously reported of residents of the same neighborhood. Whether using the Olympic Games as catalyst or not, policies designed to encourage PA should focus also on the built environment.

Interferência dos ácidos graxos ômega-3 nos lipídeos sangüíneos de ratos submetidos ao exercício de natação Omega-3 fatty acids interference on the blood lipids of rats subjected to swimming exercise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bettina Moritz

2008-12-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Investigar os efeitos da suplementação com ácidos graxos ômega-3, nas doses de 0,5 e 1,0g/kg/dia, nos lipídeos sangüíneos de ratos submetidos ou não ao protocolo do nado. MÉTODOS: Ratos Wistar foram divididos em grupos: controle, controle+nado, ácidos graxos ômega-3 e ácidos graxos ômega-3+nado. Os ácidos graxos ômega-3 e ácidos graxos ômega-3+nado receberam suplementação; os demais receberam água por gavagem. Os controle+nado e ácidos graxos ômega-3+nado foram submetidos ao exercício. Foram avaliadas as concentrações plasmáticas de colesterol total, triglicérides e lipoproteína de alta densidade, antes e após os procedimentos experimentais. RESULTADOS: No protocolo de 0,5g/kg/dia, em relação às concentrações de colesterol total, foi observada redução significativa proporcionalmente maior no grupo ácidos graxos ômega-3+nado, apesar de o grupo controle+nado e o ácidos graxos ômega-3 também terem apresentado diminuição. No ensaio de 1,0g/kg/dia todos os grupos apresentaram uma diminuição que foi maior, respectivamente, no ácidos graxos ômega-3+nado e, a seguir, no ácidos graxos ômega-3. Quanto aos triglicérides, foram encontradas reduções em todos os grupos experimentais, que foi maior no grupo ácidos graxos ômega-3+nado, do protocolo de 0,5g/kg/dia, enquanto que no de 1,0g/kg/dia a diminuição foi significativa apenas nos grupos ácidos graxos ômega-3 e ácidos graxos ômega-3+nado. Quanto ao HDL, no protocolo de 0,5g/kg/dia foi encontrado aumento nos animais que não foram suplementados, enquanto que em todos os grupos de 1,0g/kg/dia houve uma diminuição do HDL. CONCLUSÃO: A suplementação com ácidos graxos ômega-3 nas doses 0,5 ou 1,0g/kg/dia, associada ao nado, reduzem as concentrações plasmáticas de colesterol total e triglcérides, mas estudos adicionais, também com outras doses, são necessários para a compreensão da relação entre a ingestão de óleo de peixe e

Person-city personality fit and entrepreneurial success: An explorative study in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Mingjie; Zhou, Yixin; Zhang, Jianxin; Obschonka, Martin; Silbereisen, Rainer K

2017-08-13

While the study of personality differences is a traditional psychological approach in entrepreneurship research, economic research directs attention towards the entrepreneurial ecosystems in which entrepreneurial activity are embedded. We combine both approaches and quantify the interplay between the individual personality make-up of entrepreneurs and the local personality composition of ecosystems, with a special focus on person-city personality fit. Specifically, we analyse personality data from N = 26,405 Chinese residents across 42 major Chinese cities, including N = 1091 Chinese entrepreneurs. Multi-level polynomial regression and response surface plots revealed that: (a) individual-level conscientiousness had a positive effect and individual-level agreeableness and neuroticism had a negative effect on entrepreneurial success, (b) city-level conscientiousness had a positive, and city-level neuroticism had a negative effect on entrepreneurial success, and (c) additional person-city personality fit effects existed for agreeableness, conscientiousness and neuroticism. For example, entrepreneurs who are high in agreeableness and conduct their business in a city with a low agreeableness level show the lowest entrepreneurial success. In contrast, entrepreneurs who are low in agreeableness and conduct their business in a city with a high agreeableness level show relatively high entrepreneurial success. Implications for research and practice are discussed. © 2017 International Union of Psychological Science.

Marine ecological habitat: A case study on projected thermal power plant around Dharamtar creek, India

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Kulkarni, V.A.; Naidu, V.S.; Jagtap, T.G.

Estuaries and tidal creeks, harboring mangroves particularly, face tremendous anthropogenic pressures. Expansion of mega cities and the thermal power plants are generally proposed in the vicinity of estuaries and creek, due to the feasibility...

RAINBIO: a mega-database of tropical African vascular plants distributions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dauby Gilles

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The tropical vegetation of Africa is characterized by high levels of species diversity but is undergoing important shifts in response to ongoing climate change and increasing anthropogenic pressures. Although our knowledge of plant species distribution patterns in the African tropics has been improving over the years, it remains limited. Here we present RAINBIO, a unique comprehensive mega-database of georeferenced records for vascular plants in continental tropical Africa. The geographic focus of the database is the region south of the Sahel and north of Southern Africa, and the majority of data originate from tropical forest regions. RAINBIO is a compilation of 13 datasets either publicly available or personal ones. Numerous in depth data quality checks, automatic and manual via several African flora experts, were undertaken for georeferencing, standardization of taxonomic names and identification and merging of duplicated records. The resulting RAINBIO data allows exploration and extraction of distribution data for 25,356 native tropical African vascular plant species, which represents ca. 89% of all known plant species in the area of interest. Habit information is also provided for 91% of these species.

MODELING THE 1958 LITUYA BAY MEGA-TSUNAMI, II

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charles L. Mader

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Lituya Bay, Alaska is a T-Shaped bay, 7 miles long and up to 2 miles wide. The two arms at the head of the bay, Gilbert and Crillon Inlets, are part of a trench along the Fairweather Fault. On July 8, 1958, an 7.5 Magnitude earthquake occurred along the Fairweather fault with an epicenter near Lituya Bay.A mega-tsunami wave was generated that washed out trees to a maximum altitude of 520 meters at the entrance of Gilbert Inlet. Much of the rest of the shoreline of the Bay was denuded by the tsunami from 30 to 200 meters altitude.In the previous study it was determined that if the 520 meter high run-up was 50 to 100 meters thick, the observed inundation in the rest of Lituya Bay could be numerically reproduced. It was also concluded that further studies would require full Navier-Stokes modeling similar to those required for asteroid generated tsunami waves.During the Summer of 2000, Hermann Fritz conducted experiments that reproduced the Lituya Bay 1958 event. The laboratory experiments indicated that the 1958 Lituya Bay 524 meter run-up on the spur ridge of Gilbert Inlet could be caused by a landslide impact.The Lituya Bay impact landslide generated tsunami was modeled with the full Navier- Stokes AMR Eulerian compressible hydrodynamic code called SAGE with includes the effect of gravity.

Influence of the number of cones on speckle patterns in the Laser MegaJoule configuration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Cain, A.; Riazuelo, G.; Sajer, J. M.

2013-01-01

This paper investigates statistical properties of hot spots when speckle patterns are generated by the superimposition of multiple laser beams in a 2 cone and a 3 cone Laser MegaJoule configuration in the zone where all the beams overlap. Three different cases of polarizations are investigated: P polarization, S polarization and the case of Double Polarization Smoothing (DPS). It is found that the sizes of the speckles depend on the choice of the polarization and that DPS seems to be the best option in both configurations. It is shown that the longitudinal radius of the hot spots in a 2 cone configuration is bigger than in a 3 cone configuration. (authors)

Local Perception of Drought Impacts in a Changing Climate: The Mega-Drought in Central Chile

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulina Aldunce

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Droughts are a recurrent and complex natural hazard whose frequency and magnitude are expected to increase with climate change. Despite the advances in responding and adapting to droughts (with the development of new policies, for example, droughts continue to cause serious impacts and suffering. Developing well-targeted public policies requires further research on adaptation. Specifically, understanding the public perception of drought can help to identify drivers of and barriers to adaptation and options. This research seeks to understand the public perception of drought in central Chile in order to inform adaptation-related policies and decision-making processes. This study focused on the Mega-drought, which was a protracted dry spell afflicting central Chile since 2010.

Culture Sustainability: Culture Quotient (CQ and Its Quantitative Empirical Application to Chinese Cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jing Lin

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Culture sustainability is one of the indispensable components of sustainability. Culture has likely always been an important element for promoting urban and rural sustainable development. It is now playing an increasingly significant role in sparking and incubating innovation, which is becoming the main driver of economic growth and competitiveness. Unfortunately, little research has been conducted on how much culture matters to economic performance in a quantitative way. Therefore, in this paper, which is based on an intensive literature review, we try to specifically quantify the importance of culture to urban development in general and urban economic performance in particular, by proposing an index system dubbed as the Culture Quotient (CQ. Following this, an integrated database of 297 prefectural-level cities in China is accordingly established. By manipulating the database, the CQ value for each city is then calculated by using principal component analysis with SPSS (19.0. Afterwards, spatial pattern by CQ value tier is presented and illustrates urban China’s “winner-take-all” phenomenon, with the predominance by the three giant urban clusters in the coastal area, i.e., the Jing (Beijing-Jin (Tianjin-Ji (Hebei province-based Bohai rim region, Yangtze River delta, Pearl River delta, as well as some mega-cities such as Chengdu and Wuhan in other parts of China. More precisely, the regression analysis shows that there is a strong positive relationship between CQ and gross domestic product (GDP, with the striking result that every increase of one percentage point in CQ will induce a five percentage point increment in GDP. Although the finding makes an impressive and convincing case that culture does exert a great impact on urban economic development, and can also be measured in a quantitative way in Chinese cases, more cases from other countries need to be included for further verification and confirmation. We therefore urgently call for

Measuring streetscape complexity based on the statistics of local contrast and spatial frequency.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

André Cavalcante

Full Text Available Streetscapes are basic urban elements which play a major role in the livability of a city. The visual complexity of streetscapes is known to influence how people behave in such built spaces. However, how and which characteristics of a visual scene influence our perception of complexity have yet to be fully understood. This study proposes a method to evaluate the complexity perceived in streetscapes based on the statistics of local contrast and spatial frequency. Here, 74 streetscape images from four cities, including daytime and nighttime scenes, were ranked for complexity by 40 participants. Image processing was then used to locally segment contrast and spatial frequency in the streetscapes. The statistics of these characteristics were extracted and later combined to form a single objective measure. The direct use of statistics revealed structural or morphological patterns in streetscapes related to the perception of complexity. Furthermore, in comparison to conventional measures of visual complexity, the proposed objective measure exhibits a higher correlation with the opinion of the participants. Also, the performance of this method is more robust regarding different time scenarios.

Pollution of Coastal Seas

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

These are the things ideally required for locating industries also. The mega-cities .... waste water released into coastal seas raises the ambient temperature causing .... Problems of ozone holes and greenhouse gases were, perhaps, beyond ...

Sustainable innovation in intensive animal husbandry; policy and public protests towards a mega-farm in the Netherlands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lummina G. HORLINGS

2014-07-01

Full Text Available In this paper the planning and implementation of a specific mega-farm in the Netherlands is discussed, the so called ‘New Mixed Business’ (NMB. The central question is: how did communication, contestation and controversies play a role in the implementation of this innovative concept for sustainable animal production in the Netherlands? Theoretically, a qualitative discourse analysis was used by analyzing the views, opinions and images of the relevant private and public actors. The paper shows how communication strategies and contested discourses created obstacles and led to institutional blockages and a lock-in situation.

Towards a comprehensive city emission function (CCEF)

Science.gov (United States)

Kocifaj, Miroslav

2018-01-01

The comprehensive city emission function (CCEF) is developed for a heterogeneous light-emitting or blocking urban environments, embracing any combination of input parameters that characterize linear dimensions in the system (size and distances between buildings or luminaires), properties of light-emitting elements (such as luminous building façades and street lighting), ground reflectance and total uplight-fraction, all of these defined for an arbitrarily sized 2D area. The analytical formula obtained is not restricted to a single model class as it can capture any specific light-emission feature for wide range of cities. The CCEF method is numerically fast in contrast to what can be expected of other probabilistic approaches that rely on repeated random sampling. Hence the present solution has great potential in light-pollution modeling and can be included in larger numerical models. Our theoretical findings promise great progress in light-pollution modeling as this is the first time an analytical solution to city emission function (CEF) has been developed that depends on statistical mean size and height of city buildings, inter-building separation, prevailing heights of light fixtures, lighting density, and other factors such as e.g. luminaire light output and light distribution, including the amount of uplight, and representative city size. The model is validated for sensitivity and specificity pertinent to combinations of input parameters in order to test its behavior under various conditions, including those that can occur in complex urban environments. It is demonstrated that the solution model succeeds in reproducing a light emission peak at some elevated zenith angles and is consistent with reduced rather than enhanced emission in directions nearly parallel to the ground.

Intensity earthquake scenario (scenario event - a damaging earthquake with higher probability of occurrence) for the city of Sofia

Science.gov (United States)

Aleksandrova, Irena; Simeonova, Stela; Solakov, Dimcho; Popova, Maria

2014-05-01

Among the many kinds of natural and man-made disasters, earthquakes dominate with regard to their social and economical impact on the urban environment. Global seismic risk to earthquakes are increasing steadily as urbanization and development occupy more areas that a prone to effects of strong earthquakes. Additionally, the uncontrolled growth of mega cities in highly seismic areas around the world is often associated with the construction of seismically unsafe buildings and infrastructures, and undertaken with an insufficient knowledge of the regional seismicity peculiarities and seismic hazard. The assessment of seismic hazard and generation of earthquake scenarios is the first link in the prevention chain and the first step in the evaluation of the seismic risk. The earthquake scenarios are intended as a basic input for developing detailed earthquake damage scenarios for the cities and can be used in earthquake-safe town and infrastructure planning. The city of Sofia is the capital of Bulgaria. It is situated in the centre of the Sofia area that is the most populated (the population is of more than 1.2 mil. inhabitants), industrial and cultural region of Bulgaria that faces considerable earthquake risk. The available historical documents prove the occurrence of destructive earthquakes during the 15th-18th centuries in the Sofia zone. In 19th century the city of Sofia has experienced two strong earthquakes: the 1818 earthquake with epicentral intensity I0=8-9 MSK and the 1858 earthquake with I0=9-10 MSK. During the 20th century the strongest event occurred in the vicinity of the city of Sofia is the 1917 earthquake with MS=5.3 (I0=7-8 MSK). Almost a century later (95 years) an earthquake of moment magnitude 5.6 (I0=7-8 MSK) hit the city of Sofia, on May 22nd, 2012. In the present study as a deterministic scenario event is considered a damaging earthquake with higher probability of occurrence that could affect the city with intensity less than or equal to VIII

Megaesophagus secondary to myasthenia gravis in a female German shepherd dog/ Megaesôfago secundário a miastenia grave em uma cadela da raça Pastor Alemão

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Osimar Sanches

2007-08-01

Full Text Available Megaesophagus is a common cause of regurgitation being one of the possible etiologies the myasthenia gravis characterized by a neuromuscular disorder that result in weakness of the skeletal muscles, of the esophagus, of the larynx and of the pharynx. The present report describes a case of a female German shepherd dog, with report of muscles weakness and frequent vomits, which was diagnosed as a megaesophagus secondary to myasthenia gravis. The radiograph of the animal presented an accentuated cervical and thoracic megaesophagus. After the institution of the recommended therapeutic protocol the animal presented visible improvement when walking, however the regurgitations worsened and it began to present cough. New radiograph was accomplished with presence, besides megaesophagus, of aspiration pneumonia. The owner opted for the euthanasia of the animal and the necropsy revealed severe pneumonia and an accentuated dilation of the posterior portion of the esophagus, collaborating with subsidies for an unfavorable prognostic of the case.Megaesôfago é uma causa comum de regurgitação sendo uma das possíveis etiologias a miastenia grave caracterizada por uma desordem neuromuscular que resulta em fraqueza dos músculos esqueléticos, do esôfago, da laringe e da faringe. O presente relato descreve um caso de uma cadela da raça Pastor Alemão, com histórico de fraqueza muscular e vômitos freqüentes, que foi diagnosticada como megaesôfago secundário à miastenia grave. A radiografia do animal apresentou um acentuado megaesôfago cervical e torácico. Após a instituição do protocolo terapêutico recomendado o animal apresentou melhora visível ao caminhar, porém as regurgitações pioraram e começou a apresentar tosse. Foi realizado novo exame radiográfico com presença, além de megaesôfago, de pneumonia aspirativa. A proprietária optou pela eutanásia do animal e a necropsia revelou severa pneumonia e dilatação acentuada da por

Microplastics in freshwater river sediments in Shanghai, China: A case study of risk assessment in mega-cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Guyu; Xu, Pei; Zhu, Bangshang; Bai, Mengyu; Li, Daoji

2018-03-01

Microplastics, which are plastic debris with a particle diameter of less than 5 mm, have attracted growing attention in recent years. Its widespread distributions in a variety of habitats have urged scientists to understand deeper regarding their potential impact on the marine living resources. Most studies on microplastics hitherto are focused on the marine environment, and research on risk assessment methodology is still limited. To understand the distribution of microplastics in urban rivers, this study investigated river sediments in Shanghai, the largest urban area in China. Seven sites were sampled to ensure maximum coverage of the city's central districts, and a tidal flat was also included to compare with river samples. Density separation, microscopic inspection and μ-FT-IR analysis were conducted to analyze the characteristics of microplastics and the type of polymers. The average abundance of microplastics in six river sediment samples was 802 items per kilogram of dry weight. The abundance in rivers was one to two orders of magnitude higher than in the tidal flat. White microplastic spheres were most commonly distributed in river sediments. Seven types of microplastics were identified, of which polypropylene was the most prevailing polymers presented. The study then conducted risk assessment of microplastics in sediments based on the observed results, and proposed a framework of environmental risk assessment. After reviewing waste disposal related legislation and regulations in China, this study conclude that in situ data and legitimate estimations should be incorporated as part of the practice when developing environmental policies aiming to tackle microplastic pollution. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Nation's Report Card: Mega-States--An Analysis of Student Performance in the Five Most Heavily Populated States in the Nation. NCES 2013-450

Science.gov (United States)

National Center for Education Statistics, 2013

2013-01-01

California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas enroll close to 40 percent of the nation's public school students. The importance of these "Mega-States" goes beyond the sheer size of their population. They now serve more than half of the nation's English language learners (ELL), as well as some of the largest concentrations of…

Learning from mega disasters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Greve, Anni

In Tokyo building on ruins has been its sine qua non ever since the city turned into an enormous urban formation in the seventeenth century: ‘The trauma of urban collapse has been so severe for us in Japan, the inevitability of destruction and rebirth’ (Arate Isozaki 2006 ). But March 2011...... the earthquake was 45 times as great as the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake in the Tokyo area, which killed approximately 140.000 people. Even though Japan is considered one of the best-prepared countries in the world for handling major disasters the reality of a large nuclear disaster proved to be far worse than...... what was planned for. This paper presentation discusses “The Great East Japan Earthquake” of 2011 with particular focus on what happens to social relations and cultural norms, when uncertainty and crisis is something people are living through and living in....

US cities can manage national hydrology and biodiversity using local infrastructure policy

Science.gov (United States)

Surendran Nair, Sujithkumar; DeRolph, Christopher R.; Ruddell, Benjamin L.; Morton, April M.; Stewart, Robert N.; Troia, Matthew J.; Tran, Liem; Kim, Hyun; Bhaduri, Budhendra L.

2017-01-01

Cities are concentrations of sociopolitical power and prime architects of land transformation, while also serving as consumption hubs of “hard” water and energy infrastructures. These infrastructures extend well outside metropolitan boundaries and impact distal river ecosystems. We used a comprehensive model to quantify the roles of anthropogenic stressors on hydrologic alteration and biodiversity in US streams and isolate the impacts stemming from hard infrastructure developments in cities. Across the contiguous United States, cities’ hard infrastructures have significantly altered at least 7% of streams, which influence habitats for over 60% of North America’s fish, mussel, and crayfish species. Additionally, city infrastructures have contributed to local extinctions in 260 species and currently influence 970 indigenous species, 27% of which are in jeopardy. We find that ecosystem impacts do not scale with city size but are instead proportionate to infrastructure decisions. For example, Atlanta’s impacts by hard infrastructures extend across four major river basins, 12,500 stream km, and contribute to 100 local extinctions of aquatic species. In contrast, Las Vegas, a similar size city, impacts impacts to regional aquatic ecosystems as they grow. By coordinating policy and communication between hard infrastructure sectors, local city governments and utilities can directly improve environmental quality in a significant fraction of the nation’s streams reaching far beyond their city boundaries. PMID:28827332

Mega Borg oil spill of the Texas coast: An open-water bioremediation test

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oppenheimer, C.H.

1991-01-01

Nature has developed hydrocarbons as a part of life. Since the origin of life, more than 60,000 organic molecules have evolved that make up protoplasm; a given percentage of these molecules are hydrocarbons. Commercial hydrocarbon deposits are a by-product of this natural process and a continual source of oil in the aquatic environment through seeps. As a result, nature has also evolved a recycling system for the hydrocarbons. This cycle is the basis for a program of bioremediation using microorganisms. Effort has been made to develop mixed cultures capable of a wide range of hydrocarbon metabolism and co-metabolism. The cultures are economically produced in high concentrations as a dry powder with a shelf life of one year. The result is an economical process for the application of bacteria to hydrocarbon pollutants on water and soils. The process of bioremediation to the recent Mega Borg accident will be discussed

Visualization of a City Sustainability Index (CSI: Towards Transdisciplinary Approaches Involving Multiple Stakeholders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koichiro Mori

2015-09-01

Full Text Available We have developed a visualized 3-D model of a City Sustainability Index (CSI based on our original concept of city sustainability in which a sustainable city is defined as one that maximizes socio-economic benefits while meeting constraint conditions of the environment and socio-economic equity on a permanent basis. The CSI is based on constraint and maximization indicators. Constraint indicators assess whether a city meets the necessary minimum conditions for city sustainability. Maximization indicators measure the benefits that a city generates in socio-economic aspects. When used in the policy-making process, the choice of constraint indicators should be implemented using a top-down approach. In contrast, a bottom-up approach is more suitable for defining maximization indicators because this technique involves multiple stakeholders (in a transdisciplinary approach. Using different materials of various colors, shapes, sizes, we designed and constructed the visualized physical model of the CSI to help people evaluate and compare the performance of different cities in terms of sustainability. The visualized model of the CSI can convey complicated information in a simple and straightforward manner to diverse stakeholders so that the sustainability analysis can be understood intuitively by ordinary citizens as well as experts. Thus, the CSI model helps stakeholders to develop critical thinking about city sustainability and enables policymakers to make informed decisions for sustainability through a transdisciplinary approach.

Cardiomiotomia com fundoplicatura videolaparoscópica no tratamento do megaesôfago não avançado Laparoscopic cardiomyotomy with fundoplication in non advanced megaesophagus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carolina de Melo Silva

2011-09-01

Full Text Available RACIONAL: O megaesôfago chagásico é disfunção da motilidade esofágica de caráter progressivo. Seus principais sintomas são disfagia, regurgitação e perda de peso. A cardiomiotomia associada à fundoplicatura é usada como tratamento para o megaesôfago não avançado há algumas décadas. OBJETIVO: Avaliar os resultados obtidos com a cardiomiotomia associada à fundoplicatura por videolaparoscopia para o tratamento do megaesôfago não avançado. MÉTODO: Estudo retrospectivo com análise dos resultados obtidos com essa operação para tratamento do megaesôfago graus I e II. Avaliou-se perda ponderal, tempo e intensidade dos sintomas, tempo operatório, taxa de conversão, índice de complicações, tempo de internação. RESULTADOS: Foram operados 68 pacientes, sendo 34 homens. A maioria (42% apresentava sintomas intensos. O tempo médio de sintomas foi de 9,27 anos. A perda ponderal média foi de 5,1 kg. Sorologia para Chagas foi positiva em 88,13%. O tempo médio de operação foi de 190 minutos. Houve uma conversão para laparotomia. A mediana do tempo de internação foi de três dias. A taxa de complicações foi de 4,4%. A melhora dos sintomas foi observada em 92% dos pacientes. CONCLUSÃO: O tratamento videolaparoscópico do megaesôfago não-avançado pela cadiomiotomia associada à fundoplicatura mostrou-se método seguro e eficaz. Apresenta baixo índice de complicações e bons resultados no seguimento a curto prazo.BACKGROUND: The chagasic megaesophagus is progressive esophageal motility dysfunction. Its main symptoms are dysphagia, regurgitation and weight loss. Cardiomyotomy associated with fundoplication is used as treatment for advanced megaesophagus since decades ago. AIM: To evaluate the results obtained with cardiomyotomy associated with laparoscopic fundoplication for the treatment of non-advanced megaesophagus. METHOD: A retrospective study with analysis of the results obtained with this operation for the

Site response assessment at the city of Alkhobar, Eastern Saudi Arabia from microtremor and boring data

Science.gov (United States)

Fnais, M. S.

2014-12-01

The AlKhobar City affected by distant earthquakes from Zagros fold-fault belt of subduction zone. These earthquakes produced great site effects on the sedimentary layers that in turn significantly influenced earthquake ground motions in the area. Mapping of site response using microtremor measurements compared with geological and borehole data of Alkhobar city is the main target of this work. The resonance frequency and their H/V values have been calculated using Nakamura technique through deployed of seismograph instruments at 113 sites in AlKhobar city for different time periods. The recording length was about one hour with sampling frequency of 100 Hz. Most of the measured sites present three peaks for the resonance frequency; the first peak ranges from 0.33 to 1.03 Hz, the second peak ranges from 1.03 to 1.23 Hz, while the third peak ranges from 1.23-1.73. Tests have been conducted to ensure that these peaks are natural in origin. The northern zones of AlKhobar City have lower values of resonance frequency indicating great thickness of sediments. In contrast, the southern parts of the city have higher values of resonance frequency illustrating shallow depths of the bedrock. Furthermore, twenty of boreholes have been conducted through AlKhobar City to different depth. Standard penetration test (SPT) data has been corrected and used to calculate the resonance frequency at their locations. Borehole results clarified that the resonance frequency values range from 0.27 to 1.95 Hz. These results are correlated well with that of the microtremor measurements. Accordingly, the first peak have been interpreted due to the impedance contrast between the limestone and the overlying sediments, while the third peak is originated from a boundary between the upper most surface layer and the underlying sediments. These results must be applied for earthquake risk mitigation in AlKhobar City.

A Comparison of Traffic Operations among Beijing and Several International Megacities

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Yuanzhou Yang

2011-12-01

Full Text Available High-Efficient traffic system is very important for economy and society of cities. Previous studies on the traffic comparison mostly took a city as a whole, but ignored the differences among areas inside the city. But in fact, the traffic congestion in different areas with a city is mostly different. Taking typical mega cities like Beijing, London, New York, and Tokyo as objects, this paper makes cross-comparison in the traffic operation and performance based on intelligent algorithm. Transportation infrastructure and travel demand data are discussed and unbalanced transport system is found in Beijing because of the conflict between too much traffic demand and defect road networks. From the aspects of traffic load, operational efficiency and safety, indexes including traffic v/c ratio, average vehicle speed and accident rate are selected to assess the performance of road traffic. It is concluded that road networks of Beijing have the worst performance compared with other three mega-cities and the primary reasons are the inappropriate distribution of utilization rate among the freeways, arterials, and local streets, and the high traffic concentration in urban area. So, several measures are recommended to improve the operation efficiency of traffic in Beijing especially for the green intelligent traffic system. Keywords: Traffic operation; Operational efficiency; Intelligent traffic system (ITS; Traffic load; traffic safety; Intelligent algorithm.

Toxicity and mutagenicity of exhaust from compressed natural gas: Could this be a clean solution for megacities with mixed-traffic conditions?

Science.gov (United States)

Agarwal, Avinash K; Ateeq, Bushra; Gupta, Tarun; Singh, Akhilendra P; Pandey, Swaroop K; Sharma, Nikhil; Agarwal, Rashmi A; Gupta, Neeraj K; Sharma, Hemant; Jain, Ayush; Shukla, Pravesh C

2018-04-20

Despite intensive research carried out on particulates, correlation between engine-out particulate emissions and adverse health effects is not well understood yet. Particulate emissions hold enormous significance for mega-cities like Delhi that have immense traffic diversity. Entire public transportation system involving taxis, three-wheelers, and buses has been switched from conventional liquid fuels to compressed natural gas (CNG) in the Mega-city of Delhi. In this study, the particulate characterization was carried out on variety of engines including three diesel engines complying with Euro-II, Euro-III and Euro-IV emission norms, one Euro-II gasoline engine and one Euro-IV CNG engine. Physical, chemical and biological characterizations of particulates were performed to assess the particulate toxicity. The mutagenic potential of particulate samples was investigated at different concentrations using two different Salmonella strains, TA98 and TA100 in presence and absence of liver S9 metabolic enzyme fraction. Particulates emitted from diesel and gasoline engines showed higher mutagenicity, while those from CNG engine showed negligible mutagenicity compared to other test fuels and engine configurations. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) adsorbed onto CNG engine particulates were also relatively fewer compared to those from equivalent diesel and gasoline engines. Taken together, our findings indicate that CNG is comparatively safer fuel compared to diesel and gasoline and can offer a cleaner transport energy solution for mega-cities with mixed-traffic conditions, especially in developing countries. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Playable cities the city as a digital playground

CERN Document Server

2017-01-01

This book addresses the topic of playable cities, which use the ‘smartness’ of digital cities to offer their citizens playful events and activities. The contributions presented here examine various aspects of playable cities, including developments in pervasive and urban games, the use of urban data to design games and playful applications, architecture design and playability, and mischief and humor in playable cities. The smartness of digital cities can be found in the sensors and actuators that are embedded in their environment. This smartness allows them to monitor, anticipate and support our activities and increases the efficiency of the cities and our activities. These urban smart technologies can offer citizens playful interactions with streets, buildings, street furniture, traffic, public art and entertainment, large public displays and public events.

Critical Discourse Analysis towards Authority Ideology "Case of Mega Corruption E-KTP (Electronic ID Card " in Tempo Magazine

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Martono Martono

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The ideology that is reflected in the discourse of Tempo Magazine in 2017 'the case of Mega Corruption e-KTP is seen from the text structure which includes the macrostructure. The global meanings studied are interrelated. The data obtained by journalists are used to discuss the topic of e-KTP case. "Fireball Corruption KTP". Superstructure discourse discussed based on the introduction, the contents, the cover, but not found conclusions. The preliminary section described has always supported the title of the discourse. The content section is the focus of journalist's study on e-KTP corruption issues. The closing section used by journalists always gives a settlement of the news presented. The microstructure of the discourse uses effective, straightforward and diction sentences. Ideology is seen from social cognition. There is a linkage of texts that journalists describe with the community. All perceptions and actions, and ultimately the production and interpretation of this discourse are based on the mental representation of every event that takes place. Events are presented based on a lot of evidence and believed to be true. Ideology is seen from the social context that includes the practice of power and access to affect the discourse. The practice of power in the discourse on the topic of mega corruption is related to the members of the People's Legislative Assembly and the Chief Judge of the Court. The Chief Justice used his power to reprimand the accused. Judging from the access that influences discourse then found a character who can use and or influence the discourse.

Influence of exposure differences on city-to-city heterogeneity ...

Science.gov (United States)

Multi-city population-based epidemiological studies have observed heterogeneity between city-specific fine particulate matter (PM2.5)-mortality effect estimates. These studies typically use ambient monitoring data as a surrogate for exposure leading to potential exposure misclassification. The level of exposure misclassification can differ by city affecting the observed health effect estimate. The objective of this analysis is to evaluate whether previously developed residential infiltration-based city clusters can explain city-to-city heterogeneity in PM2.5 mortality risk estimates. In a prior paper 94 cities were clustered based on residential infiltration factors (e.g. home age/size, prevalence of air conditioning (AC)), resulting in 5 clusters. For this analysis, the association between PM2.5 and all-cause mortality was first determined in 77 cities across the United States for 2001–2005. Next, a second stage analysis was conducted evaluating the influence of cluster assignment on heterogeneity in the risk estimates. Associations between a 2-day (lag 0–1 days) moving average of PM2.5 concentrations and non-accidental mortality were determined for each city. Estimated effects ranged from −3.2 to 5.1% with a pooled estimate of 0.33% (95% CI: 0.13, 0.53) increase in mortality per 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5. The second stage analysis determined that cluster assignment was marginally significant in explaining the city-to-city heterogeneity. The health effe

Smart city – future city? smart city 20 as a livable city and future market

CERN Document Server

Etezadzadeh, Chirine

2016-01-01

The concept of a livable smart city presented in this book highlights the relevance of the functionality and integrated resilience of viable cities of the future. It critically examines the progressive digitalization that is taking place and identifies the revolutionized energy sector as the basis of urban life. The concept is based on people and their natural environment, resulting in a broader definition of sustainability and an expanded product theory. Smart City 2.0 offers its residents many opportunities and is an attractive future market for innovative products and services. However, it presents numerous challenges for stakeholders and product developers.

Image city

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2003-01-01

Image city exhibition explores a condition of mediation, through a focus on image and sound narratives with a point of departure on a number of Asian cities.......Image city exhibition explores a condition of mediation, through a focus on image and sound narratives with a point of departure on a number of Asian cities....

Impact of environmental contamination on laser induced damage of silica optics in Laser MegaJoule; Impact de l'environnement sur l'endommagement laser des optiques de silice du Laser MegaJoule

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bien-Aime, K.

2009-11-15

Laser induced damage impact of molecular contamination on fused polished silica samples in a context of high power laser fusion facility, such as Laser MegaJoule (LMJ) has been studied. One of the possible causes of laser induced degradation of optical component is the adsorption of molecular or particular contamination on optical surfaces. In the peculiar case of LMJ, laser irradiation conditions are a fluence of 10 J/cm{sup 2}, a wavelength of 351 nm, a pulse duration of 3 ns for a single shot/days frequency. Critical compounds have been identified thanks to environmental measurements, analysis of material outgassing, and identification of surface contamination in the critical environments. Experiments of controlled contamination involving these compounds have been conducted in order to understand and model mechanisms of laser damage. Various hypotheses are proposed to explain the damage mechanism. (author)

A high impedance mega-ampere generator for fiber z-pinch experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mitchell, I.H.; Bayley, J.M.; Chittenden, J.P.; Worley, J.F.; Dangor, A.E.; Haines, M.G.; Choi, P.

1996-01-01

At Imperial College a mega-ampere generator for plasma implosion experiments has been designed, built, and commissioned. With a final line impedance of 1.25 Ω this terawatt class generator has been designed primarily to drive a maximum current of 1.8 MA with a rise time of 150 ns into high inductance z-pinch loads of interest to radiative collapse studies. This article describes the design and tests of the generator which has a novel configuration of lines and a new design of a magnetically insulated transmission line (MITL). In summary, the generator consists of four Marx generators each of the Hermes III type (2.4 MV, 84 kJ), each connected to 5 Ω pulse forming lines and trigatron gas switches. The power is fed into the matched 1.25 Ω vertical transfer line which feeds a diode stack and a short conical MITL in vacuum which concentrates the power into the z-pinch load. At 80% charge a current rising to 1.4 MA in 150 ns has been measured in a 15 nH inductive short. Similar results are obtained when using a plasma load. copyright 1996 American Institute of Physics

Expo e sistemi innovativi per la mobilità Mega Events and innovative mobility system: the Expo transport lessons

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Enrica Papa

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Il grande evento è stato definito come una forma di “accelerazione” per la trasformazione dei sistemi urbani (Boeri, 2008 e per la costruzione di importanti opere nelle città ospitanti. Questo termine risulta ancora più appropriato se si fa riferimento ad una particolare categoria di infrastrutture: le attrezzature per la mobilità. Il lavoro proposto, partendo da una analisi di casi di studio internazionali, dimostra come la costruzione di sistemi di trasporto in occasione dei grandi eventi risulti occasione di sperimentazione e di costruzione di opere innovative e decisamente orientate ad una mobilità del futuro (Richards, 2001. L’analisi comparativa evidenzia come la costruzione di nuove opere e nuovi servizi di trasporto costituiscano icone mediatiche del grande evento e simboli della città ospitante, contribuendo alla diffusione di soluzioni innovative per la mobilità urbana. Il grande evento in sintesi diventa opportunità per la messa in pratica di prototipi di nuove forma di mobilità, la diffusione e la sperimentazione di nuove tecnologie. Mega events have been defined as a form of “speeding up” for urban system transformation (Boeri 2008 and for the implementation of ground-breaking policies in host cities. This term is even more appropriate if is referred to the construction of pioneering mobility systems. Big events and in particular Expo constitute opportunities for the building up of innovative solution for urban mobility, the diffusion and the testing of new technology and prototypes. This article, starting from a review of international study cases, shows how the construction of mobility systems for International Expo is an occasion of testing and constructing innovative transport infrastructures oriented to the mobility of the future (Richards 2001. The article illustrate this phenomena trough the study of the evolution during the last fifty years of transport planning and design in ten different Expo, describing

2006–2015 mega-drought in the western USA and its monitoring from space data

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Felix Kogan

2015-11-01

Full Text Available During 2014 and early 2015, scientific and online publications strongly focused on the multi-year drought over the western USA, showing its dramatic consequences for the US economy, environment and society. Considering such an extraordinary drought, many questions related to its beginning, duration, dynamics, intensity, genesis, extent and frequency became unanswered and even became controversial. How different is this current event from the extraordinary US drought of the 1930s and other intensive droughts? Can this drought be classified as a mega-drought? This paper attempts to answer most of these questions, by applying National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA global operational satellite system estimating vegetation health. It has been shown that the latest western US drought began in 2006 and has continued for nine full years. Since vegetation stress still continues in the first few months of 2015 (when this paper is written coming into the 10th year, this drought was classified as a “mega-drought”. In 2006, when the drought began, vegetation was stressed in over 61% of the western USA. During 2012 and 2013 (time of the drought's intensification, this area increased to 71% and 67%, respectively. All 17 states of the western two-thirds of the USA were affected by this drought, especially South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Montana and Wyoming with up to 100% of the area affected by severe vegetation stress during 2012–2014. Compared to other catastrophic droughts of the past 100 years, the current drought during the worst year (2012, affected 71.3% of the western USA. This is comparable to the area affected by a catastrophic drought in 1934 (71.6% and much higher than the droughts in 1956 (49% and 1988 (31%. In terms of number of drought years, the other droughts in the western USA (1985–1986, 1988–1992, 1995–1996, and 2001–2003 were shorter and less intensive. Among western states, California was the most

Trees in Urban and City Environments: a review of the selection criteria with particular reference to nature conservation in New Zealand Cities

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(Late David Given

2008-07-01

Full Text Available The overall aim of this research was to review the general criteria for selection of trees for urban environments and city environments. The reason for this research was to assess the extent to which criteria for tree selection can contribute to nature conservation in cities. We conducted an extensive review of the literature, looking for publications about the selection criteria. In particular, we looked for any previous published reviews of the criteria. With reference to the criteria used in New Zealand, we undertook an unstructured review of the practices adopted in most cities. A review of the literature revealed many publications about different criteria but only one publication in which there was a general review of the criteria used for selecting trees for urban environments. By way of contrast, lists of tree species deemed to be suitable (or unsuitable for urban planting are widely available, and some include information about selection criteria, but often with little background explanation. Worldwide, commonly used criteria included commercial availability of species, compatibility with urban environments, landscape design, low maintenance, avoidance of nuisance factors and historical practice. The most common criteria are concerned with the concept of choosing species compatible with local climate and soils. Anecdotal evidence suggests that more and more cities are using a mix of criteria including those that may contribute to conservation and restoration of native biota. We suggest that there should be greater use of ecological, genetic and biogeographical criteria to meet the needs of nature conservation in New Zealand cities.

Cycling as a Smart and Green Mode of Transport in Small Touristic Cities

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Paraskevi Karanikola

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Cycling as a mode of transport is a low-cost, health-improving way to travel and offers environmental benefits for the cities that promote it. It is only recently, though, with concerns over climate change, pollution, congestion, and obesity among others, that have cities throughout the world have begun to implement policies to promote cycling. In Greece, however, the use of the bicycle is limited. In Preveza, a small touristic city in Northwestern Greece where the use of the bicycle is prominent when compared to other Greek cities, there are efforts to promote cycling. Through the aid of a structured questionnaire, the residents evaluated the suitability of the city for cycling, the existing infrastructure, appropriate education, and behavior of cyclists and drivers. More than half of the residents use bicycles as their transportation and stated that bicycles are an inexpensive way of transport in the city and had the opinion that the state should encourage bicycle use by supporting subvention in bicycle acquisition. Two-thirds of the residents evaluated the cycling facilities of their city as adequate, but unsafe for young cyclists who do not follow the rules of transport. Adult cyclists, in contrast, were more loyal to the code, but stated that drivers did not respect their presence on the roads. This research provides important information on the perceived shortcomings of cycling as a transport mode in Preveza that may be of interest to towns/cities with similar characteristics.

Cloud condensation nuclei in polluted air and biomass burning smoke near the mega-city Guangzhou, China – Part 1: Size-resolved measurements and implications for the modeling of aerosol particle hygroscopicity and CCN activity

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D. Rose

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Atmospheric aerosol particles serving as Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN are key elements of the hydrological cycle and climate. We measured and characterized CCN in polluted air and biomass burning smoke during the PRIDE-PRD2006 campaign from 1–30 July 2006 at a rural site ~60 km northwest of the mega-city Guangzhou in southeastern China.

CCN efficiency spectra (activated fraction vs. dry particle diameter; 20–290 nm were recorded at water vapor supersaturations (S in the range of 0.068% to 1.27%. The corresponding effective hygroscopicity parameters describing the influence of particle composition on CCN activity were in the range of κ≈0.1–0.5. The campaign average value of κ=0.3 equals the average value of κ for other continental locations. During a strong local biomass burning event, the average value of κ dropped to 0.2, which can be considered as characteristic for freshly emitted smoke from the burning of agricultural waste. At low S (≤0.27%, the maximum activated fraction remained generally well below one, indicating substantial portions of externally mixed CCN-inactive particles with much lower hygroscopicity – most likely soot particles (up to ~60% at ~250 nm.

The mean CCN number concentrations (N_CCN,S ranged from 1000 cm⁻³ at S=0.068% to 16 000 cm⁻³ at S=1.27%, which is about two orders of magnitude higher than in pristine air. Nevertheless, the ratios between CCN concentration and total aerosol particle concentration (integral CCN efficiencies were similar to the ratios observed in pristine continental air (~6% to ~85% at S=0.068% to 1.27%. Based on the measurement data, we have tested different model approaches for the approximation/prediction of N_CCN,S. Depending on S and on the model approach, the relative deviations between observed and predicted N_CCN,S ranged from a few

Single-shot mega-electronvolt ultrafast electron diffraction for structure dynamic studies of warm dense matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mo, M. Z., E-mail: mmo09@slac.stanford.edu; Shen, X.; Chen, Z.; Li, R. K.; Dunning, M.; Zheng, Q.; Weathersby, S. P.; Reid, A. H.; Coffee, R.; Makasyuk, I.; Edstrom, S.; McCormick, D.; Jobe, K.; Hast, C.; Glenzer, S. H.; Wang, X. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025 (United States); Sokolowski-Tinten, K. [Faculty of Physics and Centre for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Lotharstrasse 1, D-47048 Duisburg (Germany)

2016-11-15

We have developed a single-shot mega-electronvolt ultrafast-electron-diffraction system to measure the structural dynamics of warm dense matter. The electron probe in this system is featured by a kinetic energy of 3.2 MeV and a total charge of 20 fC, with the FWHM pulse duration and spot size at sample of 350 fs and 120 μm respectively. We demonstrate its unique capability by visualizing the atomic structural changes of warm dense gold formed from a laser-excited 35-nm freestanding single-crystal gold foil. The temporal evolution of the Bragg peak intensity and of the liquid signal during solid-liquid phase transition are quantitatively determined. This experimental capability opens up an exciting opportunity to unravel the atomic dynamics of structural phase transitions in warm dense matter regime.

Understanding bicycling in cities using system dynamics modelling.

Science.gov (United States)

Macmillan, Alexandra; Woodcock, James

2017-12-01

Increasing urban bicycling has established net benefits for human and environmental health. Questions remain about which policies are needed and in what order, to achieve an increase in cycling while avoiding negative consequences. Novel ways of considering cycling policy are needed, bringing together expertise across policy, community and research to develop a shared understanding of the dynamically complex cycling system. In this paper we use a collaborative learning process to develop a dynamic causal model of urban cycling to develop consensus about the nature and order of policies needed in different cycling contexts to optimise outcomes. We used participatory system dynamics modelling to develop causal loop diagrams (CLDs) of cycling in three contrasting contexts: Auckland, London and Nijmegen. We combined qualitative interviews and workshops to develop the CLDs. We used the three CLDs to compare and contrast influences on cycling at different points on a "cycling trajectory" and drew out policy insights. The three CLDs consisted of feedback loops dynamically influencing cycling, with significant overlap between the three diagrams. Common reinforcing patterns emerged: growing numbers of people cycling lifts political will to improve the environment; cycling safety in numbers drives further growth; and more cycling can lead to normalisation across the population. By contrast, limits to growth varied as cycling increases. In Auckland and London, real and perceived danger was considered the main limit, with added barriers to normalisation in London. Cycling congestion and "market saturation" were important in the Netherlands. A generalisable, dynamic causal theory for urban cycling enables a more ordered set of policy recommendations for different cities on a cycling trajectory. Participation meant the collective knowledge of cycling stakeholders was represented and triangulated with research evidence. Extending this research to further cities, especially in low

Quality Control of Mega Voltage Portal Imaging System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diklic, A.; Dundara Debeljuh, D.; Jurkovic, S.; Smilovic Radojcic, D.; Svabic Kolacio; Kasabasic, M.; Faj, D.

2013-01-01

The Electronic Portal Imaging Device (EPID) is a system used to verify either the correct positioning of the patient during radiotherapy treatment or the linear accelerator beam parameters. The correct position of the patient corresponds to the position at which the patient was scanned at the CT simulator and according to which the therapy plan was made and optimized. Regarding this, besides the advanced treatment planning system and optimized treatment planning techniques, the day-to-day reproduction of simulated conditions is of great importance for the treatment outcome. Therefore, to verify the patient set-up portal imaging should be applied prior to the first treatment session and repeated according to treatment prescriptions during the treatment. In order to achieve full functionality and precision of the EPID, it must be included in radiotherapy Quality Control (QC) programme. The QC of the Mega Voltage portal imaging system was separated in two parts. In the first, the QC of the detector parameters should be performed. For this purpose, the FC2 and QC3 phantoms should be used, along with the Portal Image Processing System program (PIPSpro) package for data analysis. The second part of the QC of the linear accelerator's portal imaging system should include the QC of the CBCT. In this part a set of predefined manufacturer's tests using two different phantoms, one for the geometry calibration and the other for the image quality evaluation, should be performed. Also, the treatment conditions should be simulated using anthropomorphic phantoms and dose distributions for particular EPID protocols should be measured. Procedures for quality control of the portal imaging system developed and implemented at University Hospital Rijeka are presented in this paper.(author)

City personification as problem solving to strengthen the wholeness of the city: study case in Serui city, Papua

Science.gov (United States)

Hardine, Y. R. I.; Herlily

2018-03-01

Serui City in Papua Province has many unique characters and must be maintained for the sake of the continuity of its identity. However, this city still lacks the facility and depend on other areas. Accordingly, it becomes vulnerable. The wholeness of the city is not just by having strong character but also having strength regarding vitality. The loss of it can affect the character and even eliminate it. Cities and people have many similarities regarding character and vitality. Therefore, there is a chance to solve the problems in the city using the similar approach to treat the human. We called city personification methods as problem-solving to the city. It means that we treat the city as a human being so that the problem can be solved as the human’s treatment. The personification of this city is conducted because of the many treatments that have proven effective in humans and may also be powerful to manifest in city. The personification makes the design will only focus on the particular networks and not on the whole “body,” remain in the hope for strengthening (maintain and improve) the quality of wholeness (character and vitality) city which in this case is Serui.

Novel single-cell mega-size chambers for electrochemical etching of panorama position-sensitive polycarbonate ion image detectors

Science.gov (United States)

Sohrabi, Mehdi

2017-11-01

A novel development is made here by inventing panorama single-cell mega-size electrochemical etching (MS-ECE) chamber systems for processing panorama position-sensitive mega-size polycarbonate ion image detectors (MS-PCIDs) of potential for many neutron and ion detection applications in particular hydrogen ions or proton tracks and images detected for the first time in polycarbonates in this study. The MS-PCID is simply a large polycarbonate sheet of a desired size. The single-cell MS-ECE invented consists of two large equally sized transparent Plexiglas sheets as chamber walls holding a MS-PCID and the ECE chamber components tightly together. One wall has a large flat stainless steel electrode (dry cell) attached to it which is directly in contact with the MS-PCID and the other wall has a rod electrode with two holes to facilitate feeding and draining out the etching solution from the wet cell. A silicon rubber washer plays the role of the wet cell to hold the etchant and the electrical insulator to isolate the dry cell from the wet cell. A simple 50 Hz-HV home-made generator provides an adequate field strength through the two electrodes across the MS-ECE chamber. Two panorama single-cell MS-ECE chamber systems (circular and rectangular shapes) constructed were efficiently applied to processing the MS-PCIDs for 4π ion emission image detection of different gases in particular hydrogen ions or protons in a 3.5 kJ plasma focus device (PFD as uniquely observed by the unaided eyes). The panorama MS-PCID/MS-ECE image detection systems invented are novel with high potential for many applications in particular as applied to 4π panorama ion emission angular distribution image detection studies in PFD space, some results of which are presented and discussed.

Enabling sustainable urban road transport in China: A policy and institutional perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Xiliang; Hu, Xiaojun

2003-01-01

The paper is an effort to investigate the approach to sustainable urban road transport in Chinese mega cities with an emphasis on policy and institutional perspectives. The study links the major ''unsustainabilities'' of China's urban road transport with those deficiencies in urban road transport planning and management and China's auto industry policy and gives some suggestions and recommendations for policy change and adjustment. The paper also provides some examples of successful experiences from foreign cities in urban road transport development from which Chinese cities can learn. (Author)

Urban Sustainability Versus Green-Washing—Fallacy and Reality of Urban Regeneration in Downtown Seoul

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thorsten Schuetze

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the planning paradigm shift related to the contested “urban renaissance” mega-project in Downtown Seoul (Korea. Similar to other global cities, over the last few decades, different mega-projects have been successfully implemented in Seoul. These projects have been considered engines for urban renewals and transformation. This paper builds on the analysis of the failure and re-framing planning strategy for the Green Corridor (GC mega-project, part of the “Urban Renaissance Master Plan for Downtown Seoul”. The GC case reveals various critical insights for urban sustainability: (i the current mega-projects’ sustainability fallacy, related to top-down, technocratic densification, and greening practices; and (ii the untapped potential of Asian traditional and irregular small scale urban patterns, and their related socio-cultural value in addressing the renaissance of the long term urban sustainability. In particular, the discussed research findings point out that urban renaissance enabling sustainability principles requires integrated, small scale, incremental, and adaptive (stepwise urban planning and design processes that go well beyond general strategies following the so-called “green growth” paradigm.

Can Trade Help Overcome Economic Crisis? Implications for Northeast Asia Creating Regional FTA between Korea, China, and Japan and Mega FTAs such as RCEP and TPP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sang-Chul Park

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Globalization processes have formed a triad of economic and trade systems in terms of GDP and trade volume. These are the European Union (EU, North America Free Trade Association (NAFTA, and Northeast Asia, the major actors in the global economic system and trade since 1990s. However, the global financial crisis in 2008 created a new global economic order and governance that consisted of existing global economic power such as the G7 as well as new emerging economic powers, such as G20 and BRICS. Under such rapidly changing global economic conditions, global trade has contributed to rapid economic growth in the world in the last half-century. Regarding FTAs, the European Union (EU is the frontrunner and has developed the most advanced system for regional economic integration. The EU’s single market provides several implications for Northeast Asian countries trying to build their own regional bilateral and multilateral FTAs and participate in different mega-FTAs such as RCEP and TPP. As a result, their economic interests are rather divided deeply and related to political and security issues in the context of Northeast Asia. Therefore, it is more difficult for Northeast Asian countries to economically integrate in a way that is comparable with the EU. This paper addresses a regional FTA between South Korea, China, and Japan that could be a starting point for their formal economic integration and create a reliable platform to strengthen their trade, boosting further economic growth. It also asks which of the three nations’ economic interests are served by participating in mega FTAs such as RCEP and TPP. Finally, it analyses the best scenario for participating in the multilateral FTA and mega FTAs for each nation.

Box City Curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Center for Understanding the Built Environment, Prairie Village, KS.

This curriculum packet contains two lesson plans about cities and architecture intended for use with students in upper elementary grades and middle schools. The first lesson plan, "City People, City Stories" (Jan Ham), states that understanding architecture and cities must begin with an understanding of the people of the city. The children create…

Branding Cities, Changing Societies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ooi, Can-Seng

Societal changes are seldom discussed in the literature on city branding. The time element is important because it highlights the fluctuating reality of society. The city brand message freezes the place but in fact, the city branding exercise is a continuous process. Society emerges too. City...... brands are supposed to accentuate the uniqueness of the city, be built from the bottom-up and reflect the city's identity. This paper highlights three paradoxes, pointing out that city branding processes can also make cities more alike, bring about societal changes and forge new city identities. A city...... branding campaign does not just present the city, it may change the city. The relationships between the branding exercise and the city are intertwined in the evolution of the place....

Influence of solid waste and topography on urban floods: The case of Mexico City.

Science.gov (United States)

Zambrano, Luis; Pacheco-Muñoz, Rodrigo; Fernández, Tania

2018-02-24

Floods in cities are increasingly common as a consequence of multifactor watershed dynamics, including geomorphology, land-use changes and land subsidence. However, urban managers have focused on infrastructure to address floods by reducing blocked sewage infrastructure, without significant success. Using Mexico City as a case study, we generated a spatial flood risk model with geomorphology and anthropogenic variables. The results helped contrast the implications of different public policies in land use and waste disposal, and correlating them with flood hazards. Waste disposal was only related to small floods. 58% of the city has a high risk of experiencing small floods, and 24% of the city has a risk for large floods. Half of the population with the lowest income is located in the high-risk areas for large floods. These models are easy to build, generate fast results and are able to help to flood policies, by understanding flood interactions in urban areas within the watershed.

Ljubljana as a ‘Green’ and Sustainable city–Comparing and Contrasting Various Practices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihaela Rudar Neral

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Purpose and Originality: ‘Greenness’ and sustainability are moving from an abstract concept toward a measurable state, using the triple bottom line approach considering environmental, social, and economic dimensions. How the ‘greenness’ and sustainability of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, are achieved and estimated, is determined by comparing two indices. European Green Capital Award represents its‘greenness’, while its sustainability is analysed by A New Sustainability City Index Based on Intellectual Capital Approach. Originality of the research is the analysis of the potential of Ljubljana city through contrasting these two indices. Method: Quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Two comparable indices have been chosen as a multidimensional concept which both clearly involve economic, environmental (ecological and social aspects, with available and published results for Ljubljana. Both indices are comparable, the category scores were aggregated according to equal weighting, and the index results were expressed as percentages. Results: The results showed that ranking of Ljubljana as a‘green’ and sustainable city respectively is different. Total index score of 52 % for European Green Capital Award places Ljubljana 22ndamong the ‘green’ cities of Europe and ranks it in the upper half of the 58 European cities in the study. A New Sustainability City Index Based on Intellectual Capital Approach x of 44.92 ranking Ljubljana on the 102nd position in a scale of 158 European cities, places it in the lower half. The results confirm that Ljubljana is more ‘green’ than sustainable, according to these studies. Society: There are many studies, which make a concerted effort toward capturing the ‘greenness’ and the sustainability of cities. Therefore, indices include three independent dimensions and are decisive in positioning the city. These are important tools in making environmental (ecological, social

Rethinking GIS Towards The Vision Of Smart Cities Through CityGML

Science.gov (United States)

Guney, C.

2016-10-01

Smart cities present a substantial growth opportunity in the coming years. The role of GIS in the smart city ecosystem is to integrate different data acquired by sensors in real time and provide better decisions, more efficiency and improved collaboration. Semantically enriched vision of GIS will help evolve smart cities into tomorrow's much smarter cities since geospatial/location data and applications may be recognized as a key ingredient of smart city vision. However, it is need for the Geospatial Information communities to debate on "Is 3D Web and mobile GIS technology ready for smart cities?" This research places an emphasis on the challenges of virtual 3D city models on the road to smarter cities.

City marketing: online communication plan for the city of Lisbon

OpenAIRE

Altrichter, Benjamin

2011-01-01

Mestrado em Marketing City Marketing represents marketing efforts of cities in order to attract more visitors. Today, we are confronted everyday with marketing campaigns in all different communication media promoting countries, cities or events. Cities are competing for visitors on a global scale, forcing them to adapt successful marketing strategies for gaining and retaining costumers. Yet, City Marketing still remains an unknown chapter for a big part of the general public an...

Phylogenetic position of the giant anuran trypanosomes Trypanosoma chattoni, Trypanosoma fallisi, Trypanosoma mega, Trypanosoma neveulemairei, and Trypanosoma ranarum inferred from 18S rRNA gene sequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Donald S; Wright, André-Denis G; Barta, John R; Desser, Sherwin S

2002-06-01

Phylogenetic relationships within the kinetoplastid flagellates were inferred from comparisons of small-subunit ribosomal RNA gene sequences. These included 5 new gene sequences, Trypanosoma fallisi (2,239 bp), Trypanosoma chattoni (2,180 bp), Trypanosoma mega (2,211 bp), Trypanosoma neveulemairei (2,197 bp), and Trypanosoma ranarum (2,203 bp). Trees produced using maximum-parsimony and distance-matrix methods (least-squares, neighbor-joining, and maximum-likelihood), supported by strong bootstrap and quartet-puzzle analyses, indicated that the trypanosomes are a monophyletic group that divides into 2 major lineages, the salivarian trypanosomes and the nonsalivarian trypanosomes. The nonsalivarian trypanosomes further divide into 2 lineages, 1 containing trypanosomes of birds, mammals, and reptiles and the other containing trypanosomes of fish, reptiles, and anurans. Among the giant trypanosomes, T. chattoni is clearly shown to be distantly related to all the other anuran trypanosome species. Trypanosoma mega is closely associated with T. fallisi and T. ranarum, whereas T. neveulemairei and Trypanosoma rotatorium are sister taxa. The branching order of the anuran trypanosomes suggests that some toad trypanosomes may have evolved by host switching from frogs to toads.

Smart City project

KAUST Repository

Al Harbi, Ayman

2018-01-24

A \\'smart city\\' is an urban region that is highly advanced in terms of overall infrastructure, sustainable real estate, communications and market viability. It is a city where information technology is the principal infrastructure and the basis for providing essential services to residents. Yanbu Industrial City- Smart City Project - First large scale smart city in The kingdom.

Medan City: Informality and the Historical Global City

Science.gov (United States)

Sudarmadji, N.; Tyaghita, B.; Astuti, P. T.; Etleen, D.

2018-05-01

As projected by UN that two-thirds of Indonesia’s population will live in urban areas by 2050, rapid urbanization is happening in Indonesian cities. Initial research on eight Indonesian Cities (which includes Medan, Jatinegara, Bandung, Surakarta, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Balikpapan, and Manado) by Tunas Nusa Foundation since 2012 shows that urbanization of each city has happened throughout history creating cultural, economic, and environmental networks that are distinct from one city to another. While the networks remain until today and continuously shapes the urban agglomeration pattern, not all parts of the city could undergo subsequent development that confirms the existing pattern, leading to the creation informality. Nor could it make future planning that comprehends the nature of its integrated urban dynamic beyond its current administrative authority. In this paper, we would like to share our study for Medan, North Sumatra as it shows a portrait of a city with a long relationship to a global network since the Maritime trade era. Medan has become home to many ethnic groups which have sailed and migrated as part of a global economic agenda creating a strong economic network between port cities along the Malacca Strait. The city has kept its role in the global economic network until today, to name a few, becoming the frontier for the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle. While we celebrate Medan’s potential to become a global city with major infrastructure development as well as cultural assets as its advantage in the future, we argue that microscale cohesion supported by government policy in agreed planning documents are fundamental for the city to thrive amidst the challenges it is facing. Yet, these cultural assets, as well as micro scale cohesion in Medan City today, are still undermined. Thus, informality in Medan exists as result of ignorance and marginalization of certain socio-cultural groups, abandoning places and identity, as well as the

Shrinking Cities and the Need for a Reinvented Understanding of the City

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laursen, Lea Louise holst

the contemporary city and maybe the understanding of the city needs to be updated in some areas, before we are able to do so. In this paper, the focus will be directed towards two themes which become present with the Shrinking Cities phenomenon and therefore seems important to discuss in order to understand...... the concept of Shrinking Cities. These two themes may affect the understanding of the existing city theory. The first theme is concerned with the physical understanding of the city where the traditional assumption about the city as a high density area, with buildings as the dominant structure, is questioned....... Here the concept of the city as an urban landscape will be introduced. The second theme points to the need for a discussion regarding the object of our planning when developing the cities. Previously, the purpose of city development has been growth and expansion, but with the Shrinking Cities...

City PLANTastic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

, any attempt to create a green city is motivated by certain ecological, political and esthetical perspectives. Therefore the role of plants in tomorrows cities is everything but straightforward. Rather, a broad range of possibilities unfolds. City PLANTastic is the title of the 8th World in Denmark...

The City on Screen: A Methodological Approach on Cinematic City Studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sertaç Timur Demir

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The city has a strong memory and it never forgets its own experiences. The past, the present and the future of the city can be read in its streets, buildings, sounds, myths, rhythms and stories. More importantly, if the city is portrayed through a camera, it becomes as fictional and designable as films. At this stage, there is no difference between watching a film and seeing a city. Also, cinema itself turns into a paradigm that belongs to the city. This parallelism between the city and film is like an inevitable destiny so much so that they constitute and develop each other. Accordingly, those who attempt to understand the notion of the city should consult the films made about them and vice versa; hence, this paper deals with the question of how the city is cinematized, but this question involves another question: how does the cinematic imagination fictionalize itself in the city?

Impact of environmental contamination on laser induced damage of silica optics in Laser MegaJoule

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bien-Aime, K.

2009-11-01

Laser induced damage impact of molecular contamination on fused polished silica samples in a context of high power laser fusion facility, such as Laser MegaJoule (LMJ) has been studied. One of the possible causes of laser induced degradation of optical component is the adsorption of molecular or particular contamination on optical surfaces. In the peculiar case of LMJ, laser irradiation conditions are a fluence of 10 J/cm 2 , a wavelength of 351 nm, a pulse duration of 3 ns for a single shot/days frequency. Critical compounds have been identified thanks to environmental measurements, analysis of material outgassing, and identification of surface contamination in the critical environments. Experiments of controlled contamination involving these compounds have been conducted in order to understand and model mechanisms of laser damage. Various hypotheses are proposed to explain the damage mechanism. (author)

75 FR 11580 - Florida Power Corporation, City of Alachua, City of Bushnell, City of Gainesville, City of...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-11

..., City of Ocala, Orlando Utilities Commission and City of Orlando, Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc... building not only meet but exceed its original design basis as delineated in the FSAR. The PRB discussed the petitioner's request during internal meetings and made the initial PRB recommendation. The PRB's...

Sustainable city policy. Economic, environmental, technological

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Camagni, R.; Capello, R. [Politecnico di Milano, Milan (Italy). Economics Dept.; Nijkamp, P. [Dept. of Spatial Economics. Fac. of Economics and Econometrics. Vrije Univ., Amsterdam (Netherlands)

1995-12-31

While the reasons for advocating intensified environmental concerns at the urban level are more and more accepted and clear, the question how to overcome such concerns is still fraught with many difficulties. The aim of the present paper is to formulate some policy guidelines, based on economic principles, for a `sustainable city`; it is an ambitious aim, since a unique and operationally defined `recipe` is difficult to envisage. An urban policy for a sustainable city needs to take different (and contrasting) aspects and many conflicting interests into consideration, while many political, social and economic frictions need to be overcome. A description of various aspects and concepts concerning sustainability issues at the urban level is given in Section 2. Section 3 then provides some considerations on possible technological, economic and environmental urban policies, by creating a typo logy of policy tools associated with different causes of urban decline. Section 4 provides some new, and partly provocative, suggestions for specific urban sustainability policies; in particular it deals with the problem of urban sustainability indicators, measures, and critical threshold levels at which urban sustainability policies should be implemented. Some reflective remarks will conclude the paper. 3 figs., 4 tabs., 25 refs.

Sustainable city policy. Economic, environmental, technological

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Camagni, R.; Capello, R.

1995-01-01

While the reasons for advocating intensified environmental concerns at the urban level are more and more accepted and clear, the question how to overcome such concerns is still fraught with many difficulties. The aim of the present paper is to formulate some policy guidelines, based on economic principles, for a 'sustainable city'; it is an ambitious aim, since a unique and operationally defined 'recipe' is difficult to envisage. An urban policy for a sustainable city needs to take different (and contrasting) aspects and many conflicting interests into consideration, while many political, social and economic frictions need to be overcome. A description of various aspects and concepts concerning sustainability issues at the urban level is given in Section 2. Section 3 then provides some considerations on possible technological, economic and environmental urban policies, by creating a typo logy of policy tools associated with different causes of urban decline. Section 4 provides some new, and partly provocative, suggestions for specific urban sustainability policies; in particular it deals with the problem of urban sustainability indicators, measures, and critical threshold levels at which urban sustainability policies should be implemented. Some reflective remarks will conclude the paper. 3 figs., 4 tabs., 25 refs

A high resolution Mirnov array for the Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hole, M. J.; Appel, L. C.; Martin, R.

2009-01-01

Over the past two decades, the increase in neutral-beam heating and α particle production in magnetically confined fusion plasmas has led to an increase in energetic particle driven mode activity, much of which has an electromagnetic signature which can be detected by the use of external Mirnov coils. Typically, the frequency and spatial wave number band of such oscillations increase with increasing injection energy, offering new challenges for diagnostic design. In particular, as the frequency approaches the megahertz range, care must be taken to model the stray capacitance of the coil, which limits the resonant frequency of the probe; model transmission line effects in the system, which if unchecked can produce system resonances; and minimize coil conductive shielding, so as to minimize skin currents which limit the frequency response of the coil. As well as optimizing the frequency response, the coils should also be positioned to confidently identify oscillations over a wide wave number band. This work, which draws on new techniques in stray capacitance modeling and coil positioning, is a case study of the outboard Mirnov array for high-frequency acquisition in the Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak, and is intended as a roadmap for the design of high frequency, weak field strength magnetic diagnostics.

Encountering Difference

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Foulkes, Nicol Marie

2011-01-01

and navigate the social system in the Indian mega-cities Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai. The analysis takes into consideration how Nordic shared values like trust and equality are negotiated in locations where there are stark cultural and environmental differences, investigating how these negotiations affect...

Confinement and exhaust in the Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Counsell, G F; Ahn, J-W; Akers, R; Arends, E; Buttery, R; Field, A R; Gryaznevich, M; Helander, P; Kirk, A; Meyer, H; Valovic, M; Wilson, H R; Yang, Y

2002-01-01

The Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak (MAST) is now accessing regimes with high normalized confinement relative to international scalings, H H (IPB98(y, 2))>1 at high normalized density, n-bar e >60% of the Greenwald density. Data from MAST H-modes suggest that the aspect ratio dependency of international confinement and L-H threshold scalings may need to be modified to improve predictions for ITER. Access to H-mode on MAST is strongly affected by both the divertor magnetic geometry and fuelling location, with the formation of an edge transport barrier being facilitated by operation near the symmetric, connected double-null configuration and with poloidally localized inboard gas puffing. The ELMs on MAST appear to be Type III in nature, even in the highest performance plasmas and with the maximum available auxiliary heating power. ELM energy losses are less than 4% of stored energy in all regimes so far explored. These Type III ELMs are associated with a reduction in the pedestal density but no significant change in the pedestal temperature or temperature profile, indicating that energy is convected from the pedestal region into the scrape-off layer. Analysis of the energy observed to arrive at the divertor targets indicates that ELM losses are predominantly on the low field side. ELM effluxes are observed up to 20 cm from the plasma edge at the outboard mid-plane and are associated with the radial motion of a feature at an average velocity of 1.2 km s -1

Enabling sustainable urban road transport in China: A policy and institutional perspective

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Xiliang; Hu, Xiaojun

2003-07-01

The paper is an effort to investigate the approach to sustainable urban road transport in Chinese mega cities with an emphasis on policy and institutional perspectives. The study links the major ''unsustainabilities'' of China's urban road transport with those deficiencies in urban road transport planning and management and China's auto industry policy and gives some suggestions and recommendations for policy change and adjustment. The paper also provides some examples of successful experiences from foreign cities in urban road transport development from which Chinese cities can learn. (Author)

Coping with a Self-Induced Shock: The Heterarchic Organization of the London Olympic Games 2012

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gernot Grabher

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This paper starts from the assumption of a structural analogy between mega-events and large-scale disasters. Both imply forceful interruptions of everyday routines, and both involve imperatives for imminent action. Similar to the immovable deadline of an opening ceremony, a looming natural disaster triggers a complex set of precautions and preparations to cope with the inescapable forthcoming shock. In the case of mega-events, of course, this shock is self-induced. In fact, cities fiercely compete to host mega-events. In the face of the daunting challenges of hosting a mega-event—the immovable timeframe, the rigorous standards set by regulatory bodies, and the exceptional public visibility—the authorities and organizations in charge traditionally have resorted to strategies of a strict adaptation to the conditions imposed on them. Aligning all available resources and capabilities to match the foreseeable demands, however, undermines the adaptability to cope with unpredictable perturbations. This paper seeks to explore the strategies and practices to attain adaptability during the preparation, staging and implementation of legacy plans of a mega-event with an evidentially noteworthy record: the London Olympic Games 2012. The paper seeks to demonstrate that the project ecology in charge managed to enhance adaptability by implementing three key features of heterarchy: ambiguity, redundancy and loose coupling. By leveraging the principles of heterarchy, the project ecology was able to draw lessons from previous mega-events and both to anticipate and respond to unforeseen challenges.

INSTANT CITY

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marling, Gitte; Kiib, Hans

2013-01-01

of an experimental and social en- gaged city environment? The analysis shows that the specific city life at the instant city, Roskilde Festival, can be characterized by being ‘open minded’, ‘playful’ and ‘inclusive’, but also by ‘a culture of laughter’ that penetrates the aesthetics and the urban scenography....

City Marketing : Case: Moscow

OpenAIRE

Kuzina, Irina

2017-01-01

Nowadays cities compete with each other for attracting investments and people, which make them implement new city marketing and city branding strategies. There are many factors that can influence city image and its perception in customers’ minds. The purpose of this thesis is to realize how a well-selected city marketing strategy benefits the city and gain a deeper understanding of city marketing possibilities. The final goal is to offer suggestions for the city of Moscow, which can help to i...

Hackable Cities : From Subversive City Making to Systemic Change

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Lange, M.L.; de Waal, Martijn; Foth, Marcus; Verhoeff, Nanna; Martin, Brynskov

2015-01-01

The DC9 workshop takes place on June 27, 2015 in Limerick, Ireland and is titled "Hackable Cities: From Subversive City Making to Systemic Change". The notion of "hacking" originates from the world of media technologies but is increasingly often being used for creative ideals and practices of city

Calculating the Contribution Rate of Intelligent Transportation System in Improving Urban Traffic Smooth Based on Advanced DID Model

OpenAIRE

Li, Ming-wei; Yun, Jun; Liu, Na

2015-01-01

Recent years have witnessed the rapid development of intelligent transportation system around the world, which helps to relieve urban traffic congestion problems. For instance, many mega-cities in China have devoted a large amount of money and resources to the development of intelligent transportation system. This poses an intriguing and important issue: how to measure and quantify the contribution of intelligent transportation system to the urban city, which is still a puzzle. This paper pro...

Geographic Prevalence and Mix of Regional Cuisines in Chinese Cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jingwei Zhu

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Previous research on the geographies of food put a considerable focus on analyzing how different types of food or ingredients are consumed across different places. Little is known, however, about how food culture is manifested through various cooking traditions as well as people’s perceptions over different culinary styles. Using a data set captured from one of the largest online review sites in China (www.dianping.com, this study demonstrates how geo-referenced social review data can be leveraged to better understand the geographic prevalence and mix of regional cuisines in Chinese cities. Based on information of millions of restaurants obtained in selected cities (i.e., provincial capitals and municipalities under direct supervision of the Chinese central government, we first measure by each city the diversity of restaurants that serve regional Chinese cuisines using the Shannon entropy, and analyze how cities with different characteristics are geographically distributed. A hierarchical clustering algorithm is then used to further explore the similarities of consumers’ dining options among these cities. By associating each regional Chinese cuisine to its origin, we then develop a weighted distance measure to quantify the geographic prevalence of each cuisine type. Finally, a popularity index (POPU is introduced to quantify consumers’ preferences for different regional cuisines. We find that: (1 diversity of restaurants among the cities shows an “east–west” contrast that is in general agreement with the socioeconomic divide in China; (2 most of the cities have their own unique characteristics, which are mainly driven by a large market share of the corresponding local cuisine; (3 there exists great heterogeneity of the geographic prevalence of different Chinese cuisines. In particular, Chuan and Xiang, which are famous for their spicy taste, are widely distributed across the mainland China and (4 among the top-tier restaurants ranked

Response to Challenges and Opportunities for Mega-Infrastructure Projects and Archaeology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amanda Sutphin

2013-10-01

Full Text Available This is a very helpful and informative essay written by someone who is clearly very experienced with the complexity of urban archaeology. I would like to offer a perspective about these issues from New York City as although there are no projects that are truly analogous in both the scale and scope of the archaeology of the Crossrail Project, we do have similar projects from a construction standpoint (see New York City Department of Environment 2013 and MTA 2013.

Losing ground in mega-deltas: basin-scale response to existential threats to the Mekong Delta

Science.gov (United States)

Arias, M. E.; Kondolf, G. M.; Schmitt, R. J. P.; Carling, P. A.; Darby, S. E.; Bizzi, S.; Castelletti, A.; Cochrane, T. A.; Gibson, S.; Kummu, M.; Oeurng, C.; Rubin, Z.; Wild, T. B.

2017-12-01

The Mekong Delta is, in terms of the number of livelihoods it supports, its economic importance, and in its vulnerability to climate change and sinking lands, one of the world's critically threatened mega-deltas. Livelihoods depend on the mere existence of the delta, but also on ecosystem services provided by the delta's drainage basin spanning 795,000 km2 in six abutting countries. These ecosystem services include delivery of sand required to build delta land in the face of rising sea-levels and sediment bound nutrients, provision of spawning habitat for fish that are ultimately harvested in the delta, and hydrologic regulation driving the delta's unique flood-pulse regime. However, while the delta is mainly located in Vietnam, the basin of the Mekong River is shared among China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. In the context of the region's dynamic growth, individual countries are pushing their own development agendas, which include extensive dam building, in-channel sand mining, construction of dykes and canals, and groundwater pumping, all of which contribute to subsidence and erosion of the Delta. Our synthesis of recent research indicates that most of the Mekong's delta land will likely fall below sea-level by 2100 as result of these drivers, exacerbating the impacts of global climatic changes. In this context, local infrastructural projects and changes in land- and water-management may temporarily mitigate some negative effects, but do not address the existential threat to the delta as a whole. To prevent, or at least substantially postpone, the drowning of the Mekong Delta requires identification of the key drivers and immediate concerted management actions on the basin-scale to change the trajectory of subsidence and sediment deficit. A specific challenge is to find the institutional arrangements in this transnational context that could support the needed management changes and equitably distribute costs and impacts. The Mekong Delta is

Phase lag control of tidally reversing mega-ripple geometry and bed stress in tidal inlets

Science.gov (United States)

Traykovski, P.

2016-02-01

Recent observations in the Columbia River Mouth, New River Inlet, and Wasque Shoals have shown that tidally reversing mega-ripples are an ubiquitous bedform morphology in energetic tidal inlets. As the name implies, these bedforms reverse asymmetry and migration direction in each half tidal cycle. With wavelengths of 2 to 5 m and heights of 0.2 to 0.5 m, these bedforms are larger than current formed ripples, but smaller than dunes. Unlike dunes which have a depth dependent geometry, observations indicate the tidally reversing mega-ripples geometry is related to the time dependent tidal flow and independent of depth. Previous empirical relations for predicting the geometry of ripples or dunes do not successfully predict the geometry of these features. A time dependent geometric model was developed that accounts for the reversal of migration and asymmetry to successfully predict bedform geometry. The model requires sufficient sediment transport in each half tidal cycle to reverse the asymmetry before the bedforms begin to grow. Both the observations and model indicate that the complete reversal of asymmetry and development of a steep lee face occurs near or after maximum flow in each half tidal cycle. This phase lag in bedform response to tidal forcing also has important implications for bed stress in tidal inlets. Observations of frictional drag in the Columbia River mouth based on a tidal momentum balance of surface slope over 10 km regressed against quadratic near bed velocity show drag coefficients that fall off as CD U-1.4. Reynolds stress measurements performed using the dual ADV differencing technique show similar relations. The Reynolds stress measurements also show a dramatic asymmetry between accelerating flows and decelerating flows with a factor of 5 increase during deceleration. Pulse coherent Doppler profiles of near bed turbulence indicate that the turbulence is dominated by energetic fluctuations in separation zones downstream of steep lee faces. The

Influence of perceived city brand image on emotional attachment to the city

OpenAIRE

Manyiwa, Simon; Priporas, Constantinos-Vasilios; Wang, Xuan Lorna

2018-01-01

Purpose - This study examines the influence of perceived city brand image on emotional attachment to the city. The study also compares the effects of perceived brand image of the city on the emotional attachment to the city across two groups: residents and visitors. \\ud \\ud Design/methodology - A total of 207 usable questionnaires were collected from 107 residents of the city of Bratislava, Slovakia, and 100 visitors to the city. Partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) me...

Influence of perceived city brand image on emotional attachment to the city

OpenAIRE

Manyiwa, Simon; Priporas, Constantinos-Vasilios; Wang, Xuan Lorna

2018-01-01

Purpose - This study examines the influence of perceived city brand image on emotional attachment to the city. The study also compares the effects of perceived brand image of the city on the emotional attachment to the city across two groups: residents and visitors. Design/methodology - A total of 207 usable questionnaires were collected from 107 residents of the city of Bratislava, Slovakia, and 100 visitors to the city. Partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) met...

Encountering Difference

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Savinetti, Nicol Marie Foulkes

migrants’ social citizenship is affected by the move to the mega-cities Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, which have been recognized as challenging destinations for foreign highly skilled migrant workers. I apply Rainer Bauböck’s (2010) citizenship constellation as a theoretical frame. It does not conform...

Dynamic Network Model for Smart City Data-Loss Resilience Case Study: City-to-City Network for Crime Analytics.

Science.gov (United States)

Kotevska, Olivera; Kusne, A Gilad; Samarov, Daniel V; Lbath, Ahmed; Battou, Abdella

2017-01-01

Today's cities generate tremendous amounts of data, thanks to a boom in affordable smart devices and sensors. The resulting big data creates opportunities to develop diverse sets of context-aware services and systems, ensuring smart city services are optimized to the dynamic city environment. Critical resources in these smart cities will be more rapidly deployed to regions in need, and those regions predicted to have an imminent or prospective need. For example, crime data analytics may be used to optimize the distribution of police, medical, and emergency services. However, as smart city services become dependent on data, they also become susceptible to disruptions in data streams, such as data loss due to signal quality reduction or due to power loss during data collection. This paper presents a dynamic network model for improving service resilience to data loss. The network model identifies statistically significant shared temporal trends across multivariate spatiotemporal data streams and utilizes these trends to improve data prediction performance in the case of data loss. Dynamics also allow the system to respond to changes in the data streams such as the loss or addition of new information flows. The network model is demonstrated by city-based crime rates reported in Montgomery County, MD, USA. A resilient network is developed utilizing shared temporal trends between cities to provide improved crime rate prediction and robustness to data loss, compared with the use of single city-based auto-regression. A maximum improvement in performance of 7.8% for Silver Spring is found and an average improvement of 5.6% among cities with high crime rates. The model also correctly identifies all the optimal network connections, according to prediction error minimization. City-to-city distance is designated as a predictor of shared temporal trends in crime and weather is shown to be a strong predictor of crime in Montgomery County.

Dynamic Network Model for Smart City Data-Loss Resilience Case Study: City-to-City Network for Crime Analytics

Science.gov (United States)

Kotevska, Olivera; Kusne, A. Gilad; Samarov, Daniel V.; Lbath, Ahmed; Battou, Abdella

2017-01-01

Today’s cities generate tremendous amounts of data, thanks to a boom in affordable smart devices and sensors. The resulting big data creates opportunities to develop diverse sets of context-aware services and systems, ensuring smart city services are optimized to the dynamic city environment. Critical resources in these smart cities will be more rapidly deployed to regions in need, and those regions predicted to have an imminent or prospective need. For example, crime data analytics may be used to optimize the distribution of police, medical, and emergency services. However, as smart city services become dependent on data, they also become susceptible to disruptions in data streams, such as data loss due to signal quality reduction or due to power loss during data collection. This paper presents a dynamic network model for improving service resilience to data loss. The network model identifies statistically significant shared temporal trends across multivariate spatiotemporal data streams and utilizes these trends to improve data prediction performance in the case of data loss. Dynamics also allow the system to respond to changes in the data streams such as the loss or addition of new information flows. The network model is demonstrated by city-based crime rates reported in Montgomery County, MD, USA. A resilient network is developed utilizing shared temporal trends between cities to provide improved crime rate prediction and robustness to data loss, compared with the use of single city-based auto-regression. A maximum improvement in performance of 7.8% for Silver Spring is found and an average improvement of 5.6% among cities with high crime rates. The model also correctly identifies all the optimal network connections, according to prediction error minimization. City-to-city distance is designated as a predictor of shared temporal trends in crime and weather is shown to be a strong predictor of crime in Montgomery County. PMID:29250476

Delta Morphodynamics Matters! Ecosystem Services, Poverty and Morphodynamic Change in the Ganges-Brahmaputra Mega-Delta

Science.gov (United States)

Nicholls, R. J.; Adger, N.; Allan, A.; Darby, S. E.; Hutton, C.; Matthews, Z.; Rahman, M.; Whitehead, P. G.; Wolf, J.

2013-12-01

The world's deltas are probably the most vulnerable type of coastal environment, and they face multiple stresses in the coming decades. These stresses include, amongst others, local drivers due to land subsidence, population growth and urbanisation within the deltas, regional drivers due to changes in catchment management (e.g. upstream land use and dam construction), as well as global climate change impacts such as sea-level rise. At the same time, the ecosystem services of river deltas support high population densities, with around 14% of the global population inhabiting deltas. A large proportion of these people experience extremes of poverty and they are therefore severely exposed to vulnerability from environmental and ecological stress and degradation. In areas close to or below the poverty boundary, both subsistence and cash elements of the economy tend to rely disproportionately heavily on ecosystem services which underpin livelihoods. Therefore, to sustainably manage delta environments they must be viewed as complex social-environmental systems where change is only partially driven by physical drivers such as sea level rise and climate change, and human-induced development activities are also critical. Here we outline a new conceptual framework for the development of methods to understand and characterise the key drivers of change in ecosystem services that affect the environment and economic status of populous deltas, focusing specifically on the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) mega-delta. The GBM delta is characterised by densely populated coastal lowlands with significant poverty, with livelihoods supported to a large extent by natural ecosystems such as the Sunderbahns (the largest mangrove forest in the world). However, the GBM delta is under severe development pressure due to many growing cities. At present the importance of ecosystems services to poverty and livelihoods is poorly understood. This is due to due to the complexity of interactions

Different Creative Cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lorenzen, Mark; Vaarst Andersen, Kristina

2012-01-01

and exhibits a tendency of congregating in major cities with diverse service and cultural offers and tolerance to non-mainstream lifestyles. However, we find that a range of smaller Danish cities also attract the creative class. Second, we undertake qualitative interviews that facilitate theory building. We...... suggest that many creatives are attracted by the smaller cities' cost advantages, specialized job offers, attractive work/life balances, and authenticity and sense of community. The article synthesizes its results into four stylized types of creative cities, and concludes by discussing the policy...... challenges associated with these different cities....

Experience of Sponge City Master Plan: A Case Study of Nanning City

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Zhang Wei; Wang Jiazhuo; Che Han; Wang Chen; Zhang Chunyang; Shi Lian; Fan Jin; Li Caige

2017-01-01

As a new urban development pattern, the construction of sponge cities has been deeply integrated into the new urbanization and water safety strategy. Nanning City, as one of the first batch of experimental sponge cities in China, has undertaken exploration and practice on sponge city planning, construction, and management. The sponge city master plan of Nanning City establishes an urban ecological spatial pattern in order to protect the security of the sponge base. The sponge city construction strategy has also proposed an overall construction strategy of a sponge city in line with urban development features. Through the systematic analysis and planning, a “23+10+202” pattern of sponge city construction has been formed. “23” represents 23 drainage basins, in which major sponge facilities such as storage facilities, waterfront buffer zones, wetland parks, ecological rainwater corridor and sponge parks are allocated. “10” represents 10 sponge functional zones, which provide important reference for the establishment of sponge city construction index system. “202” represents 202 management units, which decomposes the general objective and provides technical support not only for sponge city construction and management, but also for the implementation of general objectives in the regulatory plan as well.

PM1 levels are related to CO concentrations and health impacts in the city Athens Greece

Science.gov (United States)

Grigoropoulos, Konstantinos; Polichetti, Giuliano; Ferentinos, George; Tselentis, Vasilios; Nastos, Panagiotis; Xatzioakeimidis, Konstantinos; Dimas, Konstantinos; Kalabokis, Vasilios; Gialouris, Athanasios

2010-05-01

Senekas, as early as 60 A.D., was the first to refer to air pollution and the possibility of imposing restrictions in Rome. In 1307, during the reign of Edward I, legislation was introduced to prevent the use of sea coal in kilns and limeburners in London. In the 19th century the first problems arising from elevated levels of smoke in cities appear. By 1930, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania suffered from heavy smoke pollution and the 1952 London smog episode stands out as one of the worst pollution disasters given the number of people who died as a result. Mega city pollution has become a serious problem to human health and in an effort to analyze and mitigate this threat, the European and worldwide scientific communities are, at present, placing considerable time, effort and resources in the field. It is well known that vehicle related NOx and CO emissions represent the main public health hazard (cardiovascular and respiratory syndromes) in the main industrialized cities of Europe with high traffic volumes. The objective of this study is to analyze the spatial distribution of PM1, CO and the related health impacts within the greater Athens area (GAA). Several portable and ground based detectors were employed for the PM and CO measurements, capable of detecting CO levels in the ambient environment, up to 1000 ppm. Sampling took place on road sidewalks at a specified hour every morning to coincide with the peak in vehicle traffic. Controls were performed with no traffic and compared to normal traffic days and days with extreme traffic congestion, which included PM and CO concentration measurements. In addition, in order to monitor potentially related health impacts, daily admissions to the Emergency Departments of the Social Security Institute and Regional Hospitals of Athens were recorded. Results demonstrate a significant correlation between both PM1 and CO and particulate matter symptomatology, such as dispnea, fatigue, headache, dacryrrea and dry cough. These findings

Clean Cities Fact Sheet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2004-01-01

This fact sheet explains the Clean Cities Program and provides contact information for all coalitions and regional offices. It answers key questions such as: What is the Clean Cities Program? What are alternative fuels? How does the Clean Cities Program work? What sort of assistance does Clean Cities offer? What has Clean Cities accomplished? What is Clean Cities International? and Where can I find more information?

A Hazy Day in Mexico City

Science.gov (United States)

2002-01-01

Mexico City has one of the world's most serious air pollution problems. The city is located atop a high plain at an altitude of 2200 meters, and is surrounded on three sides by mountains and snow-capped volcanoes. Since incident solar radiation does not vary significantly with season at tropical latitudes, photochemical smog is produced much of the year. In winter, air quality can worsen significantly when thermal inversions keep polluted air masses close to the surface.Atmospheric particulates (aerosols) are readily visible at oblique view angles, and differences in aerosol amount on two days are indicated by these images of central Mexico from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR). The images at left and center are natural color views acquired by MISR's 70-degree forward-viewing camera on April 9 and December 5, 2001, respectively. Mexico City can be identified in the center panel by the large area of haze accumulation above image center. Two small brighter patches within the hazy area indicate low fog. In the left-hand panel, the city basin appears significantly clearer, but some haze remains apparent across the Sierra Madre mountains in the lower portion of the images. On the right is an elevation field corresponding to the December 5 view. Automated MISR stereoscopic retrievals reveal the clouds at lower right to be at very high altitudes, in contrast to the low-lying haze and fog near Mexico City. When the stereo retrieval determines that a location is not covered by clouds, digital terrain elevation data are displayed instead. High clouds appear as the orange and red areas, and mountainous areas appear light blue and green. The position of the clouds within the 70-degree image are slightly southward of their location in the elevation map as a consequence of geometric parallax.Major sources of air pollutants within the basin enclosing the Mexico City urban area include exhaust from 3.5 million vehicles, thousands of industries, and mineral dust

Within city limits: nature and children's books about nature in the city

Science.gov (United States)

Leonard S. Marcus

1977-01-01

Many children's books give the impression that we must leave the city to be "in nature.'' This is a review of children's books about nature found within city limits. The books include a natural history of New York City; a guide to city wildflowers and other weeds; a book about city trees; a delightful inquiry into the true nature of the roach;...

Focus Cities : Urban Waste Management in the City of Cochabamba ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Focus Cities : Urban Waste Management in the City of Cochabamba (Bolivia). The city of ... Project status. Closed ... Studies. Inclusión social y económica de los recicladores en la gestión integrada de los residuos sólidos urbanos. 49088.

Tourism and City. Reflections about Tourist Dimension of Smart City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosa Anna La Rocca

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The city of the future seems to be necessarily “intelligent” both in its physical and in functional features.This paper starts from the consideration that the diffusion of new communication technologies (ICTs is significantly changing the urban supply system of tourist services giving rise to new ways of enjoying the city.As tourism can be assumed as an urban activity, by a town planning point of view, the study of tourism is meaningful to identify development trajectories of the present cities targeted to sustainable and smarter models.As a matter of fact, almost all the projects to get a “smart city” are based on the idea of joining the potentialities of ICTs and the needs of urban management through people living or using the city.In such a vision, “tourist dimension” of the city becomes fundamental in promoting urban image as well as in improving efficiency of the city. This efficiency also depends on the capability of each city to share historical and cultural heritage as “common good”.As tourist demand has deeply changed also driven by technological development, this paper tries to investigate how the urban supply will change in order to meet the rising demand of quality and efficiency. The transition to smart tourist destination currently seems to be strongly connected with the number and the variety of apps to improve the “experiential component”. A lack of interest there seems to be in finding strategies and policies oriented to plan the urban supply of services tourist or not.This consideration, if shared, opens up new perspectives for research and experimentation in which city planning could have a key-role also in proposing an holistic approach to city development towards smart city.

City Car = The City Car / Andres Sevtshuk

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Sevtshuk, Andres, 1981-

2008-01-01

Massachusettsi Tehnoloogiainstituudi (MIT) meedialaboratooriumi juures tegutseva Targa Linna Grupi (Smart City Group) ja General Motorsi koostööna sündinud kaheistmelisest linnasõbralikust elektriautost City Car. Nimetatud töögrupi liikmed (juht William J. Mitchell, töögruppi kuulus A. Sevtshuk Eestist)

Pittsburgh City Facilities

Data.gov (United States)

Allegheny County / City of Pittsburgh / Western PA Regional Data Center — Pittsburgh City FacilitiesIncludes: City Administrative Buildings, Police Stations, Fire Stations, EMS Stations, DPW Sites, Senior Centers, Recreation Centers, Pool...

Performance measurement of electricity suppliers using PROMETHEE and balance scorecard

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mona Osati

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Performance measurement in energy industry plays an important role on increasing the productivity. Electricity is also among the most essential components of energy in mega cities like Tehran. The lack of a good service in this city may result unpleasant consequences on most civilians who live in this city. This paper presents an empirical investigation to measure the performance of six major electricity contractors in city of Tehran, Iran. The study implements grey numbers to handle any uncertainty associated with numbers. The study has also adopted four main perspectives used in balanced scorecard as part of PROMETHEE method to rank different contractors.

The Queensland study of Melanoma: Environmental and Genetic Associations (Q-MEGA). Study design, baseline characteristics, and repeatability of phenotype and sun exposure measures

Science.gov (United States)

Baxter, Amanda J.; Hughes, Maria Celia; Kvaskoff, Marina; Siskind, Victor; Shekar, Sri; Aitken, Joanne F.; Green, Adele C.; Duffy, David L.; Hayward, Nicholas K.; Martin, Nicholas G.; Whiteman, David C.

2013-01-01

Cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) is a major health issue in Queensland, Australia which has the world’s highest incidence. Recent molecular and epidemiologic studies suggest that CMM arises through multiple etiological pathways involving gene-environment interactions. Understanding the potential mechanisms leading to CMM requires larger studies than those previously conducted. This article describes the design and baseline characteristics of Q-MEGA, the Queensland study of Melanoma: Environmental and Genetic Associations, which followed-up four population-based samples of CMM patients in Queensland, including children, adolescents, men aged over 50, and a large sample of adult cases and their families, including twins. Q-MEGA aims to investigate the roles of genetic and environmental factors, and their interaction, in the etiology of melanoma. 3,471 participants took part in the follow-up study and were administered a computer-assisted telephone interview in 2002–2005. Updated data on environmental and phenotypic risk factors, and 2,777 blood samples were collected from interviewed participants as well as a subset of relatives. This study provides a large and well-described population-based sample of CMM cases with follow-up data. Characteristics of the cases and repeatability of sun exposure and phenotype measures between the baseline and the follow-up surveys, from six to 17 years later, are also described. PMID:18361720

Daylight Management in Mediterranean Cities: When Shortage Is Not the Issue

OpenAIRE

Judit Lopez-Besora; Glòria Serra-Coch; Helena Coch; Antonio Isalgue

2016-01-01

Natural resources such as daylight and sunlight are highly appreciated in countries with prevailing overcast skies. Taking advantage of this scarce resource contributes to saving energy on artificial lighting. In contrast to northern, southern European cities are distinguished by a large number of days with direct sunlight caused by a propitious climate condition. While it is a positive issue in terms of energy availability, the abundance of it can be counterproductive if management measures ...

Drone City

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Ole B.

2016-01-01

for a new urban condition where cities are networked and connected (as well as disconnected) from the local block to global digital spheres. In the midst of many of the well-known data-creating devices (e.g. Bluetooth, radio-frequency identification (RFID), GPS, smartphone applications) there is a “new kid......This paper address the phenomenon of drones and their potential relationship with the city from the point of view of the so-called “mobilities turn”. This is done in such a way that turns attention to a recent redevelopment of the “turn” towards design; so the emerging perspective of “mobilities...... design” will be used as a background perspective to reflect upon the future of drones in cities. The other perspective used to frame the phenomenon is the emerging discourse of the “smart city”. A city of proliferating digital information and data communication may be termed a smart city as shorthand...

The heat spells of Mexico City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ernesto Jáuregui

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The warning of urban air has been documented to increase in intensity and area as cities grow (Oke, 1982. As the cities grow the so called “heat island” tends to increase the risk of more frequent heat waves as well as their impacts (IPCC, 2001. Threshold values to define a heat wave vary geographically. For the case of Mexico City located in a high inland valley in the tropics, values above 30° C (daily maximum observed for three or more consecutive days and 25° C or more as mean temperature have been adopted to define the phenomenon. These events occur at the end of the dry season during March to May when afternoon relative humidity is quite low (∼20% and thus reducing the stress. Maximum temperatute data from the Observatory of the National Meteorological Service were used. Results show that during the second half of the XXth century the frequency of heat waves as defined above has doubled from 6 events/decade to 16/decade in the 1990s with a marked increase in the last third of the last century when population of the city grew from 8.5 to 18.5 million (CONAPO, 2000. During this time the average urban/rural contrast grew considerably from about 6° C to 10° C (Jáuregui, 1986. While these heat waves may be considered as “mild”they receive attention from the media and prompt actions by the population to relieve the heat stress. Application of heat indices based on the human energy balance (PET and PMV result in moderate to strong heat stress during these events. Because climate change is expected to raise nighttime minimum temperatures more than daytime highs (as suggested by the IPCC, 2001 urban heat islands and their related heat waves are likely to be a significant health concern in days to come in large urban centers especially in the developing countries.

Mega-dose phenobarbital therapy for super-refractory status epilepticus.

Science.gov (United States)

Byun, Jung-Ick; Chu, Kon; Sunwoo, Jun-Sang; Moon, Jangsup; Kim, Tae-Joon; Lim, Jung-Ah; Jun, Jin-Sun; Lee, Han Sang; Lee, Woo-Jin; Lee, Doo Young; Jeon, Daejong; Lee, Soon-Tae; Jung, Keun-Hwa; Jung, Ki-Young; Lee, Sang Kun

2015-12-01

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of mega-dose phenobarbital (MDPB; enteral or parenteral phenobarbital >10 mg/kg/day) for treating super-refractory status epilepticus (SRSE; continuous or recurrent status epilepticus for ≥24 hours after the onset of continuous anaesthetic treatment) in adult patients. Adult patients with SRSE who were treated with MDPB in our institution from March 2005 to September 2014 were reviewed. We collected data on basic demographics, clinical features, functional status, anticonvulsant treatment, and possible adverse events. SRSE outcome was divided into six categories: successful therapy, initial failure, breakthrough seizures, withdrawal seizures, intolerable side effects, and death during treatment. Ten adult patients with SRSE received MDPB. Median age at seizure onset was 38 years (range: 18-59), and half were male. All patients had no history of seizures and had symptoms suggestive of viral encephalitis. Median duration of status epilepticus was 17.5 days (range: 6-60) and anaesthetics were used for a median of 14.0 days (range: 2-54) before MDPB. Successful control of SRSE was achieved in half of the patients, however, only one of ten patients was able to fully recover at discharge. Median duration of the MDPB was 45.5 days and the maximum serum phenobarbital level reached a median of 151.5 μg/ml. Patients with successful MDPB therapy had normal brain imaging (80% vs. 0%; p=0.048) and better functional outcome at discharge and after three months of follow-up. Infection was the most critical complication, along with cardiorespiratory depression. MDPB is a therapeutic option for control of SRSE when other choices are exhausted.

Women in Cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Hurst, Liz

1982-01-01

Suggesting that women are at a disadvantage in cities and towns, discusses experiences of women at home, working women, women traveling, shopping, and growing old in cities. Includes suggestions for studying women in cities. (JN)

Dating-Partner Preferences among a Group of Inner-City African-American High School Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Sherry P.

1996-01-01

Examines a set of characteristics that African American inner-city high school students may or may not value in a dating partner. A total of 80 students indicated how important they perceived certain qualities to be in a person they would like to date. The results are in contrast to the previous literature regarding dating-partner preferences…

The Synergy between City Human Resources and City Economy Development Based on the City Marketing: The Case of Chengdu

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bo Pu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available City human resources and the city economic development have a synergistic effect to attract high-quality talent and to encourage the sustainable development of the urban economy in the city marketing. Based on synergetics, we find out the evaluation indexes between the city human resources subsystem and urban economic development subsystem and constructed the evaluation system and model, and then used the yearbook data of Chengdu human resources and economic development from 2002 to 2012 and carried on empirical research. The results show that the level of coordinated development is weak between city human resources and city economic development at Chengdu, but it keeps rising slowly. The strong policy support shall be provided to Chengdu human resources and economic development by Chengdu government.

拆迁普店街：二十世纪末中国都市小说中摧毁和复兴主题的含混 (Bulldozing Pudian Street: Destruction or Renewal? Ambiguities in Big City Novels in Late 20th Century Chinese Literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xia Li

2007-01-01

Full Text Available There is little doubt that the most cogent literary representation of the experience of modernity has been realised in big city fiction and cinematographic masterpieces such as Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1926. Despite the formal and aesthetic incompatability of early twentieth century (predominantly Western works of this literary genre and more recent ones, East and West, the underlying dialectic tension between progressive optimism and disorientation, existential up-rootedness, alienation and angst (Rilke's loss of soul as archetypal manifestation of mega-city reality and its social structure and organisation, constitutes a generic hallmark, regardless of time and place. Significantly, the relevance of this problem is reinforced, theoretically and practically, by the eminent scholar and architect Rem Koolhaas whose reflections have China as a principal reference point of the global "out-of-control process of modernisation". This paper focuses on the literary representation of the complexity and universality of the problem and the social implications of the blurred and ambiguous vision of urban reality with particular reference to contemporary Chinese literature.

Between mobility and immobility: undocumented African migrants living in the shadow of the Chinese state

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lan, S.; Donggen Wang,; Shenjing He,

2016-01-01

With China’s accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001 and the enormous growth of Sino-African trade, Guangzhou, a mega city in South China, has become the Promised Land for many African migrants seeking wealth and fortune in the global economy. Differing from the previous generation of

[Healthy Cities projects].

Science.gov (United States)

Takano, Takehito

2002-05-01

This is a review article on "Healthy Cities". The Healthy Cities programme has been developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to tackle urban health and environmental issues in a broad way. It is a kind of comprehensive policy package to carry out individual projects and activities effectively and efficiently. Its key aspects include healthy public policy, vision sharing, high political commitment, establishment of structural organization, strategic health planning, intersectoral collaboration, community participation, setting approach, development of supportive environment for health, formation of city health profile, national and international networking, participatory research, periodic monitoring and evaluation, and mechanisms for sustainability of projects. The present paper covered the Healthy Cities concept and approaches, rapid urbanization in the world, developments of WHO Healthy Cities, Healthy Cities developments in the Western Pacific Region, the health promotion viewpoint, and roles of research.

Jerusalem: City of Dreams, City of Sorrows

Science.gov (United States)

Ricks, Thomas

2011-01-01

Jerusalem is more than an intriguing global historical city; it is a classroom for liberal learning and international understanding. It had never been a city of one language, one religion and one culture. Looking at the origins of Jerusalem's name indicates its international and multicultural nature. While Israelis designate Jerusalem as their…

Investing in Urban Studies to Ensure Urban Archaeology’s Future: A Response to ‘The Challenges and Opportunities for Mega-infrastructure Projects and Archaeology’

OpenAIRE

Linn, Meredith B

2013-01-01

In reading J. J. Carver’s excellent suggestions for how to better enable archaeology and large urban infrastructure projects to progress to mutual benefit, I found myself in enthusiastic agreement with his point that ‘professional working relationships are the most important challenge for archaeology in mega projects’ and that we must convince project directors, engineers, and site teams that archaeology ‘can enhance the value of the project they are building’ (4). This is especially crucial ...

77 FR 29932 - Safety Zone; Nautical City Festival Air Show, Rogers City, MI

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-21

...-AA00 Safety Zone; Nautical City Festival Air Show, Rogers City, MI AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION... City Festival will be celebrating Calcite's 100th Anniversary. As part of that celebration, an air show... posed by the Nautical City Festival air show near Rogers City, MI, the Captain of the Port Sault Sainte...

77 FR 40798 - Safety Zone; Nautical City Festival Air Show, Rogers City MI

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-11

...-AA00 Safety Zone; Nautical City Festival Air Show, Rogers City MI AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION...; Nautical City Festival Air Show, Rogers City MI; in the Federal Register (77 FR 29932). We received no... Nautical City Festival will be celebrating Calcite's 100th Anniversary. As part of that celebration, an air...

Obesity Prevention in a City State: Lessons from New York City during the Bloomberg Administration.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Paul M; Davies, Anna; Greig, Alexandra J M; Lee, Karen K

2016-01-01

To illuminate the key components of multi-sector reform to address the obesogenic environment in New York City during the administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg from 2002 to 2013, we conducted a case study consisting of interviews with and a critical analysis of the experiences of leading decision makers and implementers. Key informant interviews (N = 41) conducted in 2014 were recorded, transcribed, coded, and thematically analyzed. Participants included officials from the Health Department and other New York City Government agencies, academics, civil society members, and private sector executives. Participants described Mayor Bloomberg as a data-driven politician who wanted to improve the lives of New Yorkers. He appointed talented Commissioners and encouraged them and their staff to be bold, innovative, and collaborative. Multiple programs spanning multiple sectors, with varied approaches and targets, were supported. This study found that much of the work relied on loose coalitions across City Government, with single agencies responsible for their own agendas, some with health co-benefits. Many policies were implemented through non-legislative mechanisms such as executive orders and the Health Code. Despite support from academic and some civil society groups, strong lobbying from industry and an unfavorable media led to some reforms being modified, legally challenged or blocked completely, particularly food environment modifiers. In contrast, reforms of the physical environment were described as highly consultative across and outside government and resulted in slower but more sustained reform. The Bloomberg administration was a "window of opportunity" with the imprimatur of the executive to progress a long-term, multi-faceted obesity prevention strategy, which has successfully reversed childhood trends. Through the involvement of external researchers and the extensive use of empirical data from a wide range of participants, this study offers a unique

Design of 1+ Ion Source Coupling First Design of the Resonant Ionization Laser Ion Source For the Multi-Mega Watt Target Station

CERN Document Server

A. Olivier-Kaiser, F. Le Blanc, C. Lau

The realisation of next-generation ion sources suitable for the EURISOL multi-mega-watt (MMW) target station needs exhaustive studies and developments. An exhaustive review was carried out to evaluate the capability of the ion-sources to operate under the irradiation conditions of the MMW target station. In addition, selectivity must be taken into account to avoid the spread of unwanted radioactivity out of the target-ion-source system (TIS).These studies led to consider RILIS (Resonance Ionization Laser Ion Source) as the reference ion source for this target station.

For a Safer City. A Friendlier City. And a More Beautiful City.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Busi

2010-04-01

Full Text Available The issue of the safety of mobility in the urban environment has been emerging as a primary social topic for some time now due to the number of casualties and, more generally, due to the impact on living conditions in the city. If correctly formulated, in fact, this subject has implications primarily and fundamentally with regard to the quality of urban life, as the citizen, and the vulnerable road user in particular, is severely restricted in their use of urban public paces. Consequently, an increasingly greater focus is being placed on acquiring methods, techniques and strategies for addressing the issue of planning, constructing and managing roads, squares and urban green spaces (and above all, applying the logic of reclaiming the historic and consolidated city in order that the city can be used to its full potential by the citizen. The subject itself therefore presents an opportunity to re-establish urban planning regulations (and, more generally, city regulations in accordance with the renewed interest in public spaces. The article discusses this matter and includes supporting elements and examples, also referring to the implications on the urban landscape.

The City Intelligence Quotient (City IQ Evaluation System: Conception and Evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhiqiang Wu

2016-06-01

Full Text Available After a systematic review of 38 current intelligent city evaluation systems (ICESs from around the world, this research analyzes the secondary and tertiary indicators of these 38 ICESs from the perspectives of scale structuring, approaches and indicator selection, and determines their common base. From this base, the fundamentals of the City Intelligence Quotient (City IQ Evaluation System are developed and five dimensions are selected after a clustering analysis. The basic version, City IQ Evaluation System 1.0, involves 275 experts from 14 high-end research institutions, which include the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Science and Engineering (Germany, the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, the Planning Management Center of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of China, and the Development Research Center of the State Council of China. City IQ Evaluation System 2.0 is further developed, with improvements in its universality, openness, and dynamic adjustment capability. After employing deviation evaluation methods in the IQ assessment, City IQ Evaluation System 3.0 was conceived. The research team has conducted a repeated assessment of 41 intelligent cities around the world using City IQ Evaluation System 3.0. The results have proved that the City IQ Evaluation System, developed on the basis of intelligent life, features more rational indicators selected from data sources that can offer better universality, openness, and dynamics, and is more sensitive and precise.

33 CFR 100.919 - International Bay City River Roar, Bay City, MI.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false International Bay City River Roar, Bay City, MI. 100.919 Section 100.919 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF... Bay City River Roar, Bay City, MI. (a) Regulated Area. A regulated area is established to include all...

@City: technologising Barcelona

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rojas, Jesús

2007-05-01

Full Text Available This article is about the concept of the contemporary city - the influence that technology has when one thinks about, plans and lives in a city. The conjunction of technology and city reformulates customs and social practices; it can even determine the way one constitutes one's own identity. One can see how close the relation is between technology (specifically, TICS and the structures of the city in a wide variety of situations: in social interactions on the street, in transport, and in ways of buying, of working and entertainment. "@City" is a concept that very well reflects the emergent properties of a current city, that is, the coexistence of a physical and a virtual urban space. The "22@Barcelona" project attempts to bring together different types of spaces. By combining the physical with the virtual, 22@Barcelona, as a neighborhood of @City, creates an uncertain and blurred border between both spaces.The article also examines the impact that these spaces have on the psycho-social processes involved in the daily life of a traditionally working-class neighborhood, now strongly limited by technological boundaries.

Toroidal ripple transport of beam ions in the mega-ampère spherical tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McClements, K. G.; Hole, M. J.

2012-01-01

The transport of injected beam ions due to toroidal magnetic field ripple in the mega-ampère spherical tokamak (MAST) is quantified using a full orbit particle tracking code, with collisional slowing-down and pitch-angle scattering by electrons and bulk ions taken into account. It is shown that the level of ripple losses is generally rather low, although it depends sensitively on the major radius of the outer midplane plasma edge; for typical values of this parameter in MAST plasmas, the reduction in beam heating power due specifically to ripple transport is less than 1%, and the ripple contribution to beam ion diffusivity is of the order of 0.1 m 2 s –1 or less. It is concluded that ripple effects make only a small contribution to anomalous transport rates that have been invoked to account for measured neutron rates and plasma stored energies in some MAST discharges. Delayed (non-prompt) losses are shown to occur close to the outer midplane, suggesting that banana-drift diffusion is the most likely cause of the ripple-induced losses.

Creation / accumulation city

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Doevendans, C.H.; Schram, A.L.

2005-01-01

A distinction between basic archetypes of urban form was made by Bruno Fortier: the accumulation city as opposed to the creation city. These archetypes derive from archaeology - being based on the Roman and the Egyptian city - but are interpreted as morphological paradigms, as a set of assumptions

Electron spin resonance dating of mega-fauna from Lagoa dos Porcos, Piaui (Brazil))

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kinoshita, Angela; Mayer, Elver; Ribau Mendes, Vinicius; Figueiredo, Ana Maria G.; Baffa, Oswaldo

2014-01-01

Excavations performed at Lagoa dos Porcos site revealed a vast amount of extinct mammal fossil remains, becoming one of the richest palaeontological occurrences in the Serra da Capivara National Park region, a UNESCO World Heritage. Although anatomic and taxonomic aspects of extinct Quaternary mammals are relatively well known, chronologic information for deposits is rare. In this context, electron spin resonance (ESR) dating of mega-fauna samples provides important information for establishing a chronological background. This work presents the ESR dating of two teeth, one of Gomphotheriidae and other of Toxodontinae. Dose-response curves of each sample were constructed using spectra acquired with a JEOL FA-200 X-Band spectrometer resulting in equivalent dose (D e ) of 220±40 Gy and 39±2 Gy for Toxodontinae and Gomphotheriidae tooth, respectively. The conversion of D e in age was made using ROSY ESR dating software resulting in 26±4 and 22±3 ka. These results place Lagoa dos Porcos fossil assemblage within the Late Pleistocene. These dates overlap with a period of abrupt increase in rainfall in northeast Brazil, and it is possible that this environmental change is related to the formation of this deposit. (authors)

Beyond the Gulf Metropolises

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wippel, Steffen

2013-01-01

The extended studies on urbanisation in the Gulf region that came up in the early 2000s concentrated on the main centres with their worldwide-admired mega-projects and branding strategies. Only rather recently did a more general interest arise in the second-tier range of Gulf cities, which also s...

Whose urban development? Changing credibilities, forms and functions of urbanization in Chengdu, China

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zeuthen, Jesper Willaing

2017-01-01

In Chengdu, as in most other Chinese mega-cities, urbanization has been very rapid over the last three decades. In the current phase of urbanization, approximately 900,000 villagers in Chengdu alone have been resettled to urban-style settlements in order to release space for new arable land and t...

Comparative measurement and quantitative risk assessment of alcohol consumption through wastewater-based epidemiology: An international study in 20 cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ryu, Yeonsuk; Barceló, Damià; Barron, Leon P.

2016-01-01

Quantitative measurement of drug consumption biomarkers in wastewater can provide objective information on community drug use patterns and trends. This study presents the measurement of alcohol consumption in 20 cities across 11 countries through the use of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE...... consumption biomarker, ethyl sulfate (EtS) was determined by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. The EtS concentrations were used for estimation of per capita alcohol consumption in each city, which was further compared with international reports and applied for risk assessment by MOE....... The average per capita consumption in 20 cities ranged between 6.4 and 44.3. L/day/1000 inhabitants. An increase in alcohol consumption during the weekend occurred in all cities, however the level of this increase was found to differ. In contrast to conventional data (sales statistics and interviews), WBE...

Spatial accuracy of a simplified disaggregation method for traffic emissions applied in seven mid-sized Chilean cities

Science.gov (United States)

Ossés de Eicker, Margarita; Zah, Rainer; Triviño, Rubén; Hurni, Hans

The spatial accuracy of top-down traffic emission inventory maps obtained with a simplified disaggregation method based on street density was assessed in seven mid-sized Chilean cities. Each top-down emission inventory map was compared against a reference, namely a more accurate bottom-up emission inventory map from the same study area. The comparison was carried out using a combination of numerical indicators and visual interpretation. Statistically significant differences were found between the seven cities with regard to the spatial accuracy of their top-down emission inventory maps. In compact cities with a simple street network and a single center, a good accuracy of the spatial distribution of emissions was achieved with correlation values>0.8 with respect to the bottom-up emission inventory of reference. In contrast, the simplified disaggregation method is not suitable for complex cities consisting of interconnected nuclei, resulting in correlation valuessituation to get an overview on the spatial distribution of the emissions generated by traffic activities.

City Carbon Footprint Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guangwu Chen

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Progressive cities worldwide have demonstrated political leadership by initiating meaningful strategies and actions to tackle climate change. However, the lack of knowledge concerning embodied greenhouse gas (GHG emissions of cities has hampered effective mitigation. We analyse trans-boundary GHG emission transfers between five Australian cities and their trading partners, with embodied emission flows broken down into major economic sectors. We examine intercity carbon footprint (CF networks and disclose a hierarchy of responsibility for emissions between cities and regions. Allocations of emissions to households, businesses and government and the carbon efficiency of expenditure have been analysed to inform mitigation policies. Our findings indicate that final demand in the five largest cities in Australia accounts for more than half of the nation’s CF. City households are responsible for about two thirds of the cities’ CFs; the rest can be attributed to government and business consumption and investment. The city network flows highlight that over half of emissions embodied in imports (EEI to the five cities occur overseas. However, a hierarchy of GHG emissions reveals that overseas regions also outsource emissions to Australian cities such as Perth. We finally discuss the implications of our findings on carbon neutrality, low-carbon city concepts and strategies and allocation of subnational GHG responsibility.

Tales of two cities: political capitals and economic centres in the world city network.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter J. Taylor

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The majority of major cities in the world city network are capital cities. Between primacy and political specialization there are examples of countries where the capital city and a second city remain as major rival cities in contemporary globalization. In this paper we focus upon situations where the capital city is less important in global economic capacity: Rome and Milan, Berlin and Frankfurt, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Delhi and Mumbai, Islamabad and Karachi. This is an exercise in double comparisons: between cities in each pairing and between the pairings. Despite the massive differences – economic, cultural and political – amongst our chosen pairs of cities we have found communalities relating to the specific circumstance we are investigating. First, there is some evidence that economic centres are more global and less local than their capital cities. Second, more particularly, we have shown that in terms of global economic connections there is a very consistent pattern: economic centres have a much more coherent and telling integration into the world city network.

Water changed the cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elle, Morten; Jensen, Marina Bergen

An improvement in water infrastructure and cleaning up the waters changed many harbour cities in Denmark at the beginning of the 90s. The harbour cities changed from drity, run-down industrial harbours to clean and attractive harbour dwelling creating new city centres and vital city areas...

Deconstructing automatisms: Milicia practices and neopentescostal formations in Rio de Janeiro

OpenAIRE

Fernando Brancoli; Pedro Henrique Pedro Ramos Vasquez

2016-01-01

The 2012 elections for governor in Rio de Janeiro gather special attention from national and international media analysts. The city politics was under scrutiny with the mega events hosted Brazil, like the Summer Olympic Games and the Soccer World Cup. In this sense, the strategies of the candidates for the organization of the city - mainly for public safety issues - were dissected and analysed for months leading up to the election day. In this context, as the disputes were being centraliz...

Integrating world cities into production networks : the case of port cities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jacobs, W.; Ducruet, C.; Langen, de P.W.

2010-01-01

In this article we analyse the location patterns of firms that provide specialized advanced producer services (APS) to international commodity chains that move through seaports. Such activities can take place in world cities or in port cities. The analysis of APS location patterns in port cities

Cities as development drivers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johnson, Bjørn; Poulsen, Tjalfe; Hansen, Jens Aage

2011-01-01

There is a strong connection between economic growth and development of cities. Economic growth tends to stimulate city growth, and city economies have often shaped innovative environments that in turn support economic growth. Simultaneously, social and environmental problems related to city growth...... can be serious threats to the realization of the socio-economic contributions that cities can make. However, as a result of considerable diversity of competences combined with interactive learning and innovation, cities may also solve these problems. The ‘urban order’ may form a platform...... for innovative problem solving and potential spill-over effects, which may stimulate further economic growth and development. This paper discusses how waste problems of cities can be transformed to become part of new, more sustainable solutions. Two cases are explored: Aalborg in Denmark and Malmö in Sweden...

City 2020+

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, C.; Buttstädt, M.; Merbitz, H.; Sachsen, T.; Ketzler, G.; Michael, S.; Klemme, M.; Dott, W.; Selle, K.; Hofmeister, H.

2010-09-01

This research initiative CITY 2020+ assesses the risks and opportunities for residents in urban built environments under projected demographic and climate change for the year 2020 and beyond, using the City of Aachen as a case study. CITY 2020+ develops scenarios, options and tools for planning and developing sustainable future city structures. We investigate how urban environment, political structure and residential behavior can best be adapted, with attention to the interactions among structural, political, and sociological configurations and with their consequences on human health. Demographers project that in the EU-25-States by 2050, approximately 30% of the population will be over age 65. Also by 2050, average tem¬peratures are projected to rise by 1 to 2 K. Combined, Europe can expect enhanced thermal stress and higher levels of particulate matter. CITY 2020+ amongst other sub-projects includes research project dealing with (1) a micro-scale assessment of blockages to low-level cold-air drainage flow into the city centre by vegetation and building structures, (2) a detailed analysis of the change of probability density functions related to the occurrence of heat waves during summer and the spatial and temporal structure of the urban heat island (UHI) (3) a meso-scale analysis of particulate matter (PM) concentrations depending on topography, local meteorological conditions and synoptic-scale weather patterns. First results will be presented specifically from sub-projects related to vegetation barriers within cold air drainage, the assessment of the UHI and the temporal and spatial pattern of PM loadings in the city centre. The analysis of the cold air drainage flow is investigated in two consecutive years with a clearing of vegetation stands in the beginning of the second year early in 2010. The spatial pattern of the UHI and its possible enhancement by climate change is addressed employing a unique setup using GPS devices and temperature probes fixed to

Cardiomiectomia com fundoplicatura parcial videolaparoscópica no tratamento do megaesôfago não avançado: estudo de 50 casos

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Eduardo Domene

Full Text Available Foram estudados prospectivamente cinqüenta pacientes com megaesôfago não avançado tratados por cardiomiectomia com fundoplicatura parcial por via laparoscópica, avaliados sob o ponto de vista clínico e funcional. Houve 12% de complicações intra-operatórias, duas complicações pós-operatórias imediatas e um óbito. Não houve conversões ou complicações tardias. Os resultados ótimos e bons somaram 97,9% dos casos. Houve tendência à diminuição radiológica do calibre do esôfago e desaparecimento da esofagite à endoscopia. A eletromanometria mostrou diminuição significativa da pressão média do esfíncter inferior do esôfago após a operação; a pHmetria de 24 horas constatou diminuição da estase esofágica e ausência de refluxo gastro-esofágico no pós-operatório. Não houve diferença entre os resultados do tratamento de pacientes com megaesôfago chagásico e não chagásico. Os pacientes tiveram o benefício da cirurgia laparoscópica de menor dor, rápida realimentação, alta precoce e breve retorno às atividades habituais.

Lighting the city. First poetic representations of Mexico City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia Kerik

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The first impressions that caused the changes made in Mexico City in its process of transformation into a modern city were captured by its poets drawing attention to different aspects of life in the capital. While from the popular poetry the record of the entrance of the electricity in the public road was left, from the official poetry was tried to witness the new cosmopolitan status of the Mexico City in the Porfirian era, through the fashion and the customs that were revealed in one of the main streets of the city. Comparing these poems allows us to know the initial strategies of poetic figuration of urban space that will continue to develop along different paths throughout the twentieth century until we reach our days.

On the Internet of Things, smart cities and the WHO Healthy Cities

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

This article gives a brief overview of the Internet of Things (IoT) for cities, offering examples of IoT-powered 21st century smart cities, including the experience of the Spanish city of Barcelona in implementing its own IoT-driven services to improve the quality of life of its people through measures that promote an eco-friendly, sustainable environment. The potential benefits as well as the challenges associated with IoT for cities are discussed. Much of the 'big data' that are continuously generated by IoT sensors, devices, systems and services are geo-tagged or geo-located. The importance of having robust, intelligent geospatial analytics systems in place to process and make sense of such data in real time cannot therefore be overestimated. The authors argue that IoT-powered smart cities stand better chances of becoming healthier cities. The World Health Organization (WHO) Healthy Cities Network and associated national networks have hundreds of member cities around the world that could benefit from, and harness the power of, IoT to improve the health and well-being of their local populations. PMID:24669838

On the Internet of Things, smart cities and the WHO Healthy Cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamel Boulos, Maged N; Al-Shorbaji, Najeeb M

2014-03-27

This article gives a brief overview of the Internet of Things (IoT) for cities, offering examples of IoT-powered 21st century smart cities, including the experience of the Spanish city of Barcelona in implementing its own IoT-driven services to improve the quality of life of its people through measures that promote an eco-friendly, sustainable environment. The potential benefits as well as the challenges associated with IoT for cities are discussed. Much of the 'big data' that are continuously generated by IoT sensors, devices, systems and services are geo-tagged or geo-located. The importance of having robust, intelligent geospatial analytics systems in place to process and make sense of such data in real time cannot therefore be overestimated. The authors argue that IoT-powered smart cities stand better chances of becoming healthier cities. The World Health Organization (WHO) Healthy Cities Network and associated national networks have hundreds of member cities around the world that could benefit from, and harness the power of, IoT to improve the health and well-being of their local populations.

City Hub : a cloud based IoT platform for Smart Cities

OpenAIRE

Lea, Rodger; Blackstock, Michael

2014-01-01

Cloud based Smart City hubs are an attractive approach to addressing some of the complex issues faced when deploying PaaS infrastructure for Smart Cities. In this paper we introduce the general notion of IoT hubs and then discusses our work to generalize our IoT hub as a Smart City PaaS. Two key issues are identified, support for hybrid public/private cloud and interoperability. We briefly describe our approach to these issues and discuss our experiences deploying two cloud-based Smart City h...

For the Smarter Good of Cities? On Cities, Complexity and Slippages in the Smart City Discourse’

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Steiner, Henriette; Veel, Kristin

2013-01-01

Summary: Cities for Smart Environmental and Energy Futures presents works written by eminent international experts from a variety of disciplines including architecture, engineering and related fields. Due to the ever-increasing focus on sustainable technologies, alternative energy sources......, and global social and urban issues, interest in the energy systems for cities of the future has grown in a wealth of disciplines. Some of the special features of this book include new findings on the city of the future from the macro to the micro level. These range from urban sustainability to indoor...... urbanism, and from strategies for cities and global climate change to material properties. The book is intended for graduate students and researchers active in architecture, engineering, the social and computational sciences, building physics and related fields....

Flying Cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ciger, Jan

2006-01-01

The Flying Cities artistic installation brings to life imaginary cities made from the speech input of visitors. In this article we describe the original interactive process generating real time 3D graphics from spectators' vocal inputs. This example of cross-modal interaction has the nice property....... As the feedback we have received when presenting Flying Cities was very positive, our objective now is to cross the bridge between art and the potential applications to the rehabilitation of people with reduced mobility or for the treatment of language impairments....

Flying Cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herbelin, Bruno; Lasserre, Sebastien; Ciger, Jan

2008-01-01

Flying Cities is an artistic installation which generates imaginary cities from the speech of its visitors. Thanks to an original interactive process analyzing people's vocal input to create 3D graphics, a tangible correspondence between speech and visuals opens new possibilities of interaction....... This cross-modal interaction not only supports our artistic messages, but also aims at providing anyone with a pleasant and stimulating feedback from her/his speech activity. As the feedback we have received when presenting Flying Cities was very positive, our objective is now to cross the bridge between art...

From City-States to Global Cities: the role of Cities in Global Governance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Domingos Martins Vaz

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Global governance has altered institutional architecture and the systemic and institutional conditions under which power is exercised, as well as the characteristics of the political system, the form of government, and the system of intermediation of interests. However, although it has surpassed the State’s dimension of power, it created new interstate dimensions and new relations between powers, particularly at the level of cities. Cities have helped to solve common problems in a more efficient and effective way by facilitating the exchange of knowledge, sharing of solutions and resources, and building capacity to implement and monitor progress in order to achieve collectively agreed goals, in a bottom-up approach. Cities have the virtue of securing the most direct social and political contract between societies and the notion of authority. This study, therefore, aims to reflect on this emerging, less hierarchical and rigid governance and address complex global challenges such as climate and demographic change; increasing crime rates; disruptive technology; and pressures on resources, infrastructure and energy. As a global/local interface, cities can ensure effective solutions to current challenges and act together in areas where the global agenda has stalled.

Towards Credible City Branding Practices: How Do Iran’s Largest Cities Face Ecological Modernization?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Negar Noori

2018-04-01

Full Text Available City branding is not only increasingly practiced in cities in established economies, but also among municipal governments in countries, until quite recently, rather closed off from the outside world. One country with a strong drive to engage in urban (redevelopment in the post-oil era through enhancing its ‘ecological modernization’ is Iran. Megacities in Iran have all begun to venture into making profiles of what they think they are or would like to be. However, some of the adopted city branding strategies lack sophistication. In this article, the authors examine what indicators can be used for evaluating the credibility of city brands and apply these to Iran’s 15 megacities. After offering brief descriptions of the generic features of each of these cities, they map their use of city brand identities and popular city labels related to ecological modernization and analyze the credibility of their city branding practices. Based on their findings, the authors distinguish five types of cities and explain what makes some types more credible in their use of brands than others. Generally speaking, compared to cities in other nations, Iranian cities pay special attention to historical, natural, cultural, and religious aspects.

Smart City Planning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ekman, Ulrik

2018-01-01

This article reflects on the challenges for urban planning posed by the emergence of smart cities in network societies. In particular, it reflects on reductionist tendencies in existing smart city planning. Here the concern is with the implications of prior reductions of complexity which have been...... undertaken by placing primacy in planning on information technology, economical profit, and top-down political government. Rather than pointing urban planning towards a different ordering of these reductions, this article argues in favor of approaches to smart city planning via complexity theory....... Specifically, this article argues in favor of approaching smart city plans holistically as topologies of organized complexity. Here, smart city planning is seen as a theory and practice engaging with a complex adaptive urban system which continuously operates on its potential. The actualizations in the face...

Molecular diagnosis of Hepatozoon canis in symptomatic dogs in the city of Goiania, Goiás, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S.C. Duarte

Full Text Available ABSTRACT More than 300 species have been described in the genus Hepatozoon, occurring in different vertebrates. Among these, only Hepatozoon canis and Hepatozoon americanum are seen in dogs. Different methods may be used for laboratory diagnosis. The most common of these is direct parasitological examination of parasite stages in blood smears. The aim of this investigation was to conduct a phylogenetic study on Hepatozoon isolates from symptomatic dogs in the city of Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil. Blood samples were obtained from 40 symptomatic dogs that had been referred to the Veterinary Hospital of the Federal University of Goiás. Among these, only two samples were positive for Hepatozoon spp. using the direct parasitological method. These samples were then subjected to a DNA extraction process and amplification of a fragment of the 18S rRNA by means of PCR. Subsequently, the PCR products from each sample were purified and sequenced. The sequences obtained were then analyzed using the BLASTn algorithm, which identified both sequences of this study as Hepatozoon canis. By applying the Mega4 software, it was confirmed that these isolates of H. canis from dogs in Goiânia are similar to other reference isolates of the same species from other regions of Brazil and worldwide.

Why Are Cities Becoming Alike When Each City Is Branded as Different?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ooi, Can-Seng

Cities are becoming alike. As a result, there is a rise of “copy-cat” cities. There are many reasons for this, and this paper looks from the perspective of city branding: how does place branding lead to the homogenization of cities? Using the case of Singapore, and with references to Chinese cities......, this paper highlights a number of accreditation tactics in place branding campaigns. Accreditation is necessary because the brand needs to seek credibility for the messages it sends. The types of accreditation used must also be globally understood, so as to reach out to diverse world audiences....

Potential of 3D City Models to assess flood vulnerability

Science.gov (United States)

Schröter, Kai; Bochow, Mathias; Schüttig, Martin; Nagel, Claus; Ross, Lutz; Kreibich, Heidi

2016-04-01

Vulnerability, as the product of exposure and susceptibility, is a key factor of the flood risk equation. Furthermore, the estimation of flood loss is very sensitive to the choice of the vulnerability model. Still, in contrast to elaborate hazard simulations, vulnerability is often considered in a simplified manner concerning the spatial resolution and geo-location of exposed objects as well as the susceptibility of these objects at risk. Usually, area specific potential flood loss is quantified on the level of aggregated land-use classes, and both hazard intensity and resistance characteristics of affected objects are represented in highly simplified terms. We investigate the potential of 3D City Models and spatial features derived from remote sensing data to improve the differentiation of vulnerability in flood risk assessment. 3D City Models are based on CityGML, an application scheme of the Geography Markup Language (GML), which represents the 3D geometry, 3D topology, semantics and appearance of objects on different levels of detail. As such, 3D City Models offer detailed spatial information which is useful to describe the exposure and to characterize the susceptibility of residential buildings at risk. This information is further consolidated with spatial features of the building stock derived from remote sensing data. Using this database a spatially detailed flood vulnerability model is developed by means of data-mining. Empirical flood damage data are used to derive and to validate flood susceptibility models for individual objects. We present first results from a prototype application in the city of Dresden, Germany. The vulnerability modeling based on 3D City Models and remote sensing data is compared i) to the generally accepted good engineering practice based on area specific loss potential and ii) to a highly detailed representation of flood vulnerability based on a building typology using urban structure types. Comparisons are drawn in terms of

Respiratory tract toxicity in rats exposed to Mexico City air.

Science.gov (United States)

Moss, O R; Gross, E A; James, R A; Janszen, D B; Ross, P W; Roberts, K C; Howard, A M; Harkema, J R; Calderón-Garcidueñas, L; Morgan, K T

2001-03-01

The rat has been used extensively as a health sentinel, indicator, or monitor of environmental health hazards, but this model has not been directly validated against human exposures. Humans in Mexico City show upper respiratory tract lesions and evidence of pulmonary damage related to their environmental inhalation exposure. In this study, male and female F344 rats were exposed (23 hr/day) in Mexico City to local Mexico City air (MCA)* for up to seven weeks. Controls were maintained at the same location under filtered air. Prior to these exposures, several steps were taken. First, the nasal passages of normal male rats shipped from the United States and housed in Mexico City were examined for mycoplasma infection; no evidence of infection was found. In addition, a mobile exposure and monitoring system was assembled and, with an ozone (O3) exposure atmosphere, was tested along with supporting histopathology techniques and analysis of rat nasal and lung tissues. Last, the entire exposure model (equipment and animals) was transported to Mexico City and validated for a three-week period. During the seven-week study there were 18 one-hour intervals during which the average O3 concentration of MCA in the exposure chamber exceeded the US National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) of 0.120 ppm 03 (hourly average, not to be exceeded more than once per year). This prolonged exposure of healthy F344 rats to MCA containing episodically low to moderate concentrations of 03 (as well as other urban air pollutants) did not induce inflammatory or epithelial lesions in the nasal airways or lung as measured by qualitative histologic techniques or quantitative morphometric techniques. These findings agree with those of previous controlled O3 inhalation studies, but they are in contrast to reports indicating that O3-polluted MCA causes significant nasal mucosal injury in adults and children living in southwestern Mexico City. Taken together, these findings may suggest that human

DIRECTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND RISKS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TRANSPORT MEGA-PROJECTS “NORTH-SOUTH” AND “EAST-WEST” UNDER THE NEW GEOPOLITICAL REALITIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. K. Tulokhonov

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses the prospect of the development of Russia’s transport infrastructure mega-projects in the context of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization formation. The paper focuses on the country’s interests in the area of influence of the Silk and the Tea Roads. Economic cooperation with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region on the Trans-Siberian Railway-Mongolia-China direction, with diversification of transport routes to all four oceans and five continents, is the most effective policy for Russia.

Existing and Proposed Urban Geosites Values Resulting from Geodiversity of Poznań City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zwoliński Zbigniew

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Poznań, a city in central-western Poland, is located in the lowland region but has no less attractive geomorphological and human history. It was here that Poland was born at the end of the tenth century. The city’s location is connected with the meridian course of the Warta River valley. In contrast, in the northern part of the city, there is a vast area of the frontal moraines of the Poznań Phase of the Weichselian Glaciation. Against the backdrop of the geomorphological development of the city, the article presents the existing geosites, classified as urban geosites. The present geosites include three lapidaries with Scandinavian postglacial erratics, one of them also with stoneware, a fragment of a frontal push moraine and impact craters. Besides, three locations of proposed geosites with rich geomorphological and/or human history were identified. These are as follows: the peat bog located in the northern part of the city, defence ramparts as exhumed anthropogenic forms, and the Warta River valley. The existing and proposed geosites in Poznań were evaluated in three ways. In general, it should be assumed that the proposed new geosites are higher ranked than the current ones.

A liveable city:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sommerlund, Julie

2014-01-01

is increas- ingly based in and on cities rather than nations, and cities compete for businesses, branding, tourists and talent. In the western world, urbanisation has happened simultane- ously to de-industrialisation, which has opened industrial neighbourhoods and harbours for new uses – often focus- ing......There are over 20 cities world-wide with a population of over 10 million people. We have entered ‘The Millennium of the City’. The growth of urban populations has been accompanied by profound changes of the cities’ economic and social profile and of the cities themselves. The world economy...