WorldWideScience

Sample records for environmentally adapted transport

  1. The plasma membrane transport systems and adaptation to salinity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mansour, Mohamed Magdy F

    2014-11-15

    Salt stress represents one of the environmental challenges that drastically affect plant growth and yield. Evidence suggests that glycophytes and halophytes have a salt tolerance mechanisms working at the cellular level, and the plasma membrane (PM) is believed to be one facet of the cellular mechanisms. The responses of the PM transport proteins to salinity in contrasting species/cultivars were discussed. The review provides a comprehensive overview of the recent advances describing the crucial roles that the PM transport systems have in plant adaptation to salt. Several lines of evidence were presented to demonstrate the correlation between the PM transport proteins and adaptation of plants to high salinity. How alterations in these transport systems of the PM allow plants to cope with the salt stress was also addressed. Although inconsistencies exist in some of the information related to the responses of the PM transport proteins to salinity in different species/cultivars, their key roles in adaptation of plants to high salinity is obvious and evident, and cannot be precluded. Despite the promising results, detailed investigations at the cellular/molecular level are needed in some issues of the PM transport systems in response to salinity to further evaluate their implication in salt tolerance. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  2. Environmental impacts of climate change adaptation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Enríquez-de-Salamanca, Álvaro, E-mail: aenriquez@draba.org [Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED)/Draba Ingeniería y Consultoría Medioambiental, Cañada Nueva, 13, 28200 San Lorenzo de El Escorial (Spain); Díaz-Sierra, Rubén, E-mail: sierra@dfmf.uned.es [Departamento de Física Matemática y de Fluidos, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Paseo Senda del Rey, 9, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Martín-Aranda, Rosa M., E-mail: rmartin@ccia.uned.es [Departamento de Química Inorgánica y Química Técnica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Paseo Senda del Rey, 9, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Santos, Maria J., E-mail: M.J.FerreiraDosSantos@uu.nl [Department of Innovation, Environmental and Energy Sciences, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 2, 3572 TC Utrecht (Netherlands)

    2017-05-15

    Climate change adaptation reduces adverse effects of climate change but may also have undesirable environmental impacts. However, these impacts are yet poorly defined and analysed in the existing literature. To complement this knowledge-gap, we reviewed the literature to unveil the relationship between climate change adaptation and environmental impact assessment, and the degree to which environmental impacts are included in climate change adaptation theory and practice. Our literature review showed that technical, social and economic perspectives on climate change adaptation receive much more attention than the environmental perspective. The scarce interest on the environmental impacts of adaptation may be attributed to (1) an excessive sectoral approach, with dominance of non-environmental perspectives, (2) greater interest in mitigation and direct climate change impacts rather than in adaptation impacts, (3) a tendency to consider adaptation as inherently good, and (4) subjective/preconceived notions on which measures are good or bad, without a comprehensive assessment. Environmental Assessment (EA) has a long established history as an effective tool to include environment into decision-making, although it does not yet guarantee a proper assessment of adaptation, because it is still possible to postpone or even circumvent the processes of assessing the impacts of climate adaptation. Our results suggest that there is a need to address adaptation proactively by including it in EA, to update current policy frameworks, and to demand robust and reliable evaluation of alternatives. Only through the full EA of adaptation measures can we improve our understanding of the primary and secondary impacts of adaptation to global environmental change. - Highlights: • Climate change adaptation may have undesirable environmental impacts. • The impacts of adaptation are yet poorly analysed in the literature. • There is an excessive sectoral approach to adaptation, mainly

  3. Environmental impacts of climate change adaptation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Enríquez-de-Salamanca, Álvaro; Díaz-Sierra, Rubén; Martín-Aranda, Rosa M.; Santos, Maria J.

    2017-01-01

    Climate change adaptation reduces adverse effects of climate change but may also have undesirable environmental impacts. However, these impacts are yet poorly defined and analysed in the existing literature. To complement this knowledge-gap, we reviewed the literature to unveil the relationship between climate change adaptation and environmental impact assessment, and the degree to which environmental impacts are included in climate change adaptation theory and practice. Our literature review showed that technical, social and economic perspectives on climate change adaptation receive much more attention than the environmental perspective. The scarce interest on the environmental impacts of adaptation may be attributed to (1) an excessive sectoral approach, with dominance of non-environmental perspectives, (2) greater interest in mitigation and direct climate change impacts rather than in adaptation impacts, (3) a tendency to consider adaptation as inherently good, and (4) subjective/preconceived notions on which measures are good or bad, without a comprehensive assessment. Environmental Assessment (EA) has a long established history as an effective tool to include environment into decision-making, although it does not yet guarantee a proper assessment of adaptation, because it is still possible to postpone or even circumvent the processes of assessing the impacts of climate adaptation. Our results suggest that there is a need to address adaptation proactively by including it in EA, to update current policy frameworks, and to demand robust and reliable evaluation of alternatives. Only through the full EA of adaptation measures can we improve our understanding of the primary and secondary impacts of adaptation to global environmental change. - Highlights: • Climate change adaptation may have undesirable environmental impacts. • The impacts of adaptation are yet poorly analysed in the literature. • There is an excessive sectoral approach to adaptation, mainly

  4. Transport and environmental sustainability: An adapted SPE approach for modelling interactions between transport, infrastructure, economy and environment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Verhoef, Erik; Van den Bergh, Jeroen [Department of Spatial Economics, Faculty of Economics and Econometrics, Free University Amsterdam, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

    1994-05-01

    The present paper aims at shedding some light on the concept of `sustainable transport`. Within the context of a sustainable development, the consequences of interdependencies between transport, infrastructure, economy and environment for the formulation of optimal regulatory policies are investigated. The Spatial Price Equilibrium approach is adapted for the analysis of sustainable spatio-economic development, and for the evaluation of first-best and second-best regulatory policies on the issues at hand. The analysis demonstrates the need for integration of elements concerning economic structure, infrastructure, transportation, environment and space in one single analytical framework when considering questions on sustainability in relation to transport. 2 figs., 1 appendix, 10 refs.

  5. Modeling adaptive and non-adaptive responses to environmental change

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Coulson, Tim; Kendall, Bruce E; Barthold, Julia A.

    2017-01-01

    , with plastic responses being either adaptive or non-adaptive. We develop an approach that links quantitative genetic theory with data-driven structured models to allow prediction of population responses to environmental change via plasticity and adaptive evolution. After introducing general new theory, we...... construct a number of example models to demonstrate that evolutionary responses to environmental change over the short-term will be considerably slower than plastic responses, and that the rate of adaptive evolution to a new environment depends upon whether plastic responses are adaptive or non-adaptive....... Parameterization of the models we develop requires information on genetic and phenotypic variation and demography that will not always be available, meaning that simpler models will often be required to predict responses to environmental change. We consequently develop a method to examine whether the full...

  6. Adaptive Management of Environmental Flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webb, J. Angus; Watts, Robyn J.; Allan, Catherine; Conallin, John C.

    2018-03-01

    Adaptive management enables managers to work with complexity and uncertainty, and to respond to changing biophysical and social conditions. Amid considerable uncertainty over the benefits of environmental flows, governments are embracing adaptive management as a means to inform decision making. This Special Issue of Environmental Management presents examples of adaptive management of environmental flows and addresses claims that there are few examples of its successful implementation. It arose from a session at the 11th International Symposium on Ecohydraulics held in Australia, and is consequently dominated by papers from Australia. We classified the papers according to the involvement of researchers, managers and the local community in adaptive management. Five papers report on approaches developed by researchers, and one paper on a community-led program; these case studies currently have little impact on decision making. Six papers provide examples involving water managers and researchers, and two papers provide examples involving water managers and the local community. There are no papers where researchers, managers and local communities all contribute equally to adaptive management. Successful adaptive management of environmental flows occurs more often than is perceived. The final paper explores why successes are rarely reported, suggesting a lack of emphasis on reflection on management practices. One major challenge is to increase the documentation of successful adaptive management, so that benefits of learning extend beyond the project where it takes place. Finally, moving towards greater involvement of all stakeholders is critical if we are to realize the benefits of adaptive management for improving outcomes from environmental flows.

  7. Environmental assessment of freight transportation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Flodstroem, E. [MariTerm AB, Goeteborg (Sweden)

    1998-04-01

    This report is a short version in English of two reports in Swedish: KFB report 1994:6 `Environmental effects of change of transport mode for goods transportation` and `Combining of transport models` which was performed as a commission for the Swedish environmental protection agency. The aim of both studies is to investigate the environmental effects of political measures to transfer goods from one transport mode to another. To be able to calculate the environmental effects a method to follow the transport chains has been developed. By defining the transport chains with a main transport mode it has been possible to relate the emissions to the different modes. The main results are that the transferable volumes are limited and even if a maximum volume is transferred, the positive environmental effects are small compared to the effects of measures to reduce the emissions from the vehicles 3 refs, 22 figs, 34 tabs

  8. Environmentally-adapted local energy systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moe, N; Oefverholm, E [NUTEK, Stockholm (Sweden); Andersson, Owe [EKAN Gruppen (Sweden); Froste, H [Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Stockholm (Sweden)

    1997-10-01

    Energy companies, municipalities, property companies, firms of consultants, environmental groups and individuals are examples of players working locally to shape environmentally adapted energy systems. These players have needed information making them better able to make decisions on cost-efficient, environmentally-adapted energy systems. This book answers many of the questions they have put. The volume is mainly based on Swedish handbooks produced by the Swedish National Board for Industrial and Technical Development, NUTEK, together with the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. These handbooks have been used in conjunction with municipal energy planning, local Agenda 21 work, to provide a basis for deciding on concrete local energy systems. The contents in brief: -The book throws new light on the concept of energy efficiency; -A section on the environment compares how air-polluting emissions vary with different methods of energy production; -A section contains more than 40 ideas for measures which can be profitable, reduce energy consumption and the impact on the environment all at the same time; -The book gives concrete examples of new, alternative and environmentally-adapted local energy systems. More efficient use of energy is included as a possible change of energy system; -The greatest emphasis is laid upon alternative energy systems for heating. It may be heating in a house, block of flats, office building or school; -Finally, there are examples of environmentally-adapted local energy planning.

  9. Analysis on Transportation Infrastructure Availability to Achieve Environmental and Social Sustainability in Karawang

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rarasati, A. D.; Octoria, N. B.

    2018-03-01

    Sustainable infrastructure is the key to development success. At the same time, transportation infrastructure development will involve social and environmental conditions of the local surroundings. Assessment of the availability of such transport infrastructure is one of the solutions adapted from social and environmental impacts. By conducting a correlation test, the presence of transportation infrastructure and the social conditions of the environment can be identified. The results obtained show that the accessibility, the level of security, and the level of equality are correlated to social and environmental sustainability in Karawang. In terms of environment, the availability of transportation infrastructure is not directly related to the impact of environmental sustainability. The impact of the perceived environment also has no effect on the journey. Correlation results indicate that the length of travel time and congestion level do not make the perceived impact greater. The impact of the perceived environment is merely due to the high utilization of private vehicles in Karawang which subsequently leads to higher energy consumption.

  10. Vibrio Iron Transport: Evolutionary Adaptation to Life in Multiple Environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mey, Alexandra R.; Wyckoff, Elizabeth E.

    2015-01-01

    SUMMARY Iron is an essential element for Vibrio spp., but the acquisition of iron is complicated by its tendency to form insoluble ferric complexes in nature and its association with high-affinity iron-binding proteins in the host. Vibrios occupy a variety of different niches, and each of these niches presents particular challenges for acquiring sufficient iron. Vibrio species have evolved a wide array of iron transport systems that allow the bacteria to compete for this essential element in each of its habitats. These systems include the secretion and uptake of high-affinity iron-binding compounds (siderophores) as well as transport systems for iron bound to host complexes. Transporters for ferric and ferrous iron not complexed to siderophores are also common to Vibrio species. Some of the genes encoding these systems show evidence of horizontal transmission, and the ability to acquire and incorporate additional iron transport systems may have allowed Vibrio species to more rapidly adapt to new environmental niches. While too little iron prevents growth of the bacteria, too much can be lethal. The appropriate balance is maintained in vibrios through complex regulatory networks involving transcriptional repressors and activators and small RNAs (sRNAs) that act posttranscriptionally. Examination of the number and variety of iron transport systems found in Vibrio spp. offers insights into how this group of bacteria has adapted to such a wide range of habitats. PMID:26658001

  11. A unit for environmentally adapted technology for transportation of passengers and goods. Individual personal transportation, electric and hybrid vehicles - a preliminary study; Enhet foer miljoeanpassad teknik foer person- och godstransporter - Individuell persontrafik, el- och hybridfordon - Foerstudie

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bauner, D; Lumsden, K [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden). Dept. of Transportation and Logistics

    1996-02-01

    A unit for environmentally adapted transport at Chalmers Univ of Technology offers the possibility to enhance competence, to bestow decision makers with information and permits working with the processes needed. Regarding electric propulsion road vehicles, such a unit can coordinate the experiences from the Swedish projects. Further, it may maintain a secretariat and a managerial function to the database which will provide information to research councils, transport administrations and other government organizations, cities etc. The unit may also coordinate and submit research results and, in a long-term perspective, establish and administer field and laboratory vehicle testing. The unit may also function as a link between the vehicle industry and environmental organizations. The initial activities should include the establishment of a national database for electric vehicles and a full-time research post. The present study deals with individual personal transportation. Corresponding studies should be carried out for other areas in order to form a consistent profile for the unit. 38 refs

  12. Revealing Adaptive Management of Environmental Flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allan, Catherine; Watts, Robyn J.

    2018-03-01

    Managers of land, water, and biodiversity are working with increasingly complex social ecological systems with high uncertainty. Adaptive management (learning from doing) is an ideal approach for working with this complexity. The competing social and environmental demands for water have prompted interest in freshwater adaptive management, but its success and uptake appear to be slow. Some of the perceived "failure" of adaptive management may reflect the way success is conceived and measured; learning, rarely used as an indicator of success, is narrowly defined when it is. In this paper, we document the process of adaptive flow management in the Edward-Wakool system in the southern Murray-Darling Basin, Australia. Data are from interviews with environmental water managers, document review, and the authors' structured reflection on their experiences of adaptive management and environmental flows. Substantial learning occurred in relation to the management of environmental flows in the Edward-Wakool system, with evidence found in planning documents, water-use reports, technical reports, stakeholder committee minutes, and refereed papers, while other evidence was anecdotal. Based on this case, we suggest it may be difficult for external observers to perceive the success of large adaptive management projects because evidence of learning is dispersed across multiple documents, and learning is not necessarily considered a measure of success. We suggest that documentation and sharing of new insights, and of the processes of learning, should be resourced to facilitate social learning within the water management sector, and to help demonstrate the successes of adaptive management.

  13. Induction of Heavy-Metal-Transporting CPX-Type ATPases during Acid Adaptation in Lactobacillus bulgaricus▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Penaud, S.; Fernandez, A.; Boudebbouze, S.; Ehrlich, S. D.; Maguin, E.; van de Guchte, M.

    2006-01-01

    Lactobacillus bulgaricus is a lactic acid bacteria (LAB) that, through the production of lactic acid, gradually acidifies its environment during growth. In the course of this process, L. bulgaricus acquires an improved tolerance to acidity. A survey of the recently established genome sequence shows that this bacterium possesses few of the pH control functions that have been described in other LAB and raises the question of what other mechanisms could be involved in its adaptation to the decreasing environmental pH. In some bacteria other than LAB, ion transport systems have been implicated in acid adaptation. We therefore studied the expression of this type of transport system during acid adaptation in L. bulgaricus by reverse transcription and real-time quantitative PCR and mapped transcription start sites. Intriguingly, the most significantly induced were three ATPases carrying the CPX signature of heavy-metal transporters. Protein homology and the presence of a conserved sequence motif in the promoter regions of the genes encoding these proteins strongly suggest that they are involved in copper homeostasis. Induction of this system is thought to assist in avoiding indirect damage that could result from medium acidification. PMID:16997986

  14. Transportation Technical Environmental Information Center index

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Davidson, C. A.; Foley, J. T.

    1980-10-01

    In an effort to determine the environmental intensities to which energy materials in transit may be exposed, a Data Center of technical environmental information has been established by Sandia National Laboratories, Division 5523, for the DOE Office of Transportation Fuel Storage. This document is an index which can be used to request data of interest. Access to the information held is not limited to Sandia personnel. The purpose of the Transportation Technical Environmental Information Center is to collect, analyze, store, and make available descriptions of the environment of transportation expressed in engineering terms. The data stored in the Center are expected to be useful in a variety of transportation related analyses. Formulations of environmental criteria for shipment of cargo, risk assessments, and detailed structural analyses of shipping containers are examples where these data have been applied. For purposes of indexing and data retrieval, the data are catalogued under two major headings: Normal and Abnormal Environments.

  15. Transportation Technical Environmental Information Center index

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davidson, C.A.; Foley, J.T.

    1980-10-01

    In an effort to determine the environmental intensities to which energy materials in transit may be exposed, a Data Center of technical environmental information has been established by Sandia National Laboratories, Division 5523, for the DOE Office of Transportation Fuel Storage. This document is an index which can be used to request data of interest. Access to the information held is not limited to Sandia personnel. The purpose of the Transportation Technical Environmental Information Center is to collect, analyze, store, and make available descriptions of the environment of transportation expressed in engineering terms. The data stored in the Center are expected to be useful in a variety of transportation related analyses. Formulations of environmental criteria for shipment of cargo, risk assessments, and detailed structural analyses of shipping containers are examples where these data have been applied. For purposes of indexing and data retrieval, the data are catalogued under two major headings: Normal and Abnormal Environments

  16. Legal and Institutional Foundations of Adaptive Environmental ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    Legal and institutional structures fundamentally shape opportunities for adaptive governance of environmental resources at multiple ecological and societal scales. Properties of adaptive governance are widely studied. However, these studies have not resulted in consolidated frameworks for legal and institutional design, limiting our ability to promote adaptation and social-ecological resilience. We develop an overarching framework that describes the current and potential role of law in enabling adaptation. We apply this framework to different social-ecological settings, centers of activity, and scales, illustrating the multidimensional and polycentric nature of water governance. Adaptation typically emerges organically among multiple centers of agency and authority in society as a relatively self-organized or autonomous process marked by innovation, social learning, and political deliberation. This self-directed and emergent process is difficult to create in an exogenous, top-down fashion. However, traditional centers of authority may establish enabling conditions for adaptation using a suite of legal, economic, and democratic tools to legitimize and facilitate self-organization, coordination, and collaboration across scales. The principles outlined here provide preliminary legal and institutional foundations for adaptive environmental governance, which may inform institutional design and guide future scholarship. Adaptation typically emerges organically among m

  17. Environmental adaptability and stress tolerance of Laribacter hongkongensis: a genome-wide analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lau Susanna KP

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Laribacter hongkongensis is associated with community-acquired gastroenteritis and traveler's diarrhea and it can reside in human, fish, frogs and water. In this study, we performed an in-depth annotation of the genes in its genome related to adaptation to the various environmental niches. Results L. hongkongensis possessed genes for DNA repair and recombination, basal transcription, alternative σ-factors and 109 putative transcription factors, allowing DNA repair and global changes in gene expression in response to different environmental stresses. For acid stress, it possessed a urease gene cassette and two arc gene clusters. For alkaline stress, it possessed six CDSs for transporters of the monovalent cation/proton antiporter-2 and NhaC Na+:H+ antiporter families. For heavy metals acquisition and tolerance, it possessed CDSs for iron and nickel transport and efflux pumps for other metals. For temperature stress, it possessed genes related to chaperones and chaperonins, heat shock proteins and cold shock proteins. For osmotic stress, 25 CDSs were observed, mostly related to regulators for potassium ion, proline and glutamate transport. For oxidative and UV light stress, genes for oxidant-resistant dehydratase, superoxide scavenging, hydrogen peroxide scavenging, exclusion and export of redox-cycling antibiotics, redox balancing, DNA repair, reduction of disulfide bonds, limitation of iron availability and reduction of iron-sulfur clusters are present. For starvation, it possessed phosphorus and, despite being asaccharolytic, carbon starvation-related CDSs. Conclusions The L. hongkongensis genome possessed a high variety of genes for adaptation to acid, alkaline, temperature, osmotic, oxidative, UV light and starvation stresses and acquisition of and tolerance to heavy metals.

  18. Monitoring adaptive genetic responses to environmental change

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, M.M.; Olivieri, I.; Waller, D.M.

    2012-01-01

    Widespread environmental changes including climate change, selective harvesting and landscape alterations now greatly affect selection regimes for most organisms. How animals and plants can adapt to these altered environments via contemporary evolution is thus of strong interest. We discuss how...... for selection and establishing clear links between genetic and environmental change. We then review a few exemplary studies that explore adaptive responses to climate change in Drosophila, selective responses to hunting and fishing, and contemporary evolution in Daphnia using resurrected resting eggs. We...

  19. The Role of Adaptability in Tackling Climate and Environmental Challenges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Andrew J.; Liem, Gregory Arief D.

    2015-01-01

    Adaptability is our capacity to respond to change, uncertainty, and variability. We report on recent research investigating how young people's adaptability is related to their environmental awareness, environmental concerns, and pro-environmental attitudes that support the need for policy and action to sustain the environment.

  20. Environmental costs of transport; Liikenteen paeaestoekustannukset

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gynther, L.; Tervonen, J.; Hippinen, I.; Loven, K.; Salmi, J.; Soares, J.; Torkkeli, S.; Tikka, T.

    2012-07-01

    This study presents the estimated total environmental costs of airborne pollutants in road, rail and water transport in Finland and the unit costs of emissions used in socio-economic impact assessments of the transport system. The estimations are based on emission inventory for the year 2007 and the results are shown in prices of 2010. The study updates previous estimates dating back ten years. The total environmental cost of airborne pollutants in transport is estimated at 900 million euros. This is composed of 820 million euros attributable to fuel use and street dust, 54 million euros to the front end of fuel chains and 26 million euros to waste from water transport. The share of road transport in the total cost is 695 million euros, water transport 190 million euros and rail transport just under 15 million euros. The assessment covers the impacts of pollutants on health (increased mortality and morbidity) and flora (crop losses and decreased forest growth) as well as the cost of climate change. In addition to fuel emissions, also street dust is included in the analysis. In water transport the evaluation is extended to solid and liquid waste. In addition to fuel use, also other steps in the fuel chains, namely production, transport, refining and distribution, are covered by the study. The environmental unit costs of primary particles, sulphates and nitrates vary geographically and between different transport modes. The differences are particularly distinctive for particle emissions from road transport. The environmental unit costs of hydrocarbons and greenhouse gasses are the same for all transport modes in all traffic environments and all parts of the country. The impact assessment and monetary valuation of airborne pollutants was principally carried out by using the Impact Pathway Method. The method starts with an emissions inventory and estimation of the consequent pollutant concentrations followed by assessment of physical impacts, and finally monetary

  1. [Adaptability assessment of economic and environmental development of Tangshan, Hebei, China].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Rui-Ling; Zhu, Shao-Hua; Zhang, Qiu-Luan

    2014-10-01

    It is vital to explore whether the economic system adapts to the environmental system as the relationship between economy and environment becomes a gradually concerned problem. Tangshan, a typical resource-based city, was chosen to study the adaptabilities and performances of economic developments in response to environmental changes from 1992 to 2011. It was found that the economic-environmental adaptation curve of Tangshan City had an overall fluctuating and increasing tendency. The systematic adaptability kept advancing, reflecting Tangshan paid much attention to environmental development in addition to economic performances, and the two aspects became more and more coordinated. Filtering analysis of the adaptive curve with Eviews software revealed that the potential systematic coordinating index was rising continuously, however, the sum of resilience gap for 20 years was still negative, which implied that fundamental contradictions between high economic development and high energy consumption and high pollutant emission still existed. Carrying out adaptive researches not only helps people to adapt to climate changes better, but also has significances for economic and environmental coordination and sustainability research.

  2. Environmental Baseline File National Transportation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harris, M.

    1999-01-01

    This Environmental Baseline File summarizes and consolidates information related to the national-level transportation of commercial spent nuclear fuel. Topics addressed include: shipments of commercial spent nuclear fuel based on mostly truck and mostly rail shipping scenarios; transportation routing for commercial spent nuclear fuel sites and DOE sites; radionuclide inventories for various shipping container capacities; transportation routing; populations along transportation routes; urbanized area population densities; the impacts of historical, reasonably foreseeable, and general transportation; state-level food transfer factors; Federal Guidance Report No. 11 and 12 radionuclide dose conversion factors; and national average atmospheric conditions

  3. Tritium environmental transport studies at TFTR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ritter, P.D.; Dolan, T.J.; Longhurst, G.R.

    1993-01-01

    Environmental tritium concentrations will be measured near the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) to help validate dynamic models of tritium transport in the environment. For model validation the database must contain sequential measurements of tritium concentrations in key environmental compartments. Since complete containment of tritium is an operational goal, the supplementary monitoring program should be able to glean useful data from an unscheduled acute release. Portable air samplers will be used to take samples automatically every 4 hours for a weak after an acute release, thus obtaining the time resolution needed for code validation. Samples of soil, vegetation, and foodstuffs will be gathered daily at the same locations as the active air monitors. The database may help validate the plant/soil/air part of tritium transport models and enhance environmental tritium transport understanding for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)

  4. Tritium environmental transport studies at TFTR

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ritter, P. D.; Dolan, T. J.; Longhurst, G. R.

    1993-06-01

    Environmental tritium concentrations will be measured near the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) to help validate dynamic models of tritium transport in the environment. For model validation the database must contain sequential measurements of tritium concentrations in key environmental compartments. Since complete containment of tritium is an operational goal, the supplementary monitoring program should be able to glean useful data from an unscheduled acute release. Portable air samplers will be used to take samples automatically every 4 hours for a week after an acute release, thus obtaining the time resolution needed for code validation. Samples of soil, vegetation, and foodstuffs will be gathered daily at the same locations as the active air monitors. The database may help validate the plant/soil/air part of tritium transport models and enhance environmental tritium transport understanding for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER).

  5. Legal and Institutional Foundations of Adaptive Environmental Governance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Legal and institutional structures fundamentally shape opportunities for adaptive governance of environmental resources at multiple ecological and societal scales. Properties of adaptive governance are widely studied. However, these studies have not resulted in consolidated frame...

  6. Environmental adaptibility of tansy ( Tanacetum vulgare L ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ecological role of essential oils is reflected in the interaction of plants with environmental factors. Environmental adaptability of the plants can be assumed from essential oil contents. Essential oils are agents, which communicate with the plant environment. Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.) was selected for laboratory research ...

  7. Environmental adaptibility of tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2009-11-16

    Nov 16, 2009 ... Ecological role of essential oils is reflected in the interaction of plants with environmental factors. Environmental adaptability of the plants can be assumed from essential oil contents. Essential oils are agents, which communicate with the plant environment. Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.) was selected for.

  8. Legal and institutional foundations of adaptive environmental governance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel A. DeCaro

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Legal and institutional structures fundamentally shape opportunities for adaptive governance of environmental resources at multiple ecological and societal scales. Properties of adaptive governance are widely studied. However, these studies have not resulted in consolidated frameworks for legal and institutional design, limiting our ability to promote adaptation and social-ecological resilience. We develop an overarching framework that describes the current and potential role of law in enabling adaptation. We apply this framework to different social-ecological settings, centers of activity, and scales, illustrating the multidimensional and polycentric nature of water governance. Adaptation typically emerges organically among multiple centers of agency and authority in society as a relatively self-organized or autonomous process marked by innovation, social learning, and political deliberation. This self-directed and emergent process is difficult to create in an exogenous, top-down fashion. However, traditional centers of authority may establish enabling conditions for adaptation using a suite of legal, economic, and democratic tools to legitimize and facilitate self-organization, coordination, and collaboration across scales. The principles outlined here provide preliminary legal and institutional foundations for adaptive environmental governance, which may inform institutional design and guide future scholarship.

  9. Environmentally sustainable transport in the CEI countries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thaler, R.; Wiederkehr, P.

    2004-01-01

    Moving people and freight in an environmentally sustainable manner that reduces environmental pollution and health hazards is a key challenge for transport and environment policies in Europe. Present mobility patterns of passenger and freight transport in Central and Eastern Europe do not correspond to the objectives of sustainable development. This paper presents the results of a transport futures study for the CEI region as a whole using backcasting methodology with long-term sustainability criteria to be met by 2030. Achieving environmentally sustainable transport (EST) doesn't mean less transport and mobility than we have today, but it means primarily maintaining a balanced modal split that results in less environmental and health impacts than it would be under projected future trends. Rail, trams, busses and new forms of flexible inter-modal public transport mobility would have to take a large share and rail transport for passenger and freight as well as inland shipping would have to be nearly doubled by 2030 while road freight could still increase if it is based on alternative fuels reducing its impacts. Technological advancements for passenger cars and lorries, fuels and infrastructure will play an important part to achieve EST, but also ''smart'' mobility management (e.g. transport avoidance, increasing load factors and modal shift), innovative mobility services and freight logistics would be critical. The implementation of these policies and strategies will require coherent and comprehensive packages of instruments and measures, including: economic instruments, regulatory instruments, changes in infrastructure investment, mobility management, information and education programmes as well as better integration of land use, transport and environment policies. Realising EST will provide new opportunities for businesses to develop and invest in innovative solutions for passenger and freight transport. Overall, achieving EST would constitute a net benefit for

  10. Savannah River Laboratory environmental transport and effects research. Annual report, 1974

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crawford, T.V.

    1975-06-01

    The principal objective of environmental transport research at the Savannah River Laboratory (SRL) is to develop, apply, adapt, use, test, and verify models that predict the directions and magnitude of ecosystem processes. Since an ecosystem is understood to be a complex ecological unit composed of physical, chemical, and biotic components interacting in the cycling and transport of matter and the flow of energy, the understanding of ecosystem processes demands integrated study by scientists of differing disciplines. Data are included from studies on factors that affect the atmospheric transport and dispersion of radionuclides and chemical effluents; surface and groundwater transport of various pollutants following release to the soil surface or a flowing stream; the uptake and retention of tritium oxide by pine trees; calculations of the radiation dose commitment for human populations from 14 C released by the nuclear industry; the effects of thermal effluents on aquatic organisms, including plankton productivity, the population dynamics of freshwater snails, and the growth and respiration rates of the sand-burrowing mayfly (Dolania americana). Data are included from a survey of seismic activity in South Carolina. (CH)

  11. Environmental risk analysis of hazardous material rail transportation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Saat, Mohd Rapik, E-mail: mohdsaat@illinois.edu [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1243 Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory, 205 North Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Werth, Charles J.; Schaeffer, David [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1243 Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory, 205 North Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Yoon, Hongkyu [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87123 (United States); Barkan, Christopher P.L. [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1243 Newmark Civil Engineering Laboratory, 205 North Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States)

    2014-01-15

    Highlights: • Comprehensive, nationwide risk assessment of hazardous material rail transportation. • Application of a novel environmental (i.e. soil and groundwater) consequence model. • Cleanup cost and total shipment distance are the most significant risk factors. • Annual risk varies from $20,000 to $560,000 for different products. • Provides information on the risk cost associated with specific product shipments. -- Abstract: An important aspect of railroad environmental risk management involves tank car transportation of hazardous materials. This paper describes a quantitative, environmental risk analysis of rail transportation of a group of light, non-aqueous-phase liquid (LNAPL) chemicals commonly transported by rail in North America. The Hazardous Materials Transportation Environmental Consequence Model (HMTECM) was used in conjunction with a geographic information system (GIS) analysis of environmental characteristics to develop probabilistic estimates of exposure to different spill scenarios along the North American rail network. The risk analysis incorporated the estimated clean-up cost developed using the HMTECM, route-specific probability distributions of soil type and depth to groundwater, annual traffic volume, railcar accident rate, and tank car safety features, to estimate the nationwide annual risk of transporting each product. The annual risk per car-mile (car-km) and per ton-mile (ton-km) was also calculated to enable comparison between chemicals and to provide information on the risk cost associated with shipments of these products. The analysis and the methodology provide a quantitative approach that will enable more effective management of the environmental risk of transporting hazardous materials.

  12. Environmental risk analysis of hazardous material rail transportation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saat, Mohd Rapik; Werth, Charles J.; Schaeffer, David; Yoon, Hongkyu; Barkan, Christopher P.L.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Comprehensive, nationwide risk assessment of hazardous material rail transportation. • Application of a novel environmental (i.e. soil and groundwater) consequence model. • Cleanup cost and total shipment distance are the most significant risk factors. • Annual risk varies from $20,000 to $560,000 for different products. • Provides information on the risk cost associated with specific product shipments. -- Abstract: An important aspect of railroad environmental risk management involves tank car transportation of hazardous materials. This paper describes a quantitative, environmental risk analysis of rail transportation of a group of light, non-aqueous-phase liquid (LNAPL) chemicals commonly transported by rail in North America. The Hazardous Materials Transportation Environmental Consequence Model (HMTECM) was used in conjunction with a geographic information system (GIS) analysis of environmental characteristics to develop probabilistic estimates of exposure to different spill scenarios along the North American rail network. The risk analysis incorporated the estimated clean-up cost developed using the HMTECM, route-specific probability distributions of soil type and depth to groundwater, annual traffic volume, railcar accident rate, and tank car safety features, to estimate the nationwide annual risk of transporting each product. The annual risk per car-mile (car-km) and per ton-mile (ton-km) was also calculated to enable comparison between chemicals and to provide information on the risk cost associated with shipments of these products. The analysis and the methodology provide a quantitative approach that will enable more effective management of the environmental risk of transporting hazardous materials

  13. Transport phenomena in environmental engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sander, Aleksandra; Kardum, Jasna Prlić; Matijašić, Gordana; Žižek, Krunoslav

    2018-01-01

    A term transport phenomena arises as a second paradigm at the end of 1950s with high awareness that there was a strong need to improve the scoping of chemical engineering science. At that point, engineers became highly aware that it is extremely important to take step forward from pure empirical description and the concept of unit operations only to understand the specific process using phenomenological equations that rely on three elementary physical processes: momentum, energy and mass transport. This conceptual evolution of chemical engineering was first presented with a well-known book of R. Byron Bird, Warren E. Stewart and Edwin N. Lightfoot, Transport Phenomena, published in 1960 [1]. What transport phenomena are included in environmental engineering? It is hard to divide those phenomena through different engineering disciplines. The core is the same but the focus changes. Intention of the authors here is to present the transport phenomena that are omnipresent in treatment of various process streams. The focus in this chapter is made on the transport phenomena that permanently occur in mechanical macroprocesses of sedimentation and filtration for separation in solid-liquid particulate systems and on the phenomena of the flow through a fixed and a fluidized bed of particles that are immanent in separation processes in packed columns and in environmental catalysis. The fundamental phenomena for each thermal and equilibrium separation process technology are presented as well. Understanding and mathematical description of underlying transport phenomena result in scoping the separation processes in a way that ChEs should act worldwide.

  14. Environmentally sustainable transport in Germany

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Verron, H.; Friedrich, A.

    2004-01-01

    The study reported in this paper is part of an OECD project with several case studies in different countries. The purpose of the project was to look for possible ways to reduce the environmental impact of transport to a level which is compatible with sustainability. The participants in the case studies agreed upon quantifying criteria for carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, which should describe environmentally sustainable transport (EST), and each case study constructed a business-as-usual scenario and three EST scenarios, considering the period from 1990 to 2030. Each EST scenario should meet the criteria in a backcasting effort, EST1 looking for solely technical solutions, EST2 restricting and shifting transport volumes while ignoring technological progress, and EST3 combining components of both strategies. In the German case study criteria were additionally quantified for particulate matter, noise and land-take for transport purposes. The German EST1 scenario is based on hybrid electric hypercars, hydrogen for public transport, freight and aviation, and electricity from renewable sources. In the EST2 scenario total transport activity for passenger and freight transport had to be reduced by 40% and 25% respectively, compared to 1990 in order to meet the criteria. In the EST3 scenario, while highly energy efficient conventional propulsion systems and engines were used, total passenger transport decreased only slightly and freight transport even increased. Implementation measures were then defined on the basis of the EST3 scenario. Emission regulation, fuel tax, and road pricing for heavy duty vehicles were the key features in order to achieve EST in this case study. They were complemented by additional sets of measures, designed to prevent urban sprawl, diminish freight traffic growth, increase liveability of towns, improve the infrastructure and service conditions of alternative modes as well as provide energy supply by regenerative

  15. Environmental Baseline File for National Transportation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-01-01

    This Environmental Baseline File summarizes and consolidates information related to the national-level transportation of commercial spent nuclear fuel. Topics address include: shipments of commercial spent nuclear fuel based on mostly truck and mostly rail shipping scenarios; transportation routing for commercial spent nuclear fuel sites and DOE sites; radionuclide inventories for various shipping container capacities; transportation routing; populations along transportation routes; urbanized area population densities; the impacts of historical, reasonably foreseeable, and general transportation; state-level food transfer factors; Federal Guidance Report No. 11 and 12 radionuclide dose conversion factors; and national average atmospheric conditions

  16. Environmental impacts of climate change adaptation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Enriquez-de-Salamanca, Alvaro; Diaz Sierra, R.; Martin-Aranda, Rosa; Ferreira Dos Santos, M.J.

    Climate change adaptation reduces adverse effects of climate change but may also have undesirable environmental impacts. However, these impacts are yet poorly defined and analysed in the existing literature. To complement this knowledge-gap, we reviewed the literature to unveil the relationship

  17. Environmental economics of lignin derived transport fuels

    OpenAIRE

    Obydenkova, SV; Kouris, P Panagiotis; Hensen, EJM Emiel; Heeres, Hero J; Boot, MD Michael

    2017-01-01

    This paper explores the environmental and economic aspects of fast pyrolytic conversion of lignin, obtained from 2G ethanol plants, to transport fuels for both the marine and automotive markets. Various scenarios are explored, pertaining to aggregation of lignin from several sites, alternative energy carries to replace lignin, transport modalities, and allocation methodology. The results highlight two critical factors that ultimately determine the economic and/or environmental fuel viability....

  18. Transport-related lifestyle and environmentally-friendly travel mode choices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thøgersen, John

    2018-01-01

    . Finally, a multivariate GLM analysis reveals that three behavioral tendencies of importance for transport-related environmental impacts vary significantly and substantially between lifestyle segments: vehicle ownership, everyday travel-mode choice and environmentally-friendly transport innovativeness...

  19. Reducing environmental damages caused by transportation: towards an heterodox approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marletto, Gerardo

    2006-01-01

    According to orthodox economics, monetary incentives are the best way to reduce environmental damages caused by transportation. This approach is consistent with the consideration of environmental damages as a market failure and with the use of pigouvian taxes to re-establish market equilibrium. Using heterodox economics both the theoretical and the policy approach will change radically. Indeed, market is just one of the structural components of the existing transport system; others being: institutions, technologies, values. Then, a shift in policy approaches is needed: from the orthodox efficient allocation of existing resources, to the heterodox promotion of new development patterns, needed to alter the given structural situation. Consistently with this paradigmatic shift, environmental damages caused by transportation can be reduced only by making the transition to a new transport system viable. Moreover, an heterodox approach to the reduction of environmental damages caused by transportation gives rise to a sound revision of policy tools; among these must be considered: selective industrial policies to foster the ecological reconversion of transport supply (instead of a non-discriminatory support to ecological innovations); participatory decision procedures to evaluate and select transport policies (instead of neutral technical tools - such as Cba or Eia); information campaigns based on ethical considerations (instead of economic incentives to transport demand); attribution of the status of commons to environmental resources, in order to protect them from the free riding of transport activities (instead of the attribution to them of private property rights). This essay is composed of four parts. In the first one, some data on environmental damages caused by transportation in Italy are shown. In the second one, orthodox and heterodox paradigms of public interventions in the economy are compared, with a specific attention to environmental applications. In the

  20. An environmentally sustainable transport system in Sweden. A scenario study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brokking, P.; Emmelin, L.; Engstroem, M-G.; Nilsson, Jan-Evert; Eriksson, Gunnar; Wikberg, O.

    1997-02-01

    This is a short version of a scenario study concerning the possibilities to reach an Environmentally Sustainable Transport system in Sweden in a perspective of 30 years. The aim of the scenario study has been to describe one of several possible paths from today`s transport system to an environmentally adopted one. However, this does not imply that the task is to predict how such a transformation can be accomplished. The aim is rather to illustrate what such transformation require in the form of political decisions. The transformation of the transport system in to an environmentally adopted one, is primarily treated as a political problem, and a political perspective has accordingly been chosen for the study. In this English version of the scenario, the carbon dioxide problem is used to illuminate the many conflicts in goals and other problem that will attend an environmental adoption of the Swedish transport system, and to highlight the analytical points of departure for the scenario study. The analysis shows that it is possible to reach the national environmental goals that characterise, with given definitions, an environmentally sustainable transport system. However, this implies many severe political decisions over a long period of time, which in turn, implies a long term national consensus about the importance to reach the overall goal. Other results the scenario points out, is the risk that a policy focused on one sector leads to `solving` a problem by moving it outside systems limitations, and the limitations on a national environmental policy: Being able to count on assistance from other countries through an environmental adoption of the transport system in the European Union or globally, would drastically facilitate the environmental adoption of the Swedish transport system, through, among other things, a more rapid technological development. This indicates the necessity of promoting issues involving transportation and the environment in international

  1. Rapid ecosystem change challenges the adaptive capacity of Local Environmental Knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández-Llamazares, Álvaro; Díaz-Reviriego, Isabel; Luz, Ana C; Cabeza, Mar; Pyhälä, Aili; Reyes-García, Victoria

    2015-03-01

    The use of Local Environmental Knowledge has been considered as an important strategy for adaptive management in the face of Global Environmental Change. However, the unprecedented rates at which global change occurs may pose a challenge to the adaptive capacity of local knowledge systems. In this paper, we use the concept of the shifting baseline syndrome to examine the limits in the adaptive capacity of the local knowledge of an indigenous society facing rapid ecosystem change. We conducted semi-structured interviews regarding perceptions of change in wildlife populations and in intergenerational transmission of knowledge amongst the Tsimane', a group of hunter-gatherers of Bolivian Amazonia ( n = 300 adults in 13 villages). We found that the natural baseline against which the Tsimane' measure ecosystem changes might be shifting with every generation as a result of (a) age-related differences in the perception of change and (b) a decrease in the intergenerational sharing of environmental knowledge. Such findings suggest that local knowledge systems might not change at a rate quick enough to adapt to conditions of rapid ecosystem change, hence potentially compromising the adaptive success of the entire social-ecological system. With the current pace of Global Environmental Change, widening the gap between the temporal rates of on-going ecosystem change and the timescale needed for local knowledge systems to adjust to change, efforts to tackle the shifting baseline syndrome are urgent and critical for those who aim to use Local Environmental Knowledge as a tool for adaptive management.

  2. What facilitates adaptation? An analysis of community-based adaptation to environmental change in the Andes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Felipe Murtinho

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available This study analyses the environmental, socio-economic andinstitutional factors that influence community-based adaptation strategies in 16municipalities in the rural Andes of Colombia. The study focuses specifically onthe factors that influence whether communities decide to take measures to managetheir water and micro-watersheds in response to water scarcity caused by climatevariability and land-use changes. The research uses quantitative and qualitativemethods incorporating data from surveys to 104 water user associations,precipitation and land-use data, municipal socio-economic information, and semistructured interviews with key informants. The results reveal 1 the links betweenenvironmental change and the type of adaptation that communities implement,and 2 how, in face of water scarcity changes, external funding facilitatesadaptation. The findings of this study contributes to the common-pool resourceand adaptation literatures by highlighting the important role that external actorsmay have in shaping collective action to adapt to environmental change.

  3. Climate change impacts and adaptation: a Canadian perspective. Transportation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2003-08-01

    A brief summary of research over the past five years in the field of climate change, as it relates to key sectors in Canada, is presented in the report entitled: Climate change impacts and adaptation: a Canadian perspective. The emphasis of this chapter is on transportation, the role of adaptation in reducing vulnerabilities, and capitalizing on potential opportunities. Other sectors, such as fisheries, the coastal zone, tourism and human health might be affected by decisions made with regard to transportation. The areas that seem most vulnerable to climate change in transportation include northern ice roads, Great Lakes shipping, coastal infrastructure threatened by sea-level rise, and infrastructure located on permafrost. Most of the attention has been devoted to infrastructure and operations issues in northern Canada, despite most of the transportation activities taking place in southern Canada. Milder and or shorter winters might lead to savings, but additional knowledge is required before quantitative estimates can be made. The changed frequency of extreme climate events, and or changes in precipitation may influence other weather hazards or inefficiencies. If Canadians are prepared to be proactive, the report indicated that the effects of climate change on transportation may be largely manageable. 77 refs., 2 tabs., 3 figs

  4. Climate change impacts and adaptation: a Canadian perspective. Transportation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2003-08-01

    A brief summary of research over the past five years in the field of climate change, as it relates to key sectors in Canada, is presented in the report entitled: Climate change impacts and adaptation: a Canadian perspective. The emphasis of this chapter is on transportation, the role of adaptation in reducing vulnerabilities, and capitalizing on potential opportunities. Other sectors, such as fisheries, the coastal zone, tourism and human health might be affected by decisions made with regard to transportation. The areas that seem most vulnerable to climate change in transportation include northern ice roads, Great Lakes shipping, coastal infrastructure threatened by sea-level rise, and infrastructure located on permafrost. Most of the attention has been devoted to infrastructure and operations issues in northern Canada, despite most of the transportation activities taking place in southern Canada. Milder and or shorter winters might lead to savings, but additional knowledge is required before quantitative estimates can be made. The changed frequency of extreme climate events, and or changes in precipitation may influence other weather hazards or inefficiencies. If Canadians are prepared to be proactive, the report indicated that the effects of climate change on transportation may be largely manageable. 77 refs., 2 tabs., 3 figs.

  5. Passenger transport in Nigeria: Environmental and economic analysis with policy recommendations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gujba, H.; Mulugetta, Y.; Azapagic, A.

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents the life cycle environmental impacts and economic costs of the passenger transport sector in Nigeria for 2003–2030. Four scenarios are considered: business as usual (BAU); increased use of public transport (buses) at the expense of cars (LOWCAR) and motorcycles (LOWMC), respectively; and high economic growth with increased car ownership and decline of public transport (HICAR). The findings show that for the BAU scenario the life cycle environmental impacts double over the period, despite the assumption of increased fuel and vehicle efficiency of 35% over time. The total fuel costs at the sectoral level increase three times, from US$3.4 billion/yr in 2003 to US$9.7 billion in 2030. Increasing the use of buses would reduce the environmental impacts on average by 15–20% compared to BAU; at the same time, the total fuel costs would be 25–30% lower. If the use of cars grows much faster due to a high economic growth as in HICAR, the environmental impacts and fuel costs would increase by 16% and 26%, respectively. These results demonstrate clearly that future transport policy in Nigeria should promote and incentivise public (bus) transport as a much more environmentally and economically sustainable option than transport by cars and motorcycles. - Highlights: ► The life cycle environmental impacts of passenger transport in Nigeria estimated for 2003–2030. ► The tradeoffs between economic costs and environmental impacts discussed. ► Scenarios considered: business as usual; sustainable transport; high economic growth. ► Public transport is more sustainable than transport by cars and motorcycles. ► Ending gas flaring would improve substantially environmental, economic and social impacts

  6. Do vehicle grants and vehicle adaptations grants promote transport mobility and community access for children with disabilities in Sweden?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sjödin, Linda; Buchanan, Angus; Mundt, Beate; Karlsson, Emelie; Falkmer, Torbjörn

    2012-02-01

    A vast majority of the journeys made by children with disabilities in Sweden are in the family car, which usually is bought and adapted for the child with governmental subsidies. Despite the important philosophical views about accessible vehicles, little is known about the impact of vehicle adaptations on families' lives. The aim of the study was to investigate parent views about the impact of vehicle grants and vehicle adaptation grants on their children's transport mobility and community access. In total, 434 parents of children with disabilities in Sweden who had received vehicle grants and/or vehicle adaptation grants between 1998-2007 responded to a questionnaire comprising questions with both pre-selected and open-ended answers. A non-responder analysis was performed. Children with disabilities were found to increase their transport mobility and community access in society as vehicle grants and/or vehicle adaptation grants were given to their parents. Their travel patterns and their travel priorities with their family car indicated that family friends and relatives and leisure activities were frequently visited and prioritised destinations. The grants were linked to access to social and family activities, provided environmental gains and led to increased experienced security. The results also showed that the potential to make spontaneous trips had increased substantially and that families experienced feelings of freedom and enhanced community access. The non-responder analysis confirmed these results. According to parents, vehicle grants and vehicle adaptation grants for children with disabilities have a positive impact on the children's transport mobility and community access. © 2011 The Authors. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal © 2011 Occupational Therapy Australia.

  7. Managing the environmental impacts of land transport: integrating environmental analysis with urban planning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Irving, Paul; Moncrieff, Ian

    2004-01-01

    Ecological systems have limits or thresholds that vary by pollutant type, emissions sources and the sensitivity of a given location. Human health can also indicate sensitivity. Good environmental management requires any problem to be defined to obtain efficient and effective solutions. Cities are where transport activities, effects and resource management decisions are often most focussed. The New Zealand Ministry of Transport has developed two environmental management tools. The Vehicle Fleet Model (VFM) is a predictive database of the environmental performance of the New Zealand traffic fleet (and rail fleet). It calculates indices of local air quality, stormwater, and greenhouse gases emissions. The second is an analytical process based on Environmental Capacity Analysis (ECA). Information on local traffic is combined with environmental performance data from the Vehicle Fleet Model. This can be integrated within a live, geo-spatially defined analysis of the overall environmental effects within a defined local area. Variations in urban form and activity (traffic and other) that contribute to environmental effects can be tracked. This enables analysis of a range of mitigation strategies that may contribute, now or in the future, to maintaining environmental thresholds or meeting targets. A case study of the application of this approach was conducted within Waitakere City. The focus was on improving the understanding of the relative significance of stormwater contaminants derived from land transport

  8. Environmental development plan for transportation programs: FY80 update

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Saricks, C.L.; Singh, M.K.; Bernard, M.J. III; Bevilacqua, O.M.

    1980-09-01

    This is the second annual update of the environmental development plan (EDP) for transportation programs. It has been prepared as a cooperative effort of the Assistant Secretaries for Conservation and Solar Energy (ASCS) Office of Transportation Programs (CS/TP) and the Environment (ASEV) Office of Environmental Assessments. EDPs identify the ecosystem, resource, physical environment, health, safety, socioeconomic, and environmental control concerns associated with DOE programs. The programs include the research, development, demonstration, and assessment (RDD and A) of 14 transportation technologies and several strategy implementation projects. This EDP update presents a research and assessment plan for resolving any potentially adverse environmental concerns arising from these programs. The EDP process provides a framework for: incorporating environmental concerns into CS/TP planning and decision processes early to ensure they are assigned the same importance as technological, fiscal, and institutional concerns in decision making; resolving environmental concerns concurrently with energy technology and strategy development; and providing a research schedule that mitigates adverse environmental effects through sound technological design or policy analysis. This EDP also describes the status of each environmental concern and the plan for its resolution. Much of ongoing DOE reseirch and technology development is aimed at resolving concerns identified in this EDP. Each EDP is intended to be so comprehensive that no concerns escape notice. Care is taken to include any CS/TP action that may eventually require an Environmental Impact Statement. Because technology demonstration and commercialization tend to raise more environmental concerns than other portions of the transportation program, most of this EDP addresses these concerns.

  9. Some basic properties of environmentally adapted oils

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoeglund, E. [Div. of Machine Elements, Luleaa University of Technology (Sweden)

    1998-11-01

    Environmental concern has led to a development of lubricants that are less harmful to the environmental than traditional mineral based oils. Biodegradability and non-toxicity are desired properties together with a competitive price and if possible they should also be derived from renewable raw materials. In order to have a major breakthrough for the new, environmentally adapted lubricating oils they must perform well in mechanical and hydraulic systems. They must reduce wear, increase efficiency and reduce maintenance costs equally well, or preferably better than mineral based oils. This paper presents primary results from an investigation where four environmentally adapted oils (rape seed, pine tree, diester and TMP-ester) are compared to a conventional naphthenic mineral oil. Viscosity and viscosity-pressure coefficients, limiting shear stress, friction properties and film forming ability have been evaluated under elastohydrodynamic conditions. It was found that the mineral oil had the highest values of pressure-viscosity coefficient, limiting shear stress and coefficient of friction. Rape seed oil had the second highest pressure-viscosity coefficient but the lowest limiting shear stress and coefficient of friction. Pine tree oil, diester and TMP-ester formed an intermediate group with rather similar results. The Hamrock-Dowson equation for central film thickness was found to overestimate film thickness by about 10-20 per cent with the least discrepancy for the mineral oil. (orig.) 8 refs.

  10. Adaptive multilevel splitting for Monte Carlo particle transport

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Louvin Henri

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In the Monte Carlo simulation of particle transport, and especially for shielding applications, variance reduction techniques are widely used to help simulate realisations of rare events and reduce the relative errors on the estimated scores for a given computation time. Adaptive Multilevel Splitting (AMS is one of these variance reduction techniques that has recently appeared in the literature. In the present paper, we propose an alternative version of the AMS algorithm, adapted for the first time to the field of particle transport. Within this context, it can be used to build an unbiased estimator of any quantity associated with particle tracks, such as flux, reaction rates or even non-Boltzmann tallies like pulse-height tallies and other spectra. Furthermore, the efficiency of the AMS algorithm is shown not to be very sensitive to variations of its input parameters, which makes it capable of significant variance reduction without requiring extended user effort.

  11. Method and system for environmentally adaptive fault tolerant computing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Copenhaver, Jason L. (Inventor); Jeremy, Ramos (Inventor); Wolfe, Jeffrey M. (Inventor); Brenner, Dean (Inventor)

    2010-01-01

    A method and system for adapting fault tolerant computing. The method includes the steps of measuring an environmental condition representative of an environment. An on-board processing system's sensitivity to the measured environmental condition is measured. It is determined whether to reconfigure a fault tolerance of the on-board processing system based in part on the measured environmental condition. The fault tolerance of the on-board processing system may be reconfigured based in part on the measured environmental condition.

  12. Environmentally Sustainable Transport. Implementation and Impacts for the Netherlands for 2030

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Wee, G.P.; Geurs, K.T.

    2000-02-01

    Dutch transport scenarios for the OECD project on Environmental Sustainable Transport (EST) are described in this Phase 3 report of the project. The EST project contains a business-as-usual scenario (BAU) and three EST scenarios which attain the EST criteria (i.e. a reduction of CO2 by 80%, NOx by 90%, VOC by 90%, PM10 by 90%): (1) a 'high-technology' scenario containing only technological changes, (2) a 'mobility-management' scenario containing only mobility changes, (3) a combination scenario containing a combination of technological and mobility changes. Furthermore, the report describes possible instrument packages for the implementation of EST and the social and economic impacts of EST. The main conclusions are: (1) only if a high increase in technological developments and/or very stringent behaviour adaptations and changes in spatial and economic structures at the national and international level are assumed, the EST criteria can be met, (2) if EST is to be realised, measures will have to be taken in the short term and innovative policy instruments must be developed and implemented. The implementation of the tradeable CO2 emission permit system for passenger and freight transport is crucial for the attainment of EST, (3) a timely implementation of the policy instruments for the attainment of EST means that the current policy life cycle must radically change, (4) the level of material wealth (expressed in GDP) and employment will be somewhat slower in EST compared to BAU, but several social factors will improve. Firstly, differences between societal groups in (a) travel behaviour, (b) the level of accessibility of economic and social opportunities and (c) (perceived) environmental quality will decrease. Secondly, the level of motorised transport will be strongly reduced which will improve traffic safety and reduce health problems caused by local air pollution and noise nuisance from road traffic and aviation

  13. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority climate change adaptation pilot project report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-01

    This Climate Change Adaptation Pilot Project Report details the project background of the recently-completed Los Angeles County : Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) Transit Climate Change Adaptation Pilot Project as well as the various wor...

  14. Environmental Transport Division: 1979 report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Murphy, C.E. Jr.; Schubert, J.F.; Bowman, W.W.; Adams, S.E.

    1980-03-01

    During 1979, the Environmental Transport Division (ETD) of the Savannah River Laboratory conducted atmospheric, terrestrial, aquatic, and marine studies, which are described in a series of articles. Separate abstracts were prepared for each. Publications written about the 1979 research are listed at the end of the report.

  15. Environmental Transport Division: 1979 report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murphy, C.E. Jr.; Schubert, J.F.; Bowman, W.W.; Adams, S.E.

    1980-03-01

    During 1979, the Environmental Transport Division (ETD) of the Savannah River Laboratory conducted atmospheric, terrestrial, aquatic, and marine studies, which are described in a series of articles. Separate abstracts were prepared for each. Publications written about the 1979 research are listed at the end of the report

  16. Transportation Technical Environmental Information Center index

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Davidson, C.A.; Foley, J.T.

    1982-06-01

    In an effort to determine the environmental intensities to which energy materials in transit may be exposed, a Data Center of technical environmental information has been established by Sandia National Laboratories, Division 5523, for the DOE Office of Transportation Fuel Storage. This document is an index which can be used to request data of interest. Access to the information held is not limited to Sandia personnel.

  17. Transportation Technical Environmental Information Center index

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davidson, C.A.; Foley, J.T.

    1982-06-01

    In an effort to determine the environmental intensities to which energy materials in transit may be exposed, a Data Center of technical environmental information has been established by Sandia National Laboratories, Division 5523, for the DOE Office of Transportation Fuel Storage. This document is an index which can be used to request data of interest. Access to the information held is not limited to Sandia personnel

  18. Environmental friendly energy transport media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wan Nik, W.B.

    2002-01-01

    Rational self-interest and good environmental citizenship are forcing the development of renewable and environmentally, acceptable working fluids. Fluids that are at least equivalent in performance plus biodegradable have been formulated in Europe and USA rising vegetable oils as base stocks and as innovative additive packages. While much of the research has been made in the field of alternative environmentally, friendly energy, transport media, the thermal stability of vegetable based stock is still a challenging area. This work concentrates more in improving the oxidation stability of the vegetable based stocks. Oven and oil bath test methods were employed in this study. This paper tabled mineral and vegetable oil physical test results and presents thermal stability of oil blends. (Author)

  19. Adaptive integral equation methods in transport theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kelley, C.T.

    1992-01-01

    In this paper, an adaptive multilevel algorithm for integral equations is described that has been developed with the Chandrasekhar H equation and its generalizations in mind. The algorithm maintains good performance when the Frechet derivative of the nonlinear map is singular at the solution, as happens in radiative transfer with conservative scattering and in critical neutron transport. Numerical examples that demonstrate the algorithm's effectiveness are presented

  20. An adaptive robust controller for time delay maglev transportation systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milani, Reza Hamidi; Zarabadipour, Hassan; Shahnazi, Reza

    2012-12-01

    For engineering systems, uncertainties and time delays are two important issues that must be considered in control design. Uncertainties are often encountered in various dynamical systems due to modeling errors, measurement noises, linearization and approximations. Time delays have always been among the most difficult problems encountered in process control. In practical applications of feedback control, time delay arises frequently and can severely degrade closed-loop system performance and in some cases, drives the system to instability. Therefore, stability analysis and controller synthesis for uncertain nonlinear time-delay systems are important both in theory and in practice and many analytical techniques have been developed using delay-dependent Lyapunov function. In the past decade the magnetic and levitation (maglev) transportation system as a new system with high functionality has been the focus of numerous studies. However, maglev transportation systems are highly nonlinear and thus designing controller for those are challenging. The main topic of this paper is to design an adaptive robust controller for maglev transportation systems with time-delay, parametric uncertainties and external disturbances. In this paper, an adaptive robust control (ARC) is designed for this purpose. It should be noted that the adaptive gain is derived from Lyapunov-Krasovskii synthesis method, therefore asymptotic stability is guaranteed.

  1. Spatially adaptive hp refinement approach for PN neutron transport equation using spectral element method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nahavandi, N.; Minuchehr, A.; Zolfaghari, A.; Abbasi, M.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Powerful hp-SEM refinement approach for P N neutron transport equation has been presented. • The method provides great geometrical flexibility and lower computational cost. • There is a capability of using arbitrary high order and non uniform meshes. • Both posteriori and priori local error estimation approaches have been employed. • High accurate results are compared against other common adaptive and uniform grids. - Abstract: In this work we presented the adaptive hp-SEM approach which is obtained from the incorporation of Spectral Element Method (SEM) and adaptive hp refinement. The SEM nodal discretization and hp adaptive grid-refinement for even-parity Boltzmann neutron transport equation creates powerful grid refinement approach with high accuracy solutions. In this regard a computer code has been developed to solve multi-group neutron transport equation in one-dimensional geometry using even-parity transport theory. The spatial dependence of flux has been developed via SEM method with Lobatto orthogonal polynomial. Two commonly error estimation approaches, the posteriori and the priori has been implemented. The incorporation of SEM nodal discretization method and adaptive hp grid refinement leads to high accurate solutions. Coarser meshes efficiency and significant reduction of computer program runtime in comparison with other common refining methods and uniform meshing approaches is tested along several well-known transport benchmarks

  2. Adaptation Becoming Business as Usual: A Framework for Climate-Change-Ready Transport Infrastructure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew D. Quinn

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Extreme weather damages and disrupts transport infrastructure in a multitude of ways. Heavy rainfall and ensuing landslides or flooding may lead to road or rail closures; extreme heat can damage road surfaces, or cause tracks, signalling or electronic equipment to overheat, or thermal discomfort for passengers. As extreme weather is expected to occur more frequently in the future, transport infrastructure owners and operators must increase their preparedness in order to reduce weather-related service disruption and the associated financial costs. This article presents a two-sided framework for use by any organisation to develop climate-change-ready transport infrastructure, regardless of their current level of knowledge or preparedness for climate change. The framework is composed of an adaptation strategy and an implementation plan, and has the overarching ambition to embed climate change adaptation within organisational procedures so it becomes a normal function of business. It advocates adaptation pathways, i.e., sequential adaptive actions that do not compromise future actions. The circular, iterative structure ensures new knowledge, or socio-economic changes may be incorporated, and that previous adaptations are evaluated. Moreover, the framework aligns with existing asset management procedures (e.g., ISO standards or governmental or organisational approaches to climate change adaptation. By adopting this framework, organisations can self-identify their own level of adaptation readiness and seek to enhance it.

  3. Impact of environmental justice analysis on transportation planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-30

    This report presents the findings of a study sponsored by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT): Impact of Environmental Justice (EJ) on Transportation Planning. The objectives of the study were to determine the state of the practice of EJ ...

  4. Environmental Impact of ICT on the Transport Sector

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Falch, Morten

    2012-01-01

    This section analyses the environmental impact of ICT. This is done through an analysis on how two specific applications (tele-work and teleshopping) affect transport behavior. These two applications are considered to have a large potential with regard to savings in energy consumption.......This section analyses the environmental impact of ICT. This is done through an analysis on how two specific applications (tele-work and teleshopping) affect transport behavior. These two applications are considered to have a large potential with regard to savings in energy consumption....

  5. Radiological environmental impacts from transportation of nuclear materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shuai Zhengqing

    1994-01-01

    The author describes radiological impacts from transportation of nuclear materials. RADTRAN 4.0 supplied by IAEA was adopted to evaluate radiological consequence of incident-free transportation as well as the radiological risks from vehicular accidents occurring during transportation. The results of calculation show that the collective effective dose equivalent of incident-free transportation to the public and transportation workers is 7.94 x 10 -4 man·Sv. The calculated data suggest that the environmental impacts under normal and assumed accidental conditions are acceptable

  6. Quantifying environmental adaptation of metabolic pathways in metagenomics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gianoulis, Tara A; Raes, Jeroen; Patel, Prianka V

    2009-01-01

    of particular pathways and subnetworks reflects the adaptation of microbial communities across environments and habitats-i.e., how network dynamics relates to environmental features. Previous research has treated environments as discrete, somewhat simplified classes (e.g., terrestrial vs. marine), and searched...... multiple, continuously varying factors defining an environment to the extent of particular microbial pathways present in a geographic site. Moreover, rather than looking only at individual correlations (one-to-one), we adapted canonical correlation analysis and related techniques to define an ensemble...

  7. Environmental impacts of flood control measures in climate change adaptation strategies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brudler, Sarah; Arnbjerg-Nielsen, Karsten; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky

    it on the surface without harming assets. When evaluating different adaptation approaches, a cost assessment is typically carried out, while environmental impacts usually are not considered. To close this gap, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) based method is developed, which allows to quantify environmental impacts...... only contribute up to 4% of the environmental impacts for the CMP and less than 1% for the SSA. Our method helps explain how the handling of everyday events and extreme rain events affect the environmental sustainability of climate change adaptation and it enables cities to consider the environmental......Because of climatic changes, large investments are needed to keep flood risk at an acceptable level in urban areas. Increasing dimensions of underground sewer systems and retention basins are increasingly supplemented with multi-functional approaches, aimed at managing water locally and/or route...

  8. Reducing the local environmental impacts of passenger transport

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maentynen, J.; Kalenoja, H.; Maekelae, S. [Tampere Univ. of Technology (Finland). Inst. of Transportation Engineering

    1995-12-31

    The local injurious effects of traffic appear mostly in densely populated areas, where the demand for transport is high. The local environmental effects of transportation can be reduced by measures of urban planning, traffic planning, vehicle technology and economical restrictions. Land use planning, concentration of urban structure and promoting distance working are examples of expedients of urban planning. The methods of urban planning usually affect very slowly on transport structure, but they also have a significant and continuous influence on travel demand. The methods of traffic planning generally tend to increase the fluency of traffic flow or reduce private car traffic with diverse restrictions by supporting environmentally more favourable vehicles or modes of travel. The improvements in vehicle technology can be significant in the short run. By economical regulations it is possible to guide the demand for traffic to a desirable direction. The local injurious effects of traffic vary by the size of urban areas. Local conditions, such as urban structure, population density, structure of employment, and composition of transport structure, influence on travel pattern and modal split. In Tampere University of Technology several measures to reduce environmental effects and energy consumption of transportation has been evaluated. This article presents three types of categories. As technological measures the introduction of electric vehicles and the alternative bus fuels have been studied. In addition, the effects of introducing midibuses, the car pool system and the increasing of vehicle occupancy have been evaluated as measures, which generally increase transportation system efficiency. (author)

  9. Reducing the local environmental impacts of passenger transport

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maentynen, J; Kalenoja, H; Maekelae, S [Tampere Univ. of Technology (Finland). Inst. of Transportation Engineering

    1996-12-31

    The local injurious effects of traffic appear mostly in densely populated areas, where the demand for transport is high. The local environmental effects of transportation can be reduced by measures of urban planning, traffic planning, vehicle technology and economical restrictions. Land use planning, concentration of urban structure and promoting distance working are examples of expedients of urban planning. The methods of urban planning usually affect very slowly on transport structure, but they also have a significant and continuous influence on travel demand. The methods of traffic planning generally tend to increase the fluency of traffic flow or reduce private car traffic with diverse restrictions by supporting environmentally more favourable vehicles or modes of travel. The improvements in vehicle technology can be significant in the short run. By economical regulations it is possible to guide the demand for traffic to a desirable direction. The local injurious effects of traffic vary by the size of urban areas. Local conditions, such as urban structure, population density, structure of employment, and composition of transport structure, influence on travel pattern and modal split. In Tampere University of Technology several measures to reduce environmental effects and energy consumption of transportation has been evaluated. This article presents three types of categories. As technological measures the introduction of electric vehicles and the alternative bus fuels have been studied. In addition, the effects of introducing midibuses, the car pool system and the increasing of vehicle occupancy have been evaluated as measures, which generally increase transportation system efficiency. (author)

  10. Dynamic Adaptive Approach to Transportation-Infrastructure Planning for Climate Change: San Francisco Bay Area Case Study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wall, T.A.; Walker, W.E.; Marchau, V.A.W.J.; Bertolini, L.

    2015-01-01

    Adaptation of existing infrastructure is a response to climate change that can ensure a viable, safe, and robust transportation network. However, deep uncertainties associated with climate change pose significant challenges to adaptation planning. Specifically, current transportation planning

  11. Environmental economics of lignin derived transport fuels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Obydenkova, Svetlana V; Kouris, Panos D; Hensen, Emiel J M; Heeres, Hero J; Boot, Michael D

    2017-11-01

    This paper explores the environmental and economic aspects of fast pyrolytic conversion of lignin, obtained from 2G ethanol plants, to transport fuels for both the marine and automotive markets. Various scenarios are explored, pertaining to aggregation of lignin from several sites, alternative energy carries to replace lignin, transport modalities, and allocation methodology. The results highlight two critical factors that ultimately determine the economic and/or environmental fuel viability. The first factor, the logistics scheme, exhibited the disadvantage of the centralized approach, owing to prohibitively expensive transportation costs of the low energy-dense lignin. Life cycle analysis (LCA) displayed the second critical factor related to alternative energy carrier selection. Natural gas (NG) chosen over additional biomass boosts well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions (WTW GHG) to a level incompatible with the reduction targets set by the U.S. renewable fuel standard (RFS). Adversely, the process' economics revealed higher profits vs. fossil energy carrier. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  12. Coevolving MAPK and PID phosphosites indicate an ancient environmental control of PIN auxin transporters in land plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dory, Magdalena; Hatzimasoura, Elizabeth; Kállai, Brigitta M; Nagy, Szilvia K; Jäger, Katalin; Darula, Zsuzsanna; Nádai, Tímea V; Mészáros, Tamás; López-Juez, Enrique; Barnabás, Beáta; Palme, Klaus; Bögre, László; Ditengou, Franck A; Dóczi, Róbert

    2018-01-01

    Plant growth flexibly adapts to environmental conditions, implying cross-talk between environmental signalling and developmental regulation. Here, we show that the PIN auxin efflux carrier family possesses three highly conserved putative mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) sites adjacent to the phosphorylation sites of the well-characterised AGC kinase PINOID, which regulates the polar localisation of PINs and directional auxin transport, thereby underpinning organ growth. The conserved sites of PIN1 are phosphorylated in vitro by two environmentally activated MAPKs, MPK4 and MPK6. In contrast to AGC kinases, MAPK-mediated phosphorylation of PIN1 at adjacent sites leads to a partial loss of the plasma membrane localisation of PIN1. MAPK-mediated modulation of PIN trafficking may participate in environmental adjustment of plant growth. © 2017 The Authors. FEBS Letters published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

  13. Long-term environmental and health implications of morphological change and sediment transport with respect to contaminants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sneddon, Christopher; Copplestone, David; Tyler, Andrew; Hunter, Peter; Smith, Nick

    2014-05-01

    The EPSRC-funded Adaptation and Resilience of Coastal Energy Supply (ARCoES) project encompasses four research strands, involving 14 institutions and six PhD studentships. ARCoES aims to determine the threats posed to future energy generation and the distribution network by flooding and erosion, changing patterns of coastal sedimentation, water temperature and the distribution of plants and animals in the coastal zone. Whilst this research has direct benefits for the operation of coastal power stations, ARCoES aims to have a wider stakeholder engagement through assessing how the resilience of coastal communities may be altered by five hundred years of coastal evolution. Coastal evolution will have substantial implications for the energy sector of the North West of England as former waste storage sites are eroded and remobilised within the intertidal environment. The current intertidal environmental stores of radioactivity will also experience reworking as ocean chemistry changes and saltmarsh chronologies are reworked in response to rising sea levels. There is a duel requirement to understand mass sediment movement along the North West coast of England as understanding the sediment transport dynamics is key to modelling long term coastal change and understanding how the environmental store of radioactivity will be reworked. The University of Stirling is researching the long-term environmental and health implications of remobilisation and transport of contaminated sediments around the UK coastline. Using a synergy of hyperspectral and topographic information the mobilisation of sediment bound contaminants within the coastal environment will be investigated. Potential hazards posed by contaminants are determined by a set of environmental impact test criteria which evaluate the bio-accessibility and ionising dose of contaminants. These test criteria will be used to comment on the likely environmental impact of modelled sediment transport and anticipated changes in

  14. Overview of the environmental concerns of coal transportation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bertram, K.; Dauzvardis, P.; Fradkin, L.; Surles, T.

    1980-02-01

    More than 30 environmental concerns were analyzed for the transportation of coal by rail, roads (trucks), high voltage transmission lines (that is, from mine-mouth generating plants to distribution networks), coal slurry pipelines, and barges. The following criteria were used to identify these problems: (1) real physical environmetal impacts for which control technologies must be developed, or regulation made effective where control technologies presently exist; (2) the level of impact is uncertain, although the potential impact may be moderate to high; (3) the concerns identified by the first two criteria are specific to or exacerbated by coal transportation. Generic transportation problems are not included. The significant environmental problems identified as a result of this study are: (1) rail transport - community traffic disruption and human health, safety, and habitat destruction; (2) coal haul roads - road degradation, traffic congestion and safety, air quality, and noise; (3) high voltage transmission lines - changed land use without local benefits, biological health and safety effects, and disruption of world weather patterns; (4) slurry pipelines - water availability, water quality, and possible spills from non-water slurry pipelines; and (5) barge transport - impacts common to all barge traffic. (DMC)

  15. Environmental Aspects of Transport in the Context of Development of Inland Navigation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Galieriková Andrea

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Transport has an immense impact on the environment. The largest share of environmental pollution is caused by road transport. The atmosphere is threatened by fuel combustion of engines of road vehicles, thereby leading to the global warming of Earth. In addition to having an adverse impact on the environment, such as greenhouse gas emissions and carbon dioxide emissions, road transport also leads to external effects such as noise pollution, vibration, congestion and traffic accidents. The volume of transport in the world, notably on the roads, is increasing day by day. We should take the necessary steps to move to more environmentally-friendly modes of transportation, such as rail and inland navigation. Rail transportation is currently the largest competitor of road transport. If the waterways infrastructure is improved, there would be a decrease in the traffic flow of motorways and thus, we can move to a more environmentally-friendly transportation.

  16. Complex Environmental Data Modelling Using Adaptive General Regression Neural Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanevski, Mikhail

    2015-04-01

    The research deals with an adaptation and application of Adaptive General Regression Neural Networks (GRNN) to high dimensional environmental data. GRNN [1,2,3] are efficient modelling tools both for spatial and temporal data and are based on nonparametric kernel methods closely related to classical Nadaraya-Watson estimator. Adaptive GRNN, using anisotropic kernels, can be also applied for features selection tasks when working with high dimensional data [1,3]. In the present research Adaptive GRNN are used to study geospatial data predictability and relevant feature selection using both simulated and real data case studies. The original raw data were either three dimensional monthly precipitation data or monthly wind speeds embedded into 13 dimensional space constructed by geographical coordinates and geo-features calculated from digital elevation model. GRNN were applied in two different ways: 1) adaptive GRNN with the resulting list of features ordered according to their relevancy; and 2) adaptive GRNN applied to evaluate all possible models N [in case of wind fields N=(2^13 -1)=8191] and rank them according to the cross-validation error. In both cases training were carried out applying leave-one-out procedure. An important result of the study is that the set of the most relevant features depends on the month (strong seasonal effect) and year. The predictabilities of precipitation and wind field patterns, estimated using the cross-validation and testing errors of raw and shuffled data, were studied in detail. The results of both approaches were qualitatively and quantitatively compared. In conclusion, Adaptive GRNN with their ability to select features and efficient modelling of complex high dimensional data can be widely used in automatic/on-line mapping and as an integrated part of environmental decision support systems. 1. Kanevski M., Pozdnoukhov A., Timonin V. Machine Learning for Spatial Environmental Data. Theory, applications and software. EPFL Press

  17. Overview. Department of Environmental and Radiation Transport Physics. Section 6

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Loskiewicz, J. [Institute of Nuclear Physics, Cracow (Poland)

    1995-12-31

    Research activities in the Department of Environmental and Radiation Transport Physics are carried out by three Laboratories: Laboratory of Environmental Physics, Laboratory of Neutron Transport Physics and Laboratory of Physics and Modeling of Radiation Transport. The researches provided in 1994 cover: tracer transport and flows in porous media, studies on pollution in atmospheric air, physics of molecular phenomena in chromatographic detectors, studies on neutron transport in heterogenous media, studies on evaluation of neutron cross-section in the thermal region, studies on theory and utilization of neural network in data evaluation, numerical modelling of particle cascades for particle accelerator shielding purpose. In this section the description of mentioned activities as well as the information about personnel employed in the Department, papers and reports published in 1994, contribution to conferences and grants is also given.

  18. Overview. Department of Environmental and Radiation Transport Physics. Section 6

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Loskiewicz, J [Institute of Nuclear Physics, Cracow (Poland)

    1996-12-31

    Research activities in the Department of Environmental and Radiation Transport Physics are carried out by three Laboratories: Laboratory of Environmental Physics, Laboratory of Neutron Transport Physics and Laboratory of Physics and Modeling of Radiation Transport. The researches provided in 1994 cover: tracer transport and flows in porous media, studies on pollution in atmospheric air, physics of molecular phenomena in chromatographic detectors, studies on neutron transport in heterogenous media, studies on evaluation of neutron cross-section in the thermal region, studies on theory and utilization of neural network in data evaluation, numerical modelling of particle cascades for particle accelerator shielding purpose. In this section the description of mentioned activities as well as the information about personnel employed in the Department, papers and reports published in 1994, contribution to conferences and grants is also given.

  19. A case study predicting environmental impacts of urban transport planning in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Chong; Shao, Li-guo; Xu, Ling; Shang, Jin-cheng

    2009-10-01

    Predicting environmental impacts is essential when performing an environmental assessment on urban transport planning. System dynamics (SD) is usually used to solve complex nonlinear problems. In this study, we utilized system dynamics (SD) to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with urban transport planning in Jilin City, China with respect to the local economy, society, transport, the environment and resources. To accomplish this, we generated simulation models comprising interrelated subsystems designed to utilize changes in the economy, society, road construction, changes in the number of vehicles, the capacity of the road network capacity, nitrogen oxides emission, traffic noise, land used for road construction and fuel consumption associated with traffic to estimate dynamic trends in the environmental impacts associated with Jilin's transport planning. Two simulation scenarios were then analyzed comparatively. The results of this study indicated that implementation of Jilin transport planning would improve the current urban traffic conditions and boost the local economy and development while benefiting the environment in Jilin City. In addition, comparative analysis of the two scenarios provided additional information that can be used to aid in scientific decision-making regarding which aspects of the transport planning to implement in Jilin City. This study demonstrates that our application of the SD method, which is referred to as the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), is feasible for use in urban transport planning.

  20. Environmental impacts of the transportation of radioactive materials in urban areas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Finley, N.C.; Taylor, J.M.; Daniel, S.L.; Ericson, D.M. Jr.

    1980-01-01

    Radioactive material transport in urban areas is investigated and the specific urban features which influence environmental impacts are addressed. These features include the geographic and demographic make-up, and vehicular population and transportation patterns in the area. Previous efforts have not identified a most important population exposure pathway or group. This assessment examines several pathways and a number of urban specific population groups to evaluate their relative significance. In addition, because different causative events contribute to the overall environmental impacts, this assessment addresses four of these: incident free transport, vehicular accidents, human errors, and sabotage or malevolent acts. Not only does radioactive material transport produce radiological and economic consequences but also it can have social impacts. The objective of this study is to examine both the quantitative environmental impacts of radioactive material transport in urban areas and the more subjective social effects of this process. The social impacts assessment was performed by Battelle Human Affairs Research Centers, Seattle, Washington and their conclusions are only summarized here

  1. Environmental efficiency analysis of transportation system in China: A non-radial DEA approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Young-Tae; Zhang, Ning; Danao, Denise; Zhang, Nan

    2013-01-01

    Many countries are worried about reducing energy consumption and environmental pollution while increasing the productivity and efficiency of their industries. This study intends to contribute to the literature by proposing a non-radial DEA model with the slacks-based measure (SBM) to analyze the environmental efficiency of China's transportation sector. The results show that most of the provinces in China do not have an eco-efficient transportation industry. The environmental efficiency levels in most of the provinces are lower than 50% of the ideal or target level. Therefore, China's transportation industry is environmentally very inefficient. China can reduce a great deal of carbon emissions in each province ranging from at least 1.6 million TOEs in Qinghai and at most 33 million TOEs in Guangdong and Shanghai. - Highlights: • Propose a non-radial DEA model with the slacks-based measure. • Analyze the environmental efficiency of China's transportation sector. • China's transportation industry is environmentally very inefficient. • Millions of TOE carbon emissions can be reduced in most of the provinces

  2. A closer look at urban transport. TERM 2013: transport indicators tracking progress towards environmental targets in Europe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sanchez Vicente, A.

    2013-12-01

    The EEA works in the transport area to assess the impacts of the sector on the human health and the environment. This work also allows the EEA to monitor the progress of integrating transport and environmental policies, and informing the EU, EEA member countries and the public about such progress. This is achieved by the production of relevant indicators that track progress towards policy targets for transport related to the environment, as well as through the elaboration of periodic assessments that cover all transport modes and the impacts of transport on the environment. The annual TERM report aims to enable policymakers to gauge the progress of those policies aiming to improve the environmental performance of the transport system as a whole. TERM 2013, has two distinct parts. Part A provides an annual assessment of the EU's transport and environment policies based on the TERM-CSI, a selection of 12 indicators from the broader set of EEA transport indicators to enabling monitoring of the most important aspects of transport. Part B focuses on urban transport and its effects on the environment. (LN)

  3. Some issues on environmental impact report of radioactive material transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Jiaming

    2001-01-01

    The author puts forward some issues which should be paid attention to when compiling a environmental impact report of radioactive material transport. The main issues discussed are as follows: (1) Optimization analysis for transport routes. (2) Source terms under accident conditions in transport. (3) Precautions against accidents and emergency preparedness. (4) Quality assurance of transport, etc

  4. Environmental analyses of land transportation systems in The Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bouwman, Mirjan E.; Moll, Henri C.

    Environmental analyses of the impact of transportation systems on the environment from the cradle to the grave are rare. This article makes a comparison of various Dutch passenger transportation systems by studying their complete life-cycle energy use. Moreover, systems are compared according to

  5. 10 CFR 51.52 - Environmental effects of transportation of fuel and waste-Table S-4.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Environmental effects of transportation of fuel and waste... Environmental effects of transportation of fuel and waste—Table S-4. Under § 51.50, every environmental report... detailed analysis of the environmental effects of transportation of fuel and wastes to and from the reactor...

  6. Laying the foundations for greener transport - TERM 2011: transport indicators tracking progress towards environmental targets in Europe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sanchez Vicente, A

    2011-11-15

    For the first time ever the European Commissions is proposing a greenhouse gas emissions target for transport. But how is transport going to provide the services that our society needs while minimising its environmental impacts? This is the theme for the Transport White Paper launched in 2011. TERM 2011 and future reports aim to deliver an annual assessment on progress towards these targets by introducing the Transport and Environment Reporting Mechanism Core Set of Indicators (TERM-CSI). TERM 2011 provides also the baseline to which progress will be checked against, covering most of the environmental areas, including energy consumption, emissions, noise and transport demand. In addition, this report shows latest data and discuss on the different aspects that can contribute the most to minimise transport impacts. TERM 2011 applies the avoid-shift-improve (ASI) approach, introduced in the previous TERM report, analysing ways to optimise transport demand, obtain a more sustainable modal split or use the best technology available. (Author)

  7. Adaptive fuzzy-neural-network control for maglev transportation system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wai, Rong-Jong; Lee, Jeng-Dao

    2008-01-01

    A magnetic-levitation (maglev) transportation system including levitation and propulsion control is a subject of considerable scientific interest because of highly nonlinear and unstable behaviors. In this paper, the dynamic model of a maglev transportation system including levitated electromagnets and a propulsive linear induction motor (LIM) based on the concepts of mechanical geometry and motion dynamics is developed first. Then, a model-based sliding-mode control (SMC) strategy is introduced. In order to alleviate chattering phenomena caused by the inappropriate selection of uncertainty bound, a simple bound estimation algorithm is embedded in the SMC strategy to form an adaptive sliding-mode control (ASMC) scheme. However, this estimation algorithm is always a positive value so that tracking errors introduced by any uncertainty will cause the estimated bound increase even to infinity with time. Therefore, it further designs an adaptive fuzzy-neural-network control (AFNNC) scheme by imitating the SMC strategy for the maglev transportation system. In the model-free AFNNC, online learning algorithms are designed to cope with the problem of chattering phenomena caused by the sign action in SMC design, and to ensure the stability of the controlled system without the requirement of auxiliary compensated controllers despite the existence of uncertainties. The outputs of the AFNNC scheme can be directly supplied to the electromagnets and LIM without complicated control transformations for relaxing strict constrains in conventional model-based control methodologies. The effectiveness of the proposed control schemes for the maglev transportation system is verified by numerical simulations, and the superiority of the AFNNC scheme is indicated in comparison with the SMC and ASMC strategies.

  8. Adaptive sampling method in deep-penetration particle transport problem

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Ruihong; Ji Zhicheng; Pei Lucheng

    2012-01-01

    Deep-penetration problem has been one of the difficult problems in shielding calculation with Monte Carlo method for several decades. In this paper, a kind of particle transport random walking system under the emission point as a sampling station is built. Then, an adaptive sampling scheme is derived for better solution with the achieved information. The main advantage of the adaptive scheme is to choose the most suitable sampling number from the emission point station to obtain the minimum value of the total cost in the process of the random walk. Further, the related importance sampling method is introduced. Its main principle is to define the importance function due to the particle state and to ensure the sampling number of the emission particle is proportional to the importance function. The numerical results show that the adaptive scheme under the emission point as a station could overcome the difficulty of underestimation of the result in some degree, and the adaptive importance sampling method gets satisfied results as well. (authors)

  9. Grounding transport planning on principles of social justice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Martens, C.J.C.M.

    2006-01-01

    Transport modeling and cost-bene?t analysis are two key tools used in trans-port planning. Both tools have been adapted substantially to cope with thechallenges posed by the goal of sustainable development. However, the changeshave primarily focused on the negative environmental impacts of the

  10. Individual, Social, and Environmental Correlates of Active Transportation Patterns in French Women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perchoux, Camille; Enaux, Christophe; Oppert, Jean-Michel; Menai, Mehdi; Charreire, Hélène; Salze, Paul; Weber, Christiane; Hercberg, Serge; Feuillet, Thierry; Hess, Franck; Roda, Célina; Simon, Chantal; Nazare, Julie-Anne

    2017-01-01

    The objectives were (1) to define physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviors (SB) patterns in daily life contexts (work, leisure, and transportation) in French working women from NutriNet-Santé web-cohort and (2) to identify pattern(s) of active transportation and their individual, social, and environmental correlates. 23,432 participants completed two questionnaires to evaluate PA and SB in daily life contexts and individual representations of residential neighborhood and transportation modes. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed which identified 6 distinct movement behavior patterns: (i) active occupation, high sedentary leisure, (ii) sedentary occupation, low leisure, (iii) sedentary transportation, (iv) sedentary occupation and leisure, (v) active transportation, and (vi) active leisure. Multinomial logistic regressions were performed to identify correlates of the "active transportation" cluster. The perceived environmental characteristics positively associated with "active transportation" included "high availability of destinations around home," "presence of bicycle paths," and "low traffic." A "positive image of walking/cycling," the "individual feeling of being physically active," and a "high use of active transport modes by relatives/friends" were positively related to "active transportation," identified as a unique pattern regarding individual and environmental correlates. Identification of PA and SB context-specific patterns will help to understand movement behaviors' complexity and to design interventions to promote active transportation in specific subgroups.

  11. Environmental data processor of the adaptive intrusion data system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rogers, M.S.

    1977-06-01

    A data acquisition system oriented specifically toward collection and processing of various meteorological and environmental parameters has been designed around a National Semiconductor IMP-16 microprocessor, This system, called the Environmental Data Processor (EDP), was developed specifically for use with the Adaptive Intrusion Data System (AIDS) in a perimeter intrusion alarm evaluation, although its design is sufficiently general to permit use elsewhere. This report describes in general detail the design of the EDP and its interaction with other AIDS components

  12. Environmental economics of lignin derived transport fuels

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Obydenkova, Svetlana V.; Kouris, Panos D.; Hensen, Emiel J. M.; Heeres, Hero J.; Boot, Michael D.

    2017-01-01

    This paper explores the environmental and economic aspects of fast pyrolytic conversion of lignin, obtained from 2G ethanol plants, to transport fuels for both the marine and automotive markets. Various scenarios are explored, pertaining to aggregation of lignin from several sites, alternative

  13. Environmental assessment, continual improvement and adaptive management within the AREVA sustainable development framework

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosaasen, A.; Frostad, S.

    2006-01-01

    COGEMA Resources Inc. (which is part of the AREVA Group) is a Canadian company with its head office in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It owns and operates mining and milling facilities in northern Saskatchewan, which produce uranium concentrate. The McClean Lake Operation commenced production in 1999 and its environmental management system represents an integrated approach to environmental assessment, continual improvement and adaptive management based on operational results. In Canada, sustainable development is promoted through the application of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA). Environmental Assessment (EA) is a planning tool, which incorporates environmental considerations before irrevocable decisions are taken. The basic tenet of the Act is the determination of whether the potential environmental effects of a project are adverse, significant and likely, taking into consideration mitigation measures. Thus, project planning and design entails an iterative process that incorporates mitigation measures to minimize potentially significant adverse effects. As part of the EA process conservative approaches are taken to predict potential effects. Several important elements are generated through the EA process including: a set of environmental effects predictions, a compliance and environmental effects monitoring program, a follow-up program to address uncertainties in the prediction of environmental effects, and the identification of contingency measures that could be implemented should non-conservative assumptions be identified in the original assessment framework. The challenge is to integrate each of these elements into the environmental management framework of the operating facility and develop an iterative mechanism to evaluate operational performance relative to what was originally predicted. In Saskatchewan, a requirement of operational licenses is the periodic evaluation of the 'Status of the Environment' surrounding operational facilities. These

  14. Understanding and applying principles of social cognition and decision making in adaptive environmental governance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel A. DeCaro

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Environmental governance systems are under greater pressure to adapt and to cope with increased social and ecological uncertainty from stressors like climate change. We review principles of social cognition and decision making that shape and constrain how environmental governance systems adapt. We focus primarily on the interplay between key decision makers in society and legal systems. We argue that adaptive governance must overcome three cooperative dilemmas to facilitate adaptation: (1 encouraging collaborative problem solving, (2 garnering social acceptance and commitment, and (3 cultivating a culture of trust and tolerance for change and uncertainty. However, to do so governance systems must cope with biases in people's decision making that cloud their judgment and create conflict. These systems must also satisfy people's fundamental needs for self-determination, fairness, and security, ensuring that changes to environmental governance are perceived as legitimate, trustworthy, and acceptable. We discuss the implications of these principles for common governance solutions (e.g., public participation, enforcement and conclude with methodological recommendations. We outline how scholars can investigate the social cognitive principles involved in cases of adaptive governance.

  15. Adaptive responses to environmental changes in Lake Victoria cichlids

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rijssel, Jacobus Cornelis van (Jacco)

    2014-01-01

    Lake Victoria cichlids show the fastest vertebrate adaptive radiation known which is why they function as a model organism to study evolution. In the past 40 years, Lake Victoria experienced severe environmental changes including the boom of the introduced, predatory Nile perch and eutrophication.

  16. Air versus terrestrial transport modalities: An energy and environmental comparison

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Federici, M.; Ulgiati, S.; Basosi, R.

    2009-01-01

    In the last 15 years, worldwide air transportation has grown at an average yearly rate of 4.5%. Forecasts confirm that this could be the average increase rate for the next 20 years, although recent oscillation of oil price translated into a slowing down of such a trend, with several air companies forced out of business. Within this framework, low cost airlines keep increasing their market share, in so making airplane to compete with terrestrial transport modalities, not only for medium and long distance, but also for short trips. This is because air transport is obviously faster than transport by trains and cars, and most often it also is a cheaper option in money terms. In spite of its apparent success, air transportation is a source of concern for many analysts, because it is considered as the more energy intensive and polluting transport modality. In order to explore the correctness of such an issue, we compared air transportation to high speed trains and other modern terrestrial modalities, by using a 'whole-system' approach. The present study applies an LCA-like approach, by taking into account all the energy and materials directly and indirectly required to make and operate infrastructures (i.e. tunnels, railways, highways) and vehicles. Efficiency and environmental loading are assessed by means of Material Flow Accounting, Embodied Energy Analysis and Emergy Synthesis methods. Results point out that the gap among the environmental performances of air, road and railway modalities is significantly narrower than expected. The thermodynamic and environmental costs of road and railway infrastructure cannot be disregarded as negligible. In a selected number of cases these transport modalities perform even worse than the air transportation mode, where infrastructures play a much smaller role.

  17. Air versus terrestrial transport modalities: An energy and environmental comparison

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Federici, M.; Basosi, R. [Department of Chemistry and Center for Complex Systems Investigation, University of Siena, via Alcide De Gasperi 2, 53100 Siena (Italy); Ulgiati, S. [Department of Sciences for the Environment, ' ' Parthenope' ' University of Napoli, Centro Direzionale, Isola C4, I-80143 Napoli (Italy)

    2009-10-15

    In the last 15 years, worldwide air transportation has grown at an average yearly rate of 4.5%. Forecasts confirm that this could be the average increase rate for the next 20 years, although recent oscillation of oil price translated into a slowing down of such a trend, with several air companies forced out of business. Within this framework, low cost airlines keep increasing their market share, in so making airplane to compete with terrestrial transport modalities, not only for medium and long distance, but also for short trips. This is because air transport is obviously faster than transport by trains and cars, and most often it also is a cheaper option in money terms. In spite of its apparent success, air transportation is a source of concern for many analysts, because it is considered as the more energy intensive and polluting transport modality. In order to explore the correctness of such an issue, we compared air transportation to high speed trains and other modern terrestrial modalities, by using a ''whole-system'' approach. The present study applies an LCA-like approach, by taking into account all the energy and materials directly and indirectly required to make and operate infrastructures (i.e. tunnels, railways, highways) and vehicles. Efficiency and environmental loading are assessed by means of Material Flow Accounting, Embodied Energy Analysis and Emergy Synthesis methods. Results point out that the gap among the environmental performances of air, road and railway modalities is significantly narrower than expected. The thermodynamic and environmental costs of road and railway infrastructure cannot be disregarded as negligible. In a selected number of cases these transport modalities perform even worse than the air transportation mode, where infrastructures play a much smaller role. (author)

  18. Behind the wheel: community consultation informs adaptation of safe-transport program for older drivers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coxon, Kristy; Keay, Lisa

    2015-12-09

    Safe-transport is important to well-being in later life but balancing safety and independence for older drivers can be challenging. While self-regulation is a promising tool to promote road safety, more research is required to optimise programs. Qualitative research was used to inform the choice and adaptation of a safe-transport education program for older drivers. Three focus groups were conducted with older drivers living in northwest Sydney to explore four key areas related to driving in later life including aged-based licensing, stopping or limiting driving, barriers to driving cessation and alternative modes of transportation. Data were analysed using content analysis. Four categories emerged from the data; bad press for older drivers, COMPETENCE not age, call for fairness in licensing regulations, and hanging up the keys: It's complicated! Two key issues being (1) older drivers wanted to drive for as long as possible but (2) were not prepared for driving cessation; guided the choice and adaption of the Knowledge Enhances Your Safety (KEYS) program. This program was adapted for the Australian context and focus group findings raised the need for practical solutions, including transport alternatives, to be added. Targeted messages were developed from the data using the Precaution Adoption Process Model (PAPM), allowing the education to be tailored to the individual's stage of behaviour change. Adapting our program based on insights gained from community consultation should ensure the program is sensitive to the needs, skills and preferences of older drivers.

  19. Energy consumption and environmental effects of passenger transport modes. A life cycle study on passenger transport modes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kalenoja, H.

    1996-01-01

    Energy consumption and environmental effects of different passenger transport modes vary on the different stages of the fuel chain and during the production and maintenance of vehicles and infrastructure. Energy consumption and the environmental effects calculated per passenger mileage depend strongly on the vehicle occupancy. The properties of transport modes on urban areas and on the long distance transport have been evaluated in this study. The energy consumption and environmental effects calculated per passenger mileage have been assessed for passenger car, bus, tram, train, airplane and ferry. The emissions have been evaluated during the whole fuel chain. In this study only the airborne emissions have been taken into account. In the energy consumption calculations the energy content of vehicles and the infrastructure, energy consumption during the fuel chain and during the end use have been taken into consideration. (au)

  20. Environmental Development Plan for Transportation Energy Conservation. FY 79 update

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singh, M. K.; Bernard, III, M. J.

    1978-12-15

    This is the first annual update of the Environment Development Plan (EDP) for the DOE Division of Transportation Energy Conservation program. It identifies the ecosystem, resource, physical environment, health, safety, and socioeconomic concerns associated with the division's transportation programs. These programs include the research, development, demonstration and assessment (RDD and A) of seventeen transportation technologies and several strategy and policy development and implementation projects. The transportation technologies projects deal with highway transport including electric vehicles, marine transport and pipeline transport. This EDP presents a research and assessment plan for resolving any potentially adverse environmental concerns stemming from these programs.

  1. Environmental impacts of public transport. Why peak-period travellers cause a greater environmental burden than off-peak travellers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rietveld, P.

    2002-01-01

    Given the difference between peak and off-peak occupancy rates in public transport, emissions per traveller kilometre are lower in the peak than in the off-peak period, whereas the opposite pattern is observed for cars. It is argued that it is much more fruitful to analyse environmental effects in marginal terms. This calls for a careful analysis of capacity management policies of public transport suppliers that are facing increased demand during both peak and off-peak periods. A detailed analysis of capacity management by the Netherlands Railways (NS) revealed that off-peak capacity supply is mainly dictated by the demand levels during the peak period. The analysis included the effects of increased frequency and increased vehicle size on environmental impacts, while environmental economies of vehicle size were also taken into account. The main conclusion is that the marginal environmental burden during the peak hours is much higher than is usually thought, whereas it is almost zero during the off-peak period. This implies a pattern that is the precise opposite of the average environmental burden. Thus, an analysis of environmental effects of public transport based on average performance would yield misleading conclusions [nl

  2. 77 FR 18879 - Department of Transportation Final Environmental Justice Strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-28

    ... Transportation Final Environmental Justice Strategy AGENCY: Office of the Secretary of Transportation, DOT... strategy, which sets forth DOT's commitment to identifying and addressing disproportionately high and...-income populations. This strategy is published as a final document; however, it is a revision of a...

  3. Examining the effects of transportation governance on infrastructure adaptation to climate change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-05-01

    Transportation agencies across the United States are faced with the challenge of effectively : adapting infrastructure to withstand the predicted effects of climate change. This challenge is : magnified by a nationwide funding shortage, uncertainty a...

  4. Food transport refrigeration - Approaches to reduce energy consumption and environmental impacts of road transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tassou, S.A.; De-Lille, G.; Ge, Y.T.

    2009-01-01

    Food transport refrigeration is a critical link in the food chain not only in terms of maintaining the temperature integrity of the transported products but also its impact on energy consumption and CO 2 emissions. This paper provides a review of (a) current approaches in road food transport refrigeration, (b) estimates of their environmental impacts, and (c) research on the development and application of alternative technologies to vapour compression refrigeration systems that have the potential to reduce the overall energy consumption and environmental impacts. The review and analysis indicate that greenhouse gas emissions from conventional diesel engine driven vapour compression refrigeration systems commonly employed in food transport refrigeration can be as high as 40% of the greenhouse gas emissions from the vehicle's engine. For articulated vehicles over 33 ton, which are responsible for over 80% of refrigerated food transportation in the UK, the reject heat available form the engine is sufficient to drive sorption refrigeration systems and satisfy most of the refrigeration requirements of the vehicle. Other promising technologies that can lead to a reduction in CO 2 emissions are air cycle refrigeration and hybrid systems in which conventional refrigeration technologies are integrated with thermal energy storage. For these systems, however, to effectively compete with diesel driven vapour compression systems, further research and development work is needed to improve their efficiency and reduce their weight

  5. Integrated Decision Support for Global Environmental Change Adaptation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, S.; Cantrell, S.; Higgins, G. J.; Marshall, J.; VanWijngaarden, F.

    2011-12-01

    Environmental changes are happening now that has caused concern in many parts of the world; particularly vulnerable are the countries and communities with limited resources and with natural environments that are more susceptible to climate change impacts. Global leaders are concerned about the observed phenomena and events such as Amazon deforestation, shifting monsoon patterns affecting agriculture in the mountain slopes of Peru, floods in Pakistan, water shortages in Middle East, droughts impacting water supplies and wildlife migration in Africa, and sea level rise impacts on low lying coastal communities in Bangladesh. These environmental changes are likely to get exacerbated as the temperatures rise, the weather and climate patterns change, and sea level rise continues. Large populations and billions of dollars of infrastructure could be affected. At Northrop Grumman, we have developed an integrated decision support framework for providing necessary information to stakeholders and planners to adapt to the impacts of climate variability and change at the regional and local levels. This integrated approach takes into account assimilation and exploitation of large and disparate weather and climate data sets, regional downscaling (dynamic and statistical), uncertainty quantification and reduction, and a synthesis of scientific data with demographic and economic data to generate actionable information for the stakeholders and decision makers. Utilizing a flexible service oriented architecture and state-of-the-art visualization techniques, this information can be delivered via tailored GIS portals to meet diverse set of user needs and expectations. This integrated approach can be applied to regional and local risk assessments, predictions and decadal projections, and proactive adaptation planning for vulnerable communities. In this paper we will describe this comprehensive decision support approach with selected applications and case studies to illustrate how this

  6. Economic and environmental impacts of alternative transportation technologies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-01

    This project has focused on comparing alternative transportation technologies in terms of their : environmental and economic impacts. The research is data-driven and quantitative, and examines the : dynamics of impact. We have developed new theory an...

  7. Predictive analytics of environmental adaptability in multi-omic network models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angione, Claudio; Lió, Pietro

    2015-10-20

    Bacterial phenotypic traits and lifestyles in response to diverse environmental conditions depend on changes in the internal molecular environment. However, predicting bacterial adaptability is still difficult outside of laboratory controlled conditions. Many molecular levels can contribute to the adaptation to a changing environment: pathway structure, codon usage, metabolism. To measure adaptability to changing environmental conditions and over time, we develop a multi-omic model of Escherichia coli that accounts for metabolism, gene expression and codon usage at both transcription and translation levels. After the integration of multiple omics into the model, we propose a multiobjective optimization algorithm to find the allowable and optimal metabolic phenotypes through concurrent maximization or minimization of multiple metabolic markers. In the condition space, we propose Pareto hypervolume and spectral analysis as estimators of short term multi-omic (transcriptomic and metabolic) evolution, thus enabling comparative analysis of metabolic conditions. We therefore compare, evaluate and cluster different experimental conditions, models and bacterial strains according to their metabolic response in a multidimensional objective space, rather than in the original space of microarray data. We finally validate our methods on a phenomics dataset of growth conditions. Our framework, named METRADE, is freely available as a MATLAB toolbox.

  8. Adaptability and variability of the cell functions to the environmental factors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kikuchi, Tadatoshi [Kyoto Univ., Kumatori, Osaka (Japan). Research Reactor Inst.

    1995-02-01

    Adaptive phenomenon of the cells to the environmental factors is one of the most important functions of cells. In the initial research program, yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as model species of eukaryote was selected to use for the experiments and copper sulfate was adopted as one of the ideal environmental factors, and then adaptation mechanisms of yeast cells in the environment surrounded by copper ions were analyzed metabolically and morphologically. Furthermore, in the relationships between environmental factors and the cells, the researches performed were as follows: (1) Induced mutation in the extranuclear-inheritable system: Mutagenic effect of ethidium bromide on mitochondria and plastids. (2) Induction of gene expression by light exposure in the early development of chloroplast in Chlamydomonas reinhardi. (3) Some features of RNA and protein syntheses in thermophilic alga Cyanidium caldarium. (4) Satellite DNA of Ochromonas danica. (5) Analyses of cell functions using various kinds of radiations. (6) Novel methionine requirement of radiation resistant bacterium, Deinococcus radiodurans. (author).

  9. Can Perceptions of Environmental and Climate Change in Island Communities Assist in Adaptation Planning Locally?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aswani, Shankar; Vaccaro, Ismael; Abernethy, Kirsten; Albert, Simon; de Pablo, Javier Fernández-López

    2015-12-01

    Local perceptions of environmental and climate change, as well as associated adaptations made by local populations, are fundamental for designing comprehensive and inclusive mitigation and adaptation plans both locally and nationally. In this paper, we analyze people's perceptions of environmental and climate-related transformations in communities across the Western Solomon Islands through ethnographic and geospatial methods. Specifically, we documented people's observed changes over the past decades across various environmental domains, and for each change, we asked respondents to identify the causes, timing, and people's adaptive responses. We also incorporated this information into a geographical information system database to produce broad-scale base maps of local perceptions of environmental change. Results suggest that people detected changes that tended to be acute (e.g., water clarity, logging intensity, and agricultural diseases). We inferred from these results that most local observations of and adaptations to change were related to parts of environment/ecosystem that are most directly or indirectly related to harvesting strategies. On the other hand, people were less aware of slower insidious/chronic changes identified by scientific studies. For the Solomon Islands and similar contexts in the insular tropics, a broader anticipatory adaptation planning strategy to climate change should include a mix of local scientific studies and local observations of ongoing ecological changes.

  10. Salinity Adaptation and the Contribution of Parental Environmental Effects in Medicago truncatula.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ken S Moriuchi

    Full Text Available High soil salinity negatively influences plant growth and yield. Some taxa have evolved mechanisms for avoiding or tolerating elevated soil salinity, which can be modulated by the environment experienced by parents or offspring. We tested the contribution of the parental and offspring environments on salinity adaptation and their potential underlying mechanisms. In a two-generation greenhouse experiment, we factorially manipulated salinity concentrations for genotypes of Medicago truncatula that were originally collected from natural populations that differed in soil salinity. To compare population level adaptation to soil salinity and to test the potential mechanisms involved we measured two aspects of plant performance, reproduction and vegetative biomass, and phenological and physiological traits associated with salinity avoidance and tolerance. Saline-origin populations had greater biomass and reproduction under saline conditions than non-saline populations, consistent with local adaptation to saline soils. Additionally, parental environmental exposure to salt increased this difference in performance. In terms of environmental effects on mechanisms of salinity adaptation, parental exposure to salt spurred phenological differences that facilitated salt avoidance, while offspring exposure to salt resulted in traits associated with greater salt tolerance. Non-saline origin populations expressed traits associated with greater growth in the absence of salt while, for saline adapted populations, the ability to maintain greater performance in saline environments was also associated with lower growth potential in the absence of salt. Plastic responses induced by parental and offspring environments in phenology, leaf traits, and gas exchange contribute to salinity adaptation in M. truncatula. The ability of plants to tolerate environmental stress, such as high soil salinity, is likely modulated by a combination of parental effects and within

  11. Transportation risk assessment for the US Department of Energy Environmental Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, S.Y.; Monette, F.A.; Biwer, B.M.; Lazaro, M.A.; Hartmann, H.M.; Policastro, A.J.

    1994-01-01

    In its Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), the Office of Environmental Management (EM) of the US Department of Energy (DOE) is considering a broad range of alternatives for the future management of radioactive and hazardous waste at the facilities of the DOE complex. The alternatives involve facilities to be used for treatment, storage, and disposal of various wastes generated from DOE's environmental restoration activities and waste management operation. Included in the evaluation are six types of waste (five types of radioactive waste plus hazardous waste), 49 sites, and numerous cases associated with each different alternative for waste management. In general, the alternatives are evaluated independently for each type of waste and reflect decentralized, regionalized, and centralized approaches. Transportation of waste materials is an integral component of the EM PEIS alternatives for waste management. The estimated impact on human health that is associated with various waste transportation activities is an important element leading to a complete appraisal of the alternatives. The transportation risk assessment performed for the EM PEIS is designed to ensure -- through uniform and judicious selection of models, data, and assumptions -- that relative comparisons of risk among the various alternatives are meaningful and consistent

  12. Adaptive tree multigrids and simplified spherical harmonics approximation in deterministic neutral and charged particle transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kotiluoto, P.

    2007-05-01

    A new deterministic three-dimensional neutral and charged particle transport code, MultiTrans, has been developed. In the novel approach, the adaptive tree multigrid technique is used in conjunction with simplified spherical harmonics approximation of the Boltzmann transport equation. The development of the new radiation transport code started in the framework of the Finnish boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) project. Since the application of the MultiTrans code to BNCT dose planning problems, the testing and development of the MultiTrans code has continued in conventional radiotherapy and reactor physics applications. In this thesis, an overview of different numerical radiation transport methods is first given. Special features of the simplified spherical harmonics method and the adaptive tree multigrid technique are then reviewed. The usefulness of the new MultiTrans code has been indicated by verifying and validating the code performance for different types of neutral and charged particle transport problems, reported in separate publications. (orig.)

  13. A Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion Predictor-Based Model Reference Adaptive Controller for a Generic Transport Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Stefan F.; Kaneshige, John T.

    2010-01-01

    Presented here is a Predictor-Based Model Reference Adaptive Control (PMRAC) architecture for a generic transport aircraft. At its core, this architecture features a three-axis, non-linear, dynamic-inversion controller. Command inputs for this baseline controller are provided by pilot roll-rate, pitch-rate, and sideslip commands. This paper will first thoroughly present the baseline controller followed by a description of the PMRAC adaptive augmentation to this control system. Results are presented via a full-scale, nonlinear simulation of NASA s Generic Transport Model (GTM).

  14. Individual, Social, and Environmental Correlates of Active Transportation Patterns in French Women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Camille Perchoux

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The objectives were (1 to define physical activity (PA and sedentary behaviors (SB patterns in daily life contexts (work, leisure, and transportation in French working women from NutriNet-Santé web-cohort and (2 to identify pattern(s of active transportation and their individual, social, and environmental correlates. 23,432 participants completed two questionnaires to evaluate PA and SB in daily life contexts and individual representations of residential neighborhood and transportation modes. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed which identified 6 distinct movement behavior patterns: (i active occupation, high sedentary leisure, (ii sedentary occupation, low leisure, (iii sedentary transportation, (iv sedentary occupation and leisure, (v active transportation, and (vi active leisure. Multinomial logistic regressions were performed to identify correlates of the “active transportation” cluster. The perceived environmental characteristics positively associated with “active transportation” included “high availability of destinations around home,” “presence of bicycle paths,” and “low traffic.” A “positive image of walking/cycling,” the “individual feeling of being physically active,” and a “high use of active transport modes by relatives/friends” were positively related to “active transportation,” identified as a unique pattern regarding individual and environmental correlates. Identification of PA and SB context-specific patterns will help to understand movement behaviors’ complexity and to design interventions to promote active transportation in specific subgroups.

  15. An h-adaptive finite element method for turbulent heat transfer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carriington, David B [Los Alamos National Laboratory

    2009-01-01

    A two-equation turbulence closure model (k-{omega}) using an h-adaptive grid technique and finite element method (FEM) has been developed to simulate low Mach flow and heat transfer. These flows are applicable to many flows in engineering and environmental sciences. Of particular interest in the engineering modeling areas are: combustion, solidification, and heat exchanger design. Flows for indoor air quality modeling and atmospheric pollution transport are typical types of environmental flows modeled with this method. The numerical method is based on a hybrid finite element model using an equal-order projection process. The model includes thermal and species transport, localized mesh refinement (h-adaptive) and Petrov-Galerkin weighting for the stabilizing the advection. This work develops the continuum model of a two-equation turbulence closure method. The fractional step solution method is stated along with the h-adaptive grid method (Carrington and Pepper, 2002). Solutions are presented for 2d flow over a backward-facing step.

  16. Psychosocial and Environmental Correlates of Walking, Cycling, Public Transport and Passive Transport to Various Destinations in Flemish Older Adolescents.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hannah Verhoeven

    Full Text Available Active transport is a convenient way to incorporate physical activity in adolescents' daily life. The present study aimed to investigate which psychosocial and environmental factors are associated with walking, cycling, public transport (train, tram, bus, metro and passive transport (car, motorcycle, moped over short distances (maximum eight kilometres among older adolescents (17-18 years, to school and to other destinations.562 older adolescents completed an online questionnaire assessing socio-demographic variables, psychosocial variables, environmental variables and transport to school/other destinations. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression models were performed.More social modelling and a higher residential density were positively associated with walking to school and walking to other destinations, respectively. Regarding cycling, higher self-efficacy and a higher social norm were positively associated with cycling to school and to other destinations. Regarding public transport, a higher social norm, more social modelling of siblings and/or friends, more social support and a higher land use mix access were positively related to public transport to school and to other destinations, whereas a greater distance to school only related positively to public transport to school. Regarding passive transport, more social support and more perceived benefits were positively associated with passive transport to school and to other destinations. Perceiving less walking and cycling facilities at school was positively related to passive transport to school only, and more social modelling was positively related to passive transport to other destinations.Overall, psychosocial variables seemed to be more important than environmental variables across the four transport modes. Social norm, social modelling and social support were the most consistent psychosocial factors which indicates that it is important to target both older adolescents and their social

  17. Molecular evolution of the hyperthermophilic archaea of the Pyrococcus genus: analysis of adaptation to different environmental conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Afonnikov Dmitry A

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Prokaryotic microorganisms are able to survive and proliferate in severe environmental conditions. The increasing number of complete sequences of prokaryotic genomes has provided the basis for studying the molecular mechanisms of their adaptation at the genomic level. We apply here a computer-based approach to compare the genomes and proteomes from P. furiosus, P. horikoshii, and P. abyssi to identify features of their molecular evolution related to adaptation strategy to diverse environmental conditions. Results Phylogenetic analysis of rRNA genes from 26 Pyrococcus strains suggested that the divergence of P. furiosus, P. horikoshii and P. abyssi might have occurred from ancestral deep-sea organisms. It was demonstrated that the function of genes that have been subject to positive Darwinian selection is closely related to abiotic and biotic conditions to which archaea managed to become adapted. Divergence of the P. furiosus archaea might have been due to loss of some genes involved in cell motility or signal transduction, and/or to evolution under positive selection of the genes for translation machinery. In the course of P. horikoshii divergence, positive selection was found to operate mainly on the transcription machinery; divergence of P. abyssi was related with positive selection for the genes mainly involved in inorganic ion transport. Analysis of radical amino acid replacement rate in evolving P. furiosus, P. horikoshii and P. abyssi showed that the fixation rate was higher for radical substitutions relative to the volume of amino acid side-chain. Conclusions The current results give due credit to the important role of hydrostatic pressure as a cause of variability in the P. furiosus, P. horikoshii and P. abyssi genomes evolving in different habitats. Nevertheless, adaptation to pressure does not appear to be the sole factor ensuring adaptation to environment. For example, at the stage of the divergence of P

  18. Flooded bus barns and buckled rails: public transportation and climate change adaptation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-01

    The objective of this project is to provide transit professionals with information and analysis relevant to adapting U.S. public transportation assets and services to climate change impacts. Climate impacts such as heat waves and flooding will hinder...

  19. Differences in environmental preferences towards cycling for transport among adults: a latent class analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mertens, Lieze; Van Cauwenberg, Jelle; Ghekiere, Ariane; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; Deforche, Benedicte; Van de Weghe, Nico; Van Dyck, Delfien

    2016-08-12

    Increasing cycling for transport can contribute to improve public health among adults. Micro-environmental factors (i.e. small-scaled street-setting features) may play an important role in affecting the street's appeal to cycle for transport. Understanding about the interplay between individuals and their physical environment is important to establish tailored environmental interventions. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine whether specific subgroups exist based on similarities in micro-environmental preferences to cycle for transport. Responses of 1950 middle-aged adults (45-65 years) on a series of choice tasks depicting potential cycling routes with manipulated photographs yielded three subgroups with different micro-environmental preferences using latent class analysis. Although latent class analysis revealed three different subgroups in the middle-aged adult population based on their environmental preferences, results indicated that cycle path type (i.e. a good separated cycle path) is the most important environmental factor for all participants and certainly for individuals who did not cycle for transport. Furthermore, only negligible differences were found between the importances of the other micro-environmental factors (i.e. traffic density, evenness of the cycle path, maintenance, vegetation and speed limits) regarding the two at risk subgroups and that providing a speed bump obviously has the least impact on the street's appeal to cycle for transport. Results from the current study indicate that only negligible differences were found between the three subgroups. Therefore, it might be suggested that tailored environmental interventions are not required in this research context.

  20. Behavioural economics, travel behaviour and environmental-transport policy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Garcia-Sierra, M.; van den Bergh, J.C.J.M.; Miralles, C.

    2015-01-01

    The transport sector creates much environmental pressure. Many current policies aimed at reducing this pressure are not fully effective because the behavioural aspects of travellers are insufficiently recognised. Insights from behavioural economics can contribute to a better understanding of travel

  1. Adaptive dynamics on an environmental gradient that changes over a geological time-scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fortelius, Mikael; Geritz, Stefan; Gyllenberg, Mats; Toivonen, Jaakko

    2015-07-07

    The standard adaptive dynamics framework assumes two timescales, i.e. fast population dynamics and slow evolutionary dynamics. We further assume a third timescale, which is even slower than the evolutionary timescale. We call this the geological timescale and we assume that slow climatic change occurs within this timescale. We study the evolution of our model population over this very slow geological timescale with bifurcation plots of the standard adaptive dynamics framework. The bifurcation parameter being varied describes the abiotic environment that changes over the geological timescale. We construct evolutionary trees over the geological timescale and observe both gradual phenotypic evolution and punctuated branching events. We concur with the established notion that branching of a monomorphic population on an environmental gradient only happens when the gradient is not too shallow and not too steep. However, we show that evolution within the habitat can produce polymorphic populations that inhabit steep gradients. What is necessary is that the environmental gradient at some point in time is such that the initial branching of the monomorphic population can occur. We also find that phenotypes adapted to environments in the middle of the existing environmental range are more likely to branch than phenotypes adapted to extreme environments. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Environmentally adaptive processing for shallow ocean applications: A sequential Bayesian approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Candy, J V

    2015-09-01

    The shallow ocean is a changing environment primarily due to temperature variations in its upper layers directly affecting sound propagation throughout. The need to develop processors capable of tracking these changes implies a stochastic as well as an environmentally adaptive design. Bayesian techniques have evolved to enable a class of processors capable of performing in such an uncertain, nonstationary (varying statistics), non-Gaussian, variable shallow ocean environment. A solution to this problem is addressed by developing a sequential Bayesian processor capable of providing a joint solution to the modal function tracking and environmental adaptivity problem. Here, the focus is on the development of both a particle filter and an unscented Kalman filter capable of providing reasonable performance for this problem. These processors are applied to hydrophone measurements obtained from a vertical array. The adaptivity problem is attacked by allowing the modal coefficients and/or wavenumbers to be jointly estimated from the noisy measurement data along with tracking of the modal functions while simultaneously enhancing the noisy pressure-field measurements.

  3. A guide to environmental best practice for company transport

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1992-11-01

    Companies have a significant influence on the car fleet sector. The transport sector is a growing source of CO[sub 2] emissions. Companies should: nominate a manager to take responsibility for the company's overall environmental policy; purchase the most fuel-efficient vehicle for the purpose; arrange proper maintenance of all vehicles; set an energy target to reduce fuel consumption; measure the performance of company cars and provide training in safe and economical driving techniques; encourage the use of public transport or car sharing; and consider alternatives to distribution of products by road transport. 5 refs.

  4. A simulation framework for asset management in climate-change adaptation of transportation infrastructure

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bhamidipati, S.K.

    2014-01-01

    An asset management framework, in an agent-based model with multiple assets, is presented as a tool that can assist in developing long-term climate change adaptation strategies for transportation infrastructure.

  5. Assessment of transportation risk for the U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management programmatic environmental impact statement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, S.Y.; Monette, F.A.; Biwer, B.M.; Lazaro, M.A.; Hartmann, H.M.; Policastro, A.J.

    1995-01-01

    In its Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), the Office of Environmental Management (EM) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is considering a broad range of alternatives for the future management of radioactive and hazardous waste at the facilities of the DOE complex. The alternatives involve facilities to be used for treatment, storage, and disposal of various wastes generated from DOE environmental restoration activities and waste management operations. The evaluation includes five types of waste (four types of radioactive waste plus hazardous waste), 49 sites, and numerous cases associated with each alternative for waste management. In general, the alternatives are evaluated independently for each type of waste and reflect decentralized, regionalized, and centralized approaches. Transportation of waste materials is an integral component of the EM PEIS alternatives for waste management. The estimated impact on human health that is associated with various waste transportation activities is an important component of a complete appraisal of the alternatives. The transportation risk assessment performed for the EM PEIS is designed to ensure through uniform and judicious selection of models, data, and assumptions that relative comparisons of risk among the various alternatives are meaningful and consistent. Among other tasks, Argonne National Laboratory is providing technical assistance to the EM PEIS on transportation risk assessment. The objective is to perform a human health risk assessment for each type of waste relative to the EM PEIS alternatives for waste management. The transportation risk assessed is part of the overall impacts being analyzed for the EM PEIS to determine the safest, most environmentally and economically sound manner in which to satisfy requirements for waste management in the coming decades

  6. Intestinal glucose transport and salinity adaptation in a euryhaline teleost

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reshkin, S.J.; Ahearn, G.A.

    1987-01-01

    Glucose transport by upper and lower intestinal brush-border membrane vesicles of the African tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) was characterized in fish acclimated to either freshwater of full-strength sea water. D-[ 3 H]-glucose uptake by vesicles was stimulated by a transmembrane Na gradient, was electrogenic, and was enhanced by countertransport of either D-glucose or D-galactose. Glucose transport was greater in the upper intestine than in the lower intestine and in sea water animals rather than in fish acclimated to freshwater. Glucose influx (10-s uptake) involved both saturable and nonsaturable transport components. Sea water adaptation increased apparent glucose influx K/sub t/, J/sub max/, apparent diffusional permeability (P), and the apparent Na affinity of the cotransport system in both intestinal segments, but the stoichiometry of Na-glucose transfer (1:1) was unaffected by differential saline conditions or gut region. It is suggested that increased sugar transport in sea water animals is due to the combination of enhanced Na-binding properties and an increase in number or transfer rate of the transport proteins. Freshwater animals compensate for reduced Na affinity of the coupled process by markedly increasing the protein affinity for glucose

  7. Environmental impact of oil transportation. Programme and abstracts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kerimov, M.; Mustafayev, I.; Garibov, A.; Steinhausler, F.

    2005-11-01

    Scientists from different countries took part at the Sixth framework programme (INCO) workshop: Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia, Greece, Russia, Austria, Romania, Lithuania, Norway and France. Mainly they considered problems of environmental contamination occurring during production, storage and transportation of oil and oil wastes. Also some aspects of radiation-environmental monitoring in the Caspian region, radiation safety problems in oil industry and new methods and technique of dosimetry of ionizing radiation and impact of human cooperation on these activities are described here

  8. Differences in environmental preferences towards cycling for transport among adults: a latent class analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lieze Mertens

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Increasing cycling for transport can contribute to improve public health among adults. Micro-environmental factors (i.e. small-scaled street-setting features may play an important role in affecting the street’s appeal to cycle for transport. Understanding about the interplay between individuals and their physical environment is important to establish tailored environmental interventions. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine whether specific subgroups exist based on similarities in micro-environmental preferences to cycle for transport. Methods Responses of 1950 middle-aged adults (45–65 years on a series of choice tasks depicting potential cycling routes with manipulated photographs yielded three subgroups with different micro-environmental preferences using latent class analysis. Results Although latent class analysis revealed three different subgroups in the middle-aged adult population based on their environmental preferences, results indicated that cycle path type (i.e. a good separated cycle path is the most important environmental factor for all participants and certainly for individuals who did not cycle for transport. Furthermore, only negligible differences were found between the importances of the other micro-environmental factors (i.e. traffic density, evenness of the cycle path, maintenance, vegetation and speed limits regarding the two at risk subgroups and that providing a speed bump obviously has the least impact on the street’s appeal to cycle for transport. Conclusions Results from the current study indicate that only negligible differences were found between the three subgroups. Therefore, it might be suggested that tailored environmental interventions are not required in this research context.

  9. Adaptive social impact management for conservation and environmental management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaplan-Hallam, Maery; Bennett, Nathan J

    2018-04-01

    Concerns about the social consequences of conservation have spurred increased attention the monitoring and evaluation of the social impacts of conservation projects. This has resulted in a growing body of research that demonstrates how conservation can produce both positive and negative social, economic, cultural, health, and governance consequences for local communities. Yet, the results of social monitoring efforts are seldom applied to adaptively manage conservation projects. Greater attention is needed to incorporating the results of social impact assessments in long-term conservation management to minimize negative social consequences and maximize social benefits. We bring together insights from social impact assessment, adaptive management, social learning, knowledge coproduction, cross-scale governance, and environmental planning to propose a definition and framework for adaptive social impact management (ASIM). We define ASIM as the cyclical process of monitoring and adaptively managing social impacts over the life-span of an initiative through the 4 stages of profiling, learning, planning, and implementing. We outline 14 steps associated with the 4 stages of the ASIM cycle and provide guidance and potential methods for social-indicator development, predictive assessments of social impacts, monitoring and evaluation, communication of results, and identification and prioritization of management responses. Successful ASIM will be aided by engaging with best practices - including local engagement and collaboration in the process, transparent communication of results to stakeholders, collective deliberation on and choice of interventions, documentation of shared learning at the site level, and the scaling up of insights to inform higher-level conservation policies-to increase accountability, trust, and perceived legitimacy among stakeholders. The ASIM process is broadly applicable to conservation, environmental management, and development initiatives at various

  10. Environmental management system for transportation maintenance operations : [technical brief].

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-04-01

    This report provides the framework for the environmental management system to analyze : greenhouse gas emissions from transportation maintenance operations. The system enables user : to compare different scenarios and make informed decisions to minim...

  11. Environmental Adaptation from the Origin of Life to the Last Universal Common Ancestor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cantine, Marjorie D.; Fournier, Gregory P.

    2018-03-01

    Extensive fundamental molecular and biological evolution took place between the prebiotic origins of life and the state of the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA). Considering the evolutionary innovations between these two endpoints from the perspective of environmental adaptation, we explore the hypothesis that LUCA was temporally, spatially, and environmentally distinct from life's earliest origins in an RNA world. Using this lens, we interpret several molecular biological features as indicating an environmental transition between a cold, radiation-shielded origin of life and a mesophilic, surface-dwelling LUCA. Cellularity provides motility and permits Darwinian evolution by connecting genetic material and its products, and thus establishing heredity and lineage. Considering the importance of compartmentalization and motility, we propose that the early emergence of cellularity is required for environmental dispersal and diversification during these transitions. Early diversification and the emergence of ecology before LUCA could be an important pre-adaptation for life's persistence on a changing planet.

  12. Department of Environmental and Radiation Transport Physics - Overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woznicka, U.

    2001-01-01

    Full text: We deal with environmental physics and the radiation transport physics, both theoretically and experimentally. Some results find their way to practical applications. Our environmental physics research encompasses hydrogeological problems as well as measurements of trace elements in the atmosphere and in the water. Theoretical (analytical and numerical) and experimental issues of the radiation transport and radiation fields are our main field of research. The interest in radiation transport phenomena is stimulated by their importance for the environmental physics, industrial and nuclear facilities and methods of geophysical. Environmental isotopes and noble gases are used in the investigation of water-bearing geological formations in order to determine the origin and age of groundwater. The papers listed below and three ''Reports on research'' present recent achievements in this field. The gas chromatography methods are used for monitoring the anthropogenic trace gases (SF 6 and freons), which participate in the Earth green-house effect. A very high detection level of SF 6 in water, 0.0028 fg/cm 3 H 2 0, has been reached as required for hydrogeological purposes. A preliminary verification of the SF 6 tracer method for dating young groundwaters by the tritium method has been carried out. We carried on the work on a method of radon measurement in soil in connection with geological conditions. The national seminar ''Radon in Environment'' organized at the INP aroused an interest of Polish scientific centres in that field. The seminar gathered 60 participants who presented 24 oral reports and 8 posters. Within the scope of the radiation transport physics we studied thermal neutron transport in finite hydrogenous media. Advantages and limitations of a Monte Carlo code (MCNP) in thermal neutron transport simulations have been examined by both the analytical solution and the experiment on the INP pulsed neutron generator. An interesting contribution to the

  13. Framework for Assessing Indicators of Environmental Impacts in the Transport Sector

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Joumard, Robert; Gudmundsson, Henrik; Folkeson, Lennart

    2011-01-01

    The following questions were addressed in this study: How can environmental impacts of transport be identified? How can the impacts be represented by operational indicators? How can several indicators be considered jointly? How can indicators be used in planning and decision making? First......, a definition of the phrase “indicator of environmental impacts in the transport sector” was derived. The concept of a chain of causality between a source and a final target was developed as a common reference for indicators and their assessment. Criteria and methods for the assessment and selection...

  14. Impact of environmental adaptation on tear film assessments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fagehi, R

    2018-03-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of ocular environmental adaptation on clinical tear film assessment. Thirty subjects (male, mean age 23±2.5) participated in this study. A number of clinical tear film tests were applied, including: fluorescein tear break-up time (FTBUT), Schirmer test and tear prism height test (TPH). The tear physiology of each subject was evaluated twice, once immediately when they arrived from the external environment, and then after 30minutes adaptation in the exam room environment. The mean values were: Schirmer test A (22.1±2.99), Schirmer test B (24.2±2.63), FTBUT A (8.00±1.94), FTBUT B (9.13±2.04), TPH A (0.179±0.026) and TPH B* (0.187±0.023). Statistical testing using Wilcoxon-signed rank test showed a significant difference between the Schirmer test results measured at the different times (P=0.008). Also, the FTBUT and tear prism height test results showed significant differences between the two evaluation times, (P=0.001, 0.011, respectively) (A: tear assessed when the subject comes from the outside environment, B: tear film assessed after 30min adaptation in the clinical environment). This study showed a significant difference between the tear film test results evaluated when the subjects were assessed immediately from the outside environment and after an adaptation time in the clinic environment. Practitioners must consider the effect of differences between external and clinical environment adaptation on clinical tear film physiology. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  15. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF ROAD TRANSPORT IN A PASSENGER CAR USING THE LIFE CYCLE APPROACH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Piotr FOLĘGA

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Environmental issues are an increasingly important aspect of management in the transport sector; new methods have been developed for assessment of the environment in the transport sector using the life cycle approach. The paper presents the application of Well to Wheel (WTW and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA in the transport sector. The WTW method focuses on energy analysis and greenhouse gas emissions during the life cycle of fuels. WTW is used to support decision-making on the environmental aspects of transport, particularly with regard to fuel life cycle management, but this method omits important stages in the life cycle, particularly the ones regarding important circular economy guidelines such as reduction of natural resource consumption, impact on human health, etc. The LCA method provides a much broader approach to environmental assessment than WTW. LCA takes into consideration environmental impact in the whole life cycle of the vehicle, from the stage of production, through the period of exploitation, and finally its disposal.

  16. Understanding and applying principles of social cognition and decision making in adaptive environmental governance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Environmental governance systems are under greater pressure to adapt and to cope with increased social and ecological uncertainty from stressors like climate change. We review principles of social cognition and decision making that shape and constrain how environmental governance...

  17. Developing self-cleaning and air purifying transportation infrastructure components to minimize environmental impact of transportation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-01

    Creating transportation infrastructure, which can clean up itself and contaminated air surrounding it, can be a : groundbreaking approach in addressing environmental challenges of our time. This project has explored a possibility of : depositing coat...

  18. Genotype x Environmental Interactions and Adaptation Abilities of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) in Cukurova Conditions

    OpenAIRE

    MART, Dürdane

    2015-01-01

    During the study, at which genotype x environmental interactions and adaptation capacity of 18 chickpea varieties that took place at yield trials conducted in years 2001, 2002 and 2003 at two different locations (Doğankent, Taşçı) in Çukurova region were studied, it has been observed that studied characteristics are significantly affected from trial locations. Chickpea varieties used in the yield trial, demonstrated different adaptation capacities to different environmental conditions in term...

  19. International comparisons of energy and environmental efficiency in the road transport sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ben Abdallah, Khaled; Belloumi, Mounir; De Wolf, Daniel

    2015-01-01

    The present work provides an international comparison of the energy intensity and the carbon dioxide intensity in road transport for a group of 90 countries over the period 1980–2012. This paper attempts to perform a comparative analysis to find the most appropriate mapping of the energy performance in road transport taking into account the three dimensions of sustainable energy development, namely road transport-related energy consumption, economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions. An important result of the study is the inverse relationship between energy efficiency and environmental efficiency. Through the calculated Theil coefficient, our empirical findings highlight the existence of spatial and temporal disparities between countries. In 2012, Tunisia occupies the 48th and the 38th rank respectively in terms of energy and environmental efficiency. Based on a general index of energy performance in the road transport sector, it is deemed to have a medium–high energy performance by occupying the 34th rank. The study shows the importance of enhancing a number of policies for the road transport system through the joint improvement of the fuel price policy, of the road infrastructure policy and of the fuel-efficient road vehicles policy, in order to maintain sustainable energy road transport. - Highlights: • The paper presents an international comparative analysis of the energy performance. • The road transport is analyzed for a group of 90 countries over the period 1980–2012. • There is no convergence between energy and environmental efficiencies. • Tunisia has a medium-high energy performance by occupying the 34th rank in 2012. • The findings show the importance of enhancing some policies for the road transport.

  20. Comprehensive evaluation of environmental and economic benefits of China's urban underground transportation construction projects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Xiaobin; Chen, Zhilong; Guo, Dongjun

    2015-07-01

    Urban underground transportation projects are introduced to address problems of scarce green land and traffic pollution. As construction of urban underground transportation is still in its infancy, there is no definite quantitative measurement on whether the construction is beneficial and what influences it will place on the region in China. This study intends to construct a comprehensive evaluation method for evaluating social, economic and environmental benefits of urban underground transportation projects and proposes the concept, role and principle for evaluation of environmental and economic benefits. It figures out relationship between the environment and factors of city development. It also summarizes three relevant factors, including transportation, biophysics and social economy, and works out indicators to evaluate the influence of urban underground transportation construction. Based on Contingent Valuation Method (CVM), Cost of Illness Approach (CIA), Human Capital Approach (HCA), this paper constructs 13 monetization calculation models for social, economic and environmental benefits in response to seven aspects, namely, reducing noise pollution and air pollution, using land efficiently, improving traffic safety, reducing traffic congestion, saving shipping time and minimizing transportation costs.

  1. Gene duplications in prokaryotes can be associated with environmental adaptation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bratlie, Marit S; Johansen, Jostein; Sherman, Brad T; Huang, Da Wei; Lempicki, Richard A; Drabløs, Finn

    2010-10-20

    Gene duplication is a normal evolutionary process. If there is no selective advantage in keeping the duplicated gene, it is usually reduced to a pseudogene and disappears from the genome. However, some paralogs are retained. These gene products are likely to be beneficial to the organism, e.g. in adaptation to new environmental conditions. The aim of our analysis is to investigate the properties of paralog-forming genes in prokaryotes, and to analyse the role of these retained paralogs by relating gene properties to life style of the corresponding prokaryotes. Paralogs were identified in a number of prokaryotes, and these paralogs were compared to singletons of persistent orthologs based on functional classification. This showed that the paralogs were associated with for example energy production, cell motility, ion transport, and defence mechanisms. A statistical overrepresentation analysis of gene and protein annotations was based on paralogs of the 200 prokaryotes with the highest fraction of paralog-forming genes. Biclustering of overrepresented gene ontology terms versus species was used to identify clusters of properties associated with clusters of species. The clusters were classified using similarity scores on properties and species to identify interesting clusters, and a subset of clusters were analysed by comparison to literature data. This analysis showed that paralogs often are associated with properties that are important for survival and proliferation of the specific organisms. This includes processes like ion transport, locomotion, chemotaxis and photosynthesis. However, the analysis also showed that the gene ontology terms sometimes were too general, imprecise or even misleading for automatic analysis. Properties described by gene ontology terms identified in the overrepresentation analysis are often consistent with individual prokaryote lifestyles and are likely to give a competitive advantage to the organism. Paralogs and singletons dominate

  2. 48 CFR 970.5223-6 - Executive Order 13423, Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ..., Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management. 970.5223-6 Section 970.5223-6... FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL, ENERGY, AND TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT (OCT 2010) Since this contract involves... MANAGEMENT AND OPERATING CONTRACTS Solicitation Provisions and Contract Clauses for Management and Operating...

  3. Sustainability for road infrastructure : transportation responds to environmental challenges

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-01

    Safety was, until very recently, the prime : guiding criterion of road transport development. : Environmental impacts enjoyed scant regard, being : seen as a necessary evil if life and commerce were to : go on. A few, more progressive regional and na...

  4. SeSBench - An initiative to benchmark reactive transport models for environmental subsurface processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacques, Diederik

    2017-04-01

    As soil functions are governed by a multitude of interacting hydrological, geochemical and biological processes, simulation tools coupling mathematical models for interacting processes are needed. Coupled reactive transport models are a typical example of such coupled tools mainly focusing on hydrological and geochemical coupling (see e.g. Steefel et al., 2015). Mathematical and numerical complexity for both the tool itself or of the specific conceptual model can increase rapidly. Therefore, numerical verification of such type of models is a prerequisite for guaranteeing reliability and confidence and qualifying simulation tools and approaches for any further model application. In 2011, a first SeSBench -Subsurface Environmental Simulation Benchmarking- workshop was held in Berkeley (USA) followed by four other ones. The objective is to benchmark subsurface environmental simulation models and methods with a current focus on reactive transport processes. The final outcome was a special issue in Computational Geosciences (2015, issue 3 - Reactive transport benchmarks for subsurface environmental simulation) with a collection of 11 benchmarks. Benchmarks, proposed by the participants of the workshops, should be relevant for environmental or geo-engineering applications; the latter were mostly related to radioactive waste disposal issues - excluding benchmarks defined for pure mathematical reasons. Another important feature is the tiered approach within a benchmark with the definition of a single principle problem and different sub problems. The latter typically benchmarked individual or simplified processes (e.g. inert solute transport, simplified geochemical conceptual model) or geometries (e.g. batch or one-dimensional, homogeneous). Finally, three codes should be involved into a benchmark. The SeSBench initiative contributes to confidence building for applying reactive transport codes. Furthermore, it illustrates the use of those type of models for different

  5. Transport interests and environmental regimes. The Baltic Sea transit of Russian oil exports

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knudsen, Olav F.

    2010-01-01

    In the environmentally exposed Baltic Sea, a prolonged confrontation has set the transport interests of Russian crude oil against environmental interests, promoted by Russia's neighbours. During the 1990s all the Baltic littoral states - including Russia - collaborated well on marine environmental issues. When Russian oil exports accelerated after 1999, this environmental understanding broke down. Russian interests shifted as its oil income suddenly rose drastically. The confrontation peaked over a proposal to make the entire Baltic Sea into a particularly sensitive sea area (PSSA) under the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The proposal was adopted by the IMO in spite of Russian objections. The article shows how environmental interests trump transport interests in a manner that may not be sustainable. The case illustrates the need for environmental collaboration to be flexible in the face of shifting constellations of competing interests. (author)

  6. Climate Change Adaptation Support for Transportation Practitioners: 2013 Volpe Center Innovation Challenge Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-09-30

    The nature of the U.S. transportation system requires that actions to adapt to climate change impacts occur primarily at the State and local levels. Federal agencies support State, regional, and local agencies and they work hard to provide frameworks...

  7. On the frontiers of climate and environmental change. Vulnerabilities and adaptions in central Vietnam

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bruun, Ole; Casse, Thorkil (eds.) [Roskilde Univ. (Denmark). Dept. of Society and Globalization

    2013-06-01

    Based on new research in Central Vietnam with inputs from a range of disciplines. Suggests a broader, interdisciplinary approach to climate change adaptation and environmental planning. Advises steps on how to formulate a research framework for analyses of social and economic impacts of climate changes, using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. Concludes that climate change adaptation will not be successful unless integrated with environmental planning takes into account local man-made environmental changes, such as hydropower construction and changing forestry and land-use patterns. This book is intended to fill a gap in climate-change literature by providing a comprehensive regional study and identifying the overall adaptation challenges in a real-life context. The way in which possible climate impacts interact with a range of other challenges in agriculture, forestry, disaster planning, health care, general economic development, and common livelihoods are presented, and it is argued that greater realism and broader vision are needed in order to address the climate challenge. For instance, unsuitable land- use changes in both coastal and highland regions may increase the vulnerability of rural people, many of whom are already living on the fringes. The author(s) also state(s) that, depending on context, it may be pertinent to address short-term and unsustainable resource use, irregularities in local land management, ineffective governance and social inequality, which are all likely to aggravate the impact of external climate and weather. Not least, it is imperative to integrate general environmental management with any climate-change adaptation effort.

  8. Environmental Assessment of Bus Transport in the Trondheim Region - Evaluation of Relevant Bus and Fuel Technologies and their Potential for Mitigating Emissions from Passenger Transportation

    OpenAIRE

    Buø, Tonje

    2015-01-01

    The overall aim of this thesis is to assess the carbon footprint of transport by bus in the Trondheim region. Bus transportation is promoted as a strategy both to combat local pollution problems in urban areas and to mitigate global greenhouse gas emissions from passenger transport. Still, the environmental impacts of bus transport have received fairly limited attention in research. The environmental impacts of bus transport are calculated through life cycle assessment. A model is develo...

  9. Biochemical and physiological adaptations in the estuarine crab Neohelice granulata during salinity acclimation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bianchini, Adalto; Lauer, Mariana Machado; Nery, Luiz Eduardo Maia; Colares, Elton Pinto; Monserrat, José María; Dos Santos Filho, Euclydes Antônio

    2008-11-01

    Neohelice granulata (Chasmagnathus granulatus) is an intertidal crab species living in salt marshes from estuaries and lagoons along the Atlantic coast of South America. It is a key species in these environments because it is responsible for energy transfer from producers to consumers. In order to deal with the extremely marked environmental salinity changes occurring in salt marshes, N. granulata shows important and interesting structural, biochemical, and physiological adaptations at the gills level. These adaptations characterize this crab as a euryhaline species, tolerating environmental salinities ranging from very diluted media to concentrated seawater. These characteristics had led to its use as an animal model to study estuarine adaptations in crustaceans. Therefore, the present review focuses on the influence of environmental salinity on N. granulata responses at the ecological, organismic and molecular levels. Aspects covered include salinity tolerance, osmo- and ionoregulatory patterns, morphological and structural adaptations at the gills, and mechanisms of ion transport and their regulation at the gills level during environmental salinity acclimation. Finally, this review compiles information on the effects of some environmental pollutants on iono- and osmoregulatory adaptations showed by N. granulata.

  10. Environmentally Sustainable Transport: Implementation and Impacts for the Netherlands for 2030

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Geurs KT; Wee GP van; LAE

    2000-01-01

    This report describes the Dutch transport scenarios for the OECD project on Environmental Sustainable Transport (EST). The EST project contains a business-as-usual scenario (BAU) and three EST scenarios which attain the EST criteria (i.e. a reduction of CO2 by 80%, NOx by 90%, VOC by 90%, PM10 by

  11. Transportation, economical development and environmental considerations in the Arctic areas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berg, J.S.

    1993-01-01

    There is a need for increased development in Arctic regions for obtaining resources such as hydrocarbons and ores. Development of these resources in remote areas requires suitable transportation routes and proper attention to the environmental sensitivity of northern lands. Developing a transport route must take into account such matters as resource location, economic feasibility, type of material to be transported, length of time the route will be needed, the interest of the route to tourism, and the effect of transport on the environment. Design, construction, and maintenance of the transport route requires collection of reliable data and conformity to specifications relevant to the region concerned. Construction and maintenance in northern areas is affected by such complicated and costly factors as the short construction season, long distances for transportation of both equipment and workers, presence of permafrost, and low winter temperatures. 6 figs

  12. Transport, spatio-economic equilibrium and global sustainability. Markets, technology and policy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Verhoef, E.T.; Van den Bergh, J.C.J.M. [Dep. of Spatial Economics. Fac. of Economics and Econometrics. Vrije Univ., Amsterdam (Netherlands)

    1995-03-01

    Interdependencies between transport, spatial economy, technology and environment are investigated in the context of regulatory environmental policies aiming at meeting a global environmental target, defined in terms of the environmental utilization space as a prerequisite for global sustainability. A small scale model, based on the adapted spatial price equilibrium methodology presented elsewhere was discussed, serving as an illustration of the formal analysis discussed there. Notwithstanding the model`s simplicity, the simulation results are found to be interesting in that they provide some revealing comparative static insights into issues that are believed to be quite important in the formulation of environmental and transport policies. 12 figs., 12 refs.

  13. Wavelet-based Adaptive Mesh Refinement Method for Global Atmospheric Chemical Transport Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rastigejev, Y.

    2011-12-01

    Numerical modeling of global atmospheric chemical transport presents enormous computational difficulties, associated with simulating a wide range of time and spatial scales. The described difficulties are exacerbated by the fact that hundreds of chemical species and thousands of chemical reactions typically are used for chemical kinetic mechanism description. These computational requirements very often forces researches to use relatively crude quasi-uniform numerical grids with inadequate spatial resolution that introduces significant numerical diffusion into the system. It was shown that this spurious diffusion significantly distorts the pollutant mixing and transport dynamics for typically used grid resolution. The described numerical difficulties have to be systematically addressed considering that the demand for fast, high-resolution chemical transport models will be exacerbated over the next decade by the need to interpret satellite observations of tropospheric ozone and related species. In this study we offer dynamically adaptive multilevel Wavelet-based Adaptive Mesh Refinement (WAMR) method for numerical modeling of atmospheric chemical evolution equations. The adaptive mesh refinement is performed by adding and removing finer levels of resolution in the locations of fine scale development and in the locations of smooth solution behavior accordingly. The algorithm is based on the mathematically well established wavelet theory. This allows us to provide error estimates of the solution that are used in conjunction with an appropriate threshold criteria to adapt the non-uniform grid. Other essential features of the numerical algorithm include: an efficient wavelet spatial discretization that allows to minimize the number of degrees of freedom for a prescribed accuracy, a fast algorithm for computing wavelet amplitudes, and efficient and accurate derivative approximations on an irregular grid. The method has been tested for a variety of benchmark problems

  14. The Capacity to Integrate and Deal with Environmental Issues in Local Transport Policy and Planning

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Carsten Jahn

    2002-01-01

    The article identifies and discuss the capacity to integrate and deal with environmental issues in local transport policy-making and planning processes.......The article identifies and discuss the capacity to integrate and deal with environmental issues in local transport policy-making and planning processes....

  15. Assessment of the environmental impact of plutonium transport within the European Community

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1978-11-01

    Assessment is given of the environmental impact of plutonium transport within the European Community in the 1990's. This includes shipments of plutonium, raw materials, fresh and spent mixed oxide fuel assemblies and plutonium contaminated solid wastes. The consequences on general traffic, the radiation doses to transport workers and the general public and the heat release during transport are presented

  16. A methodology for evaluating environmental impacts of railway freight transportation policies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lopez, Ignacio; Rodriguez, Javier; Buron, Jose Manuel; Garcia, Alberto

    2009-01-01

    Railway freight transportation presents a degree of complexity which frequently makes impossible to model it with sufficient precision. Currently, energetic and environmental impacts of freight transportation are usually modelled following average data, which do not reflect the characteristics of specific lines. These models allow qualitative approximations which may be used as criteria for designing high-level transportation policies: road-train modal shift, regional energetic planning or environmental policies. This paper proposes a methodology for estimating railway consumption associated to a specific railway line which yields a new degree of precision. It is based on estimating different contributions to railway consumption by a collection of factors, mobility, operation, or infrastructure-related. This procedure also allows applying the methodology for designing transportation policies in detail: evaluating impact of modal shift, consumption and pollutant emissions on a specific line, as well as the effect of building tunnels, reducing slopes, improving traffic control, etc. A comparison of the estimations given by the conventional approach and the proposed methodology is offered, as well as further comments on the results.

  17. Environmental effects associated with the transportation of radioactive material

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McClure, J.D.; Pope, R.B.; Yoshimura, H.R.

    1979-01-01

    The primary aim of this paper has been to describe some of the background information concerning nuclear materials transportation systems, accident statistics, accident severities, and test information - all of which when combined yield an environmental statement of the risks associated with the transportation of radioactive materials. The results of the ultimate risk analysis are expressed in terms of numbers of fatalities and, in that sense at least, tend to be an absolute measure of risk. When these risks are compared with other accepted societal risks, the relative risks associated with radioactive material transportation can be established. This information can be used to make decisions at the governmental level and to inform an interested public about these risks. It can be concluded that the risks associated with the transportation of radioactive material are low relative to the other risks that society has already accepted

  18. Impact of Environmental Issues on the High-Speed Civil Transport

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitehead, Allen H., Jr.

    1998-01-01

    This paper provides an overview of the impact of environmental issues on the design and operation of the proposed High-Speed Civil Transport (HSCT). This proposal for a new generation commercial supersonic transport is being pursued by NASA and its US industry partners in the NASA High-Speed Research (HSR) Program. A second related paper describes the overall HSR Program, including a history of supersonic transport development that led to the present program, and a brief outline of the structure of the two-phase program and its management structure. The specific objectives are to address the four major barrier environmental issues and show their impact on the design of the airplane and potentially, its mode of operation. A brief historical perspective shows how HSR Phase I addressed these environmental topics and, with the successful completion of that program, led to the successful advocacy for the Phase II effort that followed. The Phase II program elements were discussed in the earlier paper and addressed technology programs to enhance the economic viability of the HSCT. Since many of the regulations that may effect the certification and operation of the HSCT are either not in place or well documented, a brief treatise is provided to address the status of the rules and the potential impact on the viability of the HSCT.

  19. Transportation use in community-dwelling older adults: association with participation and leisure activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dahan-Oliel, Noémi; Mazer, Barbara; Gélinas, Isabelle; Dobbs, Bonnie; Lefebvre, Hélène

    2010-12-01

    This article presents a study that compared participation by elderly individuals living in the community according to primary transportation mode used, and estimated the association between transportation, personal factors, and environmental factors. Participants included 90 adults aged 65 and older (M=76.3 years; SD=7.7). They were classified according to their primary transportation mode: driver, passenger, public transport user, walk, or adapted transport/taxi user. Participation was measured with the Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique (CHART) and the Nottingham Leisure Questionnaire (NLQ). Overall, results indicated that drivers, public transport users, and walkers had higher participation levels compared to passengers and adapted transport/taxi users. This study suggests that clinicians should consider older adults' use of transportation in an attempt to encourage and maximize their participation.

  20. Characterisation of adaptive genetic diversity in environmentally contrasted populations of Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. (river red gum.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shannon Dillon

    Full Text Available As an increasing number of ecosystems face departures from long standing environmental conditions under climate change, our understanding of the capacity of species to adapt will become important for directing conservation and management of biodiversity. Insights into the potential for genetic adaptation might be gained by assessing genomic signatures of adaptation to historic or prevailing environmental conditions. The river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. is a widespread Australian eucalypt inhabiting riverine and floodplain habitats which spans strong environmental gradients. We investigated the effects of adaptation to environment on population level genetic diversity of E. camaldulensis, examining SNP variation in candidate gene loci sampled across 20 climatically diverse populations approximating the species natural distribution. Genetic differentiation among populations was high (F(ST = 17%, exceeding previous estimates based on neutral markers. Complementary statistical approaches identified 6 SNP loci in four genes (COMT, Dehydrin, ERECTA and PIP2 which, after accounting for demographic effects, exhibited higher than expected levels of genetic differentiation among populations and whose allelic variation was associated with local environment. While this study employs but a small proportion of available diversity in the eucalyptus genome, it draws our attention to the potential for application of wide spread eucalypt species to test adaptive hypotheses.

  1. Investigating Environmentally Sustainable Transport Based on DALY weights and SIR Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hossein Nezamianpour Jahromi

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Accessibility is one of the main causes of well-being and growth in contemporary societies. Transportation is the backbone of accessibility systems that lead to the growth of economic and social networks and spatial dispersion of activities. Unfortunately, the adverse effects of transportation have a great impact on the natural and human environment. Since transportation is associated with fossil fuel combustion, it results in emissions of pollutants that cause damage to human health. To save the global eco-system, sustainable development has become an international priority. To deal with the sustainability of transportation systems is an important issue as testified by a growing number of initiatives framed to define and measure sustainability in transportation planning and infrastructure planning as well. The capability of environmental assessment as a sustainability instrument is well known. This study proposes a new approach to rank countries based on environmental sustainability development applying disability adjusted life year (DALY weights for transportation sector emissions. DALY weights consider actual impacts of pollutants on human health. By employing SIR method, a superiority and inferiority ranking method is presented for multiple criteria decision making, the sustainability ranking of a number of European countries is presented. Three various ranking methods extracted from SIR ranking method are discussed and the results and the correlation among them are demonstrated.

  2. The innovation inducement impact of environmental regulations on maritime transport

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Makkonen, Teemu; Repka, Sari

    2016-01-01

    , contrasting views, arguing that environmental regulations will, in fact, enhance firms’ competitiveness by inducing innovation, have also been voiced. Here this issue is examined through a literature review on the innovation inducement impact of environmental regulations (i.e. the Porter Hypothesis......), in general, and the economic impacts of environmental regulations (here Annex VI of the MARPOL Convention) as it applies to shipping in Northern Europe, in particular. According to the review, the literature is still inconclusive and lacks a clear consensus on the economic and innovation inducement impacts......Maritime transport is facing wide-ranking challenges due to stricter environmental regulations. It has been positioned that these stricter environmental regulations will significantly hamper the competitiveness of the shipping industry and other export/import oriented industries. However...

  3. Adaptive management and environmental decision making. A case study application to water use planning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gregory, Robin; Failing, Lee; Higgins, Paul

    2006-01-01

    Adaptive management (AM) techniques are one of the principal tools proposed by environmental decision makers to provide flexible and responsive management approaches over time. However, the record of successful applications is surprisingly small. We believe that this in part reflects the lack of an intuitively plausible framework for evaluating AM initiatives. This paper outlines such a framework, based on the insights of decision analysis, for evaluating the use of AM as a technique to improve environmental management decisions. British Columbia's Water Use Plan (WUP) process, which has developed operating plans for more than 20 major hydroelectric facilities, is introduced as a case-study example. The discussion emphasizes that decisions to adopt adaptive management strategies involve judgments concerning tradeoffs across a variety of economic, environmental, and social objectives. As a result, adaptive management initiatives need to be carefully evaluated based on their merits relative to other alternatives. Within an AM framework, alternative experimental designs should be evaluated because the design of a preferred experiment involves choices among different levels of investment, the quality of available and desired future information, and different ecological, economic, and social risks. (author)

  4. Sensitivity analysis of a low-level waste environmental transport code

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hiromoto, G.

    1989-01-01

    Results are presented from a sensivity analysis of a computer code designed to simulate the environmental transport of radionuclides buried at shallow land waste repositories. A sensitivity analysis methodology, based on the surface response replacement and statistic sensitivity estimators, was developed to address the relative importance of the input parameters on the model output. Response surface replacement for the model was constructed by stepwise regression, after sampling input vectors from range and distribution of the input variables, and running the code to generate the associated output data. Sensitivity estimators were compute using the partial rank correlation coefficients and the standardized rank regression coefficients. The results showed that the tecniques employed in this work provides a feasible means to perform a sensitivity analysis of a general not-linear environmental radionuclides transport models. (author) [pt

  5. Indicator system for the environmental assessment of energy transport systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knoepfel, I.

    1995-01-01

    The aim of this dissertation is to define a consistent set of indicators for the environmental assessment of different energy transport systems: high-voltage alternating and direct current transmission lines, electric cables, pipelines for gas and oil, inland waterway, road and rail transportation, according to state-of-the-art technologies. The indicator system is used for comparative analysis and identification of environmental hot-spots of the different systems. The environmental performance of power plants close to production or unloading terminals with subsequent power transmission and the transport of fossil fuels with power production close to the end-users is compared. Quantitative indicators are defined for different impact categories: fossil energy depletion, impacts from emissions, land use, noise impacts and visibility. A further aggregation of the different indicators to obtain a universal environmental score was not envisaged. It was not possible to define a quantitative indicator for possible electric and magnetic field effects because of insufficient knowledge of the involved dose-response metrics. The proposed indicators quantify dose-response relationships also below emission or immission limits imposed by law, which was one of the main requirements in this work. By reducing all information to an equivalent impacted area, a high level of consistency was achieved for land use, noise impacts and visibility indicators. Other indicators refer to the energy content of fossil resources and to equivalent emissions of reference substances. The calculation of an equivalent impacted area was not considered an efficient approach in these cases. The performance of the proposed indicator system and its applicability to infrastructure and regional planning is tested in two practical examples. (author) figs., tabs., refs

  6. Cyclomorphosis in Tardigrada: adaptation to environmental constraints

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Halberg, Kenneth Agerlin; Persson, Dennis; Ramløv, Hans

    2009-01-01

    Tardigrades exhibit a remarkable resilience against environmental extremes. In the present study, we investigate mechanisms of survival and physiological adaptations associated with sub-zero temperatures and severe osmotic stress in two commonly found cyclomorphic stages of the marine eutardigrade...... supercooling in both stages, while excluding the presence of physiologically relevant ice-nucleating agents. Experiments on osmotic stress tolerance show that the active stage tolerates the largest range of salinities. Changes in body volume and hemolymph osmolality of active-stage specimens (350-500 microm...... in hemolymph osmolality. At any investigated external salinity, active-stage H. crispae hyper-regulate, indicating a high water turnover and excretion of dilute urine. This is likely a general feature of eutardigrades....

  7. Analysis of the mitigation and adaptation strategies of the transport industry in the city of Mexicali

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Argelia Melero Hernández

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to develop an analysis of mitigation and adaptation strategies in the transport sector in the city of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. Based on the methodology of the Programs of Action on Climate Change (PACC, we analyzed the Mexicali emissions inventory and generated a diagnosis. Once we analyzed the current situation, we studied mitigation strategies such as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT, the smog check, new importation legislation for used cars, biofuel production, the promotion of lower–emission vehicles and urban planning. On adaptation strategies vehicle recycling and the use of non–motorized transport were studied as an alternative of sustainable mobility.

  8. Strategic environmental assessment for local transport plans; Strategische Umweltpruefung in der kommunalen Verkehrsentwicklung

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Conrad, Vera

    2008-08-15

    The strategic environmental assessment (SEA) makes new demands for plans and programs also in the transport sector. Particularly on local level transport is one of the biggest causers of negative environmental effects. But there exists no SEA obligation for local transport plans, however many factors suggest to make such an examination in this sector. At the latest in the urban land use planning transport effects are a component for the SEA. Synergies can be exhausted and the individual planning steps are appropriately co-ordinated by the meaningful integration of transport and urban development planning. Additional synergies can gained in connection with further local and/or regional planning like e.g. the clean air planning or noise reduction planning. The aim of the doctoral thesis is to draft recommendations how to integrate the SEA into local transport planning process. For that purpose it is necessary to deduce the requirements demanded by the SEA and to demonstrate the current state of the local transport planning. The doctoral thesis is based on partial results of the research project FE 73.0237 ''Strategische Umweltpruefung in der kommunalen Verkehrsentwicklungsplanung'' in behalf of the German Ministry of Transport (Bundesministerium fuer Verkehr, Bauen und Stadtentwicklung) and mentored by the Federal Office of civil engineering (Bundesamt fuer Bauwesen und Raumordnung). The author of this thesis was instrumental in acquiring those results. The thesis contains a detailed literature research. The SEA's requirements are also described as well as the current state of the local transport planning. The state of the SEA on the different planning levels in the German transport sector is presented. Another part is a survey of 13 municipalities concerning their previous practice of the local transport and environmental planning as well as their experience with the SEA on local level and the analyse of local data. Furthermore three

  9. Female non-smokers' environmental tobacco smoking exposure by public transportation mode.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Seyoung; Park, Jin-Soo; Park, Minkyu; Kim, Yeji; Lim, Sinye; Lee, Hye-Eun

    2018-01-01

    This study aimed to analyze environmental tobacco smoking exposure in female nonsmokers by public transportation mode using representative data of Koreans. Data from the Second Korean National Environmental Health Survey (2012-2014) were analyzed. Urine cotinine was analyzed by public transport behavior, secondhand smoke exposure, socioeconomic factors, and health-related factors. Participants were 1322 adult females; those with the top 75% urine cotinine concentrations were assigned to the high exposure group. A logistic regression analysis was performed considering appropriate weights and stratification according to the sample design of the Second Korean National Environmental Health Survey. The geometric mean of urine cotinine concentrations differed according to public transportation modes: subway (1.66 μg/g creatinine) bus (1.77 μg/g creatinine), and taxi (1.94 μg/g creatinine). The odds ratio [OR] was calculated for the high exposure group. The OR of the taxi (2.39; 95% confidence interval, 1.00-5.69) was statistically significantly higher than the subway value (reference), and marginally significant after adjusted with life style, sociodemographic factors and involuntary smoking frequency (2.42, 95% confidence interval, 0.97-6.04). The odds ratio of passengers who mainly used taxis was marginally significantly higher than those of passengers who used subways and buses after adjusted with life style and sociodemographic factors. Implementation of supplementary measures and further studies on exposure to environmental tobacco smoking in taxis are warranted.

  10. Critical environmental factors for transportation cycling in children: a qualitative study using bike-along interviews.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghekiere, Ariane; Van Cauwenberg, Jelle; de Geus, Bas; Clarys, Peter; Cardon, Greet; Salmon, Jo; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; Deforche, Benedicte

    2014-01-01

    Environmental factors are found to influence transport-related physical activity, but have rarely been studied in relation with cycling for transport to various destinations in 10-12 yr old children. The current qualitative study used 'bike-along interviews' with children and parents to allow discussion of detailed environmental factors that may influence children's cycling for transport, while cycling in the participant's neighborhood. Purposeful convenience sampling was used to recruit 35 children and one of their parents residing in (semi-) urban areas. Bike-along interviews were conducted to and from a randomly chosen destination (e.g. library) within a 15 minutes' cycle trip in the participant's neighborhood. Participants wore a GoPro camera to objectively assess environmental elements, which were subsequently discussed with participants. Content analysis and arising themes were derived using a grounded theory approach. The discussed environmental factors were categorized under traffic, urban design, cycling facilities, road design, facilities at destination, aesthetics, topography, weather, social control, stranger danger and familiar environment. Across these categories many environmental factors were (in)directly linked to road safety. This was illustrated by detailed discussions of the children's visibility, familiarity with specific traffic situations, and degree of separation, width and legibility of cycle facilities. Road safety is of major concern in this 10-12 yr old study population. Bike-along interviews were able to identify new, detailed and context-specific physical environmental factors which could inform policy makers to promote children's cycling for transport. However, future studies should investigate whether hypothetical changes to such micro environmental features influence perceptions of safety and if this in turn could lead to changes in children's cycling for transport.

  11. Critical environmental factors for transportation cycling in children: a qualitative study using bike-along interviews.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ariane Ghekiere

    Full Text Available Environmental factors are found to influence transport-related physical activity, but have rarely been studied in relation with cycling for transport to various destinations in 10-12 yr old children. The current qualitative study used 'bike-along interviews' with children and parents to allow discussion of detailed environmental factors that may influence children's cycling for transport, while cycling in the participant's neighborhood.Purposeful convenience sampling was used to recruit 35 children and one of their parents residing in (semi- urban areas. Bike-along interviews were conducted to and from a randomly chosen destination (e.g. library within a 15 minutes' cycle trip in the participant's neighborhood. Participants wore a GoPro camera to objectively assess environmental elements, which were subsequently discussed with participants. Content analysis and arising themes were derived using a grounded theory approach.The discussed environmental factors were categorized under traffic, urban design, cycling facilities, road design, facilities at destination, aesthetics, topography, weather, social control, stranger danger and familiar environment. Across these categories many environmental factors were (indirectly linked to road safety. This was illustrated by detailed discussions of the children's visibility, familiarity with specific traffic situations, and degree of separation, width and legibility of cycle facilities.Road safety is of major concern in this 10-12 yr old study population. Bike-along interviews were able to identify new, detailed and context-specific physical environmental factors which could inform policy makers to promote children's cycling for transport. However, future studies should investigate whether hypothetical changes to such micro environmental features influence perceptions of safety and if this in turn could lead to changes in children's cycling for transport.

  12. The Environmental Impact of Flooding on Transportation Land Use ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Environmental problems of flooding on transportation land use manifest as a result of different land use activities of man to earn his living and his livelihood. Natural surfaces were replaced by more impermeable roads and concrete which have very low infiltration capacity, which have hydrological consequences of resulting ...

  13. Micro-evolutionary responses and adaptive costs of Caenorhabditis elegans populations exposed to environmental stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dutilleul, M.

    2013-01-01

    The contemporary evolution of organisms is largely dependent on anthropogenic disturbances. In particular, pollution amplifies the intensity or the quantity of selection pressures on populations. However, these changes may have negative effects on the life, growth and reproduction of individuals, the demographics of the population, and its phenotypic and genetic characteristics over generations. Thus, micro-evolutionary changes are likely to occur in response to selection pressures. These phenomenon lead to collateral damages: adaptive costs. For example, a reduction of genetic diversity in a population entails a decrease in its potential to adapt to other stressors. Populations can be more susceptible to many environmental changes, especially with the increase of human activities. Hence in an ecological risk assessment, studying the mechanisms of action and immediate adverse effects of pollutants on organisms is no longer sufficient. It is also necessary to expand our knowledge on the evolution of populations in polluted environment. In this context, our study aims to determine the micro-evolutionary response of Caenorhabditis elegans populations exposed to environmental stressors, and to measure their costs of adaptation. Populations were experimentally exposed for 22 generations to a high concentration of uranium, sodium chloride or an alternation of both these pollutants. The analysis of phenotypic and genetic changes, observed through measures of life history traits, was accomplished using several quantitative genetics techniques. In particular, we confirmed the genetic differentiation between populations with an increase of resistance in populations exposed to different pollutions. The speed of evolutionary responses depended on the conditions of exposure and their effects on the expression of the genetic structure of traits (e.g. G matrix). Micro-evolutionary changes were linked to costs of adaptation, such as reduced fertility in stressful novel

  14. The adaptive collision source method for discrete ordinates radiation transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walters, William J.; Haghighat, Alireza

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • A new adaptive quadrature method to solve the discrete ordinates transport equation. • The adaptive collision source (ACS) method splits the flux into n’th collided components. • Uncollided flux requires high quadrature; this is lowered with number of collisions. • ACS automatically applies appropriate quadrature order each collided component. • The adaptive quadrature is 1.5–4 times more efficient than uniform quadrature. - Abstract: A novel collision source method has been developed to solve the Linear Boltzmann Equation (LBE) more efficiently by adaptation of the angular quadrature order. The angular adaptation method is unique in that the flux from each scattering source iteration is obtained, with potentially a different quadrature order used for each. Traditionally, the flux from every iteration is combined, with the same quadrature applied to the combined flux. Since the scattering process tends to distribute the radiation more evenly over angles (i.e., make it more isotropic), the quadrature requirements generally decrease with each iteration. This method allows for an optimal use of processing power, by using a high order quadrature for the first iterations that need it, before shifting to lower order quadratures for the remaining iterations. This is essentially an extension of the first collision source method, and is referred to as the adaptive collision source (ACS) method. The ACS methodology has been implemented in the 3-D, parallel, multigroup discrete ordinates code TITAN. This code was tested on a several simple and complex fixed-source problems. The ACS implementation in TITAN has shown a reduction in computation time by a factor of 1.5–4 on the fixed-source test problems, for the same desired level of accuracy, as compared to the standard TITAN code.

  15. The environmental assessment of nuclear materials disposition options: A transportation perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilson, R.K.; Clauss, D.B.; Moyer, J.W.

    1994-01-01

    The US Department of Energy has undertaken a program to evaluate and select options for the long-term storage and disposition of fissile materials declared surplus to defense needs as a result of the end of the Cold War. The transport of surplus fissile material will be an important and highly visible aspect of the environmental impact studies and other planning documents required for implementation of the disposition options. This report defines the roles and requirements for transportation of fissile materials in the program, and discusses an existing methodology for determining the environmental impact in terms of risk. While it will be some time before specific alternatives are chosen that will permit the completion of detailed risk calculations, the analytical models for performing the probabilistic risk assessments already exist with much of the supporting data related to the transportation system. This report summarizes the various types of data required and identifies sources for that data

  16. Methodology for predictive modeling of environmental transport and health effects for waste sites at the Savannah River Plant: Environmental information document

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stephensen, D.E.; King, C.M.; Looney, B.B.; Grant, M.W.

    1987-03-01

    This document provides information on the methods used to predict chemical transport and the associated health risk for various postulated closure activities at waste sites. The document was prepared as background documentation for the Department of Energy's proposed Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on waste management activities for groundwater protection at the Savannah River Plant (SRP). The various mathematical formulations used in the environmental transport analysis, the exposure assessment, and the health risk assessment used in the analysis of all foreseeable scenarios as defined by the National Environmental Policy Act (CFR, 1986) are presented in this document. The scenarios do not necessarily represent actual environmental conditions for every SRP waste site. This document was prepared in support of the National Environmental Policy Act process, but does not by itself satisfy federal or state regulatory requirements. 29 refs., 11 figs

  17. Gender perspectives in resilience, vulnerability and adaptation to global environmental change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ravera, Federica; Iniesta-Arandia, Irene; Martín-López, Berta; Pascual, Unai; Bose, Purabi

    2016-12-01

    The main goal of this special issue is to offer a room for interdisciplinary and engaged research in global environmental change (GEC), where gender plays a key role in building resilience and adaptation pathways. In this editorial paper, we explain the background setting, key questions and core approaches of gender and feminist research in vulnerability, resilience and adaptation to GEC. Highlighting the interlinkages between gender and GEC, we introduce the main contributions of the collection of 11 papers in this special issue. Nine empirical papers from around the globe allow to understand how gendered diversity in knowledge, institutions and everyday practices matters in producing barriers and options for achieving resilience and adaptive capacity in societies. Additionally, two papers contribute to the theoretical debate through a systematic review and an insight on the relevance of intersectional framings within GEC research and development programming.

  18. Development of a database system for the calculation of indicators of environmental pressure caused by transport

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Giannouli, Myrsini; Samaras, Zissis; Keller, Mario

    2006-01-01

    The scope of this paper is to summarise a methodology developed for TRENDS (TRansport and ENvironment Database System-TRENDS). The main objective of TRENDS was the calculation of environmental pressure indicators caused by transport. The environmental pressures considered are associated with air...... emissions from the four main transport modes, i.e. road, rail, ships and air. In order to determine these indicators a system for calculating a range of environmental pressures due to transport was developed within a PC-based MS Access environment. Emphasis is given oil the latest features incorporated...... the production of collective results for all transport modes as well as a comparative assessment of air emissions produced by the various modes. Traffic activity and emission data obtained according to a basic (reference) scenario are displayed for the time period 1970-2020. In addition, a detailed assessment...

  19. The economic impact of environmentally sustainable transport in Germany

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schade, B.; Rothengatter, W.

    2004-01-01

    The economic assessment of the Environmentally Sustainable Transportation (EST) scenarios developed throughout this paper are part of Phase 3 of the overall project, which is on social and economic assessment and on devising packages of instruments that - if implemented - would result in attaining EST. Two methods were chosen for the assessment of the scenarios: a qualitative evaluation based on a simplified cybernetic model (SCM) and a system dynamics model (SDM). In the assessment with the simplified cybernetic model, a conservative baseline has been chosen in order to start with a scenario that incorporates some pessimistic views of the industry. The aim is to show that, even in this case, an economic disaster will not occur. The System Dynamics Model ESCOT was designed to consider the ecological and technical aspects of a transition towards sustainable transportation. It is important that ESCOT considers not only first round effects but also secondary effects, which makes it a powerful instrument for the assessment of such large ecological changes. The economic assessment of environmentally sustainable scenarios shows that the departure from car and road freight oriented transport policy is far from leading to an economic collapse. The effects concerning economic indices are rather low, even though the measures proposed in the EST-80% scenario designate distinct changes compared to today's transport policy. The impacts on some economic indicators, however, are clearly negative. With an expansion of the time period for the transition in the EST-50% scenario we derived even more encouraging results than for EST-80%

  20. Radiation transport code with adaptive Mesh Refinement: acceleration techniques and applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Velarde, Pedro; Garcia-Fernaandez, Carlos; Portillo, David; Barbas, Alfonso

    2011-01-01

    We present a study of acceleration techniques for solving Sn radiation transport equations with Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR). Both DSA and TSA are considered, taking into account the influence of the interaction between different levels of the mesh structure and the order of approximation in angle. A Hybrid method is proposed in order to obtain better convergence rate and lower computer times. Some examples are presented relevant to ICF and X ray secondary sources. (author)

  1. Savannah River Laboratory environmental transport and effects research. Annual report, 1978

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Crawford, T.V. (comp.)

    1979-11-01

    Research in the environmental sciences by the Savannah River Laboratory during 1978 is described in 43 articles. These articles are in the fields of terrestrial ecology, geologic studies, aquatic transport, aquatic ecology, atmospheric transport, emergency response, computer methods development, ocean program, and fuel cycle program. Thirty-seven of the articles were abstracted individually for ERA/EDB; those in scope were also included in INIS.

  2. Optimization of transport network in the Basin of Yangtze River with minimization of environmental emission and transport/investment costs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haiping Shi

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The capacity of the ship-lock at the Three Gorges Dam has become bottleneck of waterway transport and caused serious congestion. In this article, a continual network design model is established to solve the problem with minimizing the transport cost and environmental emission as well as infrastructure construction cost. In this bi-level model, the upper model gives the schemes of ship-lock expansion or construction of pass-dam highway. The lower model assigns the containers in the multi-mode network and calculates the transport cost, environmental emission, and construction investment. The solution algorithm to the model is proposed. In the numerical study, scenario analyses are done to evaluate the schemes and determine the optimal one in the context of different traffic demands. The result shows that expanding the ship-lock is better than constructing pass-dam highway.

  3. Limits of civil and environmental responsibility in transport through pipelines; Limites da responsabilidade civil e ambiental no transporte por dutos

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leao, Andreia Carneiro [EnviroCompliance Assessoria Ambiental (Brazil); Guilherme Samico, Natalizim Luiz [Webler e Advogados Associados, Macae, RJ (Brazil)

    2003-07-01

    Throughout the historic evolution of the Brazilian legislation, including a brief analysis of the prevailing laws regarding the subject, this paper provides an ample vision of the civil and environmental liability in transport contracts, and, especially, in the transport of oil and gas through pipelines, discussing the present influence of environmental norms and the New Brazilian Civil Code. And what was brought to a conclusion is, if on one hand were kept the liability of the Sender (user company of the transportation service contracted with the Carrier) and Carrier (personal entity operator of the pipeline system), who respond jointly and regardless of fault for damages to third parties and the environment (extendible also to the owner of the product and to financial institutions that participate in some form in the contract), on the other hand the New Civil Code authorizes the National Petroleum Agency - ANP to rule the liabilities between the parties to the transport contract, providing greater safety to the system operators. (author)

  4. Variability in environmental impacts of Brazilian soybean according to crop production and transport scenarios.

    Science.gov (United States)

    da Silva, Vamilson Prudêncio; van der Werf, Hayo M G; Spies, Airton; Soares, Sebastião Roberto

    2010-09-01

    Soybean production and its supply chain are highly dependent on inputs such as land, fertilizer, fuel, machines, pesticides and electricity. The expansion of this crop in Brazil in recent decades has generated concerns about its environmental impacts. To assess these impacts, two representative chains supplying soybeans to Europe were identified: Center West (CW) and Southern (SO) Brazil. Each supply chain was analyzed using Life Cycle Assessment methodology. We considered different levels of use of chemical and organic fertilizers, pesticides and machinery, different distances for transportation of inputs and different yield levels. Because transportation contributed strongly to environmental impacts, a detailed study was performed to identify the routes used to transport soybeans to seaports. Additionally, we considered different levels of land occupation and land transformation to represent the impact of deforestation in the CW region. Environmental impacts were calculated for 1000 kg of soybean up to and including the delivery to Europe at the seaport in Rotterdam, at 13% humidity. Overall results showed that the impacts are greater for CW than for SO for all impact categories studied, including acidification (7.7 and 5.3 kg SO(2) eq., respectively), climate change (959 and 510 kg CO(2) eq.), cumulative energy demand (12,634 and 6,999 MJ) and terrestrial ecotoxicity (4.9 and 3.1 kg 1,4-DCB eq.), except eutrophication and land occupation. The same trend was observed for the crop-production stage. Efforts to reduce chemical fertilizers and diesel consumption can reduce CO(2) emissions. Although deforestation for crop production has decreased in recent years, the contribution of deforestation to climate change and cumulative energy demand remains significant. In the CW scenario deforestation contributed 29% to climate change and 20% to cumulative energy demand. Results also showed that although there are different transportation options in Brazil, the current

  5. Gene duplications in prokaryotes can be associated with environmental adaptation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lempicki Richard A

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Gene duplication is a normal evolutionary process. If there is no selective advantage in keeping the duplicated gene, it is usually reduced to a pseudogene and disappears from the genome. However, some paralogs are retained. These gene products are likely to be beneficial to the organism, e.g. in adaptation to new environmental conditions. The aim of our analysis is to investigate the properties of paralog-forming genes in prokaryotes, and to analyse the role of these retained paralogs by relating gene properties to life style of the corresponding prokaryotes. Results Paralogs were identified in a number of prokaryotes, and these paralogs were compared to singletons of persistent orthologs based on functional classification. This showed that the paralogs were associated with for example energy production, cell motility, ion transport, and defence mechanisms. A statistical overrepresentation analysis of gene and protein annotations was based on paralogs of the 200 prokaryotes with the highest fraction of paralog-forming genes. Biclustering of overrepresented gene ontology terms versus species was used to identify clusters of properties associated with clusters of species. The clusters were classified using similarity scores on properties and species to identify interesting clusters, and a subset of clusters were analysed by comparison to literature data. This analysis showed that paralogs often are associated with properties that are important for survival and proliferation of the specific organisms. This includes processes like ion transport, locomotion, chemotaxis and photosynthesis. However, the analysis also showed that the gene ontology terms sometimes were too general, imprecise or even misleading for automatic analysis. Conclusions Properties described by gene ontology terms identified in the overrepresentation analysis are often consistent with individual prokaryote lifestyles and are likely to give a competitive

  6. Projection-Based Adaptive Backstepping Control of a Transport Aircraft for Heavyweight Airdrop

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ri Liu

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available An autopilot inner loop that combines backstepping control with adaptive function approximation is developed for airdrop operations. The complex nonlinear uncertainty of the aircraft-cargo model is factorized into a known matrix and an uncertainty function, and a projection-based adaptive approach is proposed to estimate this function. Using projection in the adaptation law bounds the estimated function and guarantees the robustness of the controller against time-varying external disturbances and uncertainties. The convergence properties and robustness of the control method are proved via Lyapunov theory. Simulations are conducted under the condition that one transport aircraft performs a maximum load airdrop task at a height of 82 ft, using single row single platform mode. The results show good performance and robust operation of the controller, and the airdrop mission performance indexes are satisfied, even in the presence of ±15% uncertainty in the aerodynamic coefficients, ±0.01 rad/s pitch rate disturbance, and 20% actuators faults.

  7. Adapting a rapid assessment protocol to environmentally assess palm swamp (Veredas) springs in the Cerrado biome, Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guimarães, Ariane; de Lima Rodrigues, Aline Sueli; Malafaia, Guilherme

    2017-10-30

    The exploitation and degradation of natural environments exert intense pressure on important ecosystems worldwide. Thus, it is necessary developing or adapting assessment methods to monitor environmental changes and to generate results to be applied to environmental management programs. The Brazilian Veredas (phytophysiognomies typical to the Cerrado biome) are threatened by several human activities; thus, the aim of the present study is to adapt a rapid assessment protocol (RAP) to be applied to Veredas springs, by using the upper course of the Vai-e-Vem stream watershed (Ipameri County, Goiás State, Brazil). Therefore, several springs in the study site were visited and 11 of them were considered Veredas springs. After the RAP was adapted, the instrument was validated and used to environmentally assess the springs in order to demonstrate its applicability. The present study has provided an instrument of option to monitor Veredas springs.

  8. Fast simulation of transport and adaptive permeability estimation in porous media

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berre, Inga

    2005-07-01

    The focus of the thesis is twofold: Both fast simulation of transport in porous media and adaptive estimation of permeability are considered. A short introduction that motivates the work on these topics is given in Chapter 1. In Chapter 2, the governing equations for one- and two-phase flow in porous media are presented. Overall numerical solution strategies for the two-phase flow model are also discussed briefly. The concepts of streamlines and time-of-flight are introduced in Chapter 3. Methods for computing streamlines and time-of-flight are also presented in this chapter. Subsequently, in Chapters 4 and 5, the focus is on simulation of transport in a time-of-flight perspective. In Chapter 4, transport of fluids along streamlines is considered. Chapter 5 introduces a different viewpoint based on the evolution of isocontours of the fluid saturation. While the first chapters focus on the forward problem, which consists in solving a mathematical model given the reservoir parameters, Chapters 6, 7 and 8 are devoted to the inverse problem of permeability estimation. An introduction to the problem of identifying spatial variability in reservoir permeability by inversion of dynamic production data is given in Chapter 6. In Chapter 7, adaptive multiscale strategies for permeability estimation are discussed. Subsequently, Chapter 8 presents a level-set approach for improving piecewise constant permeability representations. Finally, Chapter 9 summarizes the results obtained in the thesis; in addition, the chapter gives some recommendations and suggests directions for future work. Part II In Part II, the following papers are included in the order they were completed: Paper A: A Streamline Front Tracking Method for Two- and Three-Phase Flow Including Capillary Forces. I. Berre, H. K. Dahle, K. H. Karlsen, and H. F. Nordhaug. In Fluid flow and transport in porous media: mathematical and numerical treatment (South Hadley, MA, 2001), volume 295 of Contemp. Math., pages 49

  9. Environmental effects of transporting radioactive materials in nuclear waste management systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pope, R.B.; Yoshimura, H.R.; McClure, J.D.; Huerta, M.

    1978-01-01

    This paper discusses the environmental effects of radioactive materials transportation. The systems used or being designed for use in spent fuel and waste transportation are described. Accident rate and severity data are used to quantify risk. A test program in which subscale and full scale transportation systems were exposed to accident environments far in excess of those used in package design is used to relate package damage to accident severity levels. Analytical results and subscale and full scale test results are correlated to demonstrate that computational methods or scale modeling, or both, can be used to predict accident behavior of transportation systems. This work is used to show that the risks to the public from radioactive material transportation are low relative to other risks commonly accepted by the public

  10. A spatially adaptive grid-refinement approach for the finite element solution of the even-parity Boltzmann transport equation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mirza, Anwar M.; Iqbal, Shaukat; Rahman, Faizur

    2007-01-01

    A spatially adaptive grid-refinement approach has been investigated to solve the even-parity Boltzmann transport equation. A residual based a posteriori error estimation scheme has been utilized for checking the approximate solutions for various finite element grids. The local particle balance has been considered as an error assessment criterion. To implement the adaptive approach, a computer program ADAFENT (adaptive finite elements for neutron transport) has been developed to solve the second order even-parity Boltzmann transport equation using K + variational principle for slab geometry. The program has a core K + module which employs Lagrange polynomials as spatial basis functions for the finite element formulation and Legendre polynomials for the directional dependence of the solution. The core module is called in by the adaptive grid generator to determine local gradients and residuals to explore the possibility of grid refinements in appropriate regions of the problem. The a posteriori error estimation scheme has been implemented in the outer grid refining iteration module. Numerical experiments indicate that local errors are large in regions where the flux gradients are large. A comparison of the spatially adaptive grid-refinement approach with that of uniform meshing approach for various benchmark cases confirms its superiority in greatly enhancing the accuracy of the solution without increasing the number of unknown coefficients. A reduction in the local errors of the order of 10 2 has been achieved using the new approach in some cases

  11. A spatially adaptive grid-refinement approach for the finite element solution of the even-parity Boltzmann transport equation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mirza, Anwar M. [Department of Computer Science, National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, NUCES-FAST, A.K. Brohi Road, H-11, Islamabad (Pakistan)], E-mail: anwar.m.mirza@gmail.com; Iqbal, Shaukat [Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering, Ghulam Ishaq Khan (GIK) Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Topi-23460, Swabi (Pakistan)], E-mail: shaukat@giki.edu.pk; Rahman, Faizur [Department of Physics, Allama Iqbal Open University, H-8 Islamabad (Pakistan)

    2007-07-15

    A spatially adaptive grid-refinement approach has been investigated to solve the even-parity Boltzmann transport equation. A residual based a posteriori error estimation scheme has been utilized for checking the approximate solutions for various finite element grids. The local particle balance has been considered as an error assessment criterion. To implement the adaptive approach, a computer program ADAFENT (adaptive finite elements for neutron transport) has been developed to solve the second order even-parity Boltzmann transport equation using K{sup +} variational principle for slab geometry. The program has a core K{sup +} module which employs Lagrange polynomials as spatial basis functions for the finite element formulation and Legendre polynomials for the directional dependence of the solution. The core module is called in by the adaptive grid generator to determine local gradients and residuals to explore the possibility of grid refinements in appropriate regions of the problem. The a posteriori error estimation scheme has been implemented in the outer grid refining iteration module. Numerical experiments indicate that local errors are large in regions where the flux gradients are large. A comparison of the spatially adaptive grid-refinement approach with that of uniform meshing approach for various benchmark cases confirms its superiority in greatly enhancing the accuracy of the solution without increasing the number of unknown coefficients. A reduction in the local errors of the order of 10{sup 2} has been achieved using the new approach in some cases.

  12. Adaptive Long-Term Monitoring at Environmental Restoration Sites (ER-0629)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-05-01

    Printed on recycled paper TECHNICAL REPORT TR-2317-ENV ADAPTIVE LONG-TERM MONITORING AT ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION SITES (ER-0629...nondetect values. One curiosity is that the typical recent RL for TCE has been 0.5, whereas that for PCE has been 1.4. As a consequence, and due to...Spring 2000 makes little difference, however. A curiosity is that the anomalous value from Spring 2006 is actually quite similar to the early

  13. Source to sink transport and regulation by environmental factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Remi eLemoine

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Source-to-sink transport of sugar is one of the major determinants of plant growth and relies on the efficient and controlled distribution of sucrose (and some other sugars such as raffinose and polyols across plant organs through the phloem. However, sugar transport through the phloem can be affected by many environmental factors that alter source/sink relationships. In this paper, we summarize current knowledge about the phloem transport mechanisms and review the effects of several abiotic (water and salt stress, mineral deficiency, CO2, light, temperature, air and soil pollutants and biotic (mutualistic and pathogenic microbes, viruses, aphids and parasitic plants factors. Concerning abiotic constraints, alteration of the distribution of sugar among sinks is often reported, with some sinks as roots favoured in case of mineral deficiency. Many of these constraints impair the transport function of the phloem but the exact mechanisms are far from being completely known. Phloem integrity can be disrupted (e.g. by callose deposition and under certain conditions, phloem transport is affected, earlier than photosynthesis. Photosynthesis inhibition could result from the increase in sugar concentration due to phloem transport decrease. Biotic interactions (aphids, fungi, viruses… also affect crop plant productivity. Recent breakthroughs have identified some of the sugar transporters involved in these interactions on the host and pathogen sides. The different data are discussed in relation to the phloem transport pathways. When possible, the link with current knowledge on the pathways at the molecular level will be highlighted.

  14. Collaborative Approaches in Developing Environmental and Safety Management Systems for Commercial Space Transportation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zee, Stacey; Murray, D.

    2009-01-01

    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) licenses and permits U.S. commercial space launch and reentry activities, and licenses the operation of non-federal launch and reentry sites. ASTs mission is to ensure the protection of the public, property, and the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States during commercial space transportation activities and to encourage, facilitate, and promote U.S. commercial space transportation. AST faces unique challenges of ensuring the protection of public health and safety while facilitating and promoting U.S. commercial space transportation. AST has developed an Environmental Management System (EMS) and a Safety Management System (SMS) to help meet its mission. Although the EMS and SMS were developed independently, the systems share similar elements. Both systems follow a Plan-Do-Act-Check model in identifying potential environmental aspects or public safety hazards, assessing significance in terms of severity and likelihood of occurrence, developing approaches to reduce risk, and verifying that the risk is reduced. This paper will describe the similarities between ASTs EMS and SMS elements and how AST is building a collaborative approach in environmental and safety management to reduce impacts to the environment and risks to the public.

  15. Climate change adaptation in South Korea. Environmental politics in the agricultural sector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schaefer, Susann [Jena Univ. (Germany). Dept. of Economic Geography

    2015-07-01

    Climate change will impact ecosystems and production processes. Thus, adaptation to climate change has become a prevalent concept in environmental politics worldwide. In South Korea, climate change is expected to be above the global average. As response, the South Korean government has initiated climate change adaptation in diverse sectors. In this book, the entire process, from formulation and development, implementation and reaction of involved people is examined in a particular sector, agriculture. Theoretically framed as an Actor-Network, this study highlights current developments of South Korean politics, the tensions of urban-periphery development, and the status of agriculture.

  16. Climate change adaptation in South Korea. Environmental politics in the agricultural sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schaefer, Susann

    2015-01-01

    Climate change will impact ecosystems and production processes. Thus, adaptation to climate change has become a prevalent concept in environmental politics worldwide. In South Korea, climate change is expected to be above the global average. As response, the South Korean government has initiated climate change adaptation in diverse sectors. In this book, the entire process, from formulation and development, implementation and reaction of involved people is examined in a particular sector, agriculture. Theoretically framed as an Actor-Network, this study highlights current developments of South Korean politics, the tensions of urban-periphery development, and the status of agriculture.

  17. The social drivers of conservation : social capital, environmental concern and transportation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-01

    What kinds of personal ties to organizations, community and family would be most strongly : associated with pro-environmental behavior, especially within the realm of transportation? : What role do participation in community activities and organizati...

  18. Economic and Environmental Effects of Public Transport Subsidy Policies: a Spatial CGE Model of Beijing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ping Xu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Public transport plays an important role in the environment. This study established a Spatial Computable General Equilibrium (SCGE model to examine the economic and environmental effects of public transport subsidy policies. The model includes firms, consumers, and traffic modules in one framework. Statistical data from Beijing were used in calibration to obtain benchmark equilibrium. Based on the equilibrium, simulations compared citywide social welfare, jobs-housing spatial population distribution, and environmental outputs under four subsidy policies: fare subsidy, cash grants, road expansion, and public transport speedup. Based on the results regarding the effects of public transport policies, conclusions can be drawn about which policies will have greater overall social influence and should therefore be used.

  19. Acclimatory responses of the Daphnia pulex proteome to environmental changes. I. Chronic exposure to hypoxia affects the oxygen transport system and carbohydrate metabolism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Madlung Johannes

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Freshwater planktonic crustaceans of the genus Daphnia show a remarkable plasticity to cope with environmental changes in oxygen concentration and temperature. One of the key proteins of adaptive gene control in Daphnia pulex under hypoxia is hemoglobin (Hb, which increases in hemolymph concentration by an order of magnitude and shows an enhanced oxygen affinity due to changes in subunit composition. To explore the full spectrum of adaptive protein expression in response to low-oxygen conditions, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry were used to analyze the proteome composition of animals acclimated to normoxia (oxygen partial pressure [Po2]: 20 kPa and hypoxia (Po2: 3 kPa, respectively. Results The comparative proteome analysis showed an up-regulation of more than 50 protein spots under hypoxia. Identification of a major share of these spots revealed acclimatory changes for Hb, glycolytic enzymes (enolase, and enzymes involved in the degradation of storage and structural carbohydrates (e.g. cellubiohydrolase. Proteolytic enzymes remained constitutively expressed on a high level. Conclusion Acclimatory adjustments of the D. pulex proteome to hypoxia included a strong induction of Hb and carbohydrate-degrading enzymes. The scenario of adaptive protein expression under environmental hypoxia can be interpreted as a process to improve oxygen transport and carbohydrate provision for the maintenance of ATP production, even during short episodes of tissue hypoxia requiring support from anaerobic metabolism.

  20. Research and technology strategy to help overcome the environmental problems in relation to transport. Resource uses study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Billings, R.; Crowley, J.; Moran, R.

    1992-04-01

    This report concerns the environmental impact of resource utilization in the transport sector. The first phase of the study involved a dissection of transport into its different modes, its operational components, and its existing patterns of resource usage. The second phase was an investigation of existing environmental impacts. Since in principle a significant environmental impact may occur anywhere along the extraction-to-disposal life cycle of a material, it was necessary to investigate a range of environmental phenomena upstream and downstream from the transport sector, as well as within the sector itself. In this development of a holistic perspective of resource usage, particular attention was paid to depletion, disposal, and re-cycling questions. The third phase involved the examination of possible innovations in transport technology. Of particular interest was the resource usage implications of these innovations, and their potential for ameliorating negative environmental impacts. In the final phase of the study, are addressed questions of the net costs and benefits of the various technologies, and of the most appropriate policy options for the Community

  1. "I know, therefore I adapt?" Complexities of individual adaptation to climate-induced forest dieback in Alaska

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lauren E. Oakes

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Individual actions to avoid, benefit from, or cope with climate change impacts partly shape adaptation; much research on adaptation has focused at the systems level, overlooking drivers of individual responses. Theoretical frameworks and empirical studies of environmental behavior identify a complex web of cognitive, affective, and evaluative factors that motivate stewardship. We explore the relationship between knowledge of, and adaptation to, widespread, climate-induced tree mortality to understand the cognitive (i.e., knowledge and learning, affective (i.e., attitudes and place attachment, and evaluative (i.e., use values factors that influence how individuals respond to climate-change impacts. From 43 semistructured interviews with forest managers and users in a temperate forest, we identified distinct responses to local, climate-induced environmental changes that we then categorized as either behavioral or psychological adaptations. Interviewees developed a depth of knowledge about the dieback through a combination of direct, place-based experiences and indirect, mediated learning through social interactions. Knowing that the dieback was associated with climate change led to different adaptive responses among the interviewees, although knowledge alone did not explain this variation. Forest users reported psychological adaptations to process negative attitudes; these adaptations were spurred by knowledge of the causes, losses of intangible values, and impacts to a species to which they held attachment. Behavioral adaptations exclusive to a high level of knowledge included actions such as using the forests to educate others or changing transportation behaviors to reduce personal energy consumption. Managers integrated awareness of the dieback and its dynamics across spatial scales into current management objectives. Our findings suggest that adaptive management may occur from the bottom up, as individual managers implement new practices in

  2. Adapting to environmental and market change: Insights from Fish Producer Organizations in Portugal

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Karadzic, V.; Antunes, P.; Grin, J.

    2014-01-01

    To ensure the best market conditions for their fish, vessel owners are incentivized to create Fish Producer Organizations (PO), with obvious market advantages for fishers. However, the management of POs is not an easy task. This paper aims to understand how adaptation to environmental and market

  3. Adaptation and promotion of emergency medical service transportation for climate change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Chih-Long; Chiu, Chun-Wen; Wen, Jet-Chau

    2014-12-01

    The purpose of this study is to find a proper prehospital transportation scenario planning of an emergency medical service (EMS) system for possible burdensome casualties resulting from extreme climate events. This project focuses on one of the worst natural catastrophic events in Taiwan, the 88 Wind-caused Disasters, caused by the Typhoon Morakot; the case of the EMS transportation in the Xiaolin village is reviewed and analyzed. The sequential-conveyance method is designed to promote the efficiency of all the ambulance services related to transportation time and distance. Initially, a proposed mobile emergency medical center (MEMC) is constructed in a safe location near the area of the disaster. The ambulances are classified into 2 categories: the first-line ambulances, which reciprocate between the MEMC and the disaster area to save time and shorten the working distances and the second-line ambulances, which transfer patients in critical condition from the MEMC to the requested hospitals for further treatment. According to the results, the sequential-conveyance method is more efficient than the conventional method for EMS transportation in a mass-casualty incident (MCI). This method improves the time efficiency by 52.15% and the distance efficiency by 56.02%. This case study concentrates on Xiaolin, a mountain village, which was heavily destroyed by a devastating mudslide during the Typhoon Morakot. The sequential-conveyance method for the EMS transportation in this research is not only more advantageous but also more rational in adaptation to climate change. Therefore, the findings are also important to all the decision-making with respect to a promoted EMS transportation, especially in an MCI.

  4. Transportation of radionuclides in urban environs: draft environmental assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Finley, N.C.; Aldrich, D.C.; Daniel, S.L.; Ericson, D.M.; Henning-Sachs, C.; Kaestner, P.C.; Ortiz, N.R.; Sheldon, D.D.; Taylor, J.M.

    1980-07-01

    This report assesses the environmental consequences of the transportation of radioactive materials in densely populated urban areas, including estimates of the radiological, nonradiological, and social impacts arising from this process. The chapters of the report and the appendices which follow detail the methodology and results for each of four causative event categories: incident free transport, vehicular accidents, human errors or deviations from accepted quality assurance practices, and sabotage or malevolent acts. The numerical results are expressed in terms of the expected radiological and economic impacts from each. Following these discussions, alternatives to the current transport practice are considered. Then, the detailed analysis is extended from a limited area of New York city to other urban areas. The appendices contain the data bases and specific models used to evaluate these impacts, as well as discussions of chemical toxicity and the social impacts of radioactive material transport in urban areas. The latter are evaluated for each causative event category in terms of psychological, sociological, political, legal, and organizational impacts. The report is followed by an extensive bibliography covering the many fields of study which were required in performing the analysis.

  5. Phenotypic plasticity as an adaptive response to predictable and unpredictable environmental changes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Manenti, Tommaso

    Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of a genotype to modify its phenotype in response to environmental changes as a consequence of an interaction between genes and environment (Bradshaw, 1965). Plasticity contributes to the vast phenotypic variation observed in natural populations. Many examples...... of a plastic response are expected to depend on the environmental conditions experienced by organisms. Thus, in populations exposed to a non-changing environment, the plastic machinery might be a waste of resources. Contrary, in populations experiencing varying environmental conditions, plasticity is expected...... such as anti-predator behaviours or the activation of mechanisms to prevent thermal stress injuries suggest that plasticity is an adaptive response, favoured by natural selection. At the same time, organisms do show limited plastic responses, indicating that this ability is not for free. Costs and benefits...

  6. Membrane transporters mediating root signalling and adaptive responses to oxygen deprivation and soil flooding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shabala, Sergey; Shabala, Lana; Barcelo, Juan; Poschenrieder, Charlotte

    2014-10-01

    This review provides a comprehensive assessment of a previously unexplored topic: elucidating the role that plasma- and organelle-based membrane transporters play in plant-adaptive responses to flooding. We show that energy availability and metabolic shifts under hypoxia and anoxia are critical in regulating membrane-transport activity. We illustrate the high tissue and time dependence of this regulation, reveal the molecular identity of transporters involved and discuss the modes of their regulation. We show that both reduced oxygen availability and accumulation of transition metals in flooded roots result in a reduction in the cytosolic K(+) pool, ultimately determining the cell's fate and transition to programmed cell death (PCD). This process can be strongly affected by hypoxia-induced changes in the amino acid pool profile and, specifically, ϒ-amino butyric acid (GABA) accumulation. It is suggested that GABA plays an important regulatory role, allowing plants to proceed with H2 O2 signalling to activate a cascade of genes that mediate plant adaptation to flooding while at the same time, preventing the cell from entering a 'suicide program'. We conclude that progress in crop breeding for flooding tolerance can only be achieved by pyramiding the numerous physiological traits that confer efficient energy maintenance, cytosolic ion homeostasis, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) control and detoxification. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Influence of training intensity on adaptations in acid/base transport proteins, muscle buffer capacity, and repeated-sprint ability in active men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGinley, Cian; Bishop, David J

    2016-12-01

    McGinley C, Bishop DJ. Influence of training intensity on adaptations in acid/base transport proteins, muscle buffer capacity, and repeated-sprint ability in active men. J Appl Physiol 121: 1290-1305, 2016. First published October 14, 2016; doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00630.2016-This study measured the adaptive response to exercise training for each of the acid-base transport protein families, including providing isoform-specific evidence for the monocarboxylate transporter (MCT)1/4 chaperone protein basigin and for the electrogenic sodium-bicarbonate cotransporter (NBCe)1. We investigated whether 4 wk of work-matched, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), performed either just above the lactate threshold (HIITΔ20; n = 8), or close to peak aerobic power (HIITΔ90; n = 8), influenced adaptations in acid-base transport protein abundance, nonbicarbonate muscle buffer capacity (βm in vitro ), and exercise capacity in active men. Training intensity did not discriminate between adaptations for most proteins measured, with abundance of MCT1, sodium/hydrogen exchanger (NHE) 1, NBCe1, carbonic anhydrase (CA) II, and CAXIV increasing after 4 wk, whereas there was little change in CAIII and CAIV abundance. βm in vitro also did not change. However, MCT4 protein content only increased for HIITΔ20 [effect size (ES): 1.06, 90% confidence limits × / ÷ 0.77], whereas basigin protein content only increased for HIITΔ90 (ES: 1.49, × / ÷ 1.42). Repeated-sprint ability (5 × 6-s sprints; 24 s passive rest) improved similarly for both groups. Power at the lactate threshold only improved for HIITΔ20 (ES: 0.49; 90% confidence limits ± 0.38), whereas peak O 2 uptake did not change for either group. Detraining was characterized by the loss of adaptations for all of the proteins measured and for repeated-sprint ability 6 wk after removing the stimulus of HIIT. In conclusion, 4 wk of HIIT induced improvements in each of the acid-base transport protein families, but, remarkably, a 40

  8. Uncertainty associated with selected environmental transport models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Little, C.A.; Miller, C.W.

    1979-11-01

    A description is given of the capabilities of several models to predict accurately either pollutant concentrations in environmental media or radiological dose to human organs. The models are discussed in three sections: aquatic or surface water transport models, atmospheric transport models, and terrestrial and aquatic food chain models. Using data published primarily by model users, model predictions are compared to observations. This procedure is infeasible for food chain models and, therefore, the uncertainty embodied in the models input parameters, rather than the model output, is estimated. Aquatic transport models are divided into one-dimensional, longitudinal-vertical, and longitudinal-horizontal models. Several conclusions were made about the ability of the Gaussian plume atmospheric dispersion model to predict accurately downwind air concentrations from releases under several sets of conditions. It is concluded that no validation study has been conducted to test the predictions of either aquatic or terrestrial food chain models. Using the aquatic pathway from water to fish to an adult for 137 Cs as an example, a 95% one-tailed confidence limit interval for the predicted exposure is calculated by examining the distributions of the input parameters. Such an interval is found to be 16 times the value of the median exposure. A similar one-tailed limit for the air-grass-cow-milk-thyroid for 131 I and infants was 5.6 times the median dose. Of the three model types discussed in this report,the aquatic transport models appear to do the best job of predicting observed concentrations. However, this conclusion is based on many fewer aquatic validation data than were availaable for atmospheric model validation

  9. Environmental comparison of marine and road transportation using LCA; Miljoemessig sammenligning av skips- og veitransport ved bruk av LCA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brekke, Andreas; Vold, Bjoern Ivar

    2011-07-01

    This report compares the transport by sea transport versus road for some selected scenarios that all end up in Oslo. Scenarios are chosen because they reflect realistic transportation options for products that consumers can relate to. It is therefore decided to look at the transportation of house modules from Estonia, kitchen units from Denmark, TVs from Germany and containers from Rotterdam. There are only examined some selected environmental stresses, including categories of climate change, acidification and eutrophication (excessive nutrients). Environmental impact categories are chosen for relevance (ie that transport contributes to such environmental stresses and that the environmental impact categories that may be important) and data availability (it's relevant categories for which data are lacking, such as noise and toxicity). Table A shows the results for all the examined scenarios of probable reservoir levels. One can see from the table that sea transport gives better environmental performance than the surface of all the scenarios in the categories climate change and eutrophication. For acidification is only one scenario where sea transport means less strain than land transport (transport of containers from Rotterdam). It should be emphasized that the relative contributions are greater climate change than to acidification and eutrophication for all options, and also the importance of climate change is considered to be greater than for acidification and eutrophication, Man may therefore conclude that sea transport is more environmentally friendly than road transport for all the investigated options. Underlying data are taken from real options for the transport ships and updated emissions data for trucks from environmental databases (EcoInvent). It is considered a completely new truck park in the comparisons presented above, the assumption is examined in sensitivity analyzes. With the Port as principal, it was important to have a conservative approach

  10. Relative Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Brucella abortus Reveals Metabolic Adaptation to Multiple Environmental Stresses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zai, Xiaodong; Yang, Qiaoling; Yin, Ying; Li, Ruihua; Qian, Mengying; Zhao, Taoran; Li, Yaohui; Zhang, Jun; Fu, Ling; Xu, Junjie; Chen, Wei

    2017-01-01

    Brucella spp. are facultative intracellular pathogens that cause chronic brucellosis in humans and animals. The virulence of Brucella primarily depends on its successful survival and replication in host cells. During invasion of the host tissue, Brucella is simultaneously subjected to a variety of harsh conditions, including nutrient limitation, low pH, antimicrobial defenses, and extreme levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) via the host immune response. This suggests that Brucella may be able to regulate its metabolic adaptation in response to the distinct stresses encountered during its intracellular infection of the host. An investigation into the differential proteome expression patterns of Brucella grown under the relevant stress conditions may contribute toward a better understanding of its pathogenesis and adaptive response. Here, we utilized a mass spectrometry-based label-free relative quantitative proteomics approach to investigate and compare global proteomic changes in B. abortus in response to eight different stress treatments. The 3 h short-term in vitro single-stress and multi-stress conditions mimicked the in vivo conditions of B. abortus under intracellular infection, with survival rates ranging from 3.17 to 73.17%. The proteomic analysis identified and quantified a total of 2,272 proteins and 74% of the theoretical proteome, thereby providing wide coverage of the B. abortus proteome. By including eight distinct growth conditions and comparing these with a control condition, we identified a total of 1,221 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) that were significantly changed under the stress treatments. Pathway analysis revealed that most of the proteins were involved in oxidative phosphorylation, ABC transporters, two-component systems, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, the citrate cycle, thiamine metabolism, and nitrogen metabolism; constituting major response mechanisms toward the reconstruction of cellular homeostasis and metabolic

  11. Climate Change Adaptation Act : report of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on S. 2355

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-06-05

    The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to which was referred the bill (S. 2355) to amend the National Climate Program Act to enhance the ability of the United States to : develop and implement climate change adaptation programs and p...

  12. Adaptive neuro fuzzy system for modelling and prediction of distance pantograph catenary in railway transportation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panoiu, M.; Panoiu, C.; Lihaciu, I. L.

    2018-01-01

    This research presents an adaptive neuro-fuzzy system which is used in the prediction of the distance between the pantograph and contact line of the electrical locomotives used in railway transportation. In railway transportation any incident that occurs in the electrical system can have major negative effects: traffic interrupts, equipment destroying. Therefore, a prediction as good as possible of such situations is very useful. In the paper was analyzing the possibility of modeling and prediction the variation of the distance between the pantograph and the contact line using intelligent techniques

  13. Dynamic linkages between road transport energy consumption, economic growth, and environmental quality: evidence from Pakistan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danish; Baloch, Muhammad Awais

    2018-03-01

    The focus of the present research work is to investigate the dynamic relationship between economic growth, road transport energy consumption, and environmental quality. To this end, we rely on time series data for the period 1971 to 2014 in the context of Pakistan. To use sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) emission from transport sector as a new proxy for measuring environmental quality, the present work employs time series technique ARDL which allows energy consumption from the transport sector, urbanization, and road infrastructure to be knotted by symmetric relationships with SO 2 emissions and economic growth. From the statistical results, we confirm that road infrastructure boosts economic growth. Simultaneously, road infrastructure and urbanization hampers environmental quality and causes to accelerate emission of SO 2 in the atmosphere. Furthermore, economic growth has a diminishing negative impact on total SO 2 emission. Moreover, we did not find any proof of the expected role of transport energy consumption in SO 2 emission. The acquired results directed that care should be taken in the expansion of road infrastructure and green city policies and planning are required in the country.

  14. CONSTRAINED-TRANSPORT MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMICS WITH ADAPTIVE MESH REFINEMENT IN CHARM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miniati, Francesco; Martin, Daniel F.

    2011-01-01

    We present the implementation of a three-dimensional, second-order accurate Godunov-type algorithm for magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) in the adaptive-mesh-refinement (AMR) cosmological code CHARM. The algorithm is based on the full 12-solve spatially unsplit corner-transport-upwind (CTU) scheme. The fluid quantities are cell-centered and are updated using the piecewise-parabolic method (PPM), while the magnetic field variables are face-centered and are evolved through application of the Stokes theorem on cell edges via a constrained-transport (CT) method. The so-called multidimensional MHD source terms required in the predictor step for high-order accuracy are applied in a simplified form which reduces their complexity in three dimensions without loss of accuracy or robustness. The algorithm is implemented on an AMR framework which requires specific synchronization steps across refinement levels. These include face-centered restriction and prolongation operations and a reflux-curl operation, which maintains a solenoidal magnetic field across refinement boundaries. The code is tested against a large suite of test problems, including convergence tests in smooth flows, shock-tube tests, classical two- and three-dimensional MHD tests, a three-dimensional shock-cloud interaction problem, and the formation of a cluster of galaxies in a fully cosmological context. The magnetic field divergence is shown to remain negligible throughout.

  15. Disruption and adaptation of urban transport networks from flooding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pregnolato Maria

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Transport infrastructure networks are increasingly vulnerable to disruption from extreme rainfall events due to increasing surface water runoff from urbanization and changes in climate. Impacts from such disruptions typically extend far beyond the flood footprint, because of the interconnection and spatial extent of modern infrastructure. An integrated flood risk assessment couples high resolution information on depth and velocity from the CityCAT urban flood model with empirical analysis of vehicle speeds in different depths of flood water, to perturb a transport accessibility model and determine the impact of a given event on journey times across the urban area. A case study in Newcastle-upon-Tyne (UK shows that even minor flooding associate with a 1 in 10 year event can cause traffic disruptions of nearly half an hour. Two adaptation scenarios are subsequently tested (i hardening (i.e. flood protection a single major junction, (ii introduction of green roofs across all buildings. Both options have benefits in terms of reduced disruption, but for a 1 in 200 year event greening all roofs in the city provided only three times the benefit of protecting one critical road junction, highlighting the importance of understanding network attributes such as capacity and flows.

  16. Unit environmental transport assessment of contaminants from Hanford's past-practice waste sites. Hanford Remedial Action Environmental Impact Statement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Whelan, G.; Buck, J.W.; Castleton, K.J.

    1995-06-01

    The US Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office (DOE-RL) contracted Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) to provide support to Advanced Sciences, Incorporated (ASI) in implementing tile regional no-action risk assessment in the Hanford Remedial Action Environmental Impact Statement. Researchers at PNL were charged with developing unit concentrations for soil, groundwater, surface water, and air at multiple locations within an 80-km radius from the center of tile Hanford installation. Using the Multimedia Environmental Pollutant Assessment System (MEPAS), PNL simulated (1) a unit release of one ci for each radionuclide and one kg for each chemical from contaminated soils and ponded sites, (2) transport of the contaminants in and through various environmental media and (3) exposure/risk of four exposure scenarios, outlined by the Hanford Site Baseline Remedial Action Methodology. These four scenarios include residential, recreational, industrial, and agricultural exposures. Spacially and temporally distributed environmental concentrations based on unit releases of radionuclides and chemicals were supported to ASI in support of the HRA-EIS. Risk for the four exposure scenarios, based on unit environment concentrations in air, water, and soil. were also supplied to ASI. This report outlines the procedure that was used to implement the unit transport portion of the HRA-EIS baseline risk assessment. Deliverables include unit groundwater, surface water, air, and soil concentrations at multiple locations within an 80-km radius from the center of the Hanford installation

  17. Materials Genomics Screens for Adaptive Ion Transport Behavior by Redox-Switchable Microporous Polymer Membranes in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ward, Ashleigh L; Doris, Sean E; Li, Longjun; Hughes, Mark A; Qu, Xiaohui; Persson, Kristin A; Helms, Brett A

    2017-05-24

    Selective ion transport across membranes is critical to the performance of many electrochemical energy storage devices. While design strategies enabling ion-selective transport are well-established, enhancements in membrane selectivity are made at the expense of ionic conductivity. To design membranes with both high selectivity and high ionic conductivity, there are cues to follow from biological systems, where regulated transport of ions across membranes is achieved by transmembrane proteins. The transport functions of these proteins are sensitive to their environment: physical or chemical perturbations to that environment are met with an adaptive response. Here we advance an analogous strategy for achieving adaptive ion transport in microporous polymer membranes. Along the polymer backbone are placed redox-active switches that are activated in situ, at a prescribed electrochemical potential, by the device's active materials when they enter the membrane's pore. This transformation has little influence on the membrane's ionic conductivity; however, the active-material blocking ability of the membrane is enhanced. We show that when used in lithium-sulfur batteries, these membranes offer markedly improved capacity, efficiency, and cycle-life by sequestering polysulfides in the cathode. The origins and implications of this behavior are explored in detail and point to new opportunities for responsive membranes in battery technology development.

  18. Materials Genomics Screens for Adaptive Ion Transport Behavior by Redox-Switchable Microporous Polymer Membranes in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-01-01

    Selective ion transport across membranes is critical to the performance of many electrochemical energy storage devices. While design strategies enabling ion-selective transport are well-established, enhancements in membrane selectivity are made at the expense of ionic conductivity. To design membranes with both high selectivity and high ionic conductivity, there are cues to follow from biological systems, where regulated transport of ions across membranes is achieved by transmembrane proteins. The transport functions of these proteins are sensitive to their environment: physical or chemical perturbations to that environment are met with an adaptive response. Here we advance an analogous strategy for achieving adaptive ion transport in microporous polymer membranes. Along the polymer backbone are placed redox-active switches that are activated in situ, at a prescribed electrochemical potential, by the device’s active materials when they enter the membrane’s pore. This transformation has little influence on the membrane’s ionic conductivity; however, the active-material blocking ability of the membrane is enhanced. We show that when used in lithium–sulfur batteries, these membranes offer markedly improved capacity, efficiency, and cycle-life by sequestering polysulfides in the cathode. The origins and implications of this behavior are explored in detail and point to new opportunities for responsive membranes in battery technology development. PMID:28573201

  19. Adaptation to environmental temperature is a major determinant of molecular evolutionary rates in archaea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Groussin, Mathieu; Gouy, Manolo

    2011-09-01

    Methods to infer the ancestral conditions of life are commonly based on geological and paleontological analyses. Recently, several studies used genome sequences to gain information about past ecological conditions taking advantage of the property that the G+C and amino acid contents of bacterial and archaeal ribosomal DNA genes and proteins, respectively, are strongly influenced by the environmental temperature. The adaptation to optimal growth temperature (OGT) since the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) over the universal tree of life was examined, and it was concluded that LUCA was likely to have been a mesophilic organism and that a parallel adaptation to high temperature occurred independently along the two lineages leading to the ancestors of Bacteria on one side and of Archaea and Eukarya on the other side. Here, we focus on Archaea to gain a precise view of the adaptation to OGT over time in this domain. It has been often proposed on the basis of indirect evidence that the last archaeal common ancestor was a hyperthermophilic organism. Moreover, many results showed the influence of environmental temperature on the evolutionary dynamics of archaeal genomes: Thermophilic organisms generally display lower evolutionary rates than mesophiles. However, to our knowledge, no study tried to explain the differences of evolutionary rates for the entire archaeal domain and to investigate the evolution of substitution rates over time. A comprehensive archaeal phylogeny and a non homogeneous model of the molecular evolutionary process allowed us to estimate ancestral base and amino acid compositions and OGTs at each internal node of the archaeal phylogenetic tree. The last archaeal common ancestor is predicted to have been hyperthermophilic and adaptations to cooler environments can be observed for extant mesophilic species. Furthermore, mesophilic species present both long branches and high variation of nucleotide and amino acid compositions since the last archaeal

  20. Grand challenge problems in environmental modeling and remediation: groundwater contaminant transport

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Todd Arbogast; Steve Bryant; Clint N. Dawson; Mary F. Wheeler

    1998-08-31

    This report describes briefly the work of the Center for Subsurface Modeling (CSM) of the University of Texas at Austin (and Rice University prior to September 1995) on the Partnership in Computational Sciences Consortium (PICS) project entitled Grand Challenge Problems in Environmental Modeling and Remediation: Groundwater Contaminant Transport.

  1. 75 FR 4619 - Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on Transportation Improvements Within the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-28

    ... the constraints placed on it by RTA's financial capacities. Financial plans are suggesting that RTA... Impact Statement on Transportation Improvements Within the Blue-Line Corridor in Shaker Heights and... Transportation. ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement. SUMMARY: The Federal...

  2. [Environmental behavior of graphene and its effect on the transport and fate of pollutants in environment].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Wen-Jie; Teng, Ying

    2014-09-01

    Graphene is one of the most popular research topics in carbon nanomaterials. Because of its special physical and chemical properties, graphene will have wide applications. As the production and application amount is increasing, graphene will be inevitably released to the environment, resulting in risks of ecological environment and human health. It is of very vital significance for evaluating environmental risks of graphene scientifically and objectively to understand its environmental behavior and fate and explore its effect on the environmental behaviors of pollutants. This paper reviewed the environmental behavior of graphene, such as colloid properties and its stability in the aqueous environment and its transport through porous media. Additionally, the paper reviewed the effect of graphene on the transport and fate of pollutants. The interactions between graphene and heavy metals or organic compounds were especially discussed. Important topics should be explored including sorption mechanisms, interactions between graphene and soil components, influence of graphene on the transport and bioavailability of pollutants in environment, as well as approaches to quantifying graphene. The review might identify potential new ideas for further research in applications of graphene.

  3. Multiscale Adapted Time-Splitting Technique for Nonisothermal Two-Phase Flow and Nanoparticles Transport in Heterogenous Porous Media

    KAUST Repository

    El-Amin, Mohamed F.; Kou, Jisheng; Sun, Shuyu

    2017-01-01

    This paper is devoted to study the problem of nonisothermal two-phase flow with nanoparticles transport in heterogenous porous media, numerically. For this purpose, we introduce a multiscale adapted time-splitting technique to simulate the problem

  4. Serotonin Transporter Knockout Rats Show Improved Strategy Set-Shifting and Reduced Latent Inhibition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nonkes, Lourens J. P.; van de Vondervoort, Ilse I. G. M.; de Leeuw, Mark J. C.; Wijlaars, Linda P.; Maes, Joseph H. R.; Homberg, Judith R.

    2012-01-01

    Behavioral flexibility is a cognitive process depending on prefrontal areas allowing adaptive responses to environmental changes. Serotonin transporter knockout (5-HTT[superscript -/-]) rodents show improved reversal learning in addition to orbitofrontal cortex changes. Another form of behavioral flexibility, extradimensional strategy set-shifting…

  5. Assessment of the environmental benefits of transport and stationary fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bauen, A.; Hart, D.

    2000-01-01

    Fuel cells (FCs) offer significant environmental benefits over competing technologies and hence the environment is a strong driving force behind the development of FC systems for transport and stationary applications. This paper provides a comprehensive comparison of FC and competing systems, and points out strengths and weaknesses of the different FC systems, suggesting areas for improvement. The results presented build on earlier work [D. Hart, G. Hoermandinger, Initial assessment of the environmental characteristics of fuel cells and competing technologies, ETSU F/02/00111/REP/1, ETSU, Harwell, UK, 1997.] and provide a detailed analysis of a wider range of systems, The analysis takes the form of a model, which compares system emissions (global, regional and local pollutants) and energy consumption on a full fuel cycle basis. It considers a variety of primary energy sources, intermediate fuel supply steps and FC systems for transport and stationary end-uses. These are compared with alternative systems for transport and stationary applications. Energy and pollutant emission reductions of FC systems compared to alternative vehicle technology vary considerably, though all FC technologies show reduction in energy use and CO 2 emissions of at least 20%; as well as reductions of several orders of magnitude in regulated pollutants compared to the base-case vehicle. The location of emissions is also of importance, with most emissions in the case of FC vehicles occurring in the fuel supply stage. The energy, CO 2 and regulated emissions advantages of FC systems for distributed and baseload electricity are more consistent than for transport applications, with reductions in regulated pollutants generally larger than one order of magnitude compared to competing technologies. For CHP applications, the advantages of FC systems with regard to regulated pollutants remain large. However, energy and CO 2 emission advantages are reduced, depending largely on the assumptions made

  6. Adaptations in Maternofetal Calcium Transport in Relation to Placental Size and Fetal Sex in Mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christina E. Hayward

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Appropriate placental transport of calcium is essential for normal fetal skeletal mineralization. In fetal growth restriction (FGR, the failure of a fetus to achieve its growth potential, a number of placental nutrient transport systems show reduced activity but, in the case of calcium, placental transport is increased. In a genetic mouse model of FGR this increase, or adaptation, maintains appropriate fetal calcium content, relative to the size of the fetus, despite a small, dysfunctional placenta. It is unknown whether such an adaptation is also apparent in small, but normally functioning placentas. We tested the hypothesis that calcium transfer would be up-regulated in the lightest vs. heaviest placentas in the same C57Bl/6J wild-type (WT mouse litter. Since lightest placentas are often from females, we also assessed whether fetal sex influenced placental calcium transfer. Placentas and fetuses were collected at embryonic day (E16.5 and 18.5; the lightest and heaviest placentas, and female and male fetuses, were identified. Unidirectional maternofetal calcium clearance (CaKmf was assessed following 45Ca administration to the dam and subsequent radiolabel counts within the fetuses. Placental expression of calcium pathway components was measured by Western blot. Data (median are lightest placenta expressed as percentage of the heaviest within a litter and analyzed by Wilcoxon signed-rank test. In WT mice having normally grown fetuses, CaKmf, per gram placenta near term, in the lightest placentas was increased (126%; P < 0.05 in association with reduced fetal calcium accretion earlier in gestation (92%; P < 0.05, that was subsequently normalized near term. Increased placental expression of calbindin-D9K, an important calcium binding protein, was observed in the lightest placentas near term (122%; P < 0.01. There was no difference in fetal calcium accretion between male and female littermates but a trend toward higher CaKmf in females (P = 0

  7. Signatures of environmental genetic adaptation pinpoint pathogens as the main selective pressure through human evolution.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matteo Fumagalli

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Previous genome-wide scans of positive natural selection in humans have identified a number of non-neutrally evolving genes that play important roles in skin pigmentation, metabolism, or immune function. Recent studies have also shown that a genome-wide pattern of local adaptation can be detected by identifying correlations between patterns of allele frequencies and environmental variables. Despite these observations, the degree to which natural selection is primarily driven by adaptation to local environments, and the role of pathogens or other ecological factors as selective agents, is still under debate. To address this issue, we correlated the spatial allele frequency distribution of a large sample of SNPs from 55 distinct human populations to a set of environmental factors that describe local geographical features such as climate, diet regimes, and pathogen loads. In concordance with previous studies, we detected a significant enrichment of genic SNPs, and particularly non-synonymous SNPs associated with local adaptation. Furthermore, we show that the diversity of the local pathogenic environment is the predominant driver of local adaptation, and that climate, at least as measured here, only plays a relatively minor role. While background demography by far makes the strongest contribution in explaining the genetic variance among populations, we detected about 100 genes which show an unexpectedly strong correlation between allele frequencies and pathogenic environment, after correcting for demography. Conversely, for diet regimes and climatic conditions, no genes show a similar correlation between the environmental factor and allele frequencies. This result is validated using low-coverage sequencing data for multiple populations. Among the loci targeted by pathogen-driven selection, we found an enrichment of genes associated to autoimmune diseases, such as celiac disease, type 1 diabetes, and multiples sclerosis, which lends credence to the

  8. Goal based mesh adaptivity for fixed source radiation transport calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baker, C.M.J.; Buchan, A.G.; Pain, C.C.; Tollit, B.S.; Goffin, M.A.; Merton, S.R.; Warner, P.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Derives an anisotropic goal based error measure for shielding problems. ► Reduces the error in the detector response by optimizing the finite element mesh. ► Anisotropic adaptivity captures material interfaces using fewer elements than AMR. ► A new residual based on the numerical scheme chosen forms the error measure. ► The error measure also combines the forward and adjoint metrics in a novel way. - Abstract: In this paper, the application of goal based error measures for anisotropic adaptivity applied to shielding problems in which a detector is present is explored. Goal based adaptivity is important when the response of a detector is required to ensure that dose limits are adhered to. To achieve this, a dual (adjoint) problem is solved which solves the neutron transport equation in terms of the response variables, in this case the detector response. The methods presented can be applied to general finite element solvers, however, the derivation of the residuals are dependent on the underlying finite element scheme which is also discussed in this paper. Once error metrics for the forward and adjoint solutions have been formed they are combined using a novel approach. The two metrics are combined by forming the minimum ellipsoid that covers both the error metrics rather than taking the maximum ellipsoid that is contained within the metrics. Another novel approach used within this paper is the construction of the residual. The residual, used to form the goal based error metrics, is calculated from the subgrid scale correction which is inherent in the underlying spatial discretisation employed

  9. Investigating organizational culture adaptability of broadcasting firm in response to environmental changes

    OpenAIRE

    Seyed Mohammad Reza Salehi; Naser Mirsepasi; Ali Akbar Farhangi

    2015-01-01

    The primary objective of this paper is to study the present status of organizational adaptability in Iranian broadcasting system against environmental changes and present possible suggestions to empower the organization to cope with future changes. The study uses the method developed by Denison (1990) [Denison, D. R. (1990). Corporate culture and organizational effectiveness. John Wiley & Sons.] to study the organizational changes. Using a sample of 354 randomly selected employees who worked ...

  10. Yeast Colonies: A Model for Studies of Aging, Environmental Adaptation, and Longevity

    OpenAIRE

    Libuše Váchová; Michal Čáp; Zdena Palková

    2012-01-01

    When growing on solid surfaces, yeast, like other microorganisms, develops organized multicellular populations (colonies and biofilms) that are composed of differentiated cells with specialized functions. Life within these populations is a prevalent form of microbial existence in natural settings that provides the cells with capabilities to effectively defend against environmental attacks as well as efficiently adapt and survive long periods of starvation and other stresses. Under such circum...

  11. Development of a database system for the calculation of indicators of environmental pressure caused by transport

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Giannouli, Myrsini; Samaras, Zissis [Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Laboratory of Applied Thermodynamics, Mechanical Engineering Department, GR 54124, Thessaloniki, P.O. Box 458 (Greece); Keller, Mario; De Haan, Peter [INFRAS, Muhlemattstrasse 45 CH-3007, Bern (Switzerland); Kallivoda, Manfred [psiA-Consult, Environmental Research and Engineering GmbH, Lastenstrasse 38/1, 1230 Wien (Austria); Sorenson, Spencer; Georgakaki, Aliki [DTU: Technical University of Denmark, Nils Koppels Alle, Building 403, DK 2800 Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark)

    2006-03-15

    The scope of this paper is to summarise a methodology developed for TRENDS (TRansport and ENvironment Database System-TRENDS). The main objective of TRENDS was the calculation of environmental pressure indicators caused by transport. The environmental pressures considered are associated with air emissions from the four main transport modes, i.e. road, rail, ships and air. In order to determine these indicators a system for calculating a range of environmental pressures due to transport was developed within a PC-based MS Access environment. Emphasis is given on the latest features incorporated in the model and their applications. One of the recently developed features of the software provides an option for simple scenario analysis including vehicle dynamics (such as turnover and evolution) for all EU15 member states. This feature is called the Transport Activity Balance module (TAB) and enables the production of collective results for all transport modes as well as a comparative assessment of air emissions produced by the various modes. Traffic activity and emission data obtained according to a basic (reference) scenario are displayed for the time period 1970-2020. In addition, a detailed assessment of the results produced by TRENDS was conducted by means of comparison with data found in the literature. Finally, vehicle emissions produced by the model for the EU15 member states were spatially disaggregated for the base year, 1995 and GIS maps were generated. Examples of these maps are displayed in this document, for the various modes of transport considered in the study. (author)

  12. Perceptions, Preferences, and Behavior Regarding Energy and Environmental Costs: The Case of Montreal Transport Users

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nayer Daher

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Providing travel-related fuel and environmental information to transport users is becoming increasingly relevant. However, the impact of providing such information on users’ travel behavior is yet to be determined. This research examined the perceptions and preferences related to the fuel consumption costs, greenhouse gas (GHG social costs, and health-related air pollution costs, and the influence such information could have on travel behavior. Examining the case of Montreal transport users, the authors conducted a survey in which the respondents were asked general and stated preference questions. The respondents were found to be unaware of the energy and environmental footprints of their travel. Approximately 85% of the respondents were not able to estimate GHG social costs and health-related air pollution costs across different modes. The respondents generally overestimated these costs and they interestingly reported higher environmental costs for public transport (metro compared to cars. They also preferred to receive such information in monetary units, and they were more comfortable in receiving the information through mobile applications over other tools/means. The research also found that fuel and environmental information influence respondents’ travel decisions especially their route choices. Finally, the respondents would be willing to pay an average of 7 Canadian dollars/month in exchange for obtaining the information.

  13. Intermodal Freight Transport on the Right Track? Environmental and economic performances and their trade-off

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Nam Seok

    2010-01-01

    This dissertation aims to evaluate environmental and economic performances of an intermodal freight transport system and to estimate the trade-off between CO2 emissions, which is presented as an indicator of environmental performance, and freight costs, which indicate the economic performance of the intermodal freight system. The truck-only system is always regarded as the counterpart of the intermodal freight system in this dissertation. To examine the environmental performance of the intermodal freight system, CO2 emissions generated from all the processes in the intermodal chain, such as pre-haulage and post-haulage, long distance haulage, and transshipment, are estimated considering different sources that generate electricity and transmission loss of electricity (Chapters 3 and 4). To examine the economic performance of the system, two approaches are considered: (1) finding the intermodal breakeven distance for which the intermodal system is more competitive than the truck-only system (Chapter 5); (2) examining the economies of scale in the intermodal network and finding the route/system choice that minimizes the total freight transportation costs (Chapter 6). Finally, this dissertation attempts to find the trade-off between CO2 emissions (representing the environmental performance) and freight transportation cost (representing the economic performance) (Chapter 7)

  14. Adaptation of EVIAVE methodology for monitoring and follow-up when evaluating the environmental impact of landfills

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arrieta, Gabriela; Requena, Ignacio; Toro, Javier; Zamorano, Montserrat

    2016-01-01

    Treatment and final disposal of Municipal Solid Waste can have a significant role in the generation of negative environmental impacts. As a prevention strategy, such activities are subjected to the process of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Still, the follow-up of Environmental Management Plans or mitigation measures is limited, for one due to a lack of methodological approaches. In searching for possibilities, the University of Granada (Spain) developed a diagnostic methodology named EVIAVE, which allows one to quantify, by means of indexes, the environmental impact of landfills in view of their location and the conditions of exploitation. EVIAVE is applicable within the legal framework of the European Union and can be adapted to the environmental and legal conditions of other countries. This study entails its adaptation in Colombia, for the follow-up and control of the EIA process for landfills. Modifications involved inclusion of the environmental elements flora and fauna, and the evaluation of the environmental descriptors in agreement with the concept of vulnerability. The application of the modified EVIAVE in Colombian landfills allowed us to identify the elements affected by the operating conditions and maintenance. It may be concluded that this methodology is viable and effective for the follow-up and environmental control of EIA processes for landfills, and to analyze the associated risks, as it takes into account related environmental threats and vulnerabilities. - Highlights: • A modified methodology is used to monitor and follow-up environmental impacts in landfills. • The improved methodology includes the Vulnerability of Flora and Fauna to evaluate environmental impact of landfills. • The methodology serves to identify and evaluate the sources of risk generated in the construction and siting of landfills. • Environmental vulnerability indicators improve effectiveness of the control and follow-up phases of landfill management. • The

  15. Adaptation of EVIAVE methodology for monitoring and follow-up when evaluating the environmental impact of landfills

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arrieta, Gabriela, E-mail: tonina1903@hotmail.com [Department of Civil Engineering, University of Granada (Spain); Requena, Ignacio, E-mail: requena@decsai.ugr.es [Department of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, University of Granada (Spain); Toro, Javier, E-mail: jjtoroca@unal.edu.co [Universidad Nacional de Colombia — Sede Bogotá, Instituto de Estudios Ambientales (Colombia); Zamorano, Montserrat, E-mail: zamorano@ugr.es [Department of Civil Engineering, University of Granada (Spain)

    2016-01-15

    Treatment and final disposal of Municipal Solid Waste can have a significant role in the generation of negative environmental impacts. As a prevention strategy, such activities are subjected to the process of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Still, the follow-up of Environmental Management Plans or mitigation measures is limited, for one due to a lack of methodological approaches. In searching for possibilities, the University of Granada (Spain) developed a diagnostic methodology named EVIAVE, which allows one to quantify, by means of indexes, the environmental impact of landfills in view of their location and the conditions of exploitation. EVIAVE is applicable within the legal framework of the European Union and can be adapted to the environmental and legal conditions of other countries. This study entails its adaptation in Colombia, for the follow-up and control of the EIA process for landfills. Modifications involved inclusion of the environmental elements flora and fauna, and the evaluation of the environmental descriptors in agreement with the concept of vulnerability. The application of the modified EVIAVE in Colombian landfills allowed us to identify the elements affected by the operating conditions and maintenance. It may be concluded that this methodology is viable and effective for the follow-up and environmental control of EIA processes for landfills, and to analyze the associated risks, as it takes into account related environmental threats and vulnerabilities. - Highlights: • A modified methodology is used to monitor and follow-up environmental impacts in landfills. • The improved methodology includes the Vulnerability of Flora and Fauna to evaluate environmental impact of landfills. • The methodology serves to identify and evaluate the sources of risk generated in the construction and siting of landfills. • Environmental vulnerability indicators improve effectiveness of the control and follow-up phases of landfill management. • The

  16. Environmental innovation through transport policy. The implementation of the free fare policy on public transport in Tallinn, Estonia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gabaldon-Estevan, D.

    2016-07-01

    Urban areas are of increasing relevance when it comes to sustainability: First, about half of the world’s population now lives in cities (increasing to 60% by 2030). Second, cities are nowadays responsible for levels of resource consumption and waste generation that are higher beyond their share on world population. Third, cities are more vulnerable to disruptive events that can lead to restrictions on the provision of resources and to changes on the environment caused by climate change. And fourth, because they concentrate key resources (political, social, cultural…), cities are seen as strategic scenarios where to experiment and develop solutions to cope with the prevailing sustainability challenges driven by the major social and environmental transformations. Urban agglomerations can be seen as complex innovation systems where human activities are shaped in order to transform societies towards sustainable development. For this paper, we focus on the case of an environmental innovation regarding transport policy, the implementation of the fare-free policy on public transport for all inhabitants of Tallinn, Estonia. Tallinn, with 414,000 inhabitants in 2015, is the capital of Estonia and the largest city in the country. Over the last two decades the share of public transport trips decreased dramatically. After a public opinion poll in 2012, in which over 75% of the participants voted for a fare-free public transportation system (FFPTS) in Tallinn, the new policy was implemented on 1st January 2013. From that date on inhabitants of Tallinn could use all public transport services (busses, trams, trolly-busses) operated by city-run operators for free. Later the fare-free system was implemented also on trains within Tallinn. In this paper we analyze the context, in which this policy was implemented, the main characteristics of its implementation and its actual situation. (Author)

  17. Promoting intermodal freight transport through the development of dry ports in Asia: An environmental perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shinya Hanaoka

    2011-07-01

    This study reviews the status of intermodal freight transport in Asia from an environmental perspective. It examines intermodal transport opportunities presented by the development of inland dry ports in hinterland locations. This paper also reviews selected case studies of dry port development in Asia. Finally, we present the lessons to be learned for the promotion of intermodal freight transport from selected Asian countries as well as the policy options available.

  18. Environmental Factors and Intermodal Freight Transportation: Analysis of the Decision Bases in the Case of Spanish Motorways of the Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel Ángel López-Navarro

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Today, there is widespread consensus about the notable, yet simultaneously growing, negative environmental impacts generated by the transportation sector. Experts working in a number of different fields consider the current situation to be unsustainable and possible measures to reduce emissions and foster sustainability are being encouraged. The European Commission has highlighted the need to shift away from unimodal road transport toward a greater use of intermodal transport through, for example, motorways of the sea, in light of the evidence that the former makes a significant contribution to increased CO2 emissions. However, although there is a general perception that sea transport is environmentally preferable to road transport, recent studies are beginning to question this assumption. Moreover, little research has been conducted to quantify environmental aspects and incorporate them into the decision-making processes involved in the modal shift. This study first reviews the existing literature to examine the extent to which environmental aspects are relevant in the modal choice in the case of short sea shipping and motorways of the sea. Related to this, the study also evaluates the role that different agents may play in making decisions about choice of mode, taking into consideration environmental aspects. Secondly, we use the values the European Commission provides to calculate external costs for the Marco Polo freight transport project proposals (call 2013 to estimate the environmental costs for several routes (a total of 72, comparing the use of road haulage with the intermodal option that incorporates the Spanish motorways of the sea. The results of this comparative analysis show that the intermodal option is not always the best choice in environmental terms. Consequently, the traditional environmental argument to justify this alternative must be used carefully.

  19. The adaptation rate of a quantitative trait in an environmental gradient

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hermsen, R.

    2016-12-01

    The spatial range of a species habitat is generally determined by the ability of the species to cope with biotic and abiotic variables that vary in space. Therefore, the species range is itself an evolvable property. Indeed, environmental gradients permit a mode of evolution in which range expansion and adaptation go hand in hand. This process can contribute to rapid evolution of drug resistant bacteria and viruses, because drug concentrations in humans and livestock treated with antibiotics are far from uniform. Here, we use a minimal stochastic model of discrete, interacting organisms evolving in continuous space to study how the rate of adaptation of a quantitative trait depends on the steepness of the gradient and various population parameters. We discuss analytical results for the mean-field limit as well as extensive stochastic simulations. These simulations were performed using an exact, event-driven simulation scheme that can deal with continuous time-, density- and coordinate-dependent reaction rates and could be used for a wide variety of stochastic systems. The results reveal two qualitative regimes. If the gradient is shallow, the rate of adaptation is limited by dispersion and increases linearly with the gradient slope. If the gradient is steep, the adaptation rate is limited by mutation. In this regime, the mean-field result is highly misleading: it predicts that the adaptation rate continues to increase with the gradient slope, whereas stochastic simulations show that it in fact decreases with the square root of the slope. This discrepancy underscores the importance of discreteness and stochasticity even at high population densities; mean-field results, including those routinely used in quantitative genetics, should be interpreted with care.

  20. The adaptation rate of a quantitative trait in an environmental gradient.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hermsen, R

    2016-11-30

    The spatial range of a species habitat is generally determined by the ability of the species to cope with biotic and abiotic variables that vary in space. Therefore, the species range is itself an evolvable property. Indeed, environmental gradients permit a mode of evolution in which range expansion and adaptation go hand in hand. This process can contribute to rapid evolution of drug resistant bacteria and viruses, because drug concentrations in humans and livestock treated with antibiotics are far from uniform. Here, we use a minimal stochastic model of discrete, interacting organisms evolving in continuous space to study how the rate of adaptation of a quantitative trait depends on the steepness of the gradient and various population parameters. We discuss analytical results for the mean-field limit as well as extensive stochastic simulations. These simulations were performed using an exact, event-driven simulation scheme that can deal with continuous time-, density- and coordinate-dependent reaction rates and could be used for a wide variety of stochastic systems. The results reveal two qualitative regimes. If the gradient is shallow, the rate of adaptation is limited by dispersion and increases linearly with the gradient slope. If the gradient is steep, the adaptation rate is limited by mutation. In this regime, the mean-field result is highly misleading: it predicts that the adaptation rate continues to increase with the gradient slope, whereas stochastic simulations show that it in fact decreases with the square root of the slope. This discrepancy underscores the importance of discreteness and stochasticity even at high population densities; mean-field results, including those routinely used in quantitative genetics, should be interpreted with care.

  1. Life cycle assessment of railways and rail transports - Application in environmental product declarations (EPDs) for the Bothnia Line

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stripple, Haakan; Uppenberg, Stefan

    2010-09-15

    Environmental aspects are today highly important issues in the transport sector especially from a society perspective. Most likely, our society is facing considerable changes in the transport sector due to changes in the energy/environmental situation in the future. Strategic decisions concerning the development of the transport sector must be based on solid facts concerning both the transport infrastructure and the transport traffic on the infrastructure. The transport infrastructure is often complex and difficult to analyse but of great interest in a society perspective. In this project, we have performed a comprehensive view of a modern railway infrastructure system including the traffic on the infrastructure. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology has been used for the study and several LCA models of the railway system have been designed. Due to the complexity of the models, several general railway component models have been developed. The component models can then be integrated to form a large model of an entire railway system. The component models (sub-models) are: 'Railway track foundation model', 'Railway track model', 'Railway electric power and control system model', 'Railway tunnel model', 'Railway bridge model', 'Railway passenger station and freight terminal model', 'Passenger and freight train model including train operation'. The LCA models have then been used to analyse the environmental performance of the Bothnia Line and to develop Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for the Bothnia Line

  2. Hepatic ZIP14-mediated zinc transport is required for adaptation to endoplasmic reticulum stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Min-Hyun; Aydemir, Tolunay B; Kim, Jinhee; Cousins, Robert J

    2017-07-18

    Extensive endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress damages the liver, causing apoptosis and steatosis despite the activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR). Restriction of zinc from cells can induce ER stress, indicating that zinc is essential to maintain normal ER function. However, a role for zinc during hepatic ER stress is largely unknown despite important roles in metabolic disorders, including obesity and nonalcoholic liver disease. We have explored a role for the metal transporter ZIP14 during pharmacologically and high-fat diet-induced ER stress using Zip14 -/- (KO) mice, which exhibit impaired hepatic zinc uptake. Here, we report that ZIP14-mediated hepatic zinc uptake is critical for adaptation to ER stress, preventing sustained apoptosis and steatosis. Impaired hepatic zinc uptake in Zip14 KO mice during ER stress coincides with greater expression of proapoptotic proteins. ER stress-induced Zip14 KO mice show greater levels of hepatic steatosis due to higher expression of genes involved in de novo fatty acid synthesis, which are suppressed in ER stress-induced WT mice. During ER stress, the UPR-activated transcription factors ATF4 and ATF6α transcriptionally up-regulate Zip14 expression. We propose ZIP14 mediates zinc transport into hepatocytes to inhibit protein-tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) activity, which acts to suppress apoptosis and steatosis associated with hepatic ER stress. Zip14 KO mice showed greater hepatic PTP1B activity during ER stress. These results show the importance of zinc trafficking and functional ZIP14 transporter activity for adaptation to ER stress associated with chronic metabolic disorders.

  3. Working Group 7.1 on environmental transport, US-USSR Joint Coordinating Committee on Civilian Nuclear Reactor Safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anspaugh, L.R.; Hendrickson, S.M.

    1991-01-01

    This report contains brief summaries of the status of projects of the Environmental Transport Group of the US-USSR Joint Coordinating Committee of Civilian Nuclear Reactor Safety. Projects reported on include: Management and Administration; Atmospheric Transport; Resuspension; External Dose; Terrestrial Food Chains; Aquatic Food Chains; Hydrological Transport; and Intercalibration

  4. Multifarious selection through environmental change: acidity and predator-mediated adaptive divergence in the moor frog (Rana arvalis).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egea-Serrano, Andrés; Hangartner, Sandra; Laurila, Anssi; Räsänen, Katja

    2014-04-07

    Environmental change can simultaneously cause abiotic stress and alter biological communities, yet adaptation of natural populations to co-changing environmental factors is poorly understood. We studied adaptation to acid and predator stress in six moor frog (Rana arvalis) populations along an acidification gradient, where abundance of invertebrate predators increases with increasing acidity of R. arvalis breeding ponds. First, we quantified divergence among the populations in anti-predator traits (behaviour and morphology) at different rearing conditions in the laboratory (factorial combinations of acid or neutral pH and the presence or the absence of a caged predator). Second, we evaluated relative fitness (survival) of the populations by exposing tadpoles from the different rearing conditions to predation by free-ranging dragonfly larvae. We found that morphological defences (relative tail depth) as well as survival of tadpoles under predation increased with increasing pond acidity (under most experimental conditions). Tail depth and larval size mediated survival differences among populations, but the contribution of trait divergence to survival was strongly dependent on prior rearing conditions. Our results indicate that R. arvalis populations are adapted to the elevated predator pressure in acidified ponds and emphasize the importance of multifarious selection via both direct (here: pH) and indirect (here: predators) environmental changes.

  5. Multifarious selection through environmental change: acidity and predator-mediated adaptive divergence in the moor frog (Rana arvalis)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egea-Serrano, Andrés; Hangartner, Sandra; Laurila, Anssi; Räsänen, Katja

    2014-01-01

    Environmental change can simultaneously cause abiotic stress and alter biological communities, yet adaptation of natural populations to co-changing environmental factors is poorly understood. We studied adaptation to acid and predator stress in six moor frog (Rana arvalis) populations along an acidification gradient, where abundance of invertebrate predators increases with increasing acidity of R. arvalis breeding ponds. First, we quantified divergence among the populations in anti-predator traits (behaviour and morphology) at different rearing conditions in the laboratory (factorial combinations of acid or neutral pH and the presence or the absence of a caged predator). Second, we evaluated relative fitness (survival) of the populations by exposing tadpoles from the different rearing conditions to predation by free-ranging dragonfly larvae. We found that morphological defences (relative tail depth) as well as survival of tadpoles under predation increased with increasing pond acidity (under most experimental conditions). Tail depth and larval size mediated survival differences among populations, but the contribution of trait divergence to survival was strongly dependent on prior rearing conditions. Our results indicate that R. arvalis populations are adapted to the elevated predator pressure in acidified ponds and emphasize the importance of multifarious selection via both direct (here: pH) and indirect (here: predators) environmental changes. PMID:24552840

  6. Exploring Environmental Effects of Accidents During Marine Transport of Dangerous Goods by Use of Accident Descriptions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rømer, Hans Gottberg; Haastrup, P.; Petersen, H J Styhr

    1996-01-01

    On the basis of 1776 descriptions of water transport accidents involving dangerous goods, environmental problems in connection with releases of this kind are described and discussed. It was found that most detailed descriptions of environmental consequences concerned oil accidents, although most...... longer than broad. Gravity scales used to describe and evaluate environmental consequences were discussed....

  7. Computer prediction of subsurface radionuclide transport: an adaptive numerical method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Neuman, S.P.

    1983-01-01

    Radionuclide transport in the subsurface is often modeled with the aid of the advection-dispersion equation. A review of existing computer methods for the solution of this equation shows that there is need for improvement. To answer this need, a new adaptive numerical method is proposed based on an Eulerian-Lagrangian formulation. The method is based on a decomposition of the concentration field into two parts, one advective and one dispersive, in a rigorous manner that does not leave room for ambiguity. The advective component of steep concentration fronts is tracked forward with the aid of moving particles clustered around each front. Away from such fronts the advection problem is handled by an efficient modified method of characteristics called single-step reverse particle tracking. When a front dissipates with time, its forward tracking stops automatically and the corresponding cloud of particles is eliminated. The dispersion problem is solved by an unconventional Lagrangian finite element formulation on a fixed grid which involves only symmetric and diagonal matrices. Preliminary tests against analytical solutions of ne- and two-dimensional dispersion in a uniform steady state velocity field suggest that the proposed adaptive method can handle the entire range of Peclet numbers from 0 to infinity, with Courant numbers well in excess of 1

  8. Source-to-sink transport of sugar and regulation by environmental factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lemoine, Remi; La Camera, Sylvain; Atanassova, Rossitza; Dédaldéchamp, Fabienne; Allario, Thierry; Pourtau, Nathalie; Bonnemain, Jean-Louis; Laloi, Maryse; Coutos-Thévenot, Pierre; Maurousset, Laurence; Faucher, Mireille; Girousse, Christine; Lemonnier, Pauline; Parrilla, Jonathan; Durand, Mickael

    2013-01-01

    Source-to-sink transport of sugar is one of the major determinants of plant growth and relies on the efficient and controlled distribution of sucrose (and some other sugars such as raffinose and polyols) across plant organs through the phloem. However, sugar transport through the phloem can be affected by many environmental factors that alter source/sink relationships. In this paper, we summarize current knowledge about the phloem transport mechanisms and review the effects of several abiotic (water and salt stress, mineral deficiency, CO2, light, temperature, air, and soil pollutants) and biotic (mutualistic and pathogenic microbes, viruses, aphids, and parasitic plants) factors. Concerning abiotic constraints, alteration of the distribution of sugar among sinks is often reported, with some sinks as roots favored in case of mineral deficiency. Many of these constraints impair the transport function of the phloem but the exact mechanisms are far from being completely known. Phloem integrity can be disrupted (e.g., by callose deposition) and under certain conditions, phloem transport is affected, earlier than photosynthesis. Photosynthesis inhibition could result from the increase in sugar concentration due to phloem transport decrease. Biotic interactions (aphids, fungi, viruses…) also affect crop plant productivity. Recent breakthroughs have identified some of the sugar transporters involved in these interactions on the host and pathogen sides. The different data are discussed in relation to the phloem transport pathways. When possible, the link with current knowledge on the pathways at the molecular level will be highlighted.

  9. Application of oil spill environmental vulnerability analysis to Brazilian road networks for hazardous cargo transportation; Aplicacao do indice de vulnerabilidade rodoviario para transporte de cargas perigosas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mattos, M. Beatriz da Costa; Silva Junior, Carlos Leandro da; Almeida, Ana Flavia Oliveira de [Ambipetro Consultoria em Meio Ambiente e Petroleo Ltda., Natal, RN (Brazil)

    2008-07-01

    Roads provide the main means of transportation in Brazil. According to data from the Brazilian Department of Infrastructure and Transport, 96.2% of the passenger transportation and 61.8% of the cargo transportation are based on road infrastructure. However, three quarters of the Brazilian roads are in terrible, unsatisfactory or generally inadequate condition. Poor road conditions are responsible for a great number of accidents with severe consequences for the population and the environment. Given the importance of this matter, there is a need to develop an intelligent system for automatic classification of social and environmental sensitivity maps in order to support actions that respond to emergencies and to help in transportation planning, especially considering the heavy movement of hazardous cargoes such as petroleum and its derivates. For this, tools such as Geographic Information System (GIS) allow social-environmental and traffic engineering characterization maps to be analyzed on a unified, geo referenced digital base. This way, administrators can estimate which stretches of the network are more environmentally sensitive and which pose greater risks, and therefore draw inferences on the most socially and environmentally vulnerable. Social and environmental vulnerability data not only help in the classification of the areas which pose the greater risks, but also make it possible to decide on emergency support points, creating a culture of prevention in the area of hazardous cargo transportation. The case study on the state of Rio Grande do Norte provides a measure of the importance of such work. The city of Natal - the state capital - and the Guamare petrochemical facility are interconnected by 180 Km Road, on which more than 100 tanker trucks loaded with diesel and its derivates travel every day. This road is classified as in poor conditions and, according to the Brazilian Roads Police, it is one of the most dangerous. The relevance of this work is to show

  10. Innate and adaptive immune traits are differentially affected by genetic and environmental factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mangino, Massimo; Roederer, Mario; Beddall, Margaret H.; Nestle, Frank O.; Spector, Tim D.

    2017-01-01

    The diversity and activity of leukocytes is controlled by genetic and environmental influences to maintain balanced immune responses. However, the relative contribution of environmental compared with genetic factors that affect variations in immune traits is unknown. Here we analyse 23,394 immune phenotypes in 497 adult female twins. 76% of these traits show a predominantly heritable influence, whereas 24% are mostly influenced by environment. These data highlight the importance of shared childhood environmental influences such as diet, infections or microbes in shaping immune homeostasis for monocytes, B1 cells, γδ T cells and NKT cells, whereas dendritic cells, B2 cells, CD4+ T and CD8+ T cells are more influenced by genetics. Although leukocyte subsets are influenced by genetics and environment, adaptive immune traits are more affected by genetics, whereas innate immune traits are more affected by environment. PMID:28054551

  11. Experiences with environmentally adapted Kaplan runners; Erfarenheter med miljoeanpassade Kaplanloephjul

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ukonsaari; Jan

    2012-08-15

    This study concerns environmentally adapted Kaplan runners, which have no oil for lubricating the blade regulation mechanisms and bearings. The runners are water or air filled with self lubricated bearings. Recent design also includes regulation system pressure increase and servo motor placement below runner centre and environmentally adapted synthetic ester as hydraulic fluid. These together with power output increase and efficiency optimization are suspected sources of poor runner function. Of 37 runners 43 % have had some kind of problem and 30 % bearing or mechanism related ones. When the axial blade bearing problems are excluded the problems occurred at 16 %. Deeper look into the design of newer runners shows that only bronze based runner hubs is significantly more problem dense regarding regulation mechanisms (50 %). Hidden figures of increased runner regulation forces are suspected. All problems cannot be explained and the young machines limit the experiences. The working group's opinion and bring ups of historical and present examples during the work show evidence that the old oil filled runners function is far from perfect, nor the life length. The future is not with oil filled runner hubs. Main parts of the discovered problems have been solved and can be resolved by thorough design analysis. One future concern is what effects the recent design changes will cause due to increase demand for power output changes including the number of starts and stops. That is why the working group's recommendation is to put joint effort into material fatigue and in which a first step is to identify the real forces the runners are exposed to.

  12. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF TRANSPORTATION IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY – DIMENSIONS AND ACTIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirela Stefanica

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The development of tourism and the increase in the number of travellers at the level of certain areas of touristic interest brings socio-economic benefits and also leads to the damaging of the quality of the environment. Transportation, as component of the tourism industry, has many side effects on the environment due to carbon dioxide emissions, pollution, etc. The work mainly emphasizes the way in which air, road, rail and water transportation influences the quality of the environment, contributing to global warming at the same time. Climate change, a consequence of global warming, is perhaps the biggest problem of the beginning of the millennium, representing one of the most prodigious forces that will affect the progress of humanity in the 21st century and later. In this sense, our paper tries to draw attention to the adaptation measures meant to diminish the vulnerability of climate change at the level of tourism, in general and transportation, in particular.

  13. Relative Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Brucella abortus Reveals Metabolic Adaptation to Multiple Environmental Stresses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaodong Zai

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Brucella spp. are facultative intracellular pathogens that cause chronic brucellosis in humans and animals. The virulence of Brucella primarily depends on its successful survival and replication in host cells. During invasion of the host tissue, Brucella is simultaneously subjected to a variety of harsh conditions, including nutrient limitation, low pH, antimicrobial defenses, and extreme levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS via the host immune response. This suggests that Brucella may be able to regulate its metabolic adaptation in response to the distinct stresses encountered during its intracellular infection of the host. An investigation into the differential proteome expression patterns of Brucella grown under the relevant stress conditions may contribute toward a better understanding of its pathogenesis and adaptive response. Here, we utilized a mass spectrometry-based label-free relative quantitative proteomics approach to investigate and compare global proteomic changes in B. abortus in response to eight different stress treatments. The 3 h short-term in vitro single-stress and multi-stress conditions mimicked the in vivo conditions of B. abortus under intracellular infection, with survival rates ranging from 3.17 to 73.17%. The proteomic analysis identified and quantified a total of 2,272 proteins and 74% of the theoretical proteome, thereby providing wide coverage of the B. abortus proteome. By including eight distinct growth conditions and comparing these with a control condition, we identified a total of 1,221 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs that were significantly changed under the stress treatments. Pathway analysis revealed that most of the proteins were involved in oxidative phosphorylation, ABC transporters, two-component systems, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, the citrate cycle, thiamine metabolism, and nitrogen metabolism; constituting major response mechanisms toward the reconstruction of cellular

  14. Perceived environmental correlates of physical activity for leisure and transportation in Curitiba, Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parra, Diana C; Hoehner, Christine M; Hallal, Pedro C; Ribeiro, Isabela C; Reis, Rodrigo; Brownson, Ross C; Pratt, Michael; Simoes, Eduardo J

    2011-01-01

    Physical activity (PA) has consistently been associated with perceived environmental characteristics. To examine the association between perceived environmental attributes and various forms of PA in Curitiba, Brazil. A cross-sectional phone survey of adults was conducted in 2008 (n=2097). The questionnaire included environmental perceptions and PA. Principal components analysis was used to identify groups of perceived environmental attributes. Multivariate methods tested the associations of PA with perceived environment characteristics. Perceptions of moderate and high personal safety were positively associated with walking for transportation (53.0%, 53.1% vs. 47.3%, both adjusted ORs [aOR]=1.5). Number of destinations within a 10-minute walk (4 and >6 vs. transportation (7.8%, 9.9% vs.4.8%, aOR=2.5). Perception of high accessibility was positively associated with MVPA during leisure time (35.1% vs. 19.1, aOR=1.7) and meeting recommendations for total PA (58.7% vs. 45.1%, aOR=1.4). Perception of high quality of the pedestrian space (57.3% vs. 46.5%, aOR=1.4) and moderate levels of personal safety (54.3% vs. 47.6%, aOR=1.3) were also positively associated with meeting recommendations for total PA. Different environmental attributes were associated with different PA outcomes, suggesting that these relationships are complex and may differ from those in high-income countries. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Different fuelling technologies for urban transport bus service in an Italian big town: economic, environmental and social considerations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santarelli, M.G.L.; Cali, M.; Bertonasco, A.

    2003-01-01

    In the energy field, an important cause of pollutant emissions is linked to ground transportation. The increase of the ratio between energy consumption due to transport and the gross internal product has been 1.12% per year from 1970. All these energy consumption increases have been made while using fossil fuel with serious environmental consequences on the local and global scale and reduction of fuel availability. Environmental policy points towards improvement by cleaner fuels utilisation and increase of engine efficiencies. In this paper, a specific application will be discussed concerning the public transport service in an Italian urban area: a bus fleet motorised with fuel cell systems will be compared with traditional buses using fossil fuels. The comparison will be done in energy, economic, environmental and social terms

  16. Which environmental factors most strongly influence a street's appeal for bicycle transport among adults? A conjoint study using manipulated photographs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mertens, Lieze; Van Dyck, Delfien; Ghekiere, Ariane; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; Deforche, Benedicte; Van de Weghe, Nico; Van Cauwenberg, Jelle

    2016-09-01

    Micro-environmental factors (specific features within a streetscape), instead of macro-environmental factors (urban planning features), are more feasible to modify in existing neighborhoods and thus more practical to target for environmental interventions. Because it is often not possible to change the whole micro-environment at once, the current study aims to determine which micro-environmental factors should get the priority to target in physical environmental interventions increasing bicycle transport. Additionally, interaction effects among micro-environmental factors on the street's appeal for bicycle transport will be determined. In total, 1950 middle-aged adults completed a web-based questionnaire consisting of a set of 12 randomly assigned choice tasks with manipulated photographs. Seven micro-environmental factors (type of cycle path, speed limit, speed bump, vegetation, evenness of the cycle path surface, general upkeep and traffic density) were manipulated in each photograph. Conjoint analysis was used to analyze the data. Providing streets with a cycle path separated from motorized traffic seems to be the best strategy to increase the street's appeal for adults' bicycle transport. If this adjustment is not practically feasible, micro-environmental factors related to safety (i.e. speed limit, traffic density) may be more effective in promoting bicycle transport than micro-environmental factors related to comfort (i.e. evenness of the cycle path surface) or aesthetic (i.e. vegetation, general upkeep). On the other hand, when a more separated cycle path is already provided, micro-environmental factors related to comfort or aesthetic appeared to become more prominent. Findings obtained from this research could provide advice to physical environmental interventions about which environmental factors should get priority to modify in different environmental situations. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Ghent University Hospital. B

  17. Environmental Transport Input Parameters for the Biosphere Model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    M. A. Wasiolek

    2003-06-27

    This analysis report is one of the technical reports documenting the Environmental Radiation Model for Yucca Mountain Nevada (ERMYN), a biosphere model supporting the total system performance assessment (TSPA) for the geologic repository at Yucca Mountain. A graphical representation of the documentation hierarchy for the ERMYN is presented in Figure 1-1. This figure shows relationships among the reports developed for biosphere modeling and biosphere abstraction products for the TSPA, as identified in the ''Technical Work Plan: for Biosphere Modeling and Expert Support'' (TWP) (BSC 2003 [163602]). Some documents in Figure 1-1 may be under development and not available when this report is issued. This figure provides an understanding of how this report contributes to biosphere modeling in support of the license application (LA), but access to the listed documents is not required to understand the contents of this report. This report is one of the reports that develops input parameter values for the biosphere model. The ''Biosphere Model Report'' (BSC 2003 [160699]) describes the conceptual model, the mathematical model, and the input parameters. The purpose of this analysis is to develop biosphere model parameter values related to radionuclide transport and accumulation in the environment. These parameters support calculations of radionuclide concentrations in the environmental media (e.g., soil, crops, animal products, and air) resulting from a given radionuclide concentration at the source of contamination (i.e., either in groundwater or volcanic ash). The analysis was performed in accordance with the TWP (BSC 2003 [163602]). This analysis develops values of parameters associated with many features, events, and processes (FEPs) applicable to the reference biosphere (DTN: M00303SEPFEPS2.000 [162452]), which are addressed in the biosphere model (BSC 2003 [160699]). The treatment of these FEPs is described in BSC (2003 [160699

  18. Environmental Transport Input Parameters for the Biosphere Model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wasiolek, M. A.

    2003-01-01

    This analysis report is one of the technical reports documenting the Environmental Radiation Model for Yucca Mountain Nevada (ERMYN), a biosphere model supporting the total system performance assessment (TSPA) for the geologic repository at Yucca Mountain. A graphical representation of the documentation hierarchy for the ERMYN is presented in Figure 1-1. This figure shows relationships among the reports developed for biosphere modeling and biosphere abstraction products for the TSPA, as identified in the ''Technical Work Plan: for Biosphere Modeling and Expert Support'' (TWP) (BSC 2003 [163602]). Some documents in Figure 1-1 may be under development and not available when this report is issued. This figure provides an understanding of how this report contributes to biosphere modeling in support of the license application (LA), but access to the listed documents is not required to understand the contents of this report. This report is one of the reports that develops input parameter values for the biosphere model. The ''Biosphere Model Report'' (BSC 2003 [160699]) describes the conceptual model, the mathematical model, and the input parameters. The purpose of this analysis is to develop biosphere model parameter values related to radionuclide transport and accumulation in the environment. These parameters support calculations of radionuclide concentrations in the environmental media (e.g., soil, crops, animal products, and air) resulting from a given radionuclide concentration at the source of contamination (i.e., either in groundwater or volcanic ash). The analysis was performed in accordance with the TWP (BSC 2003 [163602]). This analysis develops values of parameters associated with many features, events, and processes (FEPs) applicable to the reference biosphere (DTN: M00303SEPFEPS2.000 [162452]), which are addressed in the biosphere model (BSC 2003 [160699]). The treatment of these FEPs is described in BSC (2003 [160699], Section 6.2). Parameter values

  19. Environmental impact assessment of transportation projects: An analysis using an integrated GIS, remote sensing, and spatial modeling approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Gafy, Mohamed Anwar

    Transportation projects will have impact on the environment. The general environmental pollution and damage caused by roads is closely associated with the level of economic activity. Although Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) are dependent on geo-spatial information in order to make an assessment, there are no rules per se how to conduct an environmental assessment. Also, the particular objective of each assessment is dictated case-by-case, based on what information and analyses are required. The conventional way of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study is a time consuming process because it has large number of dependent and independent variables which have to be taken into account, which also have different consequences. With the emergence of satellite remote sensing technology and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), this research presents a new framework for the analysis phase of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for transportation projects based on the integration between remote sensing technology, geographic information systems, and spatial modeling. By integrating the merits of the map overlay method and the matrix method, the framework analyzes comprehensively the environmental vulnerability around the road and its impact on the environment. This framework is expected to: (1) improve the quality of the decision making process, (2) be applied both to urban and inter-urban projects, regardless of transport mode, and (3) present the data and make the appropriate analysis to support the decision of the decision-makers and allow them to present these data to the public hearings in a simple manner. Case studies, transportation projects in the State of Florida, were analyzed to illustrate the use of the decision support framework and demonstrate its capabilities. This cohesive and integrated system will facilitate rational decisions through cost effective coordination of environmental information and data management that can be tailored to

  20. Evaluation of an Acoustic Charge Transport (ACT) device for adaptive interference suppression in spread spectrum communications systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mills, Michael S.

    1993-12-01

    Analytical results have shown that adaptive filtering can be a powerful tool for the rejection of narrowband interference in a direct sequence spread spectrum receiver. However, the complexity of adaptive filtering hardware has hindered the experimental validation of these results. This thesis describes a unique adaptive filter architecture for implementing the Widrow-Hoff least mean square (LMS) algorithm using two state of the art acoustic charge transport (ACT) programmable transversal filters (PTF's). Signal to noise ratio improvement measurements demonstrate the effectiveness of the adaptive filter for suppressing single- and dual-tone jammers at jammer to signal ratios (JSR's) of up to 30 dB. It is shown that the ACT adaptive interference rejection system can consistently produce 55 dB notch depths with 3-dB bandwidths as low as 300 kHz with minimal degradation to the spread spectrum signal. It is also shown that the adaptive system can eliminate single tone jammers at any frequency within the spread spectrum bandwidth at any of 10, 20, or 30 dB JSRs within 10 to 15 iterations of the adaptive algorithm. The only drawback with the adaptive system as tested is the amount of time taken to perform an iteration because of the requirement to update the PTF tap weights sequentially. Suggestions are given as to how this particular parameter of the adaptive interference system could be optimized.

  1. Environmental satisfaction and adaptability : the Physical Ambience Rose as a global comfort representation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Demers, C.M.H.; Potvin, A.; Dubois, M.C. [Laval Univ., Quebec City, PQ (Canada). GRAP Groupe de recherche en ambiances physiques; Laval Univ., Quebec City, PQ (Canada). School of Architecture

    2009-07-01

    This paper presented a new graphical tool for architects. The Physical Ambience Rose (PAR) provides a record of the occupants' global environmental satisfaction and adaptability. A PAR representation takes into account all senses commonly at play in spatial perception, namely thermal, visual, acoustical and olfactory. Each of these 4 environmental stimuli can be qualified by the user to provide a representation of the perceived environmental satisfaction of a building. PAR can be generated for either individuals or groups of occupants and their interaction with the building. The satisfaction scale therefore varies from very pleasant, to neutral, and intolerable according to the level of quality, scale and duration of the thermal, luminous, visual and olfactory stimuli. The paper presents the methodology that led to the development of this representation tool. The tool was used in a post-occupancy evaluation of a bioclimatic administrative building in Montreal. The overall environmental conditions at the building were highly praised, ranging from neutral to very pleasant. 7 refs., 4 tabs., 6 figs.

  2. Environmental impact from different modes of transport. Method of comparison

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-03-01

    A prerequisite of long-term sustainable development is that activities of various kinds are adjusted to what humans and the natural world can tolerate. Transport is an activity that affects humans and the environment to a very great extent and in this project, several actors within the transport sector have together laid the foundation for the development of a comparative method to be able to compare the environmental impact at the different stages along the transport chain. The method analyses the effects of different transport concepts on the climate, noise levels, human health, acidification, land use and ozone depletion. Within the framework of the method, a calculation model has been created in Excel which acts as a basis for the comparisons. The user can choose to download the model from the Swedish EPA's on-line bookstore or order it on a floppy disk. Neither the method nor the model are as yet fully developed but our hope is that they can still be used in their present form as a basis and inspire further efforts and research in the field. In the report, we describe most of these shortcomings, the problems associated with the work and the existing development potential. This publication should be seen as the first stage in the development of a method of comparison between different modes of transport in non-monetary terms where there remains a considerable need for further development and amplification

  3. Environmental law issues: Offshore oil and gas activities and tanker transportation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chapman, P.M.

    1991-01-01

    The environmental law issues that arise from offshore oil/gas activities and petroleum transport are reviewed, focusing on marine oil pollution and especially on the issues surrounding accidental spills. Some observations are offered on the context of these issues, namely on the risks of oil spills, the difficulty of spill response in the ocean and on shorelines, and the possible environmental damage. Environmental control of petroleum operations is discussed with reference to Canadian regulation, the primary source of which is the Oil and Gas Production and Conservation Act. These regulations require developmental approval for offshore operations, formulation of plans for foreseeable spill emergencies, and compensation to those affected by spills, notably those in the fishing industry. Ship-source oil pollution and spill compensation is discussed with reference to international agreements and the Canada Shipping Act. Some problems and trends with oil spill compensation and recovery for environmental damage are noted in such areas as tanker ship standards, cleanup capabilities, and inadequacy of spill penalties and compensation. 18 refs., 1 fig

  4. Three essays in transportation energy and environmental policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hajiamiri, Sara

    technologies instead of a similar-sized conventional gasoline-powered vehicle (CV). The electric vehicle technologies considered are gasoline-powered hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and battery electric vehicles. It is found that the private benefits are positive, but smaller than the expected short-term cost premiums on these technologies, which suggest the need for government support if a large-scale adoption of electric vehicles is desired. Also, it is found that the net present values of the societal benefits that are not internalized by the vehicle purchaser are not likely to exceed $1,700. This estimate accounts for changes in GHG emissions, criteria air pollutants, gasoline consumption and the driver's contribution to congestion. The third essay explores the implications of a large-scale adoption of electric vehicles on transportation finance. While fuel efficiency improvements are desirable with respect to goals for achieving energy security and environmental improvement, it has adverse implications for the current system of transportation finance. Reductions in gasoline consumption relative to the amount of driving that takes place would result in a decline in fuel tax revenues that are needed to fund planning, construction, maintenance, and operation of highways and public transit systems. In this paper the forgone fuel tax revenue that results when an electric vehicle replaces a similar-sized CV is estimated. It is found that under several vehicle electrification scenarios, the combined federal and state trust funds could decline by as much as 5 percent by 2020 and as much as 12.5 percent by 2030. Alternative fee systems that tie more directly to transportation system use rather then to fuel consumption could reconcile energy security, environmental, and transportation finance goals.

  5. Measuring the environmental benefits of hydrogen transportation fuel cycles under uncertainty about external costs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chernyavs'ka, Liliya; Gulli, Francesco

    2010-01-01

    In this paper, we attempt to measure the environmental benefits of hydrogen deployment in the transportation sector. We compare the hydrogen pathways to the conventional transportation fuel cycles in terms of external costs, estimated using the results of the most accurate methodologies available in this field. The central values of performed analysis bring us ambiguous results. The external cost of the best conventional solution ('oil to diesel hybrid internal-combustion engine') in some cases is just higher and in others just lower than that of the best fossil fuel to hydrogen solution ('natural gas to hydrogen fuel cell'). Nevertheless, by accounting for the uncertainty about external costs, we are able to remove this ambiguity highlighting that the hydrogen pathway provides significant environmental benefits ,especially in densely populated areas, assuming 100% city driving.

  6. Factors Affecting Farmers’ Adaptation Strategies to Environmental Degradation and Climate Change Effects: A Farm Level Study in Bangladesh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammed Nasir Uddin

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Offering a case study of coastal Bangladesh, this study examines the adaptation of agriculturalists to degrading environmental conditions likely to be caused or exacerbated under global climate change. It examines four central components: (1 the rate of self-reported adoption of adaptive mechanisms (coping strategies as a result of changes in climate; (2 ranking the potential coping strategies based on their perceived importance to agricultural enterprises; (3 identification the socio-economic factors associated with adoption of coping strategies, and (4 ranking potential constraints to adoption of coping strategies based on farmers’ reporting on the degree to which they face these constraints. As a preliminary matter, this paper also reports on the perceptions of farmers in the study about their experiences with climatic change. The research area is comprised of three villages in the coastal region (Sathkhira district, a geographic region which climate change literature has highlighted as prone to accelerated degradation. One-hundred (100 farmers participated in the project’s survey, from which the data was used to calculate weighted indexes for rankings and to perform logistic regression. The rankings, model results, and descriptive statistics, are reported here. Results showed that a majority of the farmers self-identified as having engaged in adaptive behavior. Out of 14 adaptation strategies, irrigation ranked first among farm adaptive measures, while crop insurance has ranked as least utilized. The logit model explained that out of eight factors surveyed, age, education, family size, farm size, family income, and involvement in cooperatives were significantly related to self-reported adaptation. Despite different support and technological interventions being available, lack of available water, shortage of cultivable land, and unpredictable weather ranked highest as the respondent group’s constraints to coping with environmental

  7. Global climate change adaptation: examples from Russian boreal forests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krankina, O.N.; Dixon, R.K.; Kirilenko, A.P.; Kobak, K.I.

    1997-01-01

    The Russian Federation contains approximately 20% of the world's timber resources and more than half of all boreal forests. These forests play a prominent role in environmental protection and economic development at global, national, and local levels, as well as, provide commodities for indigenous people and habitat for a variety of plant and animal species. The response and feedbacks of Russian boreal forests to projected global climate change are expected to be profound. Current understanding of the vulnerability of Russian forest resources to projected climate change is discussed and examples of possible adaptation measures for Russian forests are presented including: (1) artificial forestation techniques that can be applied with the advent of failed natural regeneration and to facilitate forest migration northward; (2) silvicultural measures that can influence the species mix to maintain productivity under future climates; (3) identifying forests at risk and developing special management adaption measures for them: (4) alternative processing and uses of wood and non-wood products from future forests; and (5) potential future infrastructure and transport systems that can be employed as boreal forests shift northward into melting permafrost zones. Current infrastructure and technology can be employed to help Russian boreal forests adapt to projected global environmental change, however many current forest management practices may have to be modified. Application of this technical knowledge can help policymakers identify priorities for climate change adaptation

  8. Testing the transport energy-environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in the EU27 countries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pablo-Romero, M.P.; Cruz, L.; Barata, E.

    2017-01-01

    Transport activities are essential for economic and social development. Nevertheless, the transport sector has also shown the fastest growth in energy consumption in the European Union and its contribution to increasing greenhouse gas emissions merits the thorough attention of academics and policy makers. In this paper we analyze the relationship of economic growth and transport activities with transport final energy consumption. Energy Kuznets curves are estimated for a panel data set covering the EU27 countries in the period 1995–2009 for total transport energy use, household transport energy use, and productive transport energy use (all three in absolute and per capita energy use terms). The productive transport energy use and gross value added relationship are further considered as per hour worked. Finally, the control variables of energy prices and differences in the economic structures are tested. Empirical results show that the elasticity of transport energy use with respect to gross value added in per capita terms decreases from a threshold for the three transport energy consumption variables, but the turning point of improved environmental quality is not reached in any instance. - Highlights: • Transport EKCs are estimated for the EU countries in the 1995–2009 period. • Total, household and production activity transport energy uses are analyzed. • Data support a concave shape, but the turning point is not reached. • Richer countries have more limited potential for energy efficiency policies. • EKCs elasticity values are considered to support policy interpretations.

  9. A Parallel Adaptive Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm for Economic/Environmental Power Dispatch

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jinchao Li

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available A parallel adaptive particle swarm optimization algorithm (PAPSO is proposed for economic/environmental power dispatch, which can overcome the premature characteristic, the slow-speed convergence in the late evolutionary phase, and lacking good direction in particles’ evolutionary process. A search population is randomly divided into several subpopulations. Then for each subpopulation, the optimal solution is searched synchronously using the proposed method, and thus parallel computing is realized. To avoid converging to a local optimum, a crossover operator is introduced to exchange the information among the subpopulations and the diversity of population is sustained simultaneously. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can effectively solve the economic/environmental operation problem of hydropower generating units. Performance comparisons show that the solution from the proposed method is better than those from the conventional particle swarm algorithm and other optimization algorithms.

  10. Regional Atmospheric Transport Code for Hanford Emission Tracking, Version 2 (RATCHET2)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramsdell, James V.; Rishel, Jeremy P.

    2006-01-01

    This manual describes the atmospheric model and computer code for the Atmospheric Transport Module within SAC. The Atmospheric Transport Module, called RATCHET2, calculates the time-integrated air concentration and surface deposition of airborne contaminants to the soil. The RATCHET2 code is an adaptation of the Regional Atmospheric Transport Code for Hanford Emissions Tracking (RATCHET). The original RATCHET code was developed to perform the atmospheric transport for the Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction Project. Fundamentally, the two sets of codes are identical; no capabilities have been deleted from the original version of RATCHET. Most modifications are generally limited to revision of the run-specification file to streamline the simulation process for SAC.

  11. Regional Atmospheric Transport Code for Hanford Emission Tracking, Version 2(RATCHET2)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ramsdell, James V.; Rishel, Jeremy P.

    2006-07-01

    This manual describes the atmospheric model and computer code for the Atmospheric Transport Module within SAC. The Atmospheric Transport Module, called RATCHET2, calculates the time-integrated air concentration and surface deposition of airborne contaminants to the soil. The RATCHET2 code is an adaptation of the Regional Atmospheric Transport Code for Hanford Emissions Tracking (RATCHET). The original RATCHET code was developed to perform the atmospheric transport for the Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction Project. Fundamentally, the two sets of codes are identical; no capabilities have been deleted from the original version of RATCHET. Most modifications are generally limited to revision of the run-specification file to streamline the simulation process for SAC.

  12. Is schizophrenia developmental adaptation to environmental menaces?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goto, Yukiori; Lee, Young-A

    2011-11-01

    Schizophrenia is a devastating mental disorder, with its symptoms typically emerging during late adolescence to young adulthood. In contrast, accumulating evidence suggests that schizophrenia is a developmental disorder in which brain abnormalities may occur even before birth. This has brought the major challenge to explain such discrepancy of brain deficits occurring during prenatal period and emergence of symptoms during adulthood. A number of ideas have been proposed to explain delayed emergence of symptoms at adulthood in relation to maturational processes of various brain systems during adolescence. However, these still lack clear relationship to prenatal deficits. Thus, a key to better understand the pathology of schizophrenia is to unveil a theory or model that can explain the relationship between prenatal deficits and post-pubertal onset of symptoms. Here we propose a novel hypothesis, along with discussion of several lines of evidences supporting it, that schizophrenia may not be a disorder in a strict sense, but rather be understood as the biological state occurring as consequence of adaptation to severe environmental conditions during the prenatal periods, which explains the relationship between prenatal developmental deficits and the postnatal maturational process for onset of symptoms. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Importance of the High-Expression of Proline Transporter PutP to the Adaptation of Escherichia coli to High Salinity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sasaki, Hideaki; Sato, Daichi; Oshima, Akinobu

    2017-01-01

    　The effect of the amount of the proline transporter PutP expression on the mechanism of adaptation of E. coli cells to high salinity was analyzed. The PutP gene derived from the E. coli expression plasmid was introduced into the E. coli cell, and a high PutP expression strain was developed. At 1.2 M NaCl culture condition, the growth of normal E. coli cells was inhibited, whereas high ProP expression cells showed growth under 2.5 M NaCl conditions. The uptake of proline by E. coli as a compatible solute and substrate for metabolization was in good accordance with those seen in cell growth. These data suggested that the amount of the proline transporter PutP expression played an important role in the adaptation of E. coli cells to high saline conditions.

  14. Environmental conditions around itineraries to destinations as correlates of walking for transportation among adults: the RECORD cohort study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noëlla Karusisi

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Assessing the contextual factors that influence walking for transportation is important to develop more walkable environments and promote physical activity. To advance previous research focused on residential environments and overall walking for transportation, the present study investigates objective environmental factors assessed around the residence, the workplace, the home--work itinerary, and the home--supermarket itinerary, and considered overall walking for transportation but also walking to work and to shops. METHODS: Data from the RECORD Study involving 7290 participants recruited in 2007-2008, aged 30-79 years, and residing in the Paris metropolitan area were analyzed. Multilevel ordinal regression analyses were conducted to investigate environmental characteristics associated with self-reported overall walking for transportation, walking to work, and walking to shops. RESULTS: High individual education was associated with overall walking for transportation, with walking to work, and walking to shops. Among workers, a high residential neighborhood education was associated with increased overall walking for transportation, while a high workplace neighborhood education was related to an increased time spent walking to work. The residential density of destinations was positively associated with overall walking for transportation, with walking to work, and with walking to shops, while the workplace density of destinations was positively associated with overall walking for transportation among workers. Environmental factors assessed around the itineraries were not associated with walking to work or to the shops. CONCLUSION: This research improves our understanding of the role of the environments on walking for transportation by accounting for some of the environments visited beyond the residential neighborhood. It shows that workers' walking habits are more influenced by the density of destinations around the workplace than

  15. Genomic signatures of adaptation to wine biological ageing conditions in biofilm-forming flor yeasts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coi, A L; Bigey, F; Mallet, S; Marsit, S; Zara, G; Gladieux, P; Galeote, V; Budroni, M; Dequin, S; Legras, J L

    2017-04-01

    The molecular and evolutionary processes underlying fungal domestication remain largely unknown despite the importance of fungi to bioindustry and for comparative adaptation genomics in eukaryotes. Wine fermentation and biological ageing are performed by strains of S. cerevisiae with, respectively, pelagic fermentative growth on glucose and biofilm aerobic growth utilizing ethanol. Here, we use environmental samples of wine and flor yeasts to investigate the genomic basis of yeast adaptation to contrasted anthropogenic environments. Phylogenetic inference and population structure analysis based on single nucleotide polymorphisms revealed a group of flor yeasts separated from wine yeasts. A combination of methods revealed several highly differentiated regions between wine and flor yeasts, and analyses using codon-substitution models for detecting molecular adaptation identified sites under positive selection in the high-affinity transporter gene ZRT1. The cross-population composite likelihood ratio revealed selective sweeps at three regions, including in the hexose transporter gene HXT7, the yapsin gene YPS6 and the membrane protein coding gene MTS27. Our analyses also revealed that the biological ageing environment has led to the accumulation of numerous mutations in proteins from several networks, including Flo11 regulation and divalent metal transport. Together, our findings suggest that the tuning of FLO11 expression and zinc transport networks are a distinctive feature of the genetic changes underlying the domestication of flor yeasts. Our study highlights the multiplicity of genomic changes underlying yeast adaptation to man-made habitats and reveals that flor/wine yeast lineage can serve as a useful model for studying the genomics of adaptive divergence. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Transportation of foreign-owned enriched uranium from the Republic of Georgia. Environmental assessment for Project Partnership

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-01-01

    The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nonproliferation and National Security (NN) has prepared a classified environmental assessment to evaluate the potential environmental impact for the transportation of 5.26 kilograms of enriched uranium-235 in the form of nuclear fuel, from the Republic of Georgia to the United Kingdom. The nuclear fuel consists of primarily fresh fuel, but also consists of a small quantity (less than 1 kilogram) of partially-spent fuel. Transportation of the enriched uranium fuel would occur via US Air Force military aircraft under the control of the Defense Department European Command (EUCOM). Actions taken in a sovereign nation (such as the Republic of Georgia and the United Kingdom) are not subject to analysis in the environmental assessment. However, because the action would involve the global commons of the Black Sea and the North Sea, the potential impact to the global commons has been analyzed. Because of the similarities in the two actions, the Project Sapphire Environmental Assessment was used as a basis for assessing the potential impacts of Project Partnership. However, because Project Partnership involves a small quantity of partially-spent fuel, additional analysis was conducted to assess the potential environmental impacts and to consider reasonable alternatives as required by NEPA. The Project Partnership Environmental Assessment found the potential environmental impacts to be well below those from Project Sapphire

  17. The Role of Na+ and K+ Transporters in Salt Stress Adaptation in Glycophytes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dekoum V. M. Assaha

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Ionic stress is one of the most important components of salinity and is brought about by excess Na+ accumulation, especially in the aerial parts of plants. Since Na+ interferes with K+ homeostasis, and especially given its involvement in numerous metabolic processes, maintaining a balanced cytosolic Na+/K+ ratio has become a key salinity tolerance mechanism. Achieving this homeostatic balance requires the activity of Na+ and K+ transporters and/or channels. The mechanism of Na+ and K+ uptake and translocation in glycophytes and halophytes is essentially the same, but glycophytes are more susceptible to ionic stress than halophytes. The transport mechanisms involve Na+ and/or K+ transporters and channels as well as non-selective cation channels. Thus, the question arises of whether the difference in salt tolerance between glycophytes and halophytes could be the result of differences in the proteins or in the expression of genes coding the transporters. The aim of this review is to seek answers to this question by examining the role of major Na+ and K+ transporters and channels in Na+ and K+ uptake, translocation and intracellular homeostasis in glycophytes. It turns out that these transporters and channels are equally important for the adaptation of glycophytes as they are for halophytes, but differential gene expression, structural differences in the proteins (single nucleotide substitutions, impacting affinity and post-translational modifications (phosphorylation account for the differences in their activity and hence the differences in tolerance between the two groups. Furthermore, lack of the ability to maintain stable plasma membrane (PM potentials following Na+-induced depolarization is also crucial for salt stress tolerance. This stable membrane potential is sustained by the activity of Na+/H+ antiporters such as SOS1 at the PM. Moreover, novel regulators of Na+ and K+ transport pathways including the Nax1 and Nax2 loci regulation of SOS1

  18. Radiocesium Discharges and Subsequent Environmental Transport at the Major U.S. Weapons Production Facilities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garten, Jr. C.T.; Hamby, D.M.; Schreckhise, R.G.

    1999-11-14

    Radiocesium is one of the more prevalent radionuclides in the environment as a result of weapons production related atomic projects in the United States and the former Soviet Union. Radiocesium discharges during the 1950's account for a large fraction of the historical releases from U.S. weapons production facilities. Releases of radiocesium to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems during the early ,years of nuclear weapons production provided the opportunity to conduct multidisciplinary studies on the transport mechanisms of this potentially hazardous radionuclide. The major U.S. Department of Energy facilities (Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee, Hanford Site near Richland, Washington, and Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina) are located in regions of the country that have different geographical characteristics. The facility siting provided diverse backgrounds for the development of an understanding of environmental factors contributing to the fate and transport of radiocesium. In this paper, we summarize the significant environmental releases of radiocesium in the early -years of weapons production and then discuss the historically significant transport mechanisms for r37Cs at the three facilities that were part of the U.S. nuclear weapons complex.

  19. Probabilistic risk assessment course documentation. Volume 7. Environmental transport and consequence analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ritchie, L.T.; Alpert, D.J.; Burke, R.P.; Ostmeyer, R.M.; Kaiser, G.D.; Runkle, G.E.; Woodard, K.

    1985-08-01

    Consequence models have been designed to assess health and economic risks from potential accidents at nuclear power plants. These models have been applied to an ever increasing variety of problems with ever increasing demands to improve modeling capabilities and provide greater realism. This course discusses the environmental transport of postulated radiological releases and the elements and purpose of accident consequence evaluation

  20. Assessment of the influence of energy density and feedstock transport distance on the environmental performance of methane from maize silages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bacenetti, Jacopo; Lovarelli, Daniela; Ingrao, Carlo; Tricase, Caterina; Negri, Marco; Fiala, Marco

    2015-10-01

    In Europe, thanks to public subsidy, the production of electricity from anaerobic digestion (AD) of agricultural feedstock has considerably grown and several AD plants were built. When AD plants are concentrated in specific areas (e.g., Northern Italy), increases of feedstock' prices and transport distances can be observed. In this context, as regards low-energy density feedstock, the present research was designed to estimate the influence of the related long-distance transport on the environmental performances of the biogas-to-electricity process. For this purpose the following transport systems were considered: farm trailers and trucks. For small distances (<5 km), the whole plant silage shows the lowest impact; however, when distances increase, silages with higher energy density (even though characterised by lower methane production per hectare) become more environmentally sustainable. The transport by trucks achieves better environmental performances especially for distances greater than 25 km. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Evaluation of selected predictive models and parameters for the environmental transport and dosimetry of radionuclides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miller, C.W.; Dunning, D.E. Jr.; Etnier, E.L.; Hoffman, F.O.; Little, C.A.; Meyer, H.R.; Shaeffer, D.L.; Till, J.E.

    1979-07-01

    Evaluations of selected predictive models and parameters used in the assessment of the environmental transport and dosimetry of radionuclides are summarized. Mator sections of this report include a validation of the Gaussian plume disperson model, comparison of the output of a model for the transport of 131 I from vegetation to milk with field data, validation of a model for the fraction of aerosols intercepted by vegetation, an evaluation of dose conversion factors for 232 Th, an evaluation of considering the effect of age dependency on population dose estimates, and a summary of validation results for hydrologic transport models

  2. Intelligent Flood Adaptive Context-aware System: How Wireless Sensors Adapt their Configuration based on Environmental Phenomenon Events

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jie SUN

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Henceforth, new generations of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN have to be able to adapt their behavior to collect, from the study phenomenon, quality data for long periods of time. We have thus proposed a new formalization for the design and the implementation of context-aware systems relying on a WSN for the data collection. To illustrate this proposal, we also present an environmental use case: the study of flood events in a watershed. In this paper, we detail the simulation tool that we have developed in order to implement our model. We simulate several scenarios of context-aware systems to monitor a watershed. The data used for the simulation are the observation data of the French Orgeval watershed.

  3. Transceptors as a functional link of transporters and receptors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    George Diallinas

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Cells need to communicate with their environment in order to obtain nutrients, grow, divide and respond to signals related to adaptation in changing physiological conditions or stress. A very basic question in biology is how cells, especially of those organisms living in rapidly changing habitats, sense their environment. Apparently, this question is of particular importance to all free-living microorganisms. The critical role of receptors, transporters and channels, transmembrane proteins located in the plasma membrane of all types of cells, in signaling environmental changes is well established. A relative newcomer in environment sensing are the so called transceptors, membrane proteins that possess both solute transport and receptor-like signaling activities. Now, the transceptor concept is further enlarged to include micronutrient sensing via the iron and zinc high-affinity transporters of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Interestingly, what seems to underline the transport and/or sensing function of receptors, transporters and transceptors is ligand-induced conformational alterations recognized by downstream intracellular effectors.

  4. Trends in energy consumption in the transportation sector of Mexico and its environmental impact; Tendencias del consumo de energia en el Sector Transporte de Mexico y su impacto al medio ambiente

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mar, E.; Sheinbaum, C. [Instituto de Ingenieria, UNAM, Mexico, D. F. (Mexico)

    1997-12-31

    The Mexican transportation sector, as with that of many other countries, is characterized by basing its energy consumption in hydrocarbons (gasoline, diesel and LP gas). At the present times, this dependency has brought along a series of problems of environmental nature, which concentrate in a larger scale in the urban areas. Therefore, the study of the transportation sector as an energy consumer requires the institution of new terms where the constant to study (directly or indirectly) is the environmental variable, trying to correlate the proper sector activities, its development and the energy consumption with the environment. This paper`s objective is to know the actual situation of the transportation sector in the metropolitan area of Mexico City (MAMC) and its environmental impact. It is therefore an energy-environmental inventory energy-environmental focussed to the use of fuels in the transportation sector, whose environmental effect has a significant cost for the country. This paper has been divided in four parts. First, the importance of the sector as an energy consumer in the MAMC is characterized in aggregated form. Second, the main variables that affect the development of the sector to obtain the consumption in separated form as well as the base criteria for its development, obtaining a series of results that show the effect of the different modes and types of energy consumption. In the third part, reference is made to the environmental impact originated by the utilization of fossil fuels in the transportation sector, emphasizing in the transportation means that more heavily affect for the emission of pollutants. Finally a series of options are presented that allow finding an equilibrium among transportation, energy and environment. [Espanol] El sector transporte mexicano, como el de muchos otros paises se caracteriza por basar su consumo energetico en hidrocarburos (gasolina, diesel y gas licuado). Actualmente esta dependencia ha traido consigo una

  5. Trends in energy consumption in the transportation sector of Mexico and its environmental impact; Tendencias del consumo de energia en el Sector Transporte de Mexico y su impacto al medio ambiente

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mar, E; Sheinbaum, C [Instituto de Ingenieria, UNAM, Mexico, D. F. (Mexico)

    1998-12-31

    The Mexican transportation sector, as with that of many other countries, is characterized by basing its energy consumption in hydrocarbons (gasoline, diesel and LP gas). At the present times, this dependency has brought along a series of problems of environmental nature, which concentrate in a larger scale in the urban areas. Therefore, the study of the transportation sector as an energy consumer requires the institution of new terms where the constant to study (directly or indirectly) is the environmental variable, trying to correlate the proper sector activities, its development and the energy consumption with the environment. This paper`s objective is to know the actual situation of the transportation sector in the metropolitan area of Mexico City (MAMC) and its environmental impact. It is therefore an energy-environmental inventory energy-environmental focussed to the use of fuels in the transportation sector, whose environmental effect has a significant cost for the country. This paper has been divided in four parts. First, the importance of the sector as an energy consumer in the MAMC is characterized in aggregated form. Second, the main variables that affect the development of the sector to obtain the consumption in separated form as well as the base criteria for its development, obtaining a series of results that show the effect of the different modes and types of energy consumption. In the third part, reference is made to the environmental impact originated by the utilization of fossil fuels in the transportation sector, emphasizing in the transportation means that more heavily affect for the emission of pollutants. Finally a series of options are presented that allow finding an equilibrium among transportation, energy and environment. [Espanol] El sector transporte mexicano, como el de muchos otros paises se caracteriza por basar su consumo energetico en hidrocarburos (gasolina, diesel y gas licuado). Actualmente esta dependencia ha traido consigo una

  6. Including Health in Environmental Assessments of Major Transport Infrastructure Projects: A Documentary Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riley, Emily; Harris, Patrick; Kent, Jennifer; Sainsbury, Peter; Lane, Anna; Baum, Fran

    2018-05-10

    Transport policy and practice impacts health. Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) are regulated public policy mechanisms that can be used to consider the health impacts of major transport projects before they are approved. The way health is considered in these environmental assessments (EAs) is not well known. This research asked: How and to what extent was human health considered in EAs of four major transport projects in Australia. We developed a comprehensive coding framework to analyse the Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) of four transport infrastructure projects: three road and one light rail. The coding framework was designed to capture how health was directly and indirectly included. We found that health was partially considered in all four EISs. In the three New South Wales (NSW) projects, but not the one South Australian project, this was influenced by the requirements issued to proponents by the government which directed the content of the EIS. Health was assessed using human health risk assessment (HHRA). We found this to be narrow in focus and revealed a need for a broader social determinants of health approach, using multiple methods. The road assessments emphasised air quality and noise risks, concluding these were minimal or predicted to improve. The South Australian project was the only road project not to include health data explicitly. The light rail EIS considered the health benefits of the project whereas the others focused on risk. Only one project considered mental health, although in less detail than air quality or noise. Our findings suggest EIAs lag behind the known evidence linking transport infrastructure to health. If health is to be comprehensively included, a more complete model of health is required, as well as a shift away from health risk assessment as the main method used. This needs to be mandatory for all significant developments. We also found that considering health only at the EIA stage may be a significant

  7. Socioeconomic vulnerability and adaptation to environmental risk: A case study of climate change and flooding in Bangladesh

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brouwer, R.; Akter, S.; Brander, L.M.; Haque, E.

    2007-01-01

    In this article we investigate the complex relationship between environmental risk, poverty, and vulnerability in a case study carried out in one of the poorest and most flood-prone countries in the world, focusing on household and community vulnerability and adaptive coping mechanisms. Based upon

  8. Operationalizing resilience for adaptive coral reef management under global environmental change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anthony, Kenneth R N; Marshall, Paul A; Abdulla, Ameer; Beeden, Roger; Bergh, Chris; Black, Ryan; Eakin, C Mark; Game, Edward T; Gooch, Margaret; Graham, Nicholas A J; Green, Alison; Heron, Scott F; van Hooidonk, Ruben; Knowland, Cheryl; Mangubhai, Sangeeta; Marshall, Nadine; Maynard, Jeffrey A; McGinnity, Peter; McLeod, Elizabeth; Mumby, Peter J; Nyström, Magnus; Obura, David; Oliver, Jamie; Possingham, Hugh P; Pressey, Robert L; Rowlands, Gwilym P; Tamelander, Jerker; Wachenfeld, David; Wear, Stephanie

    2015-01-01

    Cumulative pressures from global climate and ocean change combined with multiple regional and local-scale stressors pose fundamental challenges to coral reef managers worldwide. Understanding how cumulative stressors affect coral reef vulnerability is critical for successful reef conservation now and in the future. In this review, we present the case that strategically managing for increased ecological resilience (capacity for stress resistance and recovery) can reduce coral reef vulnerability (risk of net decline) up to a point. Specifically, we propose an operational framework for identifying effective management levers to enhance resilience and support management decisions that reduce reef vulnerability. Building on a system understanding of biological and ecological processes that drive resilience of coral reefs in different environmental and socio-economic settings, we present an Adaptive Resilience-Based management (ARBM) framework and suggest a set of guidelines for how and where resilience can be enhanced via management interventions. We argue that press-type stressors (pollution, sedimentation, overfishing, ocean warming and acidification) are key threats to coral reef resilience by affecting processes underpinning resistance and recovery, while pulse-type (acute) stressors (e.g. storms, bleaching events, crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks) increase the demand for resilience. We apply the framework to a set of example problems for Caribbean and Indo-Pacific reefs. A combined strategy of active risk reduction and resilience support is needed, informed by key management objectives, knowledge of reef ecosystem processes and consideration of environmental and social drivers. As climate change and ocean acidification erode the resilience and increase the vulnerability of coral reefs globally, successful adaptive management of coral reefs will become increasingly difficult. Given limited resources, on-the-ground solutions are likely to focus increasingly on

  9. Adaptive remediation using portable treatment units

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bahowick, S.; Folsom, E.; Pico, T.

    1996-01-01

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is using adaptive remediation to optimize their environmental restoration strategy. Adaptive remediation uses hydrostratigraphic analysis to gain a better understanding of the subsurface characteristics, hydraulic tests to optimize contaminant transport models, and Portable Treatment Units (PTUs) as an alternative to fixed facilities. Hydrostratigraphic analysis is an optimization tool that improves the ability to identify and target contaminant migration pathways, identify the relationship between plumes and source areas, and better define hydraulic capture areas. Hydraulic tests, performed with PTUs, provide valuable data about subsurface characteristics. As clean up progresses, PTUs can be moved to the appropriate extraction wells to optimize contaminant mass removal. PTUs can also be placed to support innovative treatment technologies such as steam injection and microbial filters. Construction of PTUs will reduce by one-half the capital costs of building the rest of the fixed treatment system planned in the Record of Decision. Regulatory agencies are receptive to the use of the PTUs because the same treatment technology is being used and the PTUs will be able to clean up the plume cheaper and faster. Using adaptive remediation, LLNL is more effectively implementing remediation plans, improving cleanup time, and reducing project costs

  10. Environmental and thermodynamic evaluation of CO2 capture, transport and storage with and without enhanced resource recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iribarren, Diego; Petrakopoulou, Fontina; Dufour, Javier

    2013-01-01

    This study evaluates the environmental and thermodynamic performance of six coal-fired power plants with CO 2 capture and storage. The technologies examined are post-combustion capture using monoethanolamine, membrane separation, cryogenic fractionation and pressure swing adsorption, pre-combustion capture through coal gasification, and capture performing conventional oxy-fuel combustion. The incorporation of CO 2 capture is evaluated both on its own and in combination with CO 2 transport and geological storage, with and without beneficial use. Overall, we find that pre-combustion CO 2 capture and post-combustion through membrane separation present relatively low life-cycle environmental impacts and high exergetic efficiencies. When accounting for transport and storage, the environmental impacts increase and the efficiencies decrease. However, a better environmental performance can be achieved for CO 2 capture, transport and storage when incorporating beneficial use through enhanced oil recovery. The performance with enhanced coal-bed methane recovery, on the other hand, depends on the impact categories evaluated. The incorporation of methane recovery results in a better thermodynamic performance, when compared to the incorporation of oil recovery. The cumulative energy demand shows that the integration of enhanced resource recovery strategies is necessary to attain favourable life-cycle energy balances. - Highlights: ► Evaluation of six different CO 2 capture technologies for coal-fired power plants. ► Calculation of life-cycle environmental impacts and exergetic efficiencies. ► Suitability of post-combustion capture with membrane separation. ► Suitability of pre-combustion capture through coal gasification. ► Improved performance when incorporating enhanced resource recovery

  11. Implementation of Environmental Flows for Intermittent River Systems: Adaptive Management and Stakeholder Participation Facilitate Implementation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conallin, John; Wilson, Emma; Campbell, Josh

    2018-03-01

    Anthropogenic pressure on freshwater ecosystems is increasing, and often leading to unacceptable social-ecological outcomes. This is even more prevalent in intermittent river systems where many are already heavily modified, or human encroachment is increasing. Although adaptive management approaches have the potential to aid in providing the framework to consider the complexities of intermittent river systems and improve utility within the management of these systems, success has been variable. This paper looks at the application of an adaptive management pilot project within an environmental flows program in an intermittent stream (Tuppal Creek) in the Murray Darling Basin, Australia. The program focused on stakeholder involvement, participatory decision-making, and simple monitoring as the basis of an adaptive management approach. The approach found that by building trust and ownership through concentrating on inclusiveness and transparency, partnerships between government agencies and landholders were developed. This facilitated a willingness to accept greater risks and unintended consequences allowing implementation to occur.

  12. Technical Data Management Center: a focal point for meteorological and other environmental transport computing technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McGill, B.; Maskewitz, B.F.; Trubey, D.K.

    1981-01-01

    The Technical Data Management Center, collecting, packaging, analyzing, and distributing information, computer technology and data which includes meteorological and other environmental transport work is located at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, within the Engineering Physics Division. Major activities include maintaining a collection of computing technology and associated literature citations to provide capabilities for meteorological and environmental work. Details of the activities on behalf of TDMC's sponsoring agency, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, are described

  13. Mindful Climate Action: Health and Environmental Co-Benefits from Mindfulness-Based Behavioral Training

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bruce Barrett

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Greenhouse gases from human activities are causing climate change, creating risks for people around the globe. Behaviors involving transportation, diet, energy use, and purchasing drive greenhouse gas emissions, but are also related to health and well-being, providing opportunity for co-benefits. Replacing shorter automobile trips with walking or cycling, or eating plants rather than animals, for example, may increase personal health, while also reducing environmental impact. Mindfulness-based practices have been shown to enhance a variety of health outcomes, but have not been adapted towards environmental purposes. We designed the Mindful Climate Action (MCA curriculum to help people improve their health while simultaneously lowering their carbon footprints. Combining mindfulness-based practices with the Stages of Change theory, the MCA program aims to: (1 improve personal health and well-being; (2 decrease energy use; (3 reduce automobile use; (4 increase active transport; (5 shift diet towards plant-based foods; and (6 reduce unnecessary purchasing. Mindfulness practices will foster attentional awareness, openness, and response flexibility, supporting positive behavior change. We plan to test MCA in a randomized controlled trial, with rigorous assessment of targeted outcomes. Our long-term goal is to refine and adapt the MCA program to a variety of audiences, in order to enhance public health and environmental sustainability.

  14. Yeast Colonies: A Model for Studies of Aging, Environmental Adaptation, and Longevity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Libuše Váchová

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available When growing on solid surfaces, yeast, like other microorganisms, develops organized multicellular populations (colonies and biofilms that are composed of differentiated cells with specialized functions. Life within these populations is a prevalent form of microbial existence in natural settings that provides the cells with capabilities to effectively defend against environmental attacks as well as efficiently adapt and survive long periods of starvation and other stresses. Under such circumstances, the fate of an individual yeast cell is subordinated to the profit of the whole population. In the past decade, yeast colonies, with their complicated structure and high complexity that are also developed under laboratory conditions, have become an excellent model for studies of various basic cellular processes such as cell interaction, signaling, and differentiation. In this paper, we summarize current knowledge on the processes related to chronological aging, adaptation, and longevity of a colony cell population and of its differentiated cell constituents. These processes contribute to the colony ability to survive long periods of starvation and mostly differ from the survival strategies of individual yeast cells.

  15. Vibrations control of light rail transportation vehicle via PID type fuzzy controller using parameters adaptive method

    OpenAIRE

    METİN, Muzaffer; GÜÇLÜ, Rahmi

    2014-01-01

    In this study, a conventional PID type fuzzy controller and parameter adaptive fuzzy controller are designed to control vibrations actively of a light rail transport vehicle which modeled as 6 degree-of-freedom system and compared performances of these two controllers. Rail vehicle model consists of a passenger seat and its suspension system, vehicle body, bogie, primary and secondary suspensions and wheels. The similarity between mathematical model and real system is shown by compar...

  16. Identifying target groups for environmentally sustainable transport: assessment of different segmentation approaches

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Haustein, Sonja; Hunecke, Marcel

    2013-01-01

    Recently, the use of attitude-based market segmentation to promote environmentally sustainable transport has significantly increased. The segmentation of the population into meaningful groups sharing similar attitudes and preferences provides valuable information about how green measures should...... and behavioural segmentations are compared regarding marketing criteria. Although none of the different approaches can claim absolute superiority, attitudinal approaches show advantages in providing startingpoints for interventions to reduce car use....

  17. Investigation of nonlinear 2D bottom transportation dynamics in coastal zone on optimal curvilinear boundary adaptive grids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sukhinov Alexander

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available One of the practically important tasks of hydrophysics for sea coastal systems is the problem of modeling and forecasting bottom sediment transportation. A number of problems connected to ship safety traffic, water medium condition near the coastal line etc. depends on forecasting bottom deposit transportation under natural and technogenic influences. Coastal systems are characterized by a complicated form of coastline - the presence of long, narrow and curvilinear peninsulas and bays. Water currents and waves near the beach are strongly depend on complicated coastal line and in turn, exert on the bottom sediment transportation near the shore. The use of rectangular grids in the construction of discrete models leads to significant errors in both the specification of boundary conditions and in the modeling of hydrophysical processes in the coastal zone. In this paper, we consider the construction of a finite-element approximation of the initial-boundary value problem for the spatially two-dimensional linearized equation of sediment transportation using optimal boundary-adaptive grid. First, the linearization of a spatially two-dimensional nonlinear parabolic equation on the time grid is performed-when the coefficients of the equation that are nonlinearly dependent on the bottom relief function are set on the previous time layer, and the corresponding initial conditions are used on the first time layer. The algorithm for constructing the grid is based on the procedure for minimizing the generalized Dirichlet functional. On the constructed grid, finite element approximation using bilinear basis functions is performed, which completes the construction of a discrete model for the given problem. The using of curvilinear boundary adaptive grids leads to decreasing of total grid number in 5-20 times and respectively the total modeling time and/or it allows to improve modeling accuracy.

  18. Environmental sensitive road planning and transportation techniques in forest engineering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Hulusi Acar

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Forestry management has activities dealing with technical, economic, social and environmental services. Forestry operations which are carried out on forest areas , an important part of the ecosistem are materialized in open space. This forestry activities on large areas and high sloping generally, include many different techniques. It is needed primarily to the forest road network in terms of forest management. Determining the approriate route in the natural environment, planning and road construction affairs for forest roads which are necessary accessing in forest areas, is also of great importance from an environmental viewpoint as well as technical and economic manner. Forest road planning which can not be changed later and left a permanent mark on the natural environment carries much more importance to the environment especially on sloping land. This is because, it is important choosing correct type of roaf structure, and doing periodic maintenance of the roads. Skidding activities, after wood production, is important in terms of its impact on forest soil and by means of effects on saplings and trees on the releated forest areas.The development of environmental sensitive techniques is difficult, limited or expensive for this wood extraction works which are made more difficult conditons in the sloping terrain. Therefore, especially in using some silvicultural methods wood extraction damages are even greater. In this study; some road planning, road construction and wood extraction techniques which performed by me have been made to examine the environmental aspects. Environment-friendly forest roads and primary transport techniques on the forest ecosystem are briefly explained and discussed in the frame of the environmental aspects.

  19. Environmental and financial implications of ethanol as a bioethylene feedstock versus as a transportation fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McKechnie, Jon; Pourbafrani, Mohammad; Saville, Bradley A; MacLean, Heather L

    2015-01-01

    Bulk chemicals production from biomass may compete with biofuels for low-cost and sustainable biomass sources. Understanding how alternative uses of biomass compare in terms of financial and environmental parameters is therefore necessary to help ensure that efficient uses of resources are encouraged by policy and undertaken by industry. In this paper, we compare the environmental and financial performance of using ethanol as a feedstock for bioethylene production or as a transport fuel in the US life cycle-based models are developed to isolate the relative impacts of these two ethanol uses and generate results that are applicable irrespective of ethanol production pathway. Ethanol use as a feedstock for bioethylene production or as a transport fuel leads to comparable greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fossil energy consumption reductions relative to their counterparts produced from fossil sources. By displacing gasoline use in vehicles, use of ethanol as a transport fuel is six times more effective in reducing petroleum energy use on a life cycle basis. In contrast, bioethylene predominately avoids consumption of natural gas. Considering 2013 US ethanol and ethylene market prices, our analysis shows that bioethylene is financially viable only if significant price premiums are realized over conventional ethylene, from 35% to 65% depending on the scale of bioethylene production considered (80 000 t yr −1 to 240 000 t yr −1 ). Ethanol use as a transportation fuel is therefore the preferred pathway considering financial, GHG emissions, and petroleum energy use metrics, although bioethylene production could have strategic value if demand-side limitations of ethanol transport fuel markets are reached. (letter)

  20. Environmental and financial implications of ethanol as a bioethylene feedstock versus as a transportation fuel

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKechnie, Jon; Pourbafrani, Mohammad; Saville, Bradley A.; MacLean, Heather L.

    2015-12-01

    Bulk chemicals production from biomass may compete with biofuels for low-cost and sustainable biomass sources. Understanding how alternative uses of biomass compare in terms of financial and environmental parameters is therefore necessary to help ensure that efficient uses of resources are encouraged by policy and undertaken by industry. In this paper, we compare the environmental and financial performance of using ethanol as a feedstock for bioethylene production or as a transport fuel in the US life cycle-based models are developed to isolate the relative impacts of these two ethanol uses and generate results that are applicable irrespective of ethanol production pathway. Ethanol use as a feedstock for bioethylene production or as a transport fuel leads to comparable greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fossil energy consumption reductions relative to their counterparts produced from fossil sources. By displacing gasoline use in vehicles, use of ethanol as a transport fuel is six times more effective in reducing petroleum energy use on a life cycle basis. In contrast, bioethylene predominately avoids consumption of natural gas. Considering 2013 US ethanol and ethylene market prices, our analysis shows that bioethylene is financially viable only if significant price premiums are realized over conventional ethylene, from 35% to 65% depending on the scale of bioethylene production considered (80 000 t yr-1 to 240 000 t yr-1). Ethanol use as a transportation fuel is therefore the preferred pathway considering financial, GHG emissions, and petroleum energy use metrics, although bioethylene production could have strategic value if demand-side limitations of ethanol transport fuel markets are reached.

  1. Interaction of environmental contaminants with zebrafish organic anion transporting polypeptide, Oatp1d1 (Slco1d1)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Popovic, Marta; Zaja, Roko [Laboratory for Molecular Ecotoxicology, Division for Marine and Environmental Research, Rudjer Boskovic Institute, Bijenicka 54, 10 000 Zagreb (Croatia); Fent, Karl [University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, School of Life Sciences, Gründenstrasse 40, CH-4132 Muttenz (Switzerland); Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich), Department of Environmental System Sciences, Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollution Dynamics, CH-8092 Zürich (Switzerland); Smital, Tvrtko, E-mail: smital@irb.hr [Laboratory for Molecular Ecotoxicology, Division for Marine and Environmental Research, Rudjer Boskovic Institute, Bijenicka 54, 10 000 Zagreb (Croatia)

    2014-10-01

    Polyspecific transporters from the organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP/Oatp) superfamily mediate the uptake of a wide range of compounds. In zebrafish, Oatp1d1 transports conjugated steroid hormones and cortisol. It is predominantly expressed in the liver, brain and testes. In this study we have characterized the transport of xenobiotics by the zebrafish Oatp1d1 transporter. We developed a novel assay for assessing Oatp1d1 interactors using the fluorescent probe Lucifer yellow and transient transfection in HEK293 cells. Our data showed that numerous environmental contaminants interact with zebrafish Oatp1d1. Oatp1d1 mediated the transport of diclofenac with very high affinity, followed by high affinity towards perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), nonylphenol, gemfibrozil and 17α-ethinylestradiol; moderate affinity towards carbaryl, diazinon and caffeine; and low affinity towards metolachlor. Importantly, many environmental chemicals acted as strong inhibitors of Oatp1d1. A strong inhibition of Oatp1d1 transport activity was found by perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), chlorpyrifos-methyl, estrone (E1) and 17β-estradiol (E2), followed by moderate to low inhibition by diethyl phthalate, bisphenol A, 7-acetyl-1,1,3,4,4,6-hexamethyl-1,2,3,4 tetrahydronapthalene and clofibrate. In this study we identified Oatp1d1 as a first Solute Carrier (SLC) transporter involved in the transport of a wide range of xenobiotics in fish. Considering that Oatps in zebrafish have not been characterized before, our work on zebrafish Oatp1d1 offers important new insights on the understanding of uptake processes of environmental contaminants, and contributes to the better characterization of zebrafish as a model species. - Highlights: • We optimized a novel assay for determination of Oatp1d1 interactors • Oatp1d1 is the first SLC characterized fish xenobiotic transporter • PFOS, nonylphenol, diclofenac, EE2, caffeine are high affinity Oatp1d1substrates • PFOA, chlorpyrifos

  2. Interaction of environmental contaminants with zebrafish organic anion transporting polypeptide, Oatp1d1 (Slco1d1)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Popovic, Marta; Zaja, Roko; Fent, Karl; Smital, Tvrtko

    2014-01-01

    Polyspecific transporters from the organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP/Oatp) superfamily mediate the uptake of a wide range of compounds. In zebrafish, Oatp1d1 transports conjugated steroid hormones and cortisol. It is predominantly expressed in the liver, brain and testes. In this study we have characterized the transport of xenobiotics by the zebrafish Oatp1d1 transporter. We developed a novel assay for assessing Oatp1d1 interactors using the fluorescent probe Lucifer yellow and transient transfection in HEK293 cells. Our data showed that numerous environmental contaminants interact with zebrafish Oatp1d1. Oatp1d1 mediated the transport of diclofenac with very high affinity, followed by high affinity towards perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), nonylphenol, gemfibrozil and 17α-ethinylestradiol; moderate affinity towards carbaryl, diazinon and caffeine; and low affinity towards metolachlor. Importantly, many environmental chemicals acted as strong inhibitors of Oatp1d1. A strong inhibition of Oatp1d1 transport activity was found by perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), chlorpyrifos-methyl, estrone (E1) and 17β-estradiol (E2), followed by moderate to low inhibition by diethyl phthalate, bisphenol A, 7-acetyl-1,1,3,4,4,6-hexamethyl-1,2,3,4 tetrahydronapthalene and clofibrate. In this study we identified Oatp1d1 as a first Solute Carrier (SLC) transporter involved in the transport of a wide range of xenobiotics in fish. Considering that Oatps in zebrafish have not been characterized before, our work on zebrafish Oatp1d1 offers important new insights on the understanding of uptake processes of environmental contaminants, and contributes to the better characterization of zebrafish as a model species. - Highlights: • We optimized a novel assay for determination of Oatp1d1 interactors • Oatp1d1 is the first SLC characterized fish xenobiotic transporter • PFOS, nonylphenol, diclofenac, EE2, caffeine are high affinity Oatp1d1substrates • PFOA, chlorpyrifos

  3. Environmental re-adaptations of farms seeking to the water contamination reduction (Itaipu/UNIOESTE integrated project); Readequacao ambiental de propriedades rurais visando a reducao de contaminacao das aguas (Projeto integrado Itaipu/UNIOESTE)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Daga, Jacir; Campos, Alessandro Torres; Navarini, Franciele; Matsuo, Melissa [Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Parana (UNIOESTE), Marechal Candido Rondon, PR (Brazil). Grupo de Pesquisas em Ambiencia; Feiden, Armin [Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paran (UNIOESTE), Marechal Candido Rondon, PR (Brazil). Centro de Ciencias Agrarias

    2004-07-01

    The work is destined to diagnose and to elaborate environmental adaptation projects in agricultural properties located in the micro basins: Arroio Fundo, Corregos Curvado and Ajuricaba, selected and located in the Rio Sao Francisco Verdadeiro basin, in the west Parana State area, by means of accord between ITAIPU Binational and UNIOESTE (West Parana State University). Four hundred and forty farms properties will be visited in a eleven months period. It will be lifted up environmental problems, in what it refers the ciliary forest, law reserves, fishing, crops, production and handling of dejections by: swine, dairy cattle, as well as readaptations projects of the farms in the areas of the micro basins, seeking to the environmental adaptation, reducing, consequently, the contamination of the waters that provisions the ITAIPU reservoir. The projects will be leaded to the IAP (Parana State environmental organ), by ITAIPU, for the environmental norms adaptation of the farms. Besides the environmental preservation and sustainability, with the environmental adaptations, ITAIPU will also benefit with the reduction of the ITAIPU lake water contamination, which arrives to the turbines. (author)

  4. Temporal dimensions of human environmental research: Adaptive ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    For the past, oral histories were conducted with elderly people in four villages to acquire information about past adaptive strategies. For the future, focus groups and fuzzy cognitive maps (FCM) of household participants in a workshop setting were conducted so as to understand what adaptations they envisage. We found ...

  5. Final environmental statement on the transportation of radioactive material by air and other modes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1977-12-01

    An assessment is presented of the environmental impact from transportation of shipments of radioactive material into, within, and out of the United States. It is intended to serve as background material for a review by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of regulations dealing with transportation of radioactive materials. The impetus for such a review results not only from a general need to examine regulations to ensure their continuing consistency with the goal of limiting radiological impact to a level that is as low as reasonably achievable, but also from a need to respond to current national discussions of the safety and security aspects of nuclear fuel cycle materials. Chapters are included on regulations governing the transportation of radioactive materials, radiological effects, transport impact under normal conditions, impacts of transportation accidents, alternatives, and security and safeguards. A standard shipments model is also included along with a demographic model, excerpts from federal regulations, data on Pu, Population dose formulas, a list of radioactive material incidents, accident analysis methodology, and an analysis of risk assessment sensitivity

  6. The environmental impact and risk assessment of CO2 capture, transport and storage - an evaluation of the knowledge base

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koornneef, J.M.; Ramirez, C.A.; Turkenburg, W.C.; Faaij, A.P.C.

    2012-01-01

    In this study, we identify and characterize known and new environmental consequences associated with CO2 capture from power plants, transport by pipeline and storage in geological formations. We have reviewed (analogous) environmental impact assessment procedures and scientific literature on

  7. Adaptation as by-product: migration and environmental change in Nguith, Senegal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Romankiewicz, Clemens

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available In the debate about the nexus between environmental change, climate and migration much attention has been given to a changing climate as a push factor for migration. A more recent strand of academic work focuses on migration as a means to enhance adaptation capacities and resilience. This article questions these intentional attributions and starts from the observation that migration is occurring regardless of environmental or climatic change and connects people and places through shared social and cultural identities and the flow of ideas and resources. Drawing on a case study of Nguith, a village in the Senegalese Sahel with a long and complex migration history, it is shown how migration and material and non-material remittances have led (in a way accidentally to an increased independence from local agro-ecological conditions. Therefore, we investigate the social, cultural and historical background of the people of Nguith with regard to their mobility and trace the continents-traversing migration network and connected translocal spaces. Finally, we explain the cohesive forces of this community that perpetuate and reinforce migration and show the effects of migration on everyday life, economic development in the village and resulting land-use change.

  8. Adaptation and Cultural Diffusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ormrod, Richard K.

    1992-01-01

    Explores the role of adaptation in cultural diffusion. Explains that adaptation theory recognizes the lack of independence between innovations and their environmental settings. Discusses testing and selection, modification, motivation, and cognition. Suggests that adaptation effects are pervasive in cultural diffusion but require a broader, more…

  9. Role of fatty acids in Bacillus environmental adaptation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sara Esther Diomande

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The large bacterial genus genus Bacillus is widely distributed in the environment and is able to colonize highly diverse niches. Some Bacillus species harbour pathogenic characteristics. The fatty acid (FA composition is among the essential criteria used to define Bacillus species. Some elements of the FA pattern composition are common to Bacillus species, whereas others are specific and can be categorized in relation to the ecological niches of the species. Bacillus species are able to modify their FA patterns to adapt to a wide range of environmental changes, including changes in the growth medium, temperature, food processing conditions, and pH. Like many other Gram-positive bacteria, Bacillus strains display a well-defined FA synthesis II system that is equilibrated with a FA degradation pathway and regulated to efficiently respond to the needs of the cell. Like endogenous FAs, exogenous FAs may positively or negatively affect the survival of Bacillus vegetative cells and the spore germination ability in a given environment. Some of these exogenous FAs may provide a powerful strategy for preserving food against contamination by the Bacillus pathogenic strains responsible for foodborne illness.

  10. Modelling an environmental pollutant transport from the stacks to and through the soil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rushdi M.M. El-Kilani

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, a model is presented for predicting the transport of an environmental pollutant from the source to and through the soil. The model can predict the deposition of an environmental pollutant on the soil surface due to the pollutant being loaded on dust particles, which are later deposited on the soil surface. The model is a coupling of three models: a model for predicting the cumulative dust deposition from near and far field sources on a certain area; a canopy microclimate model for solving the energy partition within the canopy elements and so predicting the water convection stream for pollutant transport through the soil; and coupling the deposition of these pollutants on the soil surface to a model for its transport through the soil. The air pollution model uses the Gaussian model approach, superimposed for multiple emission sources, to elucidate the deposition of pollutant laden airborne particulates on the soil surface. A complete canopy layer model is used to calculate within the canopy energy fluxes. The retardation factor for the pollutant is calculated from an adsorption batch experiment. The model was used to predict the deposition of lead laden dust particles on the soil surface and lead's transport through the soil layers inside a metropolitan region for: (1 three large cement factories and (2 a large number of smelters. The results show that, due to the very high retardation values for lead movement through the soil, i.e. ranging from 4371 to 53,793 from previous data and 234 from the adsorption experiment in this paper, lead is immobile and all the lead added to the soil surface via deposited dust or otherwise, even if it is totally soluble, will remain mostly on the soil surface and not move downwards due to high affinity with the soil.

  11. Molecular interactions within the halophilic, thermophilic, and mesophilic prokaryotic ribosomal complexes: clues to environmental adaptation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mallik, Saurav; Kundu, Sudip

    2015-01-01

    Using the available crystal structures of 50S ribosomal subunits from three prokaryotic species: Escherichia coli (mesophilic), Thermus thermophilus (thermophilic), and Haloarcula marismortui (halophilic), we have analyzed different structural features of ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), proteins, and of their interfaces. We have correlated these structural features with the environmental adaptation strategies of the corresponding species. While dense intra-rRNA packing is observed in thermophilic, loose intra-rRNA packing is observed in halophilic (both compared to mesophilic). Interestingly, protein-rRNA interfaces of both the extremophiles are densely packed compared to that of the mesophilic. The intersubunit bridge regions are almost devoid of cavities, probably ensuring the proper formation of each bridge (by not allowing any loosely packed region nearby). During rRNA binding, the ribosomal proteins experience some structural transitions. Here, we have analyzed the intrinsically disordered and ordered regions of the ribosomal proteins, which are subjected to such transitions. The intrinsically disordered and disorder-to-order transition sites of the thermophilic and mesophilic ribosomal proteins are simultaneously (i) highly conserved and (ii) slowly evolving compared to rest of the protein structure. Although high conservation is observed at such sites of halophilic ribosomal proteins, but slow rate of evolution is absent. Such differences between thermophilic, mesophilic, and halophilic can be explained from their environmental adaptation strategy. Interestingly, a universal biophysical principle evident by a linear relationship between the free energy of interface formation, interface area, and structural changes of r-proteins during assembly is always maintained, irrespective of the environmental conditions.

  12. Active materials for adaptive architectural envelopes based on plant adaptation principles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marlen Lopez

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, the authors present research into adaptive architectural envelopes that adapt to environmental changes using active materials, as a result of application of biomimetic principles from plants to architecture. Buildings use large amounts of energy in order to maintain their internal comfort, because conventional buildings are designed to provide a static design solution. Most of the current solutions for facades are not designed for optimum adaptation to contextual issues and needs, while biological solutions to adaptation are often complex, multi-functional and highly responsive. We focus on plant adaptations to the environment, as, due to their immobility, they have developed special means of protection against weather changing conditions. Furthermore, recent developments in new technologies are allowing the possibility to transfer these plant adaptation strategies to technical implementation. These technologies include: multi-material 3D printing, advances in materials science and new capabilities in simulation software. Unlike traditional mechanical activation used for dynamic systems in kinetic facades, adaptive architectural envelopes require no complex electronics, sensors, or actuators. The paper proposes a research of the relationship that can be developed between active materials and environmental issues in order to propose innovative and low-tech design strategies to achieve living envelopes according to plant adaptation principles.  

  13. Reactivity perturbation formulation for a discontinuous Galerkin-based transport solver and its use with adaptive mesh refinement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Le Tellier, R.; Fournier, D.; Suteau, C.

    2011-01-01

    Within the framework of a Discontinuous Galerkin spatial approximation of the multigroup discrete ordinates transport equation, we present a generalization of the exact standard perturbation formula that takes into account spatial discretization-induced reactivity changes. It encompasses in two separate contributions the nuclear data-induced reactivity change and the reactivity modification induced by two different spatial discretizations. The two potential uses of such a formulation when considering adaptive mesh refinement are discussed, and numerical results on a simple two-group Cartesian two-dimensional benchmark are provided. In particular, such a formulation is shown to be useful to filter out a more accurate estimate of nuclear data-related reactivity effects from initial and perturbed calculations based on independent adaptation processes. (authors)

  14. The application of strategic environmental assessment in a non-mandatory context: Regional transport planning in New Zealand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McGimpsey, Paul; Morgan, Richard K.

    2013-01-01

    There is no legal mandate for strategic environmental assessment (SEA) in New Zealand. However, a requirement to consider environmental and sustainability issues is a key feature of many statutes, including that relating to regional transport planning. Given this, the research sought to determine whether SEA could be used to improve the incorporation of environmental and sustainability aspects into the regional transport planning process in New Zealand. Existing practice was evaluated, examining what factors currently limiting the consideration of environmental and sustainability issues and to what extent elements of SEA are currently being used. The research culminated in the development of a conceptual model where SEA elements could be incorporated into the existing framework to promote improved consideration of environmental and sustainability issues. The results provide some reassurance about the value of SEA even where its application is not legally mandated. However, it also highlighted some ongoing issues around the integration of SEA in existing frameworks and around the scope of SEA as a decision-aiding tool. -- Highlights: • The research examined whether SEA can provide benefits even where it is not mandated. • The research examined the extent to which SEA elements are currently being used. • A conceptual model was developed to incorporate necessary SEA elements into an existing framework

  15. The application of strategic environmental assessment in a non-mandatory context: Regional transport planning in New Zealand

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McGimpsey, Paul, E-mail: paul.mcgimpsey@urs.com [URS, St. George' s House, 5 St. George' s Road, London SW19 4DR (United Kingdom); Morgan, Richard K., E-mail: rkm@geography.otago.ac.nz [Department of Geography, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin 9054 (New Zealand)

    2013-11-15

    There is no legal mandate for strategic environmental assessment (SEA) in New Zealand. However, a requirement to consider environmental and sustainability issues is a key feature of many statutes, including that relating to regional transport planning. Given this, the research sought to determine whether SEA could be used to improve the incorporation of environmental and sustainability aspects into the regional transport planning process in New Zealand. Existing practice was evaluated, examining what factors currently limiting the consideration of environmental and sustainability issues and to what extent elements of SEA are currently being used. The research culminated in the development of a conceptual model where SEA elements could be incorporated into the existing framework to promote improved consideration of environmental and sustainability issues. The results provide some reassurance about the value of SEA even where its application is not legally mandated. However, it also highlighted some ongoing issues around the integration of SEA in existing frameworks and around the scope of SEA as a decision-aiding tool. -- Highlights: • The research examined whether SEA can provide benefits even where it is not mandated. • The research examined the extent to which SEA elements are currently being used. • A conceptual model was developed to incorporate necessary SEA elements into an existing framework.

  16. Propulsion challenges for a 21st century economically viable, environmentally compatible High-Speed Civil Transport

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaw, Robert J.

    1991-01-01

    Recent NASA funded studies suggest an opportunity exists for a 21st Century High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) to become part of the international air transportation system. However, before this opportunity for high speed travel can be realized, certain environmental and economic barrier issues must be overcome. These challenges are outlined. Research activities which NASA has planned to address these barrier issues and provide a technology base to allow the U.S. manufacturers to make an informed go/no go decision on developing an HSCT are discussed.

  17. Robust Optimal Adaptive Control Method with Large Adaptive Gain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Nhan T.

    2009-01-01

    In the presence of large uncertainties, a control system needs to be able to adapt rapidly to regain performance. Fast adaptation is referred to the implementation of adaptive control with a large adaptive gain to reduce the tracking error rapidly. However, a large adaptive gain can lead to high-frequency oscillations which can adversely affect robustness of an adaptive control law. A new adaptive control modification is presented that can achieve robust adaptation with a large adaptive gain without incurring high-frequency oscillations as with the standard model-reference adaptive control. The modification is based on the minimization of the Y2 norm of the tracking error, which is formulated as an optimal control problem. The optimality condition is used to derive the modification using the gradient method. The optimal control modification results in a stable adaptation and allows a large adaptive gain to be used for better tracking while providing sufficient stability robustness. Simulations were conducted for a damaged generic transport aircraft with both standard adaptive control and the adaptive optimal control modification technique. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed modification in tracking a reference model while maintaining a sufficient time delay margin.

  18. 3.6 Environmental impacts: transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-01-01

    Transport is one of the main causes of air and noise pollution, is a drain on energy and a significant contributor to the greenhouse effect. Despite some improvement in vehicle and fuel technology, it has been impossible to reduce these negative side effects to any significant degree over the past few years. Measures for reducing these subsequent negative effects on the environment deal with two key objectives of the Austrian Sustainable Strategy (Oesterreichische Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie): 'shaping sustainable mobility' focuses primarily on changes in 'mobility pressures' caused by the spatial separation of functions (housing, work and leisure) and 'optimizing the transport systems' focuses on innovations, technology and infrastructure designed to promote environment-friendly, resource-friendly, energy-efficient and safe forms of transport. Under these considerations, different aspects of the Austrian transport such as situation and trends, vehicle technology, fuels, impact on the environment (energy consumption, pollutants emissions as CO 2 , NO x , HC (hydrocarbons), CO, N 2 O, NH 3 , SO 2 and particulates) during 2001-2003 are discussed in this subchapter. (nevyjel)

  19. Transport, energy and environment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1996-12-01

    Transportation demands a large and increasing share of total energy consumption in Europe. At the same time many European countries are facing difficult decisions in achieving their long term environmental goals. Therefore energy policy, environmental policy and transport policy should be seen and discussed in a common perspective. In particular the relative contribution from the transport sector and the energy sector involves a number of important and difficult issues. The aim of the conference was to bring together economists, scientists, manufactures, energy planners, transport planners, and decision makers in order to discuss the importance of the transport sector in relation to energy demand and long term environmental goals. General conference sessions covered. Trends in Transport Energy Demand and Environmental constraints, Technological Development and New Transport Systems, Lifestyle Changes and the Transport Sector, Megacities: Solutions to the Transport and Air Pollution Problems, Effectiveness of Public Policies, Transport and Energy sector, and Methods, Models and Data. The conference took place at Hotel Marienlyst, Elsinore, Denmark and attracted wide interest. The participants represented 14 different countries covering international organisations, ministries, universities, research centres, consulting firms, industry etc. (EG)

  20. Working Group 7.0 Environmental Transport and Health Effects, Chernobyl Studies Project. Progress report, October 1994 -- March 1995

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anspaugh, L.R.; Hendrickson, S.M.

    1995-01-01

    This document presents the details from the working group 7.0 Chernobyl Studies Project. This working group looked at the environmental transport and health effects from the fallout due to the meltdown of Chernobylsk-4 reactor. Topics include: hydrological transport; chromosome painting dosimetry; EPR, TL and OSL dosimetry; stochastic effects; thyroid studies; and leukemia studies

  1. Analysis of the Environmental Efficiency of the Chinese Transportation Sector Using an Undesirable Output Slacks-Based Measure Data Envelopment Analysis Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaowei Song

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Many countries are attempting to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions while increasing the productivity and efficiency of their industries. An undesirable-output-oriented data envelopment analysis (DEA model with slacks-based measure (SBM was used to evaluate the changes in the environmental efficiency of the transportation sector in 30 Chinese provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions between 2003 and 2012. The potential for decreasing CO2 emissions and energy saving was also assessed. Transportation was found to be inefficient in most of the provinces and the average environmental efficiency was low (0.45. The overall average efficiency reached a maximum in 2005 and continually decreased until a minimum was reached in 2009; since then, it has increased. In general, transportation is more efficient in eastern than in central or western China. A sensitivity analysis was also carried out on the input and output indicators. Based on these findings, some policies are proposed to improve the environmental efficiency of the transportation sector in China.

  2. Adapting HYDRUS-1D to Simulate Overland Flow and Reactive Transport During Sheet Flow Deviations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, J.; Bradford, S. A.; Simunek, J.; Hartmann, A.

    2017-12-01

    The HYDRUS-1D code is a popular numerical model for solving the Richards equation for variably-saturated water flow and solute transport in porous media. This code was adapted to solve rather than the Richards equation for subsurface flow the diffusion wave equation for overland flow at the soil surface. The numerical results obtained by the new model produced an excellent agreement with the analytical solution of the kinematic wave equation. Model tests demonstrated its applicability to simulate the transport and fate of many different solutes, such as non-adsorbing tracers, nutrients, pesticides, and microbes. However, the diffusion wave or kinematic wave equations describe surface runoff as sheet flow with a uniform depth and velocity across the slope. In reality, overland water flow and transport processes are rarely uniform. Local soil topography, vegetation, and spatial soil heterogeneity control directions and magnitudes of water fluxes, and strongly influence runoff characteristics. There is increasing evidence that variations in soil surface characteristics influence the distribution of overland flow and transport of pollutants. These spatially varying surface characteristics are likely to generate non-equilibrium flow and transport processes. HYDRUS-1D includes a hierarchical series of models of increasing complexity to account for both physical equilibrium and non-equilibrium, e.g., dual-porosity and dual-permeability models, up to a dual-permeability model with immobile water. The same conceptualization as used for the subsurface was implemented to simulate non-equilibrium overland flow and transport at the soil surface. The developed model improves our ability to describe non-equilibrium overland flow and transport processes and to improves our understanding of factors that cause this behavior. The HYDRUS-1D overland flow and transport model was additionally also extended to simulate soil erosion. The HYDRUS-1D Soil Erosion Model has been verified by

  3. Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability to global environmental change: challenges and pathways for an action-oriented research agenda for middle-income and low-income countries

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lahsen, M.; Sanchez-Rodriguez, R.; Lankao, P.R.; Dube, P.; Leemans, R.; Gaffney, O.; Mirza, M.; Pinho, P.; Osman-Elasha, B.; Smith, M.S.

    2010-01-01

    The socio-economic impacts of environmental stresses associated with global environmental change depend to a large extent on how societies organize themselves. Research on climate-related societal impacts, vulnerability and adaptation is currently underdeveloped, prompting international global

  4. Psychosocial and environmental correlates of active and passive transport behaviors in college educated and non-college educated working young adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simons, Dorien; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; Clarys, Peter; De Cocker, Katrien; de Geus, Bas; Vandelanotte, Corneel; Van Cauwenberg, Jelle; Deforche, Benedicte

    2017-01-01

    This study aimed to examine potential differences in walking, cycling, public transport and passive transport (car/moped/motorcycle) to work and to other destinations between college and non-college educated working young adults. Secondly, we aimed to investigate which psychosocial and environmental factors are associated with the four transport modes and whether these associations differ between college and non-college educated working young adults. In this cross-sectional study, 224 working young adults completed an online questionnaire assessing socio-demographic variables (8 items), psychosocial variables (6 items), environmental variables (10 items) and transport mode (4 types) and duration to work/other destinations. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression models were performed in R. A trend (pyoung adults participated in cycling and public transport. However, another trend indicated that cycle time and public transport trips were longer and passive transport trips were shorter in non-college compared to college educated working young adults. In all working young adults, high self-efficacy towards active transport, and high perceived benefits and low perceived barriers towards active and public transport were related to more active and public transport. High social support/norm/modeling towards active, public and passive transport was related to more active, public and passive transport. High neighborhood walkability was related to more walking and less passive transport. Only in non-college educated working young adults, feeling safe from traffic and crime in their neighborhood was related to more active and public transport and less passive transport. Educational levels should be taken into account when promoting healthy transport behaviors in working young adults. Among non-college educated working young adults, focus should be on increasing active and public transport participation and on increasing neighborhood safety to increase active and public

  5. Transport, environment and sustainability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Joumard, Robert; Gudmundsson, Henrik; Kehagia, Fotini

    2010-01-01

    This report is the final report of the action COST 356 'EST - Towards the definition of a measurable environmentally sustainable transport'. It tries to answer the following questions: How can environmental impacts of transport be measured? How can measurements be transformed into operational...... indicators? How can several indicators be jointly considered? And how can indicators be used in planning and decision making? Firstly we provide definition of 'indicator of environmental sustainability in transport'. The functions, strengths and weaknesses of indicators as measurement tools, and as decision...... support tools are discussed. We define what "environmental sustainability in transport" may mean through the transport system, the concepts of sustainable development and of environment. The concept of 'chain of causality' between a source and a final target is developed, as a common reference...

  6. Environmental Impacts of Transportation to the Potential Repository at Yucca Mountain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sweeney, R.L.; Best, R.; Bolton, P.; Adams, P.

    2002-01-01

    The Environmental Impact Statement for a Geologic Repository for the Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada analyzes a Proposed Action to construct, operate, monitor, and eventually close a geologic repository for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. As part of the Proposed Action, the EIS analyzes the potential impacts of transporting commercial and DOE spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste to Yucca Mountain from 77 sites across the United States. The analysis includes information on the comparative impacts of transporting these materials by truck and rail and discusses the impacts of building a rail line or using heavy-haul trucks to move rail casks from a mainline railroad in Nevada to the site. This paper provides an overview of the analyses and the potential impacts of these transportation activities. The potential transportation impacts were looked at from two perspectives: transportation of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste by legal-weight truck or by rail on a national scale and impacts specific to Nevada from the transportation of these materials from the State borders to the Yucca Mountain site. In order to address the range of impacts that could result from the most likely modes, legal-weight truck and rail, the EIS employed two analytical scenarios--mostly legal-weight truck and mostly rail. Estimated national transportation impacts were based on 24 years of transportation activities. Approximately 8 fatalities could occur from all causes in the nationwide general population from incident-free transportation activities of the mostly legal-weight truck scenario and about 4 from the mostly rail scenario. The analysis examined the radiological consequences under the maximum foreseeable accident scenario and also overall accident risk. The overall accident risk over the 24 year period would be about 0.0002 latent cancer fatality for

  7. Culture independent genomic comparisons reveal environmental adaptations for Altiarchaeales

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jordan T Bird

    2016-08-01

    data suggest that hami structure found in Ca. A. hamiconexum are not present outside of stream-adapted Altiarchaeales. Unlike Ca. A. hamiconexum, these sedimentary organisms have membrane-bound coenzyme A disulfide reductases, which suggest they may use reduced sulfur compounds either as electron donors or defense against oxidative stress. Homologs to a Na+ transporter and membrane bound coenzyme A disulfide reductase that are unique to the brackish sediment Alti-2 genomes, could indicate adaptations to the estuarine, sulfur-rich environment.

  8. Probabilistic risk assessment and nuclear waste transportation: A case study of the use of RADTRAN in the 1986 Environmental Assessment for Yucca Mountain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Resnikoff, M.

    1990-12-01

    The analysis of the risks of transporting irradiated nuclear fuel to a federal repository, Appendix A of the DOE Environmental Assessment for Yucca Mountain (DOE84), is based on the RADTRAN model and input parameters. The RADTRAN computer code calculates the radiation exposures and health effects under normal or incident-free transport, and over all credible accident conditions. The RADTRAN model also calculates the economic consequences of transportation accidents, though these costs were not included in the Department's Environmental Assessment for the proposed Yucca Mountain repository

  9. The serotonin transporter gene and functional and pathological adaptation to environmental variation across the life span

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Homberg, J.R.; van den Hove, D.L.

    2012-01-01

    In analogy with the accepted view that behaviour is shaped by genexenvironment (GxE) interactions, GxE studies are exponentially increasing in the field of psychiatry. Whereas research was primarily driven by the premature view that negative environmental stimuli can trigger psychopathology in those

  10. Informal E-waste recycling in developing countries: review of metal(loid)s pollution, environmental impacts and transport pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ackah, Michael

    2017-11-01

    Crude or primitive recycling practices are often adopted in material resource recovery from E-waste in developing nations. Significant human health and environmental impacts may occur because of such practices. Literature on metal(loid)s pollution during E-waste processing is fragmented. Here, I review the health and environmental impacts of E-waste recycling operations and transport pathways of metal(loid)s, dispersed during operations. This paper is organised into five sections. Section 1 relates to the background of global E-waste generation and legal/illegal trade, citing specific cases from Ghana and other developing nations. Section 2 provides a brief information on sources of metal(loid)s in E-waste. Section 3 describes characteristics of informal E-waste recycling operations in developing nations. Section 4 examines the health and environmental impacts in E-waste recycling while section 5 evaluates major transport pathways of metal(loid)s contaminants.

  11. Environmental assessment of heavy metal transport and transformation in the Hangzhou Bay, China

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fang, Hongwei; Huang, Lei; Wang, Jingyu; He, Guojian [The State Key Laboratory of Hydro Science and Engineering, Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Reible, Danny, E-mail: danny.reible@ttu.edu [Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409-1023 (United States)

    2016-01-25

    Highlights: • An integrated model of hydrodynamics, sediment and heavy metal transport. • Simulated heavy metal transport and transformation in the Hangzhou Bay. • Evaluated accidental discharge of {sup 137}Cs from the QFNPP was assumed. • The sediment effects on the mobility of heavy metals were analyzed. - Abstract: The environmental impact of heavy metal (Cu, Cd, Zn, Pb, Ni, {sup 90}Sr and {sup 137}Cs) transport and transformation in the Hangzhou Bay (China) was assessed through a comprehensive model that integrates hydrodynamics, sediment and heavy metal transport. A mechanistic surface complexation model was used to estimate the adsorption and desorption of heavy metal by suspended sediment under different aqueous chemistry conditions. The dynamics of metal exchange to and from the seabed was also assessed. The primary processes regulating heavy metal distribution, i.e., convection–diffusion, adsorption–desorption, sedimentation–resuspension, as well as other physical and chemical processes related to mass exchange between adjacent sediment layers, were considered in detail. The accidental discharge of {sup 137}Cs was simulated as an example and results showed that {sup 137}Cs transported along the coast driven by tidal flow. Most {sup 137}Cs distributed near the outfall and accumulated in the seabed sediment. The proposed model can be a useful tool for predicting heavy metal transport and fate and provide a theoretical basis to guide field sampling, assessment of risks and the design of remediation strategies.

  12. Environmental assessment of heavy metal transport and transformation in the Hangzhou Bay, China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fang, Hongwei; Huang, Lei; Wang, Jingyu; He, Guojian; Reible, Danny

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • An integrated model of hydrodynamics, sediment and heavy metal transport. • Simulated heavy metal transport and transformation in the Hangzhou Bay. • Evaluated accidental discharge of "1"3"7Cs from the QFNPP was assumed. • The sediment effects on the mobility of heavy metals were analyzed. - Abstract: The environmental impact of heavy metal (Cu, Cd, Zn, Pb, Ni, "9"0Sr and "1"3"7Cs) transport and transformation in the Hangzhou Bay (China) was assessed through a comprehensive model that integrates hydrodynamics, sediment and heavy metal transport. A mechanistic surface complexation model was used to estimate the adsorption and desorption of heavy metal by suspended sediment under different aqueous chemistry conditions. The dynamics of metal exchange to and from the seabed was also assessed. The primary processes regulating heavy metal distribution, i.e., convection–diffusion, adsorption–desorption, sedimentation–resuspension, as well as other physical and chemical processes related to mass exchange between adjacent sediment layers, were considered in detail. The accidental discharge of "1"3"7Cs was simulated as an example and results showed that "1"3"7Cs transported along the coast driven by tidal flow. Most "1"3"7Cs distributed near the outfall and accumulated in the seabed sediment. The proposed model can be a useful tool for predicting heavy metal transport and fate and provide a theoretical basis to guide field sampling, assessment of risks and the design of remediation strategies.

  13. THE CONCEPT OF ORGANIZING TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS PROCESSES, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leszek MINDUR

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Current model of organization of supply chains results in inefficient use of transport resources, high transport costs, increasing congestions and CO2 emission. This effect has been demonstrated by research conducted by the authors as well as by the European Environmental Agency. This situation can be change by development of alternative business model for collaboration in organisation of the transport processes within the supply chains. The aim of this paper is to present practical implementation of the T-Scale platform that enables collaboration between independent transport users and transport service providers. Moreover, an overview of existing communication platform with its major functionalities are presented. The work is summarized by the major benefits of collaboration achieved by the group of companies operating in the FMCG sector in Poland.

  14. Exploratory behaviour in the open field test adapted for larval zebrafish: impact of environmental complexity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, Farooq; Richardson, Michael K

    2013-01-01

    This study aimed to develop and characterize a novel (standard) open field test adapted for larval zebrafish. We also developed and characterized a variant of the same assay consisting of a colour-enriched open field; this was used to assess the impact of environmental complexity on patterns of exploratory behaviours as well to determine natural colour preference/avoidance. We report the following main findings: (1) zebrafish larvae display characteristic patterns of exploratory behaviours in the standard open field, such as thigmotaxis/centre avoidance; (2) environmental complexity (i.e. presence of colours) differentially affects patterns of exploratory behaviours and greatly attenuates natural zone preference; (3) larvae displayed the ability to discriminate colours. As reported previously in adult zebrafish, larvae showed avoidance towards blue and black; however, in contrast to the reported adult behaviour, larvae displayed avoidance towards red. Avoidance towards yellow and preference for green and orange are shown for the first time, (4) compared to standard open field tests, exposure to the colour-enriched open field resulted in an enhanced expression of anxiety-like behaviours. To conclude, we not only developed and adapted a traditional rodent behavioural assay that serves as a gold standard in preclinical drug screening, but we also provide a version of the same test that affords the possibility to investigate the impact of environmental stress on behaviour in larval zebrafish while representing the first test for assessment of natural colour preference/avoidance in larval zebrafish. In the future, these assays will improve preclinical drug screening methodologies towards the goal to uncover novel drugs. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: insert SI title. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Environmental assessment for DOE permission for the off-loading and transportation of commercial low-level radioactive waste across the Savannah River Site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-10-01

    The Department of Energy (DOE) prepared this Environmental Assessment (EA) to assess the potential environmental impacts associated with DOE allowing Chem-Nuclear Systems, L.L.C. (CNS) to off-load and transport low-level radioactive waste (LLW) packages across the Savannah River Site (SRS), located near Aiken, South Carolina, to the nearby CNS facility. The proposed action entails DOE granting permission to CNS to use SRS for landing shipping barges at the existing SRS boat ramp and off-loading trailered LLW packages for transportation across SRS to the CNS facility. Project activities would include modification of the SRS boat ramp on the Savannah River, as needed for off-loading activities, and construction of a bridge across Lower Three Runs. The proposed action also encompasses any similar future off-loading and transportation activities for LLW en route to the CNS facility. The National Environmental Policy Act requires the assessment of environmental consequences of Federal actions that may affect the quality of the human environment. Based on the potential for impacts described herein, DOE will either publish a Finding of No Significant Impact or prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

  16. Atmospheric transport and dispersion modeling for the Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction Project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramsdell, J.V.

    1991-07-01

    Radiation doses that may have resulted from operations at the Hanford Site are being estimated in the Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction (HEDR) Project. One of the project subtasks, atmospheric transport, is responsible for estimating the transport, diffusion and deposition of radionuclides released to the atmosphere. This report discusses modeling transport and diffusion in the atmospheric pathway. It is divided into three major sections. The first section of the report presents the atmospheric modeling approach selected following discussion with the Technical Steering Panel that directs the HEDR Project. In addition, the section discusses the selection of the MESOI/MESORAD suite of atmospheric dispersion models that form the basis for initial calculations and future model development. The second section of the report describes alternative modeling approaches that were considered. Emphasis is placed on the family of plume and puff models that are based on Gaussian solution to the diffusion equations. The final portion of the section describes the performance of various models. The third section of the report discusses factors that bear on the selection of an atmospheric transport modeling approach for HEDR. These factors, which include the physical setting of the Hanford Site and the available meteorological data, serve as constraints on model selection. Five appendices are included in the report. 39 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs

  17. Biofuels - Meeting the energy and environmental challenges of the transportation sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ballerini, Daniel

    2012-07-01

    Changes in the world energy context, the increasing awareness of the environmental stakes and the development of research on the production of second and third generation biofuels revealed a clear need to write a new book which updates and complements all technical, financial and environmental aspects of Les Biocarburants - etat des lieux, perspectives et enjeux du developpement (Biofuels - Current status, outlook and development stakes) published in 2006. This book provides a detailed state of the art of the first generation biofuel production technologies. It describes the new 'second generation' pathways which use lignocellulosic biomass as raw material and are starting to find industrial applications, thereby reducing the competition between the food resource and the use of agricultural materials for energy purposes. It also provides a technical update on the algae-to-energy pathway (third generation) and the production of methane and hydrogen by biochemical pathways. The book arrives at exactly the right time to renew the interest in biofuels, including for air transport, and provide an insight on the technological research and development axes currently being investigated. It is intended for transport companies, refiners, forestry companies, the agricultural and agribusiness sectors as well as the public authorities, students, university teachers and researchers. Contents: 1. Biofuels: a partial solution with several challenges. 2. First generation biofuels for spark ignition engines: ethanol and ETBE. 3. First generation biofuels for diesel engines. 4. Lignocellulosic biomass resources. 5. Conversion of lignocellulosic biomass by thermochemical pathway. 6. Conversion of lignocellulosic biomass by biochemical pathway, production of ethanol and ABE. 7. Other biomass-to-energy biochemical pathways. Appendixes

  18. Orbital transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oertel, H. Jr.; Koerner, H.

    1993-01-01

    The Third Aerospace Symposium in Braunschweig presented, for the first time, the possibility of bringing together the classical disciplines of aerospace engineering and the natural science disciplines of meteorology and air chemistry in a european setting. In this way, aspects of environmental impact on the atmosphere could be examined quantitatively. An essential finding of the european conference, is the unrestricted agreement of the experts that the given launch frequencies of the present orbital transport result in a negligible amount of pollutants being released in the atmosphere. The symposium does, however, call attention to the increasing need to consider the effect of orbital and atmospheric environmental impact of a future increase in launch frequencies of orbital transport in connection with future space stations. The Third Aerospace Symposium, 'Orbital Transport, Technical, Meteorological and Chemical Aspects', constituted a first forum of discussion for engineers and scientists. Questions of new orbital transport technologies and their environmental impact were to be discussed towards a first consensus. Through the 34 reports and articles, the general problems of space transportation and environmental protection were addressed, as well as particular aspects of high temperatures during reentry in the atmosphere of the earth, precision navigation of flight vehicles or flow behavior and air chemistry in the stratosphere. (orig./CT). 342 figs

  19. Meeting multiple demands: Water transaction opportunities for environmental benefits promoting adaptation to climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCoy, Amy

    2015-04-01

    In arid regions, the challenge of balancing water use among a diversity of sectors expands in lock step with conditions of water stress that are exacerbated by climate variability, prolonged drought, and growing water-use demands. The elusiveness of achieving a sustainable balance under conditions of environmental change in the southwestern United States is evidenced by reductions in both overall water availability and freshwater ecosystem health, as well as by recent projections of shortages on the Colorado River within the next five years. The water sustainability challenge in this region, as well as drylands throughout the world, can therefore be viewed through the lens of water stress, a condition wherein demands on land and water -- including the needs of freshwater ecosystems -- exceed reliable supplies, and the full range of water needs cannot be met without tradeoffs across multiple uses. Water stress influences not only ecosystems, but a region's economy, land management, quality of life, and cultural heritage -- each of which requires water to thrive. With respect to promoting successful adaptation to climate change, achieving full water sustainability would allow for water to be successfully divided among water users -- including municipalities, agriculture, and freshwater ecosystems -- at a level that meets the goals of water users and the governing body. Over the last ten to fifteen years, the use of transactional approaches in the western U.S., Mexico, and Australia has proven to be a viable management tool for achieving stream flow and shallow aquifer restoration. By broad definition, environmental water transactions are an equitable and adaptable tool that brings diverse stakeholders to the table to facilitate a fair-market exchange of rights to use water in a manner that benefits both water users and the environment. This talk will present a basic framework of necessary stakeholder engagement, hydrologic conditions, enabling laws and policies

  20. Energy and Environmental Issues, 1991. Transportation research record

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-01-01

    Partial Contents: Mitigation of Traffic Mortality of Endangered Brown Pelicans on Coastal Bridges; Cooperation Between State Highway and Environmental Agencies in Dealing With Hazardous Waste in the Right-of-Way; Comparison of Intersection Air Quality Models' Ability to Simulate Carbon Monoxide Concentrations in an Urban Area; Model Calculation of Environment-Friendly Traffic Flows in Urban Networks; Sensitivity Analysis for Land Use, Transportation, and Air Quality; Special Events and Carbon Monoxide Violations: TSM, Crowd Control, Economics, and Solutions to Adverse Air Quality Impacts; Mode Split at Large Special Events and Effects on Air Quality; Internal Consistency and Stability of Measurements of Community Reaction to Noise; Impact and Potential Use of Attitude and Other Modifying Variables in Reducing Community Reaction to Noise; Techniques for Aesthetic Design of Freeway Noise Barriers; Effects of Road Surface Texture on Traffic and Vehicle Noise; Electrokinetic Soil Processing in Waste Remediation and Treatment: Synthesis of Available Data; Site Remediation by In Situ Vitrification

  1. Strategic environmental assessment implementation of transport and mobility plans. The case of Italian regions and provinces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea De Montis

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Transport and mobility plans imply strategies and actions that affect the environment. The European Union has introduced in 2001 the strategic environmental assessment (SEA to take into account and mitigate adverse environmental effects in planning and decision-making. SEA limited implementation has attracted the interest of many scholars that have sought methods able to assess the quality of SEA processes by identifying vices and virtues in practice. In this paper, we measure the quality of eight SEAs for transport and mobility plans of regional and provincial administrations of Italy. Results show that the overall quality level of SEA reports is only barely sufficient, Abruzzo is among the virtuous and Piedmont among the critical administrations. We also stress that the determination of impact significance has received the worse quality score. We finally compare our results to other Italian and British homologous cases finding interesting and generally confirmative evidences.

  2. iRESM INITIATIVE UNDERSTANDING DECISION SUPPORT NEEDS FOR CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION --US Midwest Region—

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rice, Jennie S.; Runci, Paul J.; Moss, Richard H.; Anderson, Kate L.

    2010-10-01

    The impacts of climate change are already affecting human and environmental systems worldwide, yet many uncertainties persist in the prediction of future climate changes and impacts due to limitations in scientific understanding of relevant causal factors. In particular, there is mounting urgency to efforts to improve models of human and environmental systems at the regional scale, and to integrate climate, ecosystem and energy-economic models to support policy, investment, and risk management decisions related to climate change mitigation (i.e., reducing greenhouse gas emissions) and adaptation (i.e., responding to climate change impacts). The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is developing a modeling framework, the integrated Regional Earth System Model (iRESM), to address regional human-environmental system interactions in response to climate change and the uncertainties therein. The framework will consist of a suite of integrated models representing regional climate change, regional climate policy, and the regional economy, with a focus on simulating the mitigation and adaptation decisions made over time in the energy, transportation, agriculture, and natural resource management sectors.

  3. Helsinki Metropolitan Area Climate Change Adaptation Strategy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2012-07-01

    The Helsinki Metropolitan Area Climate Change Adaptation Strategy has been prepared in close cooperation with the four cities of the metropolitan area (Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen), the Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority HSY and other municipal, regional and state level organisations. In the strategy, strategic starting points and policies with which the metropolitan area prepares for the consequences of climate change, are compiled. The Helsinki Metropolitan Area adaptation strategy concentrates on the adaptation of the built and urban environment to the changing climate. The vision of the strategy is climate proof city - the future is built now. The strategy aims to (1) assess the impacts of climate change in the area, (2) prepare for the impacts of climate change and to extreme weather events and (3) to reduce the vulnerabilities of the area to climate variability and change. The target is to secure the well-being of the citizens and the functioning of the cities also in the changing climate conditions. The preparation of the adaptation strategy started in 2009 by producing the background studies. They include the regional climate and sea level scenarios, modelling of river floods in climate change conditions and a survey of climate change impacts in the region. Also, existing programmes, legislation, research and studies concerning adaptation were collected. The background studies are published in a report titled 'The Helsinki metropolitan area climate is changing - Adaptation strategy background studies' (in Finnish) (HSY 2010). HSY coordinated the strategy preparation. The work was carried out is close cooperation with the experts of the metropolitan area cities, regional emergency services, Ministry of the Environment, Helsinki Region Transport Authority and other regional organisations. The strategy work has had a steering group that consists of representatives of the cities and other central cooperation partners. The

  4. Functional evolution of leptin of Ochotona curzoniae in adaptive thermogenesis driven by cold environmental stress.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jie Yang

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Environmental stress can accelerate the directional selection and evolutionary rate of specific stress-response proteins to bring about new or altered functions, enhancing an organism's fitness to challenging environments. Plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae, an endemic and keystone species on Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, is a high hypoxia and low temperature tolerant mammal with high resting metabolic rate and non-shivering thermogenesis to cope in this harsh plateau environment. Leptin is a key hormone related to how these animals regulate energy homeostasis. Previous molecular evolutionary analysis helped to generate the hypothesis that adaptive evolution of plateau pika leptin may be driven by cold stress. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To test the hypothesis, recombinant pika leptin was first purified. The thermogenic characteristics of C57BL/6J mice injected with pika leptin under warm (23±1°C and cold (5±1°C acclimation is investigated. Expression levels of genes regulating adaptive thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue and the hypothalamus are compared between pika leptin and human leptin treatment, suggesting that pika leptin has adaptively and functionally evolved. Our results show that pika leptin regulates energy homeostasis via reduced food intake and increased energy expenditure under both warm and cold conditions. Compared with human leptin, pika leptin demonstrates a superior induced capacity for adaptive thermogenesis, which is reflected in a more enhanced β-oxidation, mitochondrial biogenesis and heat production. Moreover, leptin treatment combined with cold stimulation has a significant synergistic effect on adaptive thermogenesis, more so than is observed with a single cold exposure or single leptin treatment. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These findings support the hypothesis that cold stress has driven the functional evolution of plateau pika leptin as an ecological adaptation to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

  5. Multiscale Adapted Time-Splitting Technique for Nonisothermal Two-Phase Flow and Nanoparticles Transport in Heterogenous Porous Media

    KAUST Repository

    El-Amin, Mohamed F.

    2017-05-05

    This paper is devoted to study the problem of nonisothermal two-phase flow with nanoparticles transport in heterogenous porous media, numerically. For this purpose, we introduce a multiscale adapted time-splitting technique to simulate the problem under consideration. The mathematical model consists of equations of pressure, saturation, heat, nanoparticles concentration in the water–phase, deposited nanoparticles concentration on the pore–walls, and entrapped nanoparticles concentration in the pore–throats. We propose a multiscale time splitting IMplicit Pressure Explicit Saturation–IMplicit Temperature Concentration (IMPES-IMTC) scheme to solve the system of governing equations. The time step-size adaptation is achieved by satisfying the stability Courant–Friedrichs–Lewy (CFL<1) condition. Moreover, numerical test of a highly heterogeneous porous medium is provided and the water saturation, the temperature, the nanoparticles concentration, the deposited nanoparticles concentration, and the permeability are presented in graphs.

  6. Optimization models to reduce CO2 emissions and energy consumption of transport in open pit mines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alpizar, Maria J.; Morales, Nelson; Wiertz, Jaques [Universidad de Chile (Chile)

    2010-07-01

    In the mining industry, approximately 20% of total cost corresponds to material transportation and, in the case of copper, 25% of the total energy consumed for extraction. These high values, together with growing concerns over excess CO2 emissions, have motivated the development of the optimization models discussed in this paper. The objective was to introduce energy and environmental variables into production planning and scheduling. The methodology includes variables that can save transportation energy and models that decrease material rehandling and hence, the cost of transportation. Two types of variables were adapted in the model: environmental and energetic. The advantage, leaving aside the costs and mileage of transportation, was a reduction in emissions of CO2 and in the amount of diesel used. With the inclusion of blending constraints, this model could be used in milling or other such processes. The results are shown using graphs. It worth noting that rehandling decreased, Cu production increased, and the model was able to calculate the extraction sequence over all time horizons.

  7. Environmental impact assessment in urban transport planning: Exploring process-related barriers in Spanish practice

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Soria-Lara, Julio A., E-mail: j.a.sorialara@uva.nl; Bertolini, Luca, E-mail: l.bertolini@uva.nl; Brömmelstroet, Marco te, E-mail: M.C.G.teBrommelstroet@uva.nl

    2015-01-15

    The effectiveness of EIA for evaluating transport planning projects is increasingly being questioned by practitioners, institutions and scholars. The academic literature has traditionally focused more on solving content-related problems with EIA (i.e. the measurement of environmental effects) than on process-related issues (i.e. the role of EIA in the planning process and the interaction between key actors). Focusing only on technical improvements is not sufficient for rectifying the effectiveness problems of EIA. In order to address this knowledge gap, the paper explores how EIA is experienced in the Spanish planning context and offers in-depth insight into EIA process-related issues in the field of urban transport planning. From the multitude of involved actors, the research focuses on exploring the perceptions of the two main professional groups: EIA developers and transport planners. Through a web-based survey we assess the importance of process-related barriers to the effective use of EIA in urban transport planning. The analyses revealed process issues based fundamentally on unstructured stakeholders involvement and an inefficient public participation - Highlights: • Qualitative research on perceptions of EIA participants on EIA processes. • Web-based survey with different participants (EIA-developers; transport planners). • It was seen an inefficient participation of stakeholders during the EIA processes.

  8. Environmental impact assessment in urban transport planning: Exploring process-related barriers in Spanish practice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soria-Lara, Julio A.; Bertolini, Luca; Brömmelstroet, Marco te

    2015-01-01

    The effectiveness of EIA for evaluating transport planning projects is increasingly being questioned by practitioners, institutions and scholars. The academic literature has traditionally focused more on solving content-related problems with EIA (i.e. the measurement of environmental effects) than on process-related issues (i.e. the role of EIA in the planning process and the interaction between key actors). Focusing only on technical improvements is not sufficient for rectifying the effectiveness problems of EIA. In order to address this knowledge gap, the paper explores how EIA is experienced in the Spanish planning context and offers in-depth insight into EIA process-related issues in the field of urban transport planning. From the multitude of involved actors, the research focuses on exploring the perceptions of the two main professional groups: EIA developers and transport planners. Through a web-based survey we assess the importance of process-related barriers to the effective use of EIA in urban transport planning. The analyses revealed process issues based fundamentally on unstructured stakeholders involvement and an inefficient public participation - Highlights: • Qualitative research on perceptions of EIA participants on EIA processes. • Web-based survey with different participants (EIA-developers; transport planners). • It was seen an inefficient participation of stakeholders during the EIA processes

  9. Parallel Implementation and Scaling of an Adaptive Mesh Discrete Ordinates Algorithm for Transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howell, L H

    2004-01-01

    Block-structured adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) uses a mesh structure built up out of locally-uniform rectangular grids. In the BoxLib parallel framework used by the Raptor code, each processor operates on one or more of these grids at each refinement level. The decomposition of the mesh into grids and the distribution of these grids among processors may change every few timesteps as a calculation proceeds. Finer grids use smaller timesteps than coarser grids, requiring additional work to keep the system synchronized and ensure conservation between different refinement levels. In a paper for NECDC 2002 I presented preliminary results on implementation of parallel transport sweeps on the AMR mesh, conjugate gradient acceleration, accuracy of the AMR solution, and scalar speedup of the AMR algorithm compared to a uniform fully-refined mesh. This paper continues with a more in-depth examination of the parallel scaling properties of the scheme, both in single-level and multi-level calculations. Both sweeping and setup costs are considered. The algorithm scales with acceptable performance to several hundred processors. Trends suggest, however, that this is the limit for efficient calculations with traditional transport sweeps, and that modifications to the sweep algorithm will be increasingly needed as job sizes in the thousands of processors become common

  10. A simulation tool for integrating climate change and Canadian surface transport : towards assessing impacts and adaptations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kanaroglou, P.; Maoh, H.; Woudsma, C.; Marshall, S.

    2008-01-01

    Extreme weather events resulting from climate change will have a significant impact of the performance of the Canadian transportation system. This presentation described a simulation tool designed to investigate the potential ramifications of future climate change on transportation and the economy. The CLIMATE-C tool was designed to simulate future weather scenarios for the years 2020 and 2050 using weather parameters obtained from a global general circulation model. The model accounted for linkages between weather, transportation, and economic systems. A random utility-based multi-regional input-output model was used to predict inter-regional trade flows by truck and rail in Canada. Simulated weather scenarios were used to describe predicted changes in demographic, social, economic, technological and environmental developments to 2100. Various changes in population and economic growth were considered. Six additional scenarios were formulated to consider moderate and high rainfall events, moderate, high and extreme snowfall, and cold temperatures. Results of the preliminary analysis indicated that the model is sensitive to changes in weather events. Future research is needed to evaluate future weather scenarios and analyze weather-transport data in order to quantify travel speed reduction parameters. tabs., figs.

  11. Plasticity in reproduction and growth among 52 range-wide populations of a Mediterranean conifer: adaptive responses to environmental stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos-Del-Blanco, L; Bonser, S P; Valladares, F; Chambel, M R; Climent, J

    2013-09-01

    A plastic response towards enhanced reproduction is expected in stressful environments, but it is assumed to trade off against vegetative growth and efficiency in the use of available resources deployed in reproduction [reproductive efficiency (RE)]. Evidence supporting this expectation is scarce for plants, particularly for long-lived species. Forest trees such as Mediterranean pines provide ideal models to study the adaptive value of allocation to reproduction vs. vegetative growth given their among-population differentiation for adaptive traits and their remarkable capacity to cope with dry and low-fertility environments. We studied 52 range-wide Pinus halepensis populations planted into two environmentally contrasting sites during their initial reproductive stage. We investigated the effect of site, population and their interaction on vegetative growth, threshold size for female reproduction, reproductive-vegetative size relationships and RE. We quantified correlations among traits and environmental variables to identify allocation trade-offs and ecotypic trends. Genetic variation for plasticity was high for vegetative growth, whereas it was nonsignificant for reproduction. Size-corrected reproduction was enhanced in the more stressful site supporting the expectation for adverse conditions to elicit plastic responses in reproductive allometry. However, RE was unrelated with early reproductive investment. Our results followed theoretical predictions and support that phenotypic plasticity for reproduction is adaptive under stressful environments. Considering expectations of increased drought in the Mediterranean, we hypothesize that phenotypic plasticity together with natural selection on reproductive traits will play a relevant role in the future adaptation of forest tree species. © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2013 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

  12. Draft environmental statement on the transportation of radioactive material by air and other modes. DOCKET No. PR-71,73 (40 FR 23768)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1976-03-01

    This draft environmental statement was prepared in connection with the NRC re-evaluation of its present regulations governing air transportation of radioactive materials, to provide sufficient analysis to determine the effectiveness of the present rules and of possible alternatives to those rules. The following topics are discussed: regulations governing radioactive materials transport; radiological effects; transport impacts under normal conditions; effect of transport under accident conditions; alternatives; and security and safeguards

  13. Design and evaluation of a software prototype for participatory planning of environmental adaptations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eriksson, J; Ek, A; Johansson, G

    2000-03-01

    A software prototype to support the planning process for adapting home and work environments for people with physical disabilities was designed and later evaluated. The prototype exploits low-cost three-dimensional (3-D) graphics products in the home computer market. The essential features of the prototype are: interactive rendering with optional hardware acceleration, interactive walk-throughs, direct manipulation tools for moving objects and measuring distances, and import of 3-D-objects from a library. A usability study was conducted, consisting of two test sessions (three weeks apart) and a final interview. The prototype was then tested and evaluated by representatives of future users: five occupational therapist students, and four persons with physical disability, with no previous experience of the prototype. Emphasis in the usability study was placed on the prototype's efficiency and learnability. We found that it is possible to realise a planning tool for environmental adaptations, both regarding usability and technical efficiency. The usability evaluation confirms our findings from previous case studies, regarding the relevance and positive attitude towards this kind of planning tool. Although the prototype was found to be satisfactorily efficient for the basic tasks, the paper presents several suggestions for improvement of future prototype versions.

  14. Balancing stability and flexibility in adaptive governance: An analysis of tools available in U.S. environmental law

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kundis Craig, Robin; Garmestani, Ahjond S.; Allen, Craig R.; Arnold, Craig Anthony (Tony); Birge, Hannah E.; DeCaro, Daniel A.; Fremier, Alexander K.; Gosnell, Hannah; Schlager, Edella

    2017-01-01

    Adaptive governance must work “on the ground,” that is, it must operate through structures and procedures that the people it governs perceive to be legitimate and fair, as well as incorporating processes and substantive goals that are effective in allowing social-ecological systems (SESs) to adapt to climate change and other impacts. To address the continuing and accelerating alterations that climate change is bringing to SESs, adaptive governance generally will require more flexibility than prior governance institutions have often allowed. However, to function as good governance, adaptive governance must pay real attention to the problem of how to balance this increased need for flexibility with continuing governance stability so that it can foster adaptation to change without being perceived or experienced as perpetually destabilizing, disruptive, and unfair. Flexibility and stability serve different purposes in governance, and a variety of tools exist to strike different balances between them while still preserving the governance institution’s legitimacy among the people governed. After reviewing those purposes and the implications of climate change for environmental governance, we examine psychological insights into the structuring of adaptive governance and the variety of legal tools available to incorporate those insights into adaptive governance regimes. Because the substantive goals of governance systems will differ among specific systems, we do not purport to comment on what the normative or substantive goals of law should be. Instead, we conclude that attention to process and procedure (including participation), as well as increased use of substantive standards (instead of rules), may allow an increased level of substantive flexibility to operate with legitimacy and fairness, providing the requisite levels of psychological, social, and economic stability needed for communities to adapt successfully to the Anthropocene.

  15. Balancing stability and flexibility in adaptive governance: an analysis of tools available in U.S. environmental law

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robin Kundis. Craig

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Adaptive governance must work "on the ground," that is, it must operate through structures and procedures that the people it governs perceive to be legitimate and fair, as well as incorporating processes and substantive goals that are effective in allowing social-ecological systems (SESs to adapt to climate change and other impacts. To address the continuing and accelerating alterations that climate change is bringing to SESs, adaptive governance generally will require more flexibility than prior governance institutions have often allowed. However, to function as good governance, adaptive governance must pay real attention to the problem of how to balance this increased need for flexibility with continuing governance stability so that it can foster adaptation to change without being perceived or experienced as perpetually destabilizing, disruptive, and unfair. Flexibility and stability serve different purposes in governance, and a variety of tools exist to strike different balances between them while still preserving the governance institution's legitimacy among the people governed. After reviewing those purposes and the implications of climate change for environmental governance, we examine psychological insights into the structuring of adaptive governance and the variety of legal tools available to incorporate those insights into adaptive governance regimes. Because the substantive goals of governance systems will differ among specific systems, we do not purport to comment on what the normative or substantive goals of law should be. Instead, we conclude that attention to process and procedure (including participation, as well as increased use of substantive standards (instead of rules, may allow an increased level of substantive flexibility to operate with legitimacy and fairness, providing the requisite levels of psychological, social, and economic stability needed for communities to adapt successfully to the Anthropocene.

  16. Environmental impact of oil transportation by tankers, pipelines, railway

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsitskishvili, M.S.; Chelidze, M.A.; Kaviladze, I.; Chkhartishvili, A.G.; Tsitskishvili, L.B.; Ninua, T.L.; Kordzaxia, G.I.; Gavasheli, L.; Petriashvili, E.T.; Alania, M.L.; Gigolashvili, Sh.Z.; Kordzakhia, M.O.; Chankotadze, P.

    2005-01-01

    Full text : Considering all types of risks (technical, operational, natural hazards (e.g. geo-hazards) and third party intrusion), the underground pipelines constructed in accordance with the international standards are the most safe and reliable system for oil transportation. Statistical data provided by CONCAWE and US Department of Transportation confirms that the pipeline related spills are rare and mainly related to the old pipelines. Georgia's experience yet confirms the general sound guess that the situation in our countries is not the same as in western Europe or USA and accordingly the CONCAWE statistical data can not be applied mechanically. Two spills (although small and manageable), during the recent 4 years and some discovered illegal hot-taps on the Baku-Supsa pipeline indicate that the issue of third party intrusion risks is much higher in the region and well organized security system is required to protect the pipeline from intentional damage. Of course the pipeline system can not function isolated and it is integrated with the other systems of oil transportation, mainly with off-shore terminals and tankers. The most significant of the recorded pollution damages are related to the tanker collisions (like Prestige and Exxon Valdez cases). The basic fact, which we would like to stress, is that the environmental risks related to the tanker collisions are much higher for such confined or semi-confined systems as Black and Caspian seas. The overloading of the Black Sea transportation capacity and especially its limiting narrow point - the Bosporus will inevitably lead in future to the implementation of the restrictive measures limiting transportation of oil by tankers in the Black Sea. Therefore, the role of the BTC pipeline as major transportation system will increase significantly. We consider that responsibility of the scientific society is to facilitate this process as soon as the BTC pipeline is functional. The railway transportation of oil is quite

  17. Climate change mitigation and adaptation in strategic environmental assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wende, Wolfgang; Bond, Alan; Bobylev, Nikolai; Stratmann, Lars

    2012-01-01

    Countries are implementing CO 2 emission reduction targets in order to meet a globally agreed global warming limit of +2 °C. However, it was hypothesised that these national reduction targets are not translated to regional or state level planning, and are not considered through Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in order to meet emission reduction obligations falling on the transport, energy, housing, agriculture, and forestry sectors. SEAs of land use plans in the German state of Saxony, and the English region of the East of England were examined for their consideration of climate change impacts based on a set of criteria drawn from the literature. It was found that SEAs in both cases failed to consider climate change impacts at scales larger than the boundary of the spatial plan, and that CO 2 reduction targets were not considered. This suggests a need for more clarity in the legal obligations for climate change consideration within the text of the SEA Directive, a requirement for monitoring of carbon emissions, a need for methodological guidance to devolve global climate change targets down to regional and local levels, and a need for guidance on properly implementing climate change protection in SEA. - Highlights: ► Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA) of 12 land use plans from Germany and England have been examined. ► SEA failed to consider climate change impacts at scales larger than the boundary of the land use plans. ► SEA should be an important instrument for climate protection. ► Concrete steps for climate protection mainstreaming into SEA at the European Union and national levels have been suggested.

  18. Transport of radioactive sources-an environmental problem

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Merckaert, G.

    1996-01-01

    Full text: The transport of dangerous goods is submitted to various regulations. These can be international, national or regional and they can differ from country to country. The basis for the regulations for dangerous goods can be found in the recommendations on the transport of dangerous goods, issued by the United Nations committee of experts on the transport of dangerous goods (orange book). For radioactive material the regulations for the safe transport of radioactive material, issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), are applied. The UN recommendations provide for 9 classes of dangerous goods. With regard to class 7, specifically related to the transport of radioactive material special recommendation relating to class 70, the IAEA regulations are referred to. These IAEA regulations for their part provide for 13 schedules, varying between weakly and highly radioactive. The radioactive sources which are used for non-destructive testing or for medical purposes are mostly sealed sources, i.e. the radioactive material is contained in a metallic shell. According to the nature of the isotope and their activity, the sources are transported either in industrial packagings, type A or type B packagings. According to the mode of transport, either air, sea, rail or road, various specific rules are applied, which however, are fortunately nearly completely harmonized. Special attention is paid to radiation protection, heat removal and the testing and fabrication of packagings. As a general rule, the safety of transport is based on the safety of the packagings, i.e. their ability to maintain, even in accident conditions, their capacity of tightness, shielding against radiation and removing the heat generated by the transported material

  19. Evaluating the Environmental Performance of the U.S. Next Generation Air Transportation System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graham, Michael; Augustine, Stephen; Ermatinger, Christopher; Difelici, John; Thompson, Terence R.; Marcolini, Michael A.; Creedon, Jeremiah F.

    2009-01-01

    The environmental impacts of several possible U.S. Next Generation Air Transportation scenarios have been quantitatively evaluated for noise, air-quality, fuel-efficiency, and CO2 impacts. Three principal findings have emerged. (1) 2025 traffic levels about 30% higher than 2006 are obtained by increasing traffic according to FAA projections while also limiting traffic at each airport using reasonable ratios of demand to capacity. NextGen operational capabilities alone enable attainment of an additional 10-15% more flights beyond that 2025 baseline level with negligible additional noise, air-quality, and fuel-efficiency impacts. (2) The addition of advanced engine and airframe technologies provides substantial additional reductions in noise and air-quality impacts, and further improves fuel efficiency. 2025 environmental goals based on projected system-wide improvement rates of about 1% per year for noise and fuel-efficiency (an air-quality goal is not yet formulated) are achieved using this new vehicle technology. (3) Overall air-transport "product", as measured by total flown distance or total payload distance, increases by about 50% relative to 2006, but total fuel consumption and CO2 production increase by only about 40% using NextGen operational capabilities. With the addition of advanced engine/airframe technologies, the increase in total fuel consumption and CO2 production can be reduced to about 30%.

  20. Transportation Technical Environmental Information Center index

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davidson, C.A.; Foley, J.T.

    1979-01-01

    In an effort to determine the environmental intensities to which energy materials in transit may be exposed, a ''Data Center'' of technical environmental information has been established by Sandia Laboratories, Division 5522, for the DOE Division of Environmental Control Technology. An index is presented which can be used to request data of interest

  1. Transport and retention of biochar nanoparticles in a paddy soil under environmentally-relevant solution chemistry conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ming; Wang, Dengjun; Yang, Fan; Xu, Xiaoyun; Xu, Nan; Cao, Xinde

    2017-11-01

    Land application of biochar has been increasingly recommended as a powerful strategy for carbon sequestration and soil remediation. However, the biochar particles, especially those in the nanoscale range, may migrate or carry the inherent contaminants along the soil profile, posing a potential risk to the groundwater. This study investigated the transport and retention of wood chip-derived biochar nanoparticles (NPs) in water-saturated columns packed with a paddy soil. The environmentally-relevant soil solution chemistry including ionic strength (0.10-50 mM), electrolyte type (NaCl and CaCl 2 ), and natural organic matter (0-10 mg L -1 humic acid) were tested to elucidate their effects on the biochar NPs transport. Higher mobility of biochar NPs was observed in the soil at lower ionic strengths, with CaCl 2 electrolyte being more effective than NaCl in decreasing biochar NPs transport. The retained biochar NPs in NaCl was re-entrained (∼57.7%) upon lowering transient pore-water ionic strength, indicating that biochar NPs were reversibly retained in the secondary minimum. In contrast, negligible re-entrainment of biochar NPs occurred in CaCl 2 due to the primary minimum and/or particle aggregation. Humic acid increased the mobility of biochar NPs, likely due to enhanced electrosteric repulsive interactions. The transport behaviors of biochar NPs can be well interpreted by a two-site kinetic retention model that assumes reversible retention for one site, and irreversible retention for the other site. Our findings indicated that the transport of wood chip biochar NPs is significant in the paddy soil, highlighting the importance of understanding the mobility of biochar NPs in natural soils for accurately assessing their environmental impacts. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Sustainable Transport in Romania vs. European Union. Analysis of Road Transport System from the Sustainable Transport Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clitan Andrei - Florin

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Sustainability is a term used more often lately, based on three factors: social, economic, and environmental. Sustainable transport systems increase social cohesion, reduce environmental problems and help create a more efficient economy. Sustainable transport consists in a complex system that is designed to ensure mobility needs of present generations without damaging the environment and health factors. By improving energy and material consumption, it must be capable to satisfy in optimum conditions the need for mobility for future generations. The current transportation system has not a character of sustainability.

  3. Driving Meaningful Adaptation Action through an Adaptation Market Mechanism

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Butzengeiger-Geyer, Sonja; Koehler, Michel; Michaelowa, Axel

    2011-07-01

    Approaches and criteria for allocating adaptation funds vary significantly among current sources - UN-backed funds and bilateral cooperation - and to some extent lack transparency and consistency. Such funding risks being spent in a haphazard way that repeats many of the mistakes made in development assistance over the past decades. An Adaptation Market Mechanism (AMM) could contribute to efficient allocation of adaptation funds, promote adaptation activities by private and public actors through additional financial incentives, and raise additional and reliable adaptation money. This would help to avoid future public criticism of the effectiveness and efficiency of spending adaptation funding.The proposed AMM would specify mandatory adaptation targets, on international, regional or domestic level. Participants who achieve their targets either by generating adaptation units or by buying them in the market would incentivize private, commercial and institutional actors to develop adaptation projects that create verified adaptation units. A universally accepted and verifiable trading unit applicable to all types of adaptation activities would help to maximize the cost reduction potential for the AMM. We suggest applying net present value (NPV) for property saved; Disability Adjusted Life Years Saved (DALYS) for health benefits; and potentially a separate unit to consider the environmental benefits of an adaptation activity.(Author)

  4. Genome-wide analysis of protein disorder in Arabidopsis thaliana: implications for plant environmental adaptation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pietrosemoli, Natalia; García-Martín, Juan A; Solano, Roberto; Pazos, Florencio

    2013-01-01

    Intrinsically disordered proteins/regions (IDPs/IDRs) are currently recognized as a widespread phenomenon having key cellular functions. Still, many aspects of the function of these proteins need to be unveiled. IDPs conformational flexibility allows them to recognize and interact with multiple partners, and confers them larger interaction surfaces that may increase interaction speed. For this reason, molecular interactions mediated by IDPs/IDRs are particularly abundant in certain types of protein interactions, such as those of signaling and cell cycle control. We present the first large-scale study of IDPs in Arabidopsis thaliana, the most widely used model organism in plant biology, in order to get insight into the biological roles of these proteins in plants. The work includes a comparative analysis with the human proteome to highlight the differential use of disorder in both species. Results show that while human proteins are in general more disordered, certain functional classes, mainly related to environmental response, are significantly more enriched in disorder in Arabidopsis. We propose that because plants cannot escape from environmental conditions as animals do, they use disorder as a simple and fast mechanism, independent of transcriptional control, for introducing versatility in the interaction networks underlying these biological processes so that they can quickly adapt and respond to challenging environmental conditions.

  5. 49 CFR 266.19 - Environmental impact.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Environmental impact. 266.19 Section 266.19... TRANSPORTATION ACT § 266.19 Environmental impact. (a) General. The Administrator has determined that providing..., or other significant adverse environmental impact on any mode of transportation; (6) The action is...

  6. Physiological impact of transposable elements encoding DDE transposases in the environmental adaptation of Streptococcus agalactiae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fléchard, Maud; Gilot, Philippe

    2014-07-01

    We have referenced and described Streptococcus agalactiae transposable elements encoding DDE transposases. These elements belonged to nine families of insertion sequences (ISs) and to a family of conjugative transposons (TnGBSs). An overview of the physiological impact of the insertion of all these elements is provided. DDE-transposable elements affect S. agalactiae in a number of aspects of its capability to adapt to various environments and modulate the expression of several virulence genes, the scpB-lmB genomic region and the genes involved in capsule expression and haemolysin transport being the targets of several different mobile elements. The referenced mobile elements modify S. agalactiae behaviour by transferring new gene(s) to its genome, by modifying the expression of neighbouring genes at the integration site or by promoting genomic rearrangements. Transposition of some of these elements occurs in vivo, suggesting that by dynamically regulating some adaptation and/or virulence genes, they improve the ability of S. agalactiae to reach different niches within its host and ensure the 'success' of the infectious process. © 2014 The Authors.

  7. Monte Carlo Transport for Electron Thermal Transport

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chenhall, Jeffrey; Cao, Duc; Moses, Gregory

    2015-11-01

    The iSNB (implicit Schurtz Nicolai Busquet multigroup electron thermal transport method of Cao et al. is adapted into a Monte Carlo transport method in order to better model the effects of non-local behavior. The end goal is a hybrid transport-diffusion method that combines Monte Carlo Transport with a discrete diffusion Monte Carlo (DDMC). The hybrid method will combine the efficiency of a diffusion method in short mean free path regions with the accuracy of a transport method in long mean free path regions. The Monte Carlo nature of the approach allows the algorithm to be massively parallelized. Work to date on the method will be presented. This work was supported by Sandia National Laboratory - Albuquerque and the University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics.

  8. Integration, status and potential of environmental justice and the social impact assessment process in transportation development in Missouri

    Science.gov (United States)

    2003-12-01

    This research examines the Social Impact Assessment Process at the Missouri Department of Transportation as directed by the : National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The analysis includes an examination of the influences of the more recent directiv...

  9. Adaptive evolution in ecological communities.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin M Turcotte

    Full Text Available Understanding how natural selection drives evolution is a key challenge in evolutionary biology. Most studies of adaptation focus on how a single environmental factor, such as increased temperature, affects evolution within a single species. The biological relevance of these experiments is limited because nature is infinitely more complex. Most species are embedded within communities containing many species that interact with one another and the physical environment. To understand the evolutionary significance of such ecological complexity, experiments must test the evolutionary impact of interactions among multiple species during adaptation. Here we highlight an experiment that manipulates species composition and tracks evolutionary responses within each species, while testing for the mechanisms by which species interact and adapt to their environment. We also discuss limitations of previous studies of adaptive evolution and emphasize how an experimental evolution approach can circumvent such shortcomings. Understanding how community composition acts as a selective force will improve our ability to predict how species adapt to natural and human-induced environmental change.

  10. The myoglobin of Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri): amino acid sequence and functional adaptation to extreme conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tamburrini, M; Romano, M; Giardina, B; di Prisco, G

    1999-02-01

    In the framework of a study on molecular adaptations of the oxygen-transport and storage systems to extreme conditions in Antarctic marine organisms, we have investigated the structure/function relationship in Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) myoglobin, in search of correlation with the bird life style. In contrast with previous reports, the revised amino acid sequence contains one additional residue and 15 differences. The oxygen-binding parameters seem well adapted to the diving behaviour of the penguin and to the environmental conditions of the Antarctic habitat. Addition of lactate has no major effect on myoglobin oxygenation over a large temperature range. Therefore, metabolic acidosis does not impair myoglobin function under conditions of prolonged physical effort, such as diving.

  11. Economic analysis of the expected environmental impact of the Single European Market through the transport, waste and energy sectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brutscher, S.

    1993-01-01

    Similarly to other studies the present dissertation presupposes that the Single European Market will lead to an increase in transport waste quantities, and energy consumption and consequently to greater environmental pollution. Of central importance here is the concept of ''expletive costs'' introduced in this paper which describes that damage to the natural and human environment which is not compensated. It forms out that the sectors of transport, waste, and energy alone will most probably send the expletive costs of the Single European Market into astronomic dimensions. In view of the interdependencies of these three sectors it seems doubtful whether the economic benefit to be expected from the establishment of the Single European Market can justify the additional environmental damage thus caused. (HP) [de

  12. Environmental taxes and subsidies 2002

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    2003-01-01

    The statistics presents statements of environmental taxes for the period 1970 - 2002 and statements of environmentally related subsidies for the years 1996 - 2002. Environmental taxes are a concept for pollution, energy, transportation, and resource related taxes. The State's revenue from environmental taxes have increased from 4,0 billions DKK in 1970 to 65,7 billions DKK in 2002. The environmental taxes' part of the GNP has increased from 3,2 % in 1970 to 4,8 % in 2002. The part of the environmental taxes of the total taxes and tariffs has increased from 8,2 % in 1970 to 9,8 % in 2002. >From 2001 to 2002 the environmental taxes increased with 5,6 %, primarily because the taxes in the transportation sector increased with 13,5 % due to more new cars. The pollution taxes increased with 6 % while the environmental taxes for energy increased with only 0,8 %. In 2002 the energy related taxes amounted to 54 %, the transport related taxes to 39 %, and pollution and resource related taxes amounted to 7 % of the total environmental taxes. The public environmentally related subsidies to companies and households has been on a stable level of a little more than 10 billions DKK through the latest years. The energy related subsidies have, however, been transferred to transport related subsidies, i.e. primarily subsidies to the public transport. (ln)

  13. Adaptation to Environmental Stimuli within the Host: Two-Component Signal Transduction Systems of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bretl, Daniel J.; Demetriadou, Chrystalla; Zahrt, Thomas C.

    2011-01-01

    Summary: Pathogenic microorganisms encounter a variety of environmental stresses following infection of their respective hosts. Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the etiological agent of tuberculosis, is an unusual bacterial pathogen in that it is able to establish lifelong infections in individuals within granulomatous lesions that are formed following a productive immune response. Adaptation to this highly dynamic environment is thought to be mediated primarily through transcriptional reprogramming initiated in response to recognition of stimuli, including low-oxygen tension, nutrient depletion, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, altered pH, toxic lipid moieties, cell wall/cell membrane-perturbing agents, and other environmental cues. To survive continued exposure to these potentially adverse factors, M. tuberculosis encodes a variety of regulatory factors, including 11 complete two-component signal transduction systems (TCSSs) and several orphaned response regulators (RRs) and sensor kinases (SKs). This report reviews our current knowledge of the TCSSs present in M. tuberculosis. In particular, we discuss the biochemical and functional characteristics of individual RRs and SKs, the environmental stimuli regulating their activation, the regulons controlled by the various TCSSs, and the known or postulated role(s) of individual TCSSs in the context of M. tuberculosis physiology and/or pathogenesis. PMID:22126994

  14. Using adaptive processes and adverse outcome pathways to develop meaningful, robust, and actionable environmental monitoring programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arciszewski, Tim J; Munkittrick, Kelly R; Scrimgeour, Garry J; Dubé, Monique G; Wrona, Fred J; Hazewinkel, Rod R

    2017-09-01

    The primary goals of environmental monitoring are to indicate whether unexpected changes related to development are occurring in the physical, chemical, and biological attributes of ecosystems and to inform meaningful management intervention. Although achieving these objectives is conceptually simple, varying scientific and social challenges often result in their breakdown. Conceptualizing, designing, and operating programs that better delineate monitoring, management, and risk assessment processes supported by hypothesis-driven approaches, strong inference, and adverse outcome pathways can overcome many of the challenges. Generally, a robust monitoring program is characterized by hypothesis-driven questions associated with potential adverse outcomes and feedback loops informed by data. Specifically, key and basic features are predictions of future observations (triggers) and mechanisms to respond to success or failure of those predictions (tiers). The adaptive processes accelerate or decelerate the effort to highlight and overcome ignorance while preventing the potentially unnecessary escalation of unguided monitoring and management. The deployment of the mutually reinforcing components can allow for more meaningful and actionable monitoring programs that better associate activities with consequences. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2017;13:877-891. © 2017 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC). © 2017 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

  15. Sulfate transporters in the plant’s response to drought and salinity: regulation and possible functions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karine eGallardo

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Drought and salinity are two frequently combined abiotic stresses that affect plant growth, development, and crop productivity. Sulfate, and molecules derived from this anion such as glutathione, play important roles in the intrinsic responses of plants to such abiotic stresses. Therefore, understanding how plants facing environmental constraints re-equilibrate the flux of sulfate between and within different tissues might uncover perspectives for improving tolerance against abiotic stresses. In this review, we took advantage of genomics and post-genomics resources available in Arabidopsis thaliana and in the model legume species Medicago truncatula to highlight and compare the regulation of sulfate transporter genes under drought and salt stress. We also discuss their possible function in the plant’s response and adaptation to abiotic stresses and present prospects about the potential benefits of mycorrhizal associations, which by facilitating sulfate uptake may assist plants to cope with abiotic stresses. Several transporters are highlighted in this review that appear promising targets for improving sulfate transport capacities of crops under fluctuating environmental conditions.

  16. Microbial transport : Adaptations to natural environments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Konings, W.N

    2006-01-01

    The cytoplasmic membrane of bacteria is the matrix for metabolic energy transducing processes such as proton motive force generation and solute transport. Passive permeation of protons across the cytoplasmic membrane is a crucial determinant in the proton motive generating capacity of the organisms.

  17. Microbial transport : Adaptations to natural environments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Konings, W.N

    The cytoplasmic membrane of bacteria is the matrix for metabolic energy transducing processes such as proton motive force generation and solute transport. Passive permeation of protons across the cytoplasmic membrane is a crucial determinant in the proton motive generating capacity of the organisms.

  18. THE LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT - A CASE STUDY OF TRANSPORTING VOLVO CARS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gloria P. Gerilla

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available The increase in the number of vehicles in our society is detrimental to the environment because of increased fuel usage and pollutant emissions. This paper analyze the environmental effects of transporting cars from its manufacturer to its end user. The method used is the life cycle assessment (LCA. Life cycle assessment is a method for analyzing and evaluating environmental performance of products, processes or services throughout its entire life cycle. The paper also shows the effect of changing the fuel type used in transporting the vehicles. It can be seen that from the pollutant emissions in the transport chain, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides are the leading pollutants, which affect the air quality in the environment. The truck is shown to be a heavy polluter in terms of its emission factors and there is not much difference between a European and an Asian country. With the use of the natural gas as an alternative fuel, emission levels can be reduced to as much as 19 % for CO2 and 16 % for NOx emissions while costs are higher in the first few years because of conversion costs, it can be said that it is worth the risk. The truck can be an environmentally adapted vehicle if its engine is converted to an alternative fuel engine like the compressed natural gas. The LCA methodology is holistic because it gives a systems analysis of the product

  19. Economic and Environmental Considerations for Zero-emission Transport and Thermal Energy Generation on an Energy Autonomous Island

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fontina Petrakopoulou

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The high cost and environmental impact of fossil-fuel energy generation in remote regions can make renewable energy applications more competitive than business-as-usual scenarios. Furthermore, energy and transport are two of the main sectors that significantly contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions. This paper focuses on the generation of thermal energy and the transport sector of a fossil fuel-based energy independent island in Greece. We evaluate (1 technologies for fully renewable thermal energy generation using building-specific solar thermal systems and (2 the replacement of the vehicle fleet of the island with electric and hydrogen-fueled vehicles. The analysis, based on economic and environmental criteria, shows that although solar thermal decreases greenhouse gases by 83%, when compared to the current diesel-based situation, it only becomes economically attractive with subsidy scenarios equal to or higher than 50%. However, in the transport sector, the sum of fuel and maintenance costs of fuel-cell and electric vehicles is found to be 45% lower than that of the current fleet, due to their approximately seven times lower fuel cost. Lastly, it will take approximately six years of use of the new vehicles to balance out the emissions of their manufacturing phase.

  20. Transports of radioactive materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sousselier, Yves

    1982-01-01

    Transport safety depends on the packaging, and the degree of safety must be adapted to the potential hazards of the substance carried. The various kinds of packagings and their strength are examined and the transport of irradiated fuels from the safety angle is taken as example and a comparison is made with the transport of conventional dangerous substances [fr

  1. Analyzing the environmental impact of transportation in reengineered supply chains: a case study from a leather upholstery company

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Yazan, Devrim Murat; Yazan, Devrim; Petruzzelli, Antonio Messeni; Albino, Vito

    2011-01-01

    This paper examines the impact of process disaggregation and specialization on the environmental performance of the supply chain of a leather upholstery company. An enterprise input–output model that relates geographical information with production processes and transportation routes is developed.

  2. Environmental, public health, and safety assessment of fuel pipelines and other freight transportation modes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strogen, Bret; Bell, Kendon; Breunig, Hanna; Zilberman, David

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Externalities are examined for pipelines, truck, rail, and barge. • Safety impact factors include incidences of injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. • Environmental impact factors include CO_2eq emissions and air pollution disease burden. • Externalities are estimated for constructing and operating a large domestic pipeline. • A large pipeline has lower cumulative impacts than other modes within ten years. - Abstract: The construction of pipelines along high-throughput fuel corridors can alleviate demand for rail, barge, and truck transportation. Pipelines have a very different externality profile than other freight transportation modes due to differences in construction, operation, and maintenance requirements; labor, energy, and material input intensity; location and profile of emissions from operations; and frequency and magnitude of environmental and safety incidents. Therefore, public policy makers have a strong justification to influence the economic viability of pipelines. We use data from prior literature and U.S. government statistics to estimate environmental, public health, and safety characterization factors for pipelines and other modes. In 2008, two pipeline companies proposed the construction of an ethanol pipeline from the Midwest to Northeast United States. This proposed project informs our case study of a 2735-km $3.5 billion pipeline (2009 USD), for which we evaluate potential long-term societal impacts including life-cycle costs, greenhouse gas emissions, employment, injuries, fatalities, and public health impacts. Although it may take decades to break even economically, and would result in lower cumulative employment, such a pipeline would likely have fewer safety incidents, pollution emissions, and health damages than the alternative multimodal system in less than ten years; these results stand even if comparing future cleaner ground transport modes to a pipeline that utilizes electricity produced from coal

  3. Using a "time machine" to test for local adaptation of aquatic microbes to temporal and spatial environmental variation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox, Jeremy W; Harder, Lawrence D

    2015-01-01

    Local adaptation occurs when different environments are dominated by different specialist genotypes, each of which is relatively fit in its local conditions and relatively unfit under other conditions. Analogously, ecological species sorting occurs when different environments are dominated by different competing species, each of which is relatively fit in its local conditions. The simplest theory predicts that spatial, but not temporal, environmental variation selects for local adaptation (or generates species sorting), but this prediction is difficult to test. Although organisms can be reciprocally transplanted among sites, doing so among times seems implausible. Here, we describe a reciprocal transplant experiment testing for local adaptation or species sorting of lake bacteria in response to both temporal and spatial variation in water chemistry. The experiment used a -80°C freezer as a "time machine." Bacterial isolates and water samples were frozen for later use, allowing transplantation of older isolates "forward in time" and newer isolates "backward in time." Surprisingly, local maladaptation predominated over local adaptation in both space and time. Such local maladaptation may indicate that adaptation, or the analogous species sorting process, fails to keep pace with temporal fluctuations in water chemistry. This hypothesis could be tested with more finely resolved temporal data. © 2014 The Author(s). Evolution © 2014 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  4. Lake eutrophication and environmental change: A viability framework for resilience, vulnerability and adaptive capacity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathias, Jean-Denis; Rougé, Charles; Deffuant, Guillaume

    2013-04-01

    We present a simple stochastic model of lake eutrophication to demonstrate how the mathematical framework of viability theory fosters operational definitions of resilience, vulnerability and adaptive capacity, and then helps understand which response one should bring to environmental changes. The model represents the phosphorus dynamics, given that high concentrations trigger a regime change from oligotrophic to eutrophic, and causes ecological but also economic losses, for instance from tourism. Phosphorus comes from agricultural inputs upstream of the lake, and we will consider a stochastic input. We consider the system made of both the lake and its upstream region, and explore how to maintain the desirable ecological and economic properties of this system. In the viability framework, we translate these desirable properties into state constraints, then examine how, given the dynamics of the model and the available policy options, the properties can be kept. The set of states for which there exists a policy to keep the properties is called the viability kernel. We extend this framework to both major perturbations and long-term environmental changes. In our model, since the phosphorus inputs and outputs from the lake depend on rainfall, we will focus on extreme rainfall events and long-term changes in the rainfall regime. They can be described as changes in the state of the system, and may displace it outside the viability kernel. Its response can then be described using the concepts of resilience, vulnerability and adaptive capacity. Resilience is the capacity to recover by getting back to the viability kernel where the dynamics keep the system safe, and in this work we assume it to be the first objective of management. Computed for a given trajectory, vulnerability is a measure of the consequence of violating a property. We propose a family of functions from which cost functions and other vulnerability indicators can be derived for any trajectory. There can be

  5. A thermodynamic, environmental and material flow analysis of the Italian highway and railway transport systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Federici, M.; Ulgiati, S.; Basosi, R.

    2008-01-01

    The goal of this work is to provide a multi-method multi-scale comparative picture of selected terrestrial transport modalities. This is achieved by investigating the Italian transportation system by means of four different evaluation methods: material flow accounting (MFA), embodied energy analysis (EEA), exergy analysis (EXA) and emergy synthesis (ES). The case study is the main Italian transportation infrastructure, composed by highways, railways, and high-speed railways (high-speed trains, HST) sub-systems supporting both passengers and freight transport. All the analyses have been performed based on a common database of material, labor, energy and fuel input flows used in the construction, maintenance and yearly use of roads, railways and vehicles. Specific matter and energy intensities of both passenger and freight transportation services were calculated factors affecting results as well as strength and weakness points of each transportation modality were also stressed. Results pointed out that the most important factors in determining the acceptability of a transportation system are not only the specific fuel consumption and the energy and material costs of vehicles, as it is common belief, but also the energy and material costs for infrastructure construction as well as its intensity of use (with special focus on load factor of vehicles). The latter become the dominant factors in HST modality, due to technological and safety reasons that require high energy-cost materials and low intensity of traffic. This translates into very high thermodynamic and environmental costs for passenger and freight transported, among which an embodied energy demand up to 1.44 MJ/p-km and 3.09 MJ/t-km, respectively

  6. Traffic safety and environmental impacts. Synergies and conflicts; Liikenteen turvallisuuden ja ympaeristoevaikutusten synergiat ja vastakkainasettelut

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pollanen, M.; Ahlroth, J.; Aalto, E.; Liimatainen, H. [Tampere Univ. of Technology (Finland). Transport Research Centre Verne

    2013-06-01

    The improvement of safety and mitigation of harmful environmental effects are two key goals in developing sustainable transport. In part, the same measures can improve safety and mitigate environmental impacts. On the other hand, measures for improving safety may aggravate harmful environmental effects, and vice versa. The objective of this study is to describe the synergies and conflicts related to the objectives of improving the safety and mitigating the environmental impacts of transport and, in particular, the measures taken in pursuit of these objectives. The study conducted as a literature review complemented with expert interviews and workshops. The study focused on examining measures that could be implemented in Finland. Measures at transport system level for influencing traffic volumes and the use of different means of passenger and goods transport, as well as safety and environmental measures in road, rail, water and air traffic, were the subject of separate investigation. More than 200 measures for influencing the safety and environmental impacts of transport were reviewed in the study. A large portion of these measures only have a significant effect on one or the other of these subjects of study: the impact of safety measures is primarily directed at safety, while environmental measures mainly affect the environment. The core synergies between transport and the environment relate to vehicle mileage, since a reduced mileage translates to improved safety and reduced environmental impacts, such as lower energy consumption and fewer emissions. On the transport system level, output can be influenced by measures such as promoting remote work, alleviating the need for travel by using electronic services, and increasing the utilization of capacity in goods transport. The choice of transport mode has a large impact on safety, since different modes of transport entail significantly different risks and environmental impacts. Increasing the attractiveness of public

  7. Romanian experience in a assessment of the risk and environmental consequences due to radioactive materials transportation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vieru, Gheorghe

    2006-01-01

    Full text: The transport of radioactive materials (RAM) is a very important problem taking into consideration its potential risks over the environment and the radiological consequences of this activity. Romania as a Member State of the International Atomic Energy Agency has implemented national regulations for a safe transport of RAM in complying with the Agency's recommendations as well as other international specialized organizations. The paper will present the main sources of radioactive materials in Romania, and their transportation routes with a particular focus on the radioactive wastes (very low level and mixed low-level radioactive materials), radioactive isotopes and sources, and natural uranium ore. Starting from the fact that the safety in the transport of radioactive materials is dependent on packaging appropriate for the contents being shipped, rather than operational and/or administrative actions required for the package, the paper presents, very briefly, the qualification tests for the main packages used for transport and storage of RAM in Romania. There are presented also specific problems related to the identification and evaluation of the environmental risks and impacts as well as the potential radiological consequences associated with the transport of radioactive materials, for all those three possible situations: routine transport (without incidents), normal transport (with minor incidents) and during potential accidents. As a conclusion, it is stated that the evaluated annual collective dose for the population due to RAM transport is less than those received by natural radiation sources. At the same time it is concluded that Romanian made packages are safe and prevent loss of its radioactive contents into environment. (author)

  8. Adaptive and Adaptable Automation Design: A Critical Review of the Literature and Recommendations for Future Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prinzel, Lawrence J., III; Kaber, David B.

    2006-01-01

    This report presents a review of literature on approaches to adaptive and adaptable task/function allocation and adaptive interface technologies for effective human management of complex systems that are likely to be issues for the Next Generation Air Transportation System, and a focus of research under the Aviation Safety Program, Integrated Intelligent Flight Deck Project. Contemporary literature retrieved from an online database search is summarized and integrated. The major topics include the effects of delegation-type, adaptable automation on human performance, workload and situation awareness, the effectiveness of various automation invocation philosophies and strategies to function allocation in adaptive systems, and the role of user modeling in adaptive interface design and the performance implications of adaptive interface technology.

  9. Hanford environmental dose reconstruction project - an overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shipler, D.B.; Napier, B.A.; Farris, W.T.

    1996-01-01

    The Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction Project was initiated because of public interest in the historical releases of radioactive materials from the Hanford Site, located in southcentral Washington State. By 1986, over 38,000 pages of environmental monitoring documentation from the early years of Hanford operations had been released. Special committees reviewing the documents recommended initiation of the Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction Project, which began in October 1987, and is conducted by Battelle, Pacific Northwest Laboratories. The technical approach taken was to reconstruct releases of radioactive materials based on facility operating information; develop and/or adapt transport, pathway, and dose models and computer codes; reconstruct environmental, meterological, and hydrological monitoring information; reconstruct demographic, agricultural, and lifestyle characteristics; apply statistical methods to all forms of uncertainty in the information, parameters, and models; and perform scientific investigation that were technically defensible. The geographic area for the study includes ∼2 x 10 5 km 2 (75,000 mi 2 ) in eastern Washington, western Idaho, and northeastern Oregon (essentially the Mid-columbia Basin of the Pacific Northwest). Three exposure pathways were considered: the atmosphere, the Columbia River, and ground water

  10. 135Cs/137Cs isotopic composition of environmental samples across Europe: Environmental transport and source term emission applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Snow, Mathew S.; Snyder, Darin C.

    2016-01-01

    135 Cs/ 137 Cs isotopic analyses represent an important tool for studying the fate and transport of radiocesium in the environment; in this work the 135 Cs/ 137 Cs isotopic composition in environmental samples taken from across Europe is reported. Surface soil and vegetation samples from western Russia, Ukraine, Austria, and Hungary show consistent aged thermal fission product 135 Cs/ 137 Cs isotope ratios of 0.58 ± 0.01 (age corrected to 1/1/15), with the exception of one sample of soil-moss from Hungary which shows an elevated 135 Cs/ 137 Cs ratio of 1.78 ± 0.12. With the exception of the outlier sample from Hungary, surface soil/vegetation data are in quantitative agreement with values previously reported for soils within the Chernobyl exclusion zone, suggesting that radiocesium at these locations is primarily composed of homogenous airborne deposition from Chernobyl. Seawater samples taken from the Irish Sea show 135 Cs/ 137 Cs isotope ratios of 1.22 ± 0.11 (age corrected to 1/1/15), suggesting aged thermal fission product Cs discharged from Sellafield. The differences in 135 Cs/ 137 Cs isotope ratios between Sellafield, Chernobyl, and global nuclear weapons testing fallout indicate that 135 Cs/ 137 Cs isotope ratios can be utilized to discriminate between and track radiocesium transport from different nuclear production source terms, including major emission sources in Europe. - Highlights: • 135 Cs/ 137 Cs useful for tracking anthropogenic environmental radiocesium releases. • European surface soils/vegetation have uniform ratio consistent with Chernobyl. • 135 Cs/ 137 Cs in Irish sea represents thermal fission ratio distinct from Chernobyl. • Can distinguish between major source terms in Europe based on 135 Cs/ 137 Cs.

  11. 75 FR 31834 - Adoption of Environmental Impact Statement; Availability of an Environmental Reevaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-04

    ... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Railroad Administration Adoption of Environmental Impact...), Department of Transportation (DOT). ACTION: Adoption and Recirculation of Final Environmental Impact... Impact Statement (EIS) issued by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in 2004 for the construction of...

  12. A study of effects of hyperthermia on large, short-haired male dogs : a simulated air transport environmental stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1977-03-01

    When dogs are shipped by air transport, they can encounter environmental temperatures as high as 130.0 F during the summer months. Heat- induced hyperthermia can be a major problem in dogs. : To assess some aspects of the heat stress problem, 20 dogs...

  13. Environmental Transport Input Parameters for the Biosphere Model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    M. Wasiolek

    2004-01-01

    This analysis report is one of the technical reports documenting the Environmental Radiation Model for Yucca Mountain, Nevada (ERMYN), a biosphere model supporting the total system performance assessment for the license application (TSPA-LA) for the geologic repository at Yucca Mountain. A graphical representation of the documentation hierarchy for the ERMYN is presented in Figure 1-1. This figure shows relationships among the reports developed for biosphere modeling and biosphere abstraction products for the TSPA-LA, as identified in the ''Technical Work Plan for Biosphere Modeling and Expert Support'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 169573]) (TWP). This figure provides an understanding of how this report contributes to biosphere modeling in support of the license application (LA). This report is one of the five reports that develop input parameter values for the biosphere model. The ''Biosphere Model Report'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 169460]) describes the conceptual model and the mathematical model. The input parameter reports, shown to the right of the Biosphere Model Report in Figure 1-1, contain detailed description of the model input parameters. The output of this report is used as direct input in the ''Nominal Performance Biosphere Dose Conversion Factor Analysis'' and in the ''Disruptive Event Biosphere Dose Conversion Factor Analysis'' that calculate the values of biosphere dose conversion factors (BDCFs) for the groundwater and volcanic ash exposure scenarios, respectively. The purpose of this analysis was to develop biosphere model parameter values related to radionuclide transport and accumulation in the environment. These parameters support calculations of radionuclide concentrations in the environmental media (e.g., soil, crops, animal products, and air) resulting from a given radionuclide concentration at the source of contamination (i.e., either in groundwater or in volcanic ash). The analysis was performed in accordance with the TWP (BSC 2004 [DIRS 169573])

  14. Environmental Transport Input Parameters for the Biosphere Model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    M. Wasiolek

    2004-09-10

    This analysis report is one of the technical reports documenting the Environmental Radiation Model for Yucca Mountain, Nevada (ERMYN), a biosphere model supporting the total system performance assessment for the license application (TSPA-LA) for the geologic repository at Yucca Mountain. A graphical representation of the documentation hierarchy for the ERMYN is presented in Figure 1-1. This figure shows relationships among the reports developed for biosphere modeling and biosphere abstraction products for the TSPA-LA, as identified in the ''Technical Work Plan for Biosphere Modeling and Expert Support'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 169573]) (TWP). This figure provides an understanding of how this report contributes to biosphere modeling in support of the license application (LA). This report is one of the five reports that develop input parameter values for the biosphere model. The ''Biosphere Model Report'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 169460]) describes the conceptual model and the mathematical model. The input parameter reports, shown to the right of the Biosphere Model Report in Figure 1-1, contain detailed description of the model input parameters. The output of this report is used as direct input in the ''Nominal Performance Biosphere Dose Conversion Factor Analysis'' and in the ''Disruptive Event Biosphere Dose Conversion Factor Analysis'' that calculate the values of biosphere dose conversion factors (BDCFs) for the groundwater and volcanic ash exposure scenarios, respectively. The purpose of this analysis was to develop biosphere model parameter values related to radionuclide transport and accumulation in the environment. These parameters support calculations of radionuclide concentrations in the environmental media (e.g., soil, crops, animal products, and air) resulting from a given radionuclide concentration at the source of contamination (i.e., either in groundwater or in volcanic ash). The analysis

  15. The impact of highway base-saturation flow rate adjustment on Kuwait's transport and environmental parameters estimation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    AlRukaibi, Fahad; AlKheder, Sharaf; Al-Rukaibi, Duaij; Al-Burait, Abdul-Aziz

    2018-03-23

    Traditional transportation systems' management and operation mainly focused on improving traffic mobility and safety without imposing any environmental concerns. Transportation and environmental issues are interrelated and affected by the same parameters especially at signalized intersections. Additionally, traffic congestion at signalized intersections has a major contribution in the environmental problem as related to vehicle emission, fuel consumption, and delay. Therefore, signalized intersections' design and operation is an important parameter to minimize the impact on the environment. The design and operation of signalized intersections are highly dependent on the base saturation flow rate (BSFR). Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) uses a base-saturation flow rate of 1900-passenger car/h/lane for areas with a population intensity greater than or equal to 250,000 and a value of 1750-passenger car/h/lane for less populated areas. The base-saturation flow rate value in HCM is derived from a field data collected in developed countries. The adopted value in Kuwait is 1800passengercar/h/lane, which is the value that used in this analysis as a basis for comparison. Due to the difference in behavior between drivers in developed countries and their fellows in Kuwait, an adjustment was made to the base-saturation flow rate to represent Kuwait's traffic and environmental conditions. The reduction in fuel consumption and vehicles' emission after modifying the base-saturation flow rate (BSFR increased by 12.45%) was about 34% on average. Direct field measurements of the saturation flow rate were used while using the air quality mobile lab to calculate emissions' rates. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Environmental awareness and traffic behaviour. Empirical analyses on the choice of means of transport and the acceptance of environment-policy measures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Franzen, A.

    1996-01-01

    In the public and scientific discussion about options concerning solutions to the environmental problem, the role played by environmental awareness is often an area of interest. Two essential questions are posed: - What influence do environment-related attitudes have on the everyday, environmentally relevant actions of individuals? - What influence does environmental awareness have on voting behaviour and on the acceptance of environment policy measures? In this book, both questions are empirically examined in detail using, as examples, the choice of means of transport and the acceptance of measures to control traffic [de

  17. A comparative analysis of the effects of economic policy instruments in promoting environmentally sustainable transport

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Elvik, Rune; Ramjerdi, Farideh

    2014-01-01

    ; (3) Toll schemes; (4) Reward systems giving incentives to reduce driving or change driver behaviour. The effects of these policy instruments are stated in terms of elasticities. All four economic policy instruments have negative elasticities, which means that they do promote environmentally...... sustainable transport. Long-term elasticities tend to be larger than short term elasticities. The long-term elasticities of reward systems are unknown. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved....

  18. Adapting environmental management to uncertain but inevitable change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicol, Sam; Fuller, Richard A; Iwamura, Takuya; Chadès, Iadine

    2015-06-07

    Implementation of adaptation actions to protect biodiversity is limited by uncertainty about the future. One reason for this is the fear of making the wrong decisions caused by the myriad future scenarios presented to decision-makers. We propose an adaptive management (AM) method for optimally managing a population under uncertain and changing habitat conditions. Our approach incorporates multiple future scenarios and continually learns the best management strategy from observations, even as conditions change. We demonstrate the performance of our AM approach by applying it to the spatial management of migratory shorebird habitats on the East Asian-Australasian flyway, predicted to be severely impacted by future sea-level rise. By accounting for non-stationary dynamics, our solution protects 25,000 more birds per year than the current best stationary approach. Our approach can be applied to many ecological systems that require efficient adaptation strategies for an uncertain future. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  19. Exponential convergence on a continuous Monte Carlo transport problem

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Booth, T.E.

    1997-01-01

    For more than a decade, it has been known that exponential convergence on discrete transport problems was possible using adaptive Monte Carlo techniques. An adaptive Monte Carlo method that empirically produces exponential convergence on a simple continuous transport problem is described

  20. Environmental Impact Assessment of a School Building in Iceland Using LCA-Including the Effect of Long Distance Transport of Materials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nargessadat Emami

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Buildings are the key components of urban areas and society as a complex system. A life cycle assessment was applied to estimate the environmental impacts of the resources applied in the building envelope, floor slabs, and interior walls of the Vættaskóli-Engi building in Reykjavik, Iceland. The scope of this study included four modules of extraction and transportation of raw material to the manufacturing site, production of the construction materials, and transport to the building site, as described in the standard EN 15804. The total environmental effects of the school building in terms of global warming potential, ozone depletion potential, human toxicity, acidification, and eutrophication were calculated. The total global warming potential impact was equal to 255 kg of CO2 eq/sqm, which was low compared to previous studies and was due to the limited system boundary of the current study. The effect of long-distance overseas transport of materials was noticeable in terms of acidification (25% and eutrophication (31% while it was negligible in other impact groups. The results also concluded that producing the cement in Iceland caused less environmental impact in all five impact categories compared to the case in which the cement was imported from Germany. The major contribution of this work is that the environmental impacts of different plans for domestic production or import of construction materials to Iceland can be precisely assessed in order to identify effective measures to move towards a sustainable built environment in Iceland, and also to provide consistent insights for stakeholders.

  1. The energy logistic model for analyses of transportation- and energy systems; Energilogistikmodell foer systemberaekningar av transport- och energifoersoerjningssystem

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Blinge, M

    1995-05-01

    The Energy Logistic Model has been improved to become a tool for analysis of all production processes, transportation systems and systems including several energy users and several fuels. Two cases were studied. The first case deals with terminal equipment for inter modal transport systems and the second case deals with diesel fuelled trucks, cranes and machines in the Goeteborg area. In both cases, the environmental improvements of the city air quality are analyzed when natural gas is substituted for diesel oil. The comparison between inter modal transport and road haulage shows that the environmental impacts from the operations at the terminal are limited, and that the potential for environmental benefits when using inter modal transport is improving with the transportation distance. The choice of electricity production system is of great importance when calculating the environmental impact from railway traffic in the total analysis of the transportation system. 13 refs, 27 tabs

  2. Environmental fate and transport of chemical signatures from buried landmines -- Screening model formulation and initial simulations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Phelan, J.M.; Webb, S.W.

    1997-06-01

    The fate and transport of chemical signature molecules that emanate from buried landmines is strongly influenced by physical chemical properties and by environmental conditions of the specific chemical compounds. Published data have been evaluated as the input parameters that are used in the simulation of the fate and transport processes. A one-dimensional model developed for screening agricultural pesticides was modified and used to simulate the appearance of a surface flux above a buried landmine, estimate the subsurface total concentration, and show the phase specific concentrations at the ground surface. The physical chemical properties of TNT cause a majority of the mass released to the soil system to be bound to the solid phase soil particles. The majority of the transport occurs in the liquid phase with diffusion and evaporation driven advection of soil water as the primary mechanisms for the flux to the ground surface. The simulations provided herein should only be used for initial conceptual designs of chemical pre-concentration subsystems or complete detection systems. The physical processes modeled required necessary simplifying assumptions to allow for analytical solutions. Emerging numerical simulation tools will soon be available that should provide more realistic estimates that can be used to predict the success of landmine chemical detection surveys based on knowledge of the chemical and soil properties, and environmental conditions where the mines are buried. Additional measurements of the chemical properties in soils are also needed before a fully predictive approach can be confidently applied.

  3. Assessment of transport performance index for urban transport development strategies — Incorporating residents' preferences

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ambarwati, Lasmini, E-mail: L.Ambarwati@tudelft.nl [Department of Transport and Planning, TU Delft (Netherlands); Department of Civil Engineering, Brawijaya University (Indonesia); Verhaeghe, Robert, E-mail: R.Verhaeghe@tudelft.nl [Department of Transport and Planning, TU Delft (Netherlands); Arem, Bart van, E-mail: B.vanArem@tudelft.nl [Department of Transport and Planning, TU Delft (Netherlands); Pel, Adam J., E-mail: A.J.Pel@tudelft.nl [Department of Transport and Planning, TU Delft (Netherlands)

    2017-03-15

    The performance of urban transport depends on a variety of factors related to metropolitan structure; in particular, the patterns of commuting, roads and public transport (PT) systems. To evaluate urban transport planning efforts, there is a need for a metric expressing the aggregate performance of the city's transport systems which should relate to residents' preferences. The existing metrics have typically focused on a measure to express the proximity of job locations to residences. A Transport Performance Index (TPI) is proposed in which the total cost of transportation system (operational and environmental costs) is divided by willingness to pay (WTP) for transport plus the willingness to accept (WTA) the environmental effects on residents. Transport operational as well as the environmental costs are derived from a simulation of all transport systems, to particular designs of spatial development. Willingness to pay for transport and willingness to accept the environmental effects are derived from surveys among residents. Simulations were modelled of Surabaya's spatial structure and public transport expansion. The results indicate that the current TPI is high, which will double by 2030. With a hypothetical polycentric city structure and adjusted job housing balance, a lower index occurs because of the improvements in urban transport performance. A low index means that the residents obtain much benefit from the alternative proposed. This illustrates the importance of residents' preferences in urban spatial planning in order to achieve efficient urban transport. Applying the index suggests that city authorities should provide fair and equitable public transport systems for suburban residents in the effort to control the phenomenon of urban sprawl. This index is certainly a good tool and prospective benchmark for measuring sustainability in relation to urban development.

  4. Assessment of transport performance index for urban transport development strategies — Incorporating residents' preferences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ambarwati, Lasmini; Verhaeghe, Robert; Arem, Bart van; Pel, Adam J.

    2017-01-01

    The performance of urban transport depends on a variety of factors related to metropolitan structure; in particular, the patterns of commuting, roads and public transport (PT) systems. To evaluate urban transport planning efforts, there is a need for a metric expressing the aggregate performance of the city's transport systems which should relate to residents' preferences. The existing metrics have typically focused on a measure to express the proximity of job locations to residences. A Transport Performance Index (TPI) is proposed in which the total cost of transportation system (operational and environmental costs) is divided by willingness to pay (WTP) for transport plus the willingness to accept (WTA) the environmental effects on residents. Transport operational as well as the environmental costs are derived from a simulation of all transport systems, to particular designs of spatial development. Willingness to pay for transport and willingness to accept the environmental effects are derived from surveys among residents. Simulations were modelled of Surabaya's spatial structure and public transport expansion. The results indicate that the current TPI is high, which will double by 2030. With a hypothetical polycentric city structure and adjusted job housing balance, a lower index occurs because of the improvements in urban transport performance. A low index means that the residents obtain much benefit from the alternative proposed. This illustrates the importance of residents' preferences in urban spatial planning in order to achieve efficient urban transport. Applying the index suggests that city authorities should provide fair and equitable public transport systems for suburban residents in the effort to control the phenomenon of urban sprawl. This index is certainly a good tool and prospective benchmark for measuring sustainability in relation to urban development.

  5. Assessment of the environmental impacts produced by the transport of radioactive materials through urban areas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    DuCharme, A.R.; Taylor, J.M.; Tierney, M.S.; Finley, B.H.

    1977-01-01

    Sandia Laboratories is performing an environmental assessment for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to ascertain the impacts produced by the transportation of radioactive materials near and through a large, densely populated area. Radiological, nonradiological and economic environmental impacts due to the transportation of all radioactive materials are considered, excepting those related to weapons, weapon components, or shipments on military vehicles. Although New York City is being studied initially to execute the methodology as a function of a real, complex urban environment, the assessment model developed is general in its basic content and is suitable for application to any urban area. Radiological consequences are being computed for cases involving ''normal'' and accident conditions. In the ''normal'' case, nothing unusual takes place, but small radiation doses are still received by nearby people. In the accident case, dispersion of possibly released material away from the accident site is considered. In addition, impacts due to deviations from quality assurance practices, as a result of human error, are being calculated using the assessment model in a special manner. Certain aspects of sabotage and diversion are also being investigated for an urban setting. Radiological consequences are being quantified in terms of human health effects and decontamination costs

  6. An economic analysis of transportation fuel policies in Brazil: Fuel choice, land use, and environmental impacts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nuñez, Hector M.; Önal, Hayri

    2016-01-01

    Brazil uses taxes, subsidies, and blending mandates as policy instruments to manage and stabilize its transportation fuel markets. The fuel sector has been very dynamic in recent years due to frequent policy adjustments and variable market conditions. In this paper, we use a price endogenous economic simulation model to analyze the impacts of such policy adjustments under various challenging conditions in the global ethanol and sugar markets. Our analysis specifically focuses on Brazilian producers' supply responses, consumers' driving demand and fuel choice, ethanol trade, land use, greenhouse gas emissions, and social welfare. The model results show that (i) under a low ethanol blending rate, conventional vehicles would be driven significantly less while flex-fuel and ethanol-dedicated vehicles would not be affected significantly; (ii) lowering the fuel taxes adversely affects the competitiveness of sugarcane ethanol against gasoline blends, thus lowering producers' surplus; and (iii) while a reduction in fuel taxes is advantageous in terms of overall social welfare, it has serious environmental impacts by increasing the GHG emissions from transportation fuels consumed in Brazil. - Highlights: • We examine the economic and environmental impacts of Brazilian fuel policies. • We also analyze impacts under different sugar and ethanol markets conditions. • Lowering blending rate reduces distance driven by conventional cars. • Lowering fuel tax rates affects competitiveness of ethanol against gasoline blend. • Reducing fuel tax rates has dramatic environmental impacts by increasing emissions.

  7. Structural Characterization of Heme Environmental Mutants of CgHmuT that Shuttles Heme Molecules to Heme Transporters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Norifumi Muraki

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Corynebacteria contain a heme uptake system encoded in hmuTUV genes, in which HmuT protein acts as a heme binding protein to transport heme to the cognate transporter HmuUV. The crystal structure of HmuT from Corynebacterium glutamicum (CgHmuT reveals that heme is accommodated in the central cleft with His141 and Tyr240 as the axial ligands and that Tyr240 forms a hydrogen bond with Arg242. In this work, the crystal structures of H141A, Y240A, and R242A mutants were determined to understand the role of these residues for the heme binding of CgHmuT. Overall and heme environmental structures of these mutants were similar to those of the wild type, suggesting that there is little conformational change in the heme-binding cleft during heme transport reaction with binding and the dissociation of heme. A loss of one axial ligand or the hydrogen bonding interaction with Tyr240 resulted in an increase in the redox potential of the heme for CgHmuT to be reduced by dithionite, though the wild type was not reduced under physiological conditions. These results suggest that the heme environmental structure stabilizes the ferric heme binding in CgHmuT, which will be responsible for efficient heme uptake under aerobic conditions where Corynebacteria grow.

  8. Adaptive Management of Environmental Flows: Using Irrigation Infrastructure to Deliver Environmental Benefits During a Large Hypoxic Blackwater Event in the Southern Murray-Darling Basin, Australia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watts, Robyn J.; Kopf, R. Keller; McCasker, Nicole; Howitt, Julia A.; Conallin, John; Wooden, Ian; Baumgartner, Lee

    2018-03-01

    Widespread flooding in south-eastern Australia in 2010 resulted in a hypoxic (low dissolved oxygen, DO) blackwater (high dissolved carbon) event affecting 1800 kilometres of the Murray-Darling Basin. There was concern that prolonged low DO would result in death of aquatic biota. Australian federal and state governments and local stakeholders collaborated to create refuge areas by releasing water with higher DO from irrigation canals via regulating structures (known as `irrigation canal escapes') into rivers in the Edward-Wakool system. To determine if these environmental flows resulted in good environmental outcomes in rivers affected by hypoxic blackwater, we evaluated (1) water chemistry data collected before, during and after the intervention, from river reaches upstream and downstream of the three irrigation canal escapes used to deliver the environmental flows, (2) fish assemblage surveys undertaken before and after the blackwater event, and (3) reports of fish kills from fisheries officers and local citizens. The environmental flows had positive outcomes; mean DO increased by 1-2 mg L-1 for at least 40 km downstream of two escapes, and there were fewer days when DO was below the sub-lethal threshold of 4 mg L-1 and the lethal threshold of 2 mg L-1 at which fish are known to become stressed or die, respectively. There were no fish deaths in reaches receiving environmental flows, whereas fish deaths were reported elsewhere throughout the system. This study demonstrates that adaptive management of environmental flows can occur through collaboration and the timely provision of monitoring results and local knowledge.

  9. Adaption oder Anpassung? Umweltbewusstsein in der Region um den Plattensee/Balaton (Adaptation or a Change in Attitude? Environmental Awareness in the Region of Lake Balaton

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magdolna Leveleki

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Over the last decades, climate change has become one of the most relevant issues of modern society. According to the main trends observed in the last decades, it can be concluded that current human efforts are not sufficient to reverse climate change. Therefore, two possible ways of reaction may be envisaged: on the one hand, increasing efforts for prevention and, on the other, preparing for the inevitable changes. As far as the latter is concerned, research on climate change has become a top priority worldwide, as well as, in the European Union, including Hungary. Our sociology working group at Pannon University carried out a research during the years of 2013-2014 related to the social effects of climate change, entitled „Regional effects of extreme weather conditions due to climate change and the possibilities of reducing damage in the upcoming decades”. The Hungarian eco-philopsophical literature highights two main issues concerning the adaptation and a change in values and in attitude related to climate change. The first question is whether we agree with natural scientits, for whom it is undisputed that climate change is caused to a great extent by antropogene effects, and kowing the negative consequences, whether we consider human responsibility in general, and more specifically, our own personal one. The second question is whether a shift in our mindset and in our values is necessary in order to adapt successfully to the new circumstances. If so, what could be the essence of this „paradigm shift” and whether any sign of change can be observed. Our research examined this latter aspect with a special focus on environmental values and attitudes. We have collected empirical data in a region of Eastern-Central Europe that is especially sensitive to the effects of climate change both from an ecological and a social point of view. We compared the results of our research to those of the Eurobarometer and of the Hungarian value sociology

  10. 40 CFR 230.6 - Adaptability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Adaptability. 230.6 Section 230.6 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) OCEAN DUMPING SECTION 404(b)(1) GUIDELINES FOR SPECIFICATION OF DISPOSAL SITES FOR DREDGED OR FILL MATERIAL General § 230.6 Adaptability. (a...

  11. Neighborhood environment and walking for transport and recreation in Central European older adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jana Pelclová

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Neighborhood environment is an aspect that influences physical activity, mainly walking. Hence, built environment research may help to use environmental and policy strategies to increase physical activity. OBJECTIVE: This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the association between perceived neighborhood environment and meeting the recommendation of at least 30 minutes of walking 5 or more days a week within active transportation and leisure-time domains in Central European older adults. METHODS: Four hundred and fifty six healthy ambulatory older adults filled out the modified and culturally adapted version of the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (ANEWS for obtaining perceived environment information and the self-administrative long version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ for assessing physical activity levels. RESULTS: Respondents living in high residential density neighborhoods (OR 1.87, living in flats (OR 2.09 and in location with ≤100,000 inhabitants (OR 1.63 were more likely to meet recommendation within walking for transportation. Owning a dog was associated with meeting recommendation within walking for leisure (OR 1.69. CONCLUSIONS: This study supported the specific impact of environment on meeting PA recommendations within transportation and leisure time walking in older adults. Out of all perceived neighborhood environmental attributes received from ANEWS questionnaire, only high residential density was positively associated with meeting recommendation within total walking and walking for transport.

  12. [Roles of organic acid metabolism in plant adaptation to nutrient deficiency and aluminum toxicity stress].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jianfei; Shen, Qirong

    2006-11-01

    Organic acids not only act as the intermediates in carbon metabolism, but also exert key roles in the plant adaptation to nutrient deficiency and metal stress and in the plant-microbe interactions at root-soil interface. From the viewpoint of plant nutrition, this paper reviewed the research progress on the formation and physiology of organic acids in plant, and their functions in nitrogen metabolism, phosphorus and iron uptake, aluminum tolerance, and soil ecology. New findings in the membrane transport of organic acids and the biotechnological manipulation of organic acids in transgenic model were also discussed. This novel perspectives of organic acid metabolism and its potential manipulation might present a possibility to understand the fundamental aspects of plant physiology, and lead to the new strategies to obtain crop varieties better adapted to environmental and metal stress.

  13. Fisheries: climate change impacts and adaptation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2003-01-01

    The report entitled Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation : A Canadian Perspective, presents a summary of research regarding the impacts of climate change on key sectors over the past five years as it relates to Canada. This chapter on fisheries focuses on the impact of climate change on Canada's marine and freshwater fisheries, and the role of adaptation in reducing the vulnerability of the sector. Canadian fisheries encompass the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans as well as freshwater systems. Fish health, productivity and distribution is strongly influenced by climatic factors such as air and water temperature, precipitation and wind. Most fish species have a distinct set of environmental conditions for optimal growth and survival. If the conditions change in response to changing climate, the fish may be affected. Some of the impacts include reduced growth, increased competition, a shift in species distribution, greater susceptibility to disease, and altered ecosystem function. Studies show that in some areas, fisheries may already be experiencing the effect of climate change. Recommendations were suggested on how to deal with the impacts associated with climate change in sensitive environments. It was noted that actions taken in the fisheries sector will have implications for the water resources, transportation, tourism and human health sectors. 103 refs., 2 tabs., 6 figs

  14. Sexual Selection and Adaptation to Novel Environments

    OpenAIRE

    Martinossi-Allibert, Ivain

    2017-01-01

    The work included in this thesis aims at exploring the environmental sensitivity of benefits and costs of sexual selection through a combined empirical and theoretical effort, to increase our understanding of the impact of environmental change on sexually reproducing populations.Can sexual selection promote adaptation to novel environments? Sexual selection for good genes should accelerate adaptation by granting higher reproductive success to individuals of high genetic quality. However, sexu...

  15. Does the Effect of Micro-Environmental Factors on a Street's Appeal for Adults' Bicycle Transport Vary across Different Macro-Environments? An Experimental Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mertens, Lieze; Van Cauwenberg, Jelle; Ghekiere, Ariane; Van Holle, Veerle; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; Deforche, Benedicte; Nasar, Jack; Van de Weghe, Nico; Van Dyck, Delfien

    2015-01-01

    Characteristics of the physical environment can be classified into two broad categories: macro- ("raw" urban planning features influenced on a regional level) and micro- (features specifically within a streetscape influenced on a neighborhood level) environmental factors. In urban planning applications, it is more feasible to modify conditions at the neighborhood level than at the regional level. Yet for the promotion of bicycle transport we need to know whether relationships between micro-environmental factors and bicycle transport depend on different types of macro-environments. This study aimed to identify whether the effect of three micro-environmental factors (i.e., evenness of the cycle path surface, speed limits and type of separation between cycle path and motorized traffic) on the street's appeal for adults' bicycle transport varied across three different macro-environments (i.e., low, medium and high residential density street). In total, 389 middle-aged adults completed a web-based questionnaire consisting of socio-demographic characteristics and a series of choice tasks with manipulated photographs, depicting two possible routes to cycle along. Conjoint analysis was used to analyze the data. Although the magnitude of the overall effects differed, in each macro-environment (i.e., low, medium and high residential density), middle-aged adults preferred a speed limit of 30 km/h, an even cycle path surface and a hedge as separation between motorized traffic and the cycle path compared to a speed limit of 50 or 70 km/h, a slightly uneven or uneven cycle path surface and a curb as separation or no separation between motorized traffic and the cycle path. Our results suggest that irrespective of the macro-environment, the same micro-environmental factors are preferred in middle-aged adults concerning the street's appeal for bicycle transport. The controlled environment simulations in the experimental choice task have the potential to inform real life

  16. Does the Effect of Micro-Environmental Factors on a Street's Appeal for Adults' Bicycle Transport Vary across Different Macro-Environments? An Experimental Study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lieze Mertens

    Full Text Available Characteristics of the physical environment can be classified into two broad categories: macro- ("raw" urban planning features influenced on a regional level and micro- (features specifically within a streetscape influenced on a neighborhood level environmental factors. In urban planning applications, it is more feasible to modify conditions at the neighborhood level than at the regional level. Yet for the promotion of bicycle transport we need to know whether relationships between micro-environmental factors and bicycle transport depend on different types of macro-environments. This study aimed to identify whether the effect of three micro-environmental factors (i.e., evenness of the cycle path surface, speed limits and type of separation between cycle path and motorized traffic on the street's appeal for adults' bicycle transport varied across three different macro-environments (i.e., low, medium and high residential density street.In total, 389 middle-aged adults completed a web-based questionnaire consisting of socio-demographic characteristics and a series of choice tasks with manipulated photographs, depicting two possible routes to cycle along. Conjoint analysis was used to analyze the data.Although the magnitude of the overall effects differed, in each macro-environment (i.e., low, medium and high residential density, middle-aged adults preferred a speed limit of 30 km/h, an even cycle path surface and a hedge as separation between motorized traffic and the cycle path compared to a speed limit of 50 or 70 km/h, a slightly uneven or uneven cycle path surface and a curb as separation or no separation between motorized traffic and the cycle path.Our results suggest that irrespective of the macro-environment, the same micro-environmental factors are preferred in middle-aged adults concerning the street's appeal for bicycle transport. The controlled environment simulations in the experimental choice task have the potential to inform real life

  17. Contributions to the environmental assessment of road transport

    OpenAIRE

    Moliner Santisteve, Enrique

    2013-01-01

    El objetivo de esta tesis es proporcionar un mayor grado de conocimiento sobre ciertos aspectos medioambientales del transporte por carretera que aún no han sido investigados en profundidad. En concreto, la tesis aborda las siguientes líneas de investigación: análisis del ciclo de vida (ACV) de los pavimentos de carreteras, ACV del ruido del transporte por carretera, y valoración de los costes externos del ruido del transporte por carretera. La evaluación ambiental del transporte rodado se...

  18. On the electrification of road transportation – A review of the environmental, economic, and social performance of electric two-wheelers

    OpenAIRE

    WEISS MARTIN; DEKKER Peter; MORO ALBERTO; SCHOLZ Harald; MARTIN Patel

    2015-01-01

    Electrification is widely considered as a viable strategy for reducing the oil dependency and environmental impacts of road transportation. In pursuit of this strategy, most attention has been paid to electric cars. However, substantial, yet untapped, potentials could be realized in urban areas through the large-scale introduction of electric two-wheelers. Here, we review the environmental, economic, and social performance of electric two-wheelers, demonstrating that these are generally more ...

  19. Modeling of the residue transport of lambda cyhalothrin, cypermethrin, malathion and endosulfan in three different environmental compartments in the Philippines

    OpenAIRE

    Senoro, Delia B.; Maravillas, Sharon L.; Ghafari, Nima; Rivera, Clarissa C.; Quiambao, Erwin C.; Lorenzo, Maria Carmina M.

    2016-01-01

    This study aims to determine the environmental transport and fate of the residue of four Philippines priority chemicals; i.e., lambda cyhalothrin (L-cyhalothrin), cypermethrin, endosulfan and malathion, in three different environmental compartments (air, water and soil). In the Philippines, pesticide application is the most common method of controlling pests and weeds in rice and vegetable farming. This practice aided the agricultural industry to minimize losses and increase yield. However, i...

  20. The motorization of peoples' transportation in China. Between economic growth and sustainability; La motorisation du transport de personnes en Chine. Entre croissance economique et soutenabilite

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Allaire, J.

    2004-01-01

    This paper aims at presenting the origin of the boom of motorized individual transport in China, its already palpable consequences, and the adaptations of the government. The first part shows how the expansion of the automotive industry has been organized by the government. The second part presents the negative externalities linked with motorization: consumption of the urban space, social costs, local and global environmental costs, geo-strategical risks. Finally, the third part explains how the Chinese decision makers try to reduce the problems generated by the shift from a bicycle civilization to an automobile civilization. (J.S.)

  1. L(sub 1) Adaptive Control Design for NASA AirSTAR Flight Test Vehicle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregory, Irene M.; Cao, Chengyu; Hovakimyan, Naira; Zou, Xiaotian

    2009-01-01

    In this paper we present a new L(sub 1) adaptive control architecture that directly compensates for matched as well as unmatched system uncertainty. To evaluate the L(sub 1) adaptive controller, we take advantage of the flexible research environment with rapid prototyping and testing of control laws in the Airborne Subscale Transport Aircraft Research system at the NASA Langley Research Center. We apply the L(sub 1) adaptive control laws to the subscale turbine powered Generic Transport Model. The presented results are from a full nonlinear simulation of the Generic Transport Model and some preliminary pilot evaluations of the L(sub 1) adaptive control law.

  2. Impact of public transportation market share and other transportation and environmental policy variables on sustainable transportation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-01-01

    Policies that encourage reduced travel, such as traveling shorter distances, and increased use of more efficient transportation modes, such as public transportation and high-occupancy private automobiles, are often considered one of several possible ...

  3. Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction Project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McMakin, A.H.; Cannon, S.D.; Finch, S.M.

    1992-07-01

    The objective of the Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction (HEDR) Project is to estimate the radiation doses that individuals and populations could have received from nuclear operations at Hanford since 1944. The TSP consists of experts in environmental pathways, epidemiology, surface-water transport, ground-water transport, statistics, demography, agriculture, meteorology, nuclear engineering, radiation dosimetry, and cultural anthropology. Included are appointed technical members representing the states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, a representative of Native American tribes, and an individual representing the public. The project is divided into the following technical tasks. These tasks correspond to the path radionuclides followed from release to impact on humans (dose estimates): Source terms, environmental transport, environmental monitoring data, demography, food consumption, and agriculture, and environmental pathways and dose estimates. Progress is discussed

  4. TransECO{sub 2}. Demonstration project: Environmental and economic benefits by environmental management in freight transportation. Main report; TransECO{sub 2}. Demonstrationsprojekt: Miljoemaessige og oekonomiske benefits ved miljoestyring i godstransport. Hovedrapport

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2001-07-01

    The aim of the transECO{sub 2} project has was to carry out cooperation projects between companies in order to demonstrate an effect for the environment and for the economy of the companies (earnings and costs) of environmental management related to transportation of goods. 10 demonstration projects were carried thorugh in cooperation with 14 companies. 8 subjects were analysed through the transECO{sub 2} project: 1. Environmental data; 2. Benefits from the environmental management work; 3. Use of new technology; 4. Cooperation; 5. Environment and logistics; 6. Education and competence; 7. Environment and business strategy; 8. Environmental statement/tagging. (EHS)

  5. Tadpole transport logistics in a Neotropical poison frog: indications for strategic planning and adaptive plasticity in anuran parental care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ringler, Eva; Pašukonis, Andrius; Hödl, Walter; Ringler, Max

    2013-11-09

    correlated with displacement distance from the respective home territories, indicating a strategic non-random tadpole transport rather than random search for suitable tadpole deposition sites during tadpole transport. The observation of females who occasionally transported larvae supports the prevalence of adaptive plasticity in parental behaviours even in a species with a rather low level of parental care.

  6. A decade of adaptive governance scholarship: synthesis and future directions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brian C. Chaffin

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Adaptive governance is an emergent form of environmental governance that is increasingly called upon by scholars and practitioners to coordinate resource management regimes in the face of the complexity and uncertainty associated with rapid environmental change. Although the term "adaptive governance" is not exclusively applied to the governance of social-ecological systems, related research represents a significant outgrowth of literature on resilience, social-ecological systems, and environmental governance. We present a chronology of major scholarship on adaptive governance, synthesizing efforts to define the concept and identifying the array of governance concepts associated with transformation toward adaptive governance. Based on this synthesis, we define adaptive governance as a range of interactions between actors, networks, organizations, and institutions emerging in pursuit of a desired state for social-ecological systems. In addition, we identify and discuss ambiguities in adaptive governance scholarship such as the roles of adaptive management, crisis, and a desired state for governance of social-ecological systems. Finally, we outline a research agenda to examine whether an adaptive governance approach can become institutionalized under current legal frameworks and political contexts. We suggest a further investigation of the relationship between adaptive governance and the principles of good governance; the roles of power and politics in the emergence of adaptive governance; and potential interventions such as legal reform that may catalyze or enhance governance adaptations or transformation toward adaptive governance.

  7. MISTRAL: A game-theoretical model to allocate security measures in a multi-modal chemical transportation network with adaptive adversaries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Talarico, Luca; Reniers, Genserik; Sörensen, Kenneth; Springael, Johan

    2015-01-01

    In this paper we present a multi-modal security-transportation model to allocate security resources within a chemical supply chain which is characterized by the use of different transport modes, each having their own security features. We consider security-related risks so as to take measures against terrorist acts which could target critical transportation systems. The idea of addressing security-related issues, by supporting decisions for preventing or mitigating intentional acts on transportation infrastructure, has gained attention in academic research only recently. The decision model presented in this paper is based on game theory and it can be employed to organize intelligence capabilities aimed at securing chemical supply chains. It enables detection and warning against impending attacks on transportation infrastructures and the subsequent adoption of security countermeasures. This is of extreme importance for preventing terrorist attacks and for avoiding (possibly huge) human and economic losses. In our work we also provide data sources and numerical simulations by applying the proposed model to a illustrative multi-modal chemical supply chain. - Highlights: • A model to increase the security in a multimodal chemical supply chain is proposed. • The model considers adaptive opponents having multi-attribute utility functions. • The model is based on game theory using an attacker–defender schema. • The model provides recommendations about where to allocate security measures. • Numerical simulations on a sample multimodal chemical supply chain are shown

  8. Neighborhood Walkability and Walking for Transport Among South Asians in the MASALA Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelley, Elizabeth A; Kandula, Namratha R; Kanaya, Alka M; Yen, Irene H

    2016-05-01

    The neighborhood built environment can have a strong influence on physical activity levels, particularly walking for transport. In examining racial/ethnic differences in physical activity, one important and understudied group is South Asians. This study aims to describe the association between neighborhood walkability and walking for transport among South Asian men and women in the United States in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) Study. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014 using the baseline dataset of the MASALA study (N = 906). Mean age was 55 years old and 54% of the sample was male. Weekly minutes spent walking for transport was assessed using a questionnaire adapted from the Cross-Cultural Activity Participation Study. Neighborhood walkability was measured using Walk Score, a composite index of walkability. After adjusting for covariates, with each 10-point increase in Walk Score, South Asian American men engaged in 13 additional minutes per week of walking for transport (P = .008). No association was observed between walkability and walking for transport in South Asian American women. Results provide new evidence for how the effects of environmental influences on walking for transport may vary between South Asian men and women.

  9. Adaptation and inertia in dynamic environments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stieglitz, Nils; Knudsen, Thorbjørn; Becker, Markus C.

    2016-01-01

    responses to these dimensions. Our results show how frequent directional changes undermine the value of exploration and decisively shift performance advantages to inert organizations that restrict exploration. In contrast, increased environmental variance rewards exploration. Our results also show that......Research summary: We address conflicting claims and mixed empirical findings about adaptation as a response to increased environmental dynamism. We disentangle distinct dimensions of environmental dynamism—the direction, magnitude, and frequency of change—and identify how selection shapes adaptive...... business environments characterized by persistent trends and by large, infrequently occurring structural shocks reward strategic pursuit of temporary advantage. Thus, exploration and strategic flexibility are preferred strategies. In contrast, the challenge in frequently changing environments with fleeting...

  10. New features on the environmental regulation of metabolism revealed by modeling the cellular proteomic adaptations induced by light, carbon and inorganic nitrogen in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stéphanie Gérin

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Microalgae are currently emerging to be very promising organisms for the production of biofuels and high-added value compounds. Understanding the influence of environmental alterations on their metabolism is a crucial issue. Light, carbon and nitrogen availability have been reported to induce important metabolic adaptations. So far, the influence of these variables has essentially been studied while varying only one or two environmental factors at the same time. The goal of the present work was to model the cellular proteomic adaptations of the green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii upon the simultaneous changes of light intensity, carbon concentrations (CO2 and acetate and inorganic nitrogen concentrations (nitrate and ammonium in the culture medium. Statistical design of experiments (DOE enabled to define 32 culture conditions to be tested experimentally. Relative protein abundance was quantified by two dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE. Additional assays for respiration, photosynthesis, and lipid and pigment concentrations were also carried out. A hierarchical clustering survey enabled to partition biological variables (proteins + assays into eight co-regulated clusters. In most cases, the biological variables partitioned in the same cluster had already been reported to participate to common biological functions (acetate assimilation, bioenergetic processes, light harvesting, Calvin cycle and protein metabolism. The environmental regulation within each cluster was further characterized by a series of multivariate methods including principal component analysis and multiple linear regressions. This metadata analysis enabled to highlight the existence of a clear regulatory pattern for every cluster and to mathematically simulate the effects of light, carbon and nitrogen. The influence of these environmental variables on cellular metabolism is described in details and thoroughly discussed. This work provides an overview

  11. Invisible transport pathways. How dangerous are pipeline tracks?; Unsichtbare Transportwege. Wie gefaehrlich sind Pipelinetrassen?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Konersmann, Rainer; Kuehl, Christiane; Wilk, Werner [Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin (Germany). Arbeitsgruppe ' Risikomanagement'

    2008-11-15

    Pipelines are usually buried and have the function of long-distance transport. For this, special safety measures are requires. For example, pipelines of the chemical industry have defined locations that must be easily identifiable. Pipelines must be adapted to infrastructural and topographic boundary conditions, in consideration of environmental protection and because the pipeline may be damaged by external influences. Even minor releases of chemical substances may pollute water and soil and cause damage to humans. The contribution discusses the possible damage resulting from a pipeline leak. (orig.)

  12. 49 CFR 215.117 - Defective roller bearing adapter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Defective roller bearing adapter. 215.117 Section... Suspension System § 215.117 Defective roller bearing adapter. A railroad may not place or continue in service a car, if the car has a roller bearing adapter that is— (a) Cracked or broken; (b) Not in its design...

  13. Socio-environmental policy of Brazilian electric sector. Effects of environmental legislation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amaral, A.C.; Menezes, C.F.S.

    1993-01-01

    The great socio-environmental policies of Brazilian electric sector are presented, including the aspects of environmental legislation that affects the electric sector and the difficulties faced in order to adapting to this situation. The main problems that the electric sector has found to establishing its socio-environmental policies are also described. (C.M.)

  14. Adaptation of intertidal biofilm communities is driven by metal ion and oxidative stresses

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Weipeng; Wang, Yong; Lee, On On; Tian, Renmao; Cao, Huiluo; Gao, Zhaoming; Li, Yongxin; Yu, Li; Xu, Ying; Qian, Pei-Yuan

    2013-01-01

    Marine organisms in intertidal zones are subjected to periodical fluctuations and wave activities. To understand how microbes in intertidal biofilms adapt to the stresses, the microbial metagenomes of biofilms from intertidal and subtidal zones were compared. The genes responsible for resistance to metal ion and oxidative stresses were enriched in both 6-day and 12-day intertidal biofilms, including genes associated with secondary metabolism, inorganic ion transport and metabolism, signal transduction and extracellular polymeric substance metabolism. In addition, these genes were more enriched in 12-day than 6-day intertidal biofilms. We hypothesize that a complex signaling network is used for stress tolerance and propose a model illustrating the relationships between these functions and environmental metal ion concentrations and oxidative stresses. These findings show that bacteria use diverse mechanisms to adapt to intertidal zones and indicate that the community structures of intertidal biofilms are modulated by metal ion and oxidative stresses.

  15. Adaptation of intertidal biofilm communities is driven by metal ion and oxidative stresses

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Weipeng

    2013-11-11

    Marine organisms in intertidal zones are subjected to periodical fluctuations and wave activities. To understand how microbes in intertidal biofilms adapt to the stresses, the microbial metagenomes of biofilms from intertidal and subtidal zones were compared. The genes responsible for resistance to metal ion and oxidative stresses were enriched in both 6-day and 12-day intertidal biofilms, including genes associated with secondary metabolism, inorganic ion transport and metabolism, signal transduction and extracellular polymeric substance metabolism. In addition, these genes were more enriched in 12-day than 6-day intertidal biofilms. We hypothesize that a complex signaling network is used for stress tolerance and propose a model illustrating the relationships between these functions and environmental metal ion concentrations and oxidative stresses. These findings show that bacteria use diverse mechanisms to adapt to intertidal zones and indicate that the community structures of intertidal biofilms are modulated by metal ion and oxidative stresses.

  16. Sustainable Transportation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hall, Ralph P.; Gudmundsson, Henrik; Marsden, Greg

    2014-01-01

    The transportation system is the backbone of economic and social progress and the means by which humans access goods and services and connect with one another. Yet, as the scale of transportation activities has grown worldwide, so too have the negative environmental, social, and economic impacts...... that relate to the construction and maintenance of transportation infrastructure and the operation or use of the different transportation modes. The concept of sustainable transportation emerged in response to these concerns as part of the broader notion of sustainable development. Given the transportation...... sector’s significant contribution to global challenges such as climate change, it is often said that sustainable development cannot be achieved without sustainable transportation....

  17. A report from the second US/Japan workshop on global change research: Environmental response technologies (mitigation and adaptation). United States-Japan Science and Technology Agreement

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Edgerton, S. [comp.] [National Science Foundation, Washington, DC (United States). Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences; Mizuno, Tateki [comp.] [National Inst. for Resources and Environment, MITI (Japan)

    1993-12-31

    The Second US - Japan Workshop on Global Change: Environmental Response Technologies for Global Change was hosted by the Program on Resources at the East-West Center, in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 1--3, 1993, on behalf of the United States Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences (CEES) of the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology (FCCSET). This workshop brought together over fifty leading scientists from the two countries to review existing technologies and to identify needed research on the development of new technologies for mitigation and adaptation of global change. The Workshop was organized around three areas of research: (1) capture, fixation/utilization, and disposal of CO{sub 2} (e.g. CO{sub 2}, separation and capture technologies, ocean and land disposal of CO{sub 2}; (2) energy production and conservation technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (e.g. combustion efficiency, non-carbon based energy technologies, energy conservation technologies); and (3) adaptation technologies and practices related to global climate change (e.g., adaptation responses of crops to climate change, adapting urban infrastructure for climate change). Priorities for joint research in each of these areas were discussed. Selected papers have been processed separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.

  18. Country, climate change adaptation and colonisation: insights from an Indigenous adaptation planning process, Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nursey-Bray, Melissa; Palmer, Robert

    2018-03-01

    Indigenous peoples are going to be disproportionately affected by climate change. Developing tailored, place based, and culturally appropriate solutions will be necessary. Yet finding cultural and institutional 'fit' within and between competing values-based climate and environmental management governance regimes remains an ongoing challenge. This paper reports on a collaborative research project with the Arabana people of central Australia, that resulted in the production of the first Indigenous community-based climate change adaptation strategy in Australia. We aimed to try and understand what conditions are needed to support Indigenous driven adaptation initiatives, if there are any cultural differences that need accounting for and how, once developed they be integrated into existing governance arrangements. Our analysis found that climate change adaptation is based on the centrality of the connection to 'country' (traditional land), it needs to be aligned with cultural values, and focus on the building of adaptive capacity. We find that the development of climate change adaptation initiatives cannot be divorced from the historical context of how the Arabana experienced and collectively remember colonisation. We argue that in developing culturally responsive climate governance for and with Indigenous peoples, that that the history of colonisation and the ongoing dominance of entrenched Western governance regimes needs acknowledging and redressing into contemporary environmental/climate management.

  19. Transient environmental effects of light alloy substitutions in transport vehicles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caceres, Carlos H.

    2009-01-01

    Materials indices and exchange constants are combined with Field et al.'s fleet analysis [Field F, Kirchain R, Clark J. Life-cycle assessment and temporal distributions of emissions: developing a fleet-based analysis. J Indust Ecol 2000;4:71-91, (doi:10.1162/108819800569816)] to examine the time-dependent CO 2 emissions attached to the production of the Al and Mg alloys used to reduce the mass of transport vehicles. The model is used to breakdown the temporal pattern of upfront emissions of passenger cars according to the mass and CO 2 -footprint efficiency of typical automotive structural substitutions (castings, stiff panels and stiff beams), accounting for the effect of recycling. The fleet's upfront emissions of Al and Mg castings with high content of secondary metal are offset by the increased fuel efficiency after 4 years of driving. Al beams and panels and electrolytic Mg panels require between 8 and 15 years, whereas for panels and beams of Pidgeon Mg no environmental benefits ever materialise.

  20. Fuelling tomorrow's transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cadwallader, S.; Donovan, N.

    1995-11-01

    Fuelling Tomorrow's Transport provides a thorough analysis of key industry trends; developments in technology, fuel use and efficiency; environmental and legislative constraints; and company and governmental policy. It discusses in detail the changes facing the transport industry and analyses how the various technological, political and economic developments will affect the industry into the next century. Key issues addressed include: current and future fuel use in road, marine and aviation transport; growth in the transport sector and the impact on the oil market; likely scenarios for future transport fuelling; the latest developments in alternative fuels and engines, including electricity, natural gas, nuclear power and liquid hydrogen, and the commercial feasibility of these technologies; government policy and current and proposed legislative and fiscal incentives for the development and take-up of alternative fuels and engines; the driving force of the environmental debate; the current research and development programmes of individual companies; and the commercial openings offered by these developments. (author)

  1. Adjustment of Adaptive Gain with Bounded Linear Stability Analysis to Improve Time-Delay Margin for Metrics-Driven Adaptive Control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakhtiari-Nejad, Maryam; Nguyen, Nhan T.; Krishnakumar, Kalmanje Srinvas

    2009-01-01

    This paper presents the application of Bounded Linear Stability Analysis (BLSA) method for metrics driven adaptive control. The bounded linear stability analysis method is used for analyzing stability of adaptive control models, without linearizing the adaptive laws. Metrics-driven adaptive control introduces a notion that adaptation should be driven by some stability metrics to achieve robustness. By the application of bounded linear stability analysis method the adaptive gain is adjusted during the adaptation in order to meet certain phase margin requirements. Analysis of metrics-driven adaptive control is evaluated for a linear damaged twin-engine generic transport model of aircraft. The analysis shows that the system with the adjusted adaptive gain becomes more robust to unmodeled dynamics or time delay.

  2. Risk methodology for geologic disposal of radioactive waste: asymptotic properties of the environmental transport model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Helton, J.C.; Brown, J.B.; Iman, R.L.

    1981-02-01

    The Environmental Transport Model is a compartmental model developed to represent the surface movement of radionuclides. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the asymptotic behavior of the model and to acquire insight with respect to such behavior and the variables which influence it. For four variations of a hypothetical river receiving a radionuclide discharge, the following properties are considered: predicted asymptotic values for environmental radionuclide concentrations and time required for environmental radionuclide concentrations to reach 90% of their predicted asymptotic values. Independent variables of two types are used to define each variation of the river: variables which define physical properties of the river system (e.g., soil depth, river discharge and sediment resuspension) and variables which summarize radionuclide properties (i.e., distribution coefficients). Sensitivity analysis techniques based on stepwise regression are used to determine the dominant variables influencing the behavior of the model. This work constitutes part of a project at Sandia National Laboratories funded by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to develop a methodology to assess the risk associated with geologic disposal of radioactive waste

  3. The use of ethanol in the bus in public transport system of Salvador (Bahia): environmental benefits; O uso de onibus a etanol no sistema de transporte publico de Salvador (Bahia): beneficios ambientais

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carvalho, Alberto Rodamilans Freire de; Lopo, Luciene Matos; Pereira, Osvaldo Livio Soliano [Universidade Salvador (UNIFACS), BA (Brazil)

    2008-07-01

    This article makes an initial approach on the environmental benefits, the replacement of diesel vehicles to the public transportation system in Salvador by cars to ethanol and natural gas. It also makes an approach on reducing the emission of pollutants like carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate material, and estimates the environmental benefit caused by the reduction of the emission of pollutants. (author)

  4. A vadose zone Transport Processes Investigation within the glacial till at the Fernald Environmental Management Project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schwing, J.; Roepke, Craig Senninger; Brainard, James Robert; Glass, Robert John Jr.; Mann, Michael J.A.; Holt, Robert M..; Kriel, Kelly

    2007-01-01

    This report describes a model Transport Processes Investigation (TPI) where field-scale vadose zone flow and transport processes are identified and verified through a systematic field investigation at a contaminated DOE site. The objective of the TPI is to help with formulating accurate conceptual models and aid in implementing rational and cost effective site specific characterization strategies at contaminated sites with diverse hydrogeologic settings. Central to the TPI are Transport Processes Characterization (TPC) tests that incorporate field surveys and large-scale infiltration experiments. Hypotheses are formulated based on observed pedogenic and hydrogeologic features as well as information provided by literature searches. The field and literature information is then used to optimize the design of one or more infiltration experiments to field test the hypothesis. Findings from the field surveys and infiltration experiments are then synthesized to formulate accurate flow and transport conceptual models. Here we document a TPI implemented in the glacial till vadose zone at the Fernald Environmental Management Project (FEMP) in Fernald, Ohio, a US Department of Energy (DOE) uranium processing site. As a result of this TPI, the flow and transport mechanisms were identified through visualization of dye stain within extensive macro pore and fracture networks which provided the means for the infiltrate to bypass potential aquatards. Such mechanisms are not addressed in current vadose zone modeling and are generally missed by classical characterization methods

  5. Environmental Performance Evaluation of Ro-Ro Passenger Ferry Transportation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kristensen, Hans Otto Holmegaard; Hagemeister, Constantin

    2012-01-01

    /or emissions per transport unit, is related to the same unit for the different transport forms. For Ro-Ro passenger ferries it can be difficult to find a suitable common transport unit, as they often transport a mix of cargo, such as passengers, passenger cars, trucks, lorries, busses and other rolling...

  6. Technical center for transportation analyses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Foley, J.T.

    1978-01-01

    A description is presented of an information search/retrieval/research activity of Sandia Laboratories which provides technical environmental information which may be used in transportation risk analyses, environmental impact statements, development of design and test criteria for packaging of energy materials, and transportation mode research studies. General activities described are: (1) history of center development; (2) environmental information storage/retrieval system; (3) information searches; (4) data needs identification; and (5) field data acquisition system and applications

  7. Transcriptomic and proteomic analysis of Oenococcus oeni adaptation to wine stress conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mar Margalef-Català

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Oenococcus oeni, the main lactic acid bacteria responsible for malolactic fermentation in wine, has to adapt to stressful conditions, such as low pH and high ethanol content. In this study, the changes in the transcriptome and the proteome of O. oeni PSU-1 during the adaptation period before MLF start have been studied. DNA microarrays were used for the transcriptomic analysis and two complementary proteomic techniques, 2-D DIGE and iTRAQ labeling were used to analyze the proteomic response. One of the most influenced functions in PSU-1 due to inoculation into wine-like medium (WLM was translation, showing the over-expression of certain ribosomal genes and the corresponding proteins. Amino acid metabolism and transport was also altered and several peptidases were up regulated both at gene and protein level. Certain proteins involved in glutamine and glutamate metabolism showed an increased abundance revealing the key role of nitrogen uptake under stressful conditions. A strong transcriptional inhibition of carbohydrate metabolism related genes was observed. On the other hand, the transcriptional up-regulation of malate transport and citrate consumption was indicative of the use of L-malate and citrate associated to stress response and as an alternative energy source to sugar metabolism. Regarding the stress mechanisms, our results support the relevance of the thioredoxin and glutathione systems in the adaptation of O. oeni to wine related stress. Genes and proteins related to cell wall showed also significant changes indicating the relevance of the cell envelop as protective barrier to environmental stress. The differences found between transcriptomic and proteomic data suggested the relevance of post-transcriptional mechanisms and the complexity of the stress response in O. oeni adaptation. Further research should deepen into the metabolisms mostly altered due to wine conditions to elucidate the role of each mechanism in the O. oeni ability to

  8. The adaptive nature of culture. A cross-cultural analysis of the returns of local environmental knowledge in three indigenous societies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reyes-García, Victoria; Guèze, Maximilien; Díaz-Reviriego, Isabel; Duda, Romain; Fernández-Llamazares, Álvaro; Gallois, Sandrine; Napitupulu, Lucentezza; Orta-Martínez, Martí; Pyhälä, Aili

    2016-12-01

    Researchers have argued that the behavioral adaptations that explain the success of our species are partially cultural, i.e., cumulative and socially transmitted. Thus, understanding the adaptive nature of culture is crucial to understand human evolution. We use a cross-cultural framework and empirical data purposely collected to test whether culturally transmitted and individually appropriated knowledge provides individual returns in terms of hunting yields and health and, by extension, to nutritional status, a proxy for individual adaptive success. Data were collected in three subsistence-oriented societies: the Tsimane' (Amazon), the Baka (Congo Basin), and the Punan (Borneo). Results suggest that variations in individual levels of local environmental knowledge relate to individual hunting returns and to self-reported health, but not to nutritional status. We argue that this paradox can be explained through the prevalence of sharing: individuals achieving higher returns to their knowledge transfer them to the rest of the population, which explains the lack of association between knowledge and nutritional status. The finding is in consonance with previous research highlighting the importance of cultural traits favoring group success, but pushes it forward by elucidating the mechanisms through which individual and group level adaptive forces interact.

  9. Does the Effect of Micro-Environmental Factors on a Street’s Appeal for Adults’ Bicycle Transport Vary across Different Macro-Environments? An Experimental Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mertens, Lieze; Van Cauwenberg, Jelle; Ghekiere, Ariane; Van Holle, Veerle; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; Deforche, Benedicte; Nasar, Jack; Van de Weghe, Nico; Van Dyck, Delfien

    2015-01-01

    Background Characteristics of the physical environment can be classified into two broad categories: macro- (“raw” urban planning features influenced on a regional level) and micro- (features specifically within a streetscape influenced on a neighborhood level) environmental factors. In urban planning applications, it is more feasible to modify conditions at the neighborhood level than at the regional level. Yet for the promotion of bicycle transport we need to know whether relationships between micro-environmental factors and bicycle transport depend on different types of macro-environments. This study aimed to identify whether the effect of three micro-environmental factors (i.e., evenness of the cycle path surface, speed limits and type of separation between cycle path and motorized traffic) on the street’s appeal for adults’ bicycle transport varied across three different macro-environments (i.e., low, medium and high residential density street). Methods In total, 389 middle-aged adults completed a web-based questionnaire consisting of socio-demographic characteristics and a series of choice tasks with manipulated photographs, depicting two possible routes to cycle along. Conjoint analysis was used to analyze the data. Results Although the magnitude of the overall effects differed, in each macro-environment (i.e., low, medium and high residential density), middle-aged adults preferred a speed limit of 30 km/h, an even cycle path surface and a hedge as separation between motorized traffic and the cycle path compared to a speed limit of 50 or 70 km/h, a slightly uneven or uneven cycle path surface and a curb as separation or no separation between motorized traffic and the cycle path. Conclusions Our results suggest that irrespective of the macro-environment, the same micro-environmental factors are preferred in middle-aged adults concerning the street’s appeal for bicycle transport. The controlled environment simulations in the experimental choice task

  10. Economics of adaptation to climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perthuis, Ch.; Hallegatte, St.; Lecocq, F.

    2010-02-01

    This report proposes a general economic framework for the issue of adaptation to climate change in order to help public and private actors to build up efficient adaptation strategies. It proposes a general definition of adaptation, identifies the major stakes for these strategies, and discusses the assessment of global costs of adaptation to climate change. It discusses the role and modalities of public action and gives some examples of possible adaptation measures in some important sectors (building and town planning, energy and transport infrastructures, water and agriculture, ecosystems, insurance). It examines the regional and national dimensions of adaptation and their relationship, and defines steps for implementing an adaptation strategy. It describes and discusses the use of economic tools in the elaboration of an adaptation strategy, i.e. how to take uncertainties into account, which scenarios to choose, how to use economic calculations to assess adaptation policies

  11. Biological transportation networks: Modeling and simulation

    KAUST Repository

    Albi, Giacomo; Artina, Marco; Foransier, Massimo; Markowich, Peter A.

    2015-01-01

    We present a model for biological network formation originally introduced by Cai and Hu [Adaptation and optimization of biological transport networks, Phys. Rev. Lett. 111 (2013) 138701]. The modeling of fluid transportation (e.g., leaf venation

  12. Competitive sustainability of a transport route in the transport service market

    OpenAIRE

    Poletan Jugović, Tanja; Šimić Hlača, Marija; Žgaljić, Dražen

    2014-01-01

    In order for the particular transport route and entities in the production of a transport service on that route to maintain their position in the transport service market, they have to ensure efficiency, orientation towards service users, rationality, environmental friendliness and quality dominance of an offered service. User orientation and flexible reaction to market demands create preconditions for the establishment of a competitive and attractive transport route and accompanying transpor...

  13. Not planning a sustainable transport system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Finnveden, Göran; Åkerman, Jonas

    2014-01-01

    The overall objective of the Swedish transport policy is to ensure the economically efficient and sustainable provision of transport services for people and business throughout the country. More specifically, the transport sector shall, among other things, contribute to the achievement of environmental quality objectives in which the development of the transport system plays an important role in the achievement of the objectives. The aim of this study is to analyse if current transport planning supports this policy. This is done by analysing two recent cases: the National Infrastructure Plan 2010–2021, and the planning of Bypass Stockholm, a major road investment. Our results show that the plans are in conflict with several of the environmental quality objectives. Another interesting aspect of the planning processes is that the long-term climate goals are not included in the planning processes, neither as a clear goal nor as factor that will influence future transport systems. In this way, the long-term sustainability aspects are not present in the planning. We conclude that the two cases do not contribute to a sustainable transport system. Thus, several changes must be made in the processes, including putting up clear targets for emissions. Also, the methodology for the environmental assessments needs to be further developed and discussed. - Highlights: • Two cases are studied to analyse if current planning supports a sustainable transport system. • Results show that the plans are in conflict with several of the environmental quality objectives. • Long-term climate goals are not included in the planning processes. • Current practices do not contribute to a sustainable planning processes. • Methodology and process for environmental assessments must be further developed and discussed

  14. Not planning a sustainable transport system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Finnveden, Göran, E-mail: goran.finnveden@abe.kth.se; Åkerman, Jonas

    2014-04-01

    The overall objective of the Swedish transport policy is to ensure the economically efficient and sustainable provision of transport services for people and business throughout the country. More specifically, the transport sector shall, among other things, contribute to the achievement of environmental quality objectives in which the development of the transport system plays an important role in the achievement of the objectives. The aim of this study is to analyse if current transport planning supports this policy. This is done by analysing two recent cases: the National Infrastructure Plan 2010–2021, and the planning of Bypass Stockholm, a major road investment. Our results show that the plans are in conflict with several of the environmental quality objectives. Another interesting aspect of the planning processes is that the long-term climate goals are not included in the planning processes, neither as a clear goal nor as factor that will influence future transport systems. In this way, the long-term sustainability aspects are not present in the planning. We conclude that the two cases do not contribute to a sustainable transport system. Thus, several changes must be made in the processes, including putting up clear targets for emissions. Also, the methodology for the environmental assessments needs to be further developed and discussed. - Highlights: • Two cases are studied to analyse if current planning supports a sustainable transport system. • Results show that the plans are in conflict with several of the environmental quality objectives. • Long-term climate goals are not included in the planning processes. • Current practices do not contribute to a sustainable planning processes. • Methodology and process for environmental assessments must be further developed and discussed.

  15. Agronomic and environmental implications of enhanced s-triazine degradation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krutz, L. J.; Dale L. Shaner,; Mark A. Weaver,; Webb, Richard M.; Zablotowicz, Robert M.; Reddy, Krishna N.; Huang, Y.; Thompson, S. J.

    2010-01-01

    Novel catabolic pathways enabling rapid detoxification of s-triazine herbicides have been elucidated and detected at a growing number of locations. The genes responsible for s-triazine mineralization, i.e. atzABCDEF and trzNDF, occur in at least four bacterial phyla and are implicated in the development of enhanced degradation in agricultural soils from all continents except Antarctica. Enhanced degradation occurs in at least nine crops and six crop rotation systems that rely on s-triazine herbicides for weed control, and, with the exception of acidic soil conditions and s-triazine application frequency, adaptation of the microbial population is independent of soil physiochemical properties and cultural management practices. From an agronomic perspective, residual weed control could be reduced tenfold in s-triazine-adapted relative to non-adapted soils. From an environmental standpoint, the off-site loss of total s-triazine residues could be overestimated 13-fold in adapted soils if altered persistence estimates and metabolic pathways are not reflected in fate and transport models. Empirical models requiring soil pH and s-triazine use history as input parameters predict atrazine persistence more accurately than historical estimates, thereby allowing practitioners to adjust weed control strategies and model input values when warranted. 

  16. Transport and environment: policy directions for Europe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tinch, R.

    2001-01-01

    Transport externalities are among the most important environmental problems affecting quality of life in Europe. Forecasts suggest that past environmental improvements may now be rolled back by traffic growth, and current traffic trends are not sustainable. The theory of environmental policy proposes pricing external costs at their marginal social costs as one solution. Although full marginal social cost pricing is impracticable, advances in tolling technology and environmental valuation mean that it is now a viable option to approximate such charging. There are signs that the European Commission and other bodies are starting to favour pricing over regulatory instruments. However, often overlooked is the potential for non-convexities in the transport sector or between transport and the rest of the economy. For example it may be that small increases in resources for public transport would not result in welfare gains, whereas large increases would. Non-convexities would mean that market forces under marginal social cost pricing might lead away from the optimal transport system. This is one reason why pricing instruments cannot in themselves be a panacea for transport externalities or bring about a sustainable transport system. (Author)

  17. Adapting to and coping with the threat and impacts of climate change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reser, Joseph P; Swim, Janet K

    2011-01-01

    This article addresses the nature and challenge of adaptation in the context of global climate change. The complexity of "climate change" as threat, environmental stressor, risk domain, and impacting process with dramatic environmental and human consequences requires a synthesis of perspectives and models from diverse areas of psychology to adequately communicate and explain how a more psychological framing of the human dimensions of global environmental change can greatly inform and enhance effective and collaborative climate change adaptation and mitigation policies and research. An integrative framework is provided that identifies and considers important mediating and moderating parameters and processes relating to climate change adaptation, with particular emphasis given to environmental stress and stress and coping perspectives. This psychological perspective on climate change adaptation highlights crucial aspects of adaptation that have been neglected in the arena of climate change science. Of particular importance are intra-individual and social "psychological adaptation" processes that powerfully mediate public risk perceptions and understandings, effective coping responses and resilience, overt behavioral adjustment and change, and psychological and social impacts. This psychological window on climate change adaptation is arguably indispensable to genuinely multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research and policy initiatives addressing the impacts of climate change.

  18. Environmental assessment of 9 European public bus transportation systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nanaki, Eva; Koroneos, Christophis; Roset, Jaume

    2017-01-01

    that affect the production of carbon dioxide (CO2) as well as of air pollutants, in 9 major European cities, aiming to provide a comprehensive overview of the actual knowledge on the atmospheric pollution from public transportation systems. CO2 emissions as well as air pollutants, such as CO, HC, PM, NOx......The transportation sector is one of the largest sources of EU’s greenhouse gas emissions. In 2011, transportation represented approximately 25 percent of total EU’s greenhouse gas emissions. Urban mobility accounts for 40% of all CO2 emissions of road transport and up to 70% of other pollutants...... from transport. As, transportation and mobility play a crucial part both in urban economics and the quality of life, it is of great significance to ensure a low carbon transportation sector, so as to deal with the threat that climate change poses to urban areas. This study examines the factors...

  19. Personality and risk perception in transport.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fyhri, Aslak; Backer-Grøndahl, Agathe

    2012-11-01

    Within research on individual variations in risk perception, personality has been suggested as one important factor. In the present study, personality traits (44 items from the Big Five inventory) were investigated in relation to risk perception in transport and transport behavioural adaptations. In a sample of 312 participants, we found that the personality trait 'emotional stability versus neuroticism' was negatively correlated with risk perception (operationalised as "thinking about the possibility") of an accident (-0.38) and an unpleasant incident, such as crime, violence, robbery (-0.25). 'Agreeableness' was also negatively related to risk perception, however first and foremost in relation to perceived risk for unpleasant incidents on transport modes in which one interacts with other people (0.25). Moreover, regression analyses showed that 'emotional stability' was a significant predictor of behavioural adaptations on bus. Regression analyses explained between 17 and 26 percent of variance in behavioural adaptations. The results show that different groups of people vary systematically in their perception of risk in transport. Furthermore, these differences are manifest as a difference in risk-preventive behaviour at a strategic level, i.e. as decisions about avoiding risky situations. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Integrating life-cycle environmental and economic assessment with transportation and land use planning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chester, Mikhail V; Nahlik, Matthew J; Fraser, Andrew M; Kimball, Mindy A; Garikapati, Venu M

    2013-01-01

    The environmental outcomes of urban form changes should couple life-cycle and behavioral assessment methods to better understand urban sustainability policy outcomes. Using Phoenix, Arizona light rail as a case study, an integrated transportation and land use life-cycle assessment (ITLU-LCA) framework is developed to assess the changes to energy consumption and air emissions from transit-oriented neighborhood designs. Residential travel, commercial travel, and building energy use are included and the framework integrates household behavior change assessment to explore the environmental and economic outcomes of policies that affect infrastructure. The results show that upfront environmental and economic investments are needed (through more energy-intense building materials for high-density structures) to produce long run benefits in reduced building energy use and automobile travel. The annualized life-cycle benefits of transit-oriented developments in Phoenix can range from 1.7 to 230 Gg CO2e depending on the aggressiveness of residential density. Midpoint impact stressors for respiratory effects and photochemical smog formation are also assessed and can be reduced by 1.2-170 Mg PM10e and 41-5200 Mg O3e annually. These benefits will come at an additional construction cost of up to $410 million resulting in a cost of avoided CO2e at $16-29 and household cost savings.

  1. Adaptation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broom, Donald M

    2006-01-01

    The term adaptation is used in biology in three different ways. It may refer to changes which occur at the cell and organ level, or at the individual level, or at the level of gene action and evolutionary processes. Adaptation by cells, especially nerve cells helps in: communication within the body, the distinguishing of stimuli, the avoidance of overload and the conservation of energy. The time course and complexity of these mechanisms varies. Adaptive characters of organisms, including adaptive behaviours, increase fitness so this adaptation is evolutionary. The major part of this paper concerns adaptation by individuals and its relationships to welfare. In complex animals, feed forward control is widely used. Individuals predict problems and adapt by acting before the environmental effect is substantial. Much of adaptation involves brain control and animals have a set of needs, located in the brain and acting largely via motivational mechanisms, to regulate life. Needs may be for resources but are also for actions and stimuli which are part of the mechanism which has evolved to obtain the resources. Hence pigs do not just need food but need to be able to carry out actions like rooting in earth or manipulating materials which are part of foraging behaviour. The welfare of an individual is its state as regards its attempts to cope with its environment. This state includes various adaptive mechanisms including feelings and those which cope with disease. The part of welfare which is concerned with coping with pathology is health. Disease, which implies some significant effect of pathology, always results in poor welfare. Welfare varies over a range from very good, when adaptation is effective and there are feelings of pleasure or contentment, to very poor. A key point concerning the concept of individual adaptation in relation to welfare is that welfare may be good or poor while adaptation is occurring. Some adaptation is very easy and energetically cheap and

  2. Photosynthesis, environmental change, and plant adaptation: Research topics in plant molecular ecology. Summary report of a workshop

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1995-07-01

    As we approach the 21st Century, it is becoming increasingly clear that human activities, primarily related to energy extraction and use, will lead to marked environmental changes at the local, regional, and global levels. The realized and the potential photosynthetic performance of plants is determined by a combination of intrinsic genetic information and extrinsic environmental factors, especially climate. It is essential that the effects of environmental changes on the photosynthetic competence of individual species, communities, and ecosystems be accurately assessed. From October 24 to 26, 1993, a group of scientists specializing in various aspects of plant science met to discuss how our predictive capabilities could be improved by developing a more rational, mechanistic approach to relating photosynthetic processes to environmental factors. A consensus emerged that achieving this goal requires multidisciplinary research efforts that combine tools and techniques of genetics, molecular biology, biophysics, biochemistry, and physiology to understand the principles, mechanisms, and limitations of evolutional adaptation and physiological acclimation of photosynthetic processes. Many of these basic tools and techniques, often developed in other fields of science, already are available but have not been applied in a coherent, coordinated fashion to ecological research. The efforts of this research program are related to the broader efforts to develop more realistic prognostic models to forecast climate change that include photosynthetic responses and feedbacks at the regional and ecosystem levels.

  3. The endocannabinoid transport inhibitor AM404 differentially modulates recognition memory in rats depending on environmental aversiveness

    OpenAIRE

    Campolongo, Patrizia; Ratano, Patrizia; Manduca, Antonia; Scattoni, Maria L.; Palmery, Maura; Trezza, Viviana; Cuomo, Vincenzo

    2012-01-01

    Cannabinoid compounds may influence both emotional and cognitive processes depending on the level of environmental aversiveness at the time of drug administration. However, the mechanisms responsible for these responses remain to be elucidated. The present experiments investigated the effects induced by the endocannabinoid transport inhibitor AM404 (0.5-5 mg/kg, i.p.) on bothemotional and cognitive performances of rats tested in a Spatial Open Field task and subjected to different experimenta...

  4. Education and Environmentalism: Ecological World Views and Environmentally Responsible Behaviour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blaikie, Norman

    1993-01-01

    Examined a subsample of students from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology to determine the extent to which an Ecological World View (EWV) has been adapted, an EWV related to environmental behavior, and the role education plays in the type of EWV adapted. Includes the Ecological World View Scale. (Contains 21 references.) (MDH)

  5. Adapting transport modes to supply chains classified by the uncertainty supply chain model: A case study at Manaus Industrial Pole

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabiana Lucena Oliveira

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper discusses transport modes supporting Uncertainty Supply Chain Model (USCM in the case of Manaus Industrial Pole (PIM, an industrial cluster in the Brazilian Amazon that hosts six hundred factories with diverse logistics and supply chain managerial strategies. USCM (Lee, 2002; Fisher, 1997develops a dot matrix classification of the supply chains considering several attributes (e.g., agility, cost, security, responsiveness and argues that emergent economies industrial clusters, in the effort to keep attractiveness for technological frontier firms, need to adapt supply chain strategies according to USCM attributes. The paper takes a further step, discussing which transport modes are suitable to each supply chain classified at the USCM in PIM´s case. The research´s methods covered the use of PIM´s statistical official database (secondary data, interviews with the main logistical services providers of PIM and phone survey with a sample of firms (primary data. Findings confirm the theoretical argument that different supply chains will demand different transport modes running at the same time in the same industrial cluster (Oliveira, 2009. In the case of PIM, this implies investments on port and airport infrastructure and a strategic focus on air transport mode, due to (1 short life cycle of products, (2 distance from suppliers, (3 quick response to demand and (4 the fact that even PIM´s standard products use, in average, forty per cent of air transport at inbound logistics.

  6. Environmental taxes 1991 - 2000 (2001)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    2001-01-01

    The statistics presents statements of environmental taxes for the period 1991-2000 (and budget figure for 2001). Environmental taxes is a collective concept for pollution, energy, transportation and resource related taxes. Income of the government from environmental taxes have increased from 30,0 billions DDK in 1991 to 60,6 billions DDK in 2000 - a little more than a doubling. The environmental taxes' part of the total taxes has increased from 7,5% in 1991 to 9,7% in 2000. In 2000 the energy taxes are 55%, the transportation taxes 38% and the pollution and resource taxes 7% of the environmental taxes. (EHS)

  7. Intercontinental Transport of Air Pollution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogers, David; Whung, Pai-Yei; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    The development of the global economy goes beyond raising our standards of living. We are in an ear of increasing environmental as well as economic interdependence. Long-range transport of anthropogenic atmospheric pollutants such as ozone, ozone precursors, airborne particles, heavy metals (such as mercury) and persistent organic pollutants are the four major types of pollution that are transported over intercontinental distances and have global environmental effects. The talk includes: 1) an overview of the international agreements related to intercontinental transport of air pollutants, 2) information needed for decision making, 3) overview of the past research on intercontinental transport of air pollutants - a North American's perspective, and 4) future research needs.

  8. Socio-demographic, personal, environmental and behavioral correlates of different modes of transportation to work among Norwegian parents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oline Anita Bjørkelund

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Cycling and brisk-walking to work represents an opportunity to incorporate sustainable transport related moderate- to- vigorous physical activity (MVPA into daily routine among adults, and thus, may make an important contributing to health. Despite the fact that walking and cycling is an option for many commuters and also brings a number of benefits, a considerable proportion of commuters choose to use other means of transport when cycling and walking would be a highly appropriate transport mode. The object of this study was to assess the associations between modes of commuting to the workplace among parental adults; taking socio-demographic, personal, environmental and behavioral factors into account. Methods Data from a cross- sectional questionnaire were collected from a sample of 709 parents (23 % men and 77 % women of children aged 10–12 years-old in two Norwegian counties, Hedmark and Telemark. Commuting behavior, socio- demographic determinants, personal and environmental factors were ascertained using questionnaire data from the Fruit and Vegetables Makes the Marks project (FVMM. Multivariate logistic regressions were applied. Results In total, 70 % of adults were categorized as car commuters to and from work, 12 % was categorized as a cyclist and 7 % as a walker. The multivariate analyses showed that active commuters were more likely to have a shorter distance to work and perceived the traffic as more safe. Moreover, those who actively commute to the workplace considered commuting as a way to obtain health benefits and a way to reduce CO2 emissions. Active commuters also considered weather to be an obstacle to active commuting. Conclusion In this cross-sectional study of parents living in sub-urban Norway, we found that active commuting to and from the workplace were associated with a shorter distance to work, traffic safety, environmental concern, health benefits and weather condition. In light of these

  9. Socio-demographic, personal, environmental and behavioral correlates of different modes of transportation to work among Norwegian parents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bjørkelund, Oline Anita; Degerud, Hanna; Bere, Elling

    2016-01-01

    Cycling and brisk-walking to work represents an opportunity to incorporate sustainable transport related moderate- to- vigorous physical activity (MVPA) into daily routine among adults, and thus, may make an important contributing to health. Despite the fact that walking and cycling is an option for many commuters and also brings a number of benefits, a considerable proportion of commuters choose to use other means of transport when cycling and walking would be a highly appropriate transport mode. The object of this study was to assess the associations between modes of commuting to the workplace among parental adults; taking socio-demographic, personal, environmental and behavioral factors into account. Data from a cross- sectional questionnaire were collected from a sample of 709 parents (23 % men and 77 % women) of children aged 10-12 years-old in two Norwegian counties, Hedmark and Telemark. Commuting behavior, socio- demographic determinants, personal and environmental factors were ascertained using questionnaire data from the Fruit and Vegetables Makes the Marks project (FVMM). Multivariate logistic regressions were applied. In total, 70 % of adults were categorized as car commuters to and from work, 12 % was categorized as a cyclist and 7 % as a walker. The multivariate analyses showed that active commuters were more likely to have a shorter distance to work and perceived the traffic as more safe. Moreover, those who actively commute to the workplace considered commuting as a way to obtain health benefits and a way to reduce CO 2 emissions. Active commuters also considered weather to be an obstacle to active commuting. In this cross-sectional study of parents living in sub-urban Norway, we found that active commuting to and from the workplace were associated with a shorter distance to work, traffic safety, environmental concern, health benefits and weather condition. In light of these findings, cycling to work seems to be the most appropriate target for

  10. Biodiversity, Distributions and Adaptations of Arctic Species in the Context of Environmental Change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Callaghan, Terry V. [Abisko Scientific Research Station, Abisko (Sweden); Bjoern, Lars Olof [Lund Univ. (Sweden). Dept. of Cell and Organism Biology; Chernov, Yuri [Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow (Russian Federation). A.N. Severtsov Inst. of Evolutionary Morphology and Animal Ecology] (and others)

    2004-11-01

    adapted to the Arctic's climate: some can metabolize at temperatures down to -39 deg C. Cyanobacteria and algae have a wide range of adaptive strategies that allow them to avoid, or at least minimize UV injury. Microorganisms can tolerate most environmental conditions and they have short generation times which can facilitate rapid adaptation to new environments. In contrast, Arctic plant and animal species are very likely to change their distributions rather than evolve significantly in response to warming.

  11. Environmental impact study on a degassing and scaling of cistern trucks for fuel transportation plant.

    OpenAIRE

    Tupia, Elmer

    2014-01-01

    The present Study of Environmental Impact (EIA) it is carried out by the Company Ecoplanet Group from the Peru CORP, to application of Servisya CORP, proprietor of a degassing plant and scaling of trucks cistern for transports of derived liquid fuels of the hydrocarbons, the environment of the location area undestood in the Country of Lima of the district of Villa El Salvador being. El presente estudio de Impacto Ambiental(EIA) es realizado por la empresa Ecoplanet group del Perú S.A. a s...

  12. Energy use and environmental impact of new residential buildings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adalberth, Karin

    2000-01-01

    The objective of this thesis is to investigate the energy use and environmental impact of residential buildings. Seven authentic buildings built in the 1990s in Sweden are investigated. They are analysed according to energy use and environmental impact during their life cycle: manufacture of building materials, transport of building materials and components to the building site, erection to a building, occupancy, maintenance and renovation, and finally demolition and removal of debris. Results show that approx. 85 % of the total estimated energy use during the life cycle is used during the occupation phase. The energy used to manufacture building and installation materials constitutes approx. 15 % of the total energy use. 70-90 % of the total environmental impact arises during the occupation phase, while the manufacture of construction and installation materials constitutes 10-20 %. In conclusion, the energy use and environmental impact during the occupation phase make up a majority of the total. At the end of the thesis, a tool is presented which helps designers and clients predict the energy use during the occupation phase for a future multi-family building before any constructional or installation drawings are made. In this way, different thermal properties may be elaborated in order to receive an energy-efficient and environmentally adapted dwelling.

  13. Adaptation in Collaborative Governance Regimes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emerson, Kirk; Gerlak, Andrea K.

    2014-10-01

    Adaptation and the adaptive capacity of human and environmental systems have been of central concern to natural and social science scholars, many of whom characterize and promote the need for collaborative cross-boundary systems that are seen as flexible and adaptive by definition. Researchers who study collaborative governance systems in the public administration, planning and policy literature have paid less attention to adaptive capacity specifically and institutional adaptation in general. This paper bridges the two literatures and finds four common dimensions of capacity, including structural arrangements, leadership, knowledge and learning, and resources. In this paper, we focus on institutional adaptation in the context of collaborative governance regimes and try to clarify and distinguish collaborative capacity from adaptive capacity and their contributions to adaptive action. We posit further that collaborative capacities generate associated adaptive capacities thereby enabling institutional adaptation within collaborative governance regimes. We develop these distinctions and linkages between collaborative and adaptive capacities with the help of an illustrative case study in watershed management within the National Estuary Program.

  14. Green Transportation for a Green Earth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katsioloudis, Petros J.; Jones, Mildred V.

    2012-01-01

    Transportation is one of the biggest contributors to the destruction of the environment. Results from environmental research and pursuant governmental regulations are changing the way companies do business and how transportation systems address the future. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been at the forefront in leading environmental…

  15. Thyroid transcriptome analysis reveals different adaptive responses to cold environmental conditions between two chicken breeds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Shanshan; Yang, Xukai; Wang, Dehe; Zhu, Feng; Yang, Ning; Hou, Zhuocheng; Ning, Zhonghua

    2018-01-01

    , and showed higher responsiveness in BS compared with RIR chickens, suggesting greater adaptability of the thyroid in BS chickens. Moreover, 10,053 differential splicing events were revealed among the groups, with RNA splicing and processing, gene expression, transport, and metabolism being the main affected biological processes, identifying a valuable alternative splicing repertoire for the chicken thyroid. A short isoform of TPO (encoding thyroid peroxidase) containing multiple open reading frames was generated in both breeds by skipping exons 4 and 5 in the cold environment. These findings provide novel clues for future studies of the molecular mechanisms underlying cold adaptation and/or acclimation in chickens.

  16. INDICATOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS OF AGRICULTURAL SECTORS UNDER THE ENVIRONMENTAL MODELING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pruethsan Sutthichaimethee

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this research is to propose an indicator to deal with environmental problems for agricultural sectors caused by goods and services production. The aspects to calculate the real benefit of agricultural sectors and environmental cost for analyzing are natural resources materials, energy and transportation, fertilizer and pesticides, and sanitary and similar service. From the research it was found that the highest environmental cost of natural resources materials was 026: charcoal and fire-wood, while the lowest was 010 coconut. The highest environmental cost for energy and transportation was 024: agricultural services, while the highest environmental cost for fertilizer and pesticides was 011: palm oil. lastly, 017: other agricultural products was found as the highest environmental cost for sanitary and similar service. As a result, 010: coconut gained the highest real benefit, while 024: agricultural services presented as the lowest read benefit for the company. If Thailand using environmental problem indicator, especially with the agricultural sector, it can help to formulate efficient policies and strategies for the country in 3 development areas, which are social, economic, and environmental development.

  17. Involvement of Potassium Transport Systems in the Response of Synechocystis PCC 6803 Cyanobacteria to External pH Change, High-Intensity Light Stress and Heavy Metal Stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Checchetto, Vanessa; Segalla, Anna; Sato, Yuki; Bergantino, Elisabetta; Szabo, Ildiko; Uozumi, Nobuyuki

    2016-04-01

    The unicellular photosynthetic cyanobacterium, able to survive in varying environments, is the only prokaryote that directly converts solar energy and CO2 into organic material and is thus relevant for primary production in many ecosystems. To maintain the intracellular and intrathylakoid ion homeostasis upon different environmental challenges, the concentration of potassium as a major intracellular cation has to be optimized by various K(+)uptake-mediated transport systems. We reveal here the specific and concerted physiological function of three K(+)transporters of the plasma and thylakoid membranes, namely of SynK (K(+)channel), KtrB (Ktr/Trk/HKT) and KdpA (Kdp) in Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803, under specific stress conditions. The behavior of the wild type, single, double and triple mutants was compared, revealing that only Synk contributes to heavy metal-induced stress, while only Ktr/Kdp is involved in osmotic and salt stress adaptation. With regards to pH shifts in the external medium, the Kdp/Ktr uptake systems play an important role in the adaptation to acidic pH. Ktr, by affecting the CO2 concentration mechanism via its action on the bicarbonate transporter SbtA, might also be responsible for the observed effects concerning high-light stress and calcification. In the case of illumination with high-intensity light, a synergistic action of Kdr/Ktp and SynK is required in order to avoid oxidative stress and ensure cell viability. In summary, this study dissects, using growth tests, measurement of photosynthetic activity and analysis of ultrastructure, the physiological role of three K(+)transporters in adaptation of the cyanobacteria to various environmental changes. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  18. Migration and adaptation to climate change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tacoli, Cecilia

    2007-11-15

    Climate change is having an undeniable impact on many human systems and behaviours, including population mobility. This is hardly surprising: migration is an adaptive response to changes in people's circumstances. Yet environmental factors are not the whole story. Socio-economic, political and cultural factors are also closely linked to population movement, and heavily influence vulnerability to both direct and indirect impacts of climate change. Shifts in migration patterns are a strategy of adaptation to complex transformations, and recognising and accommodating this is key in policies for sustainable development and poverty reduction in the context of growing environmental stress.

  19. Adaptation in Living Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tu, Yuhai; Rappel, Wouter-Jan

    2018-03-01

    Adaptation refers to the biological phenomenon where living systems change their internal states in response to changes in their environments in order to maintain certain key functions critical for their survival and fitness. Adaptation is one of the most ubiquitous and arguably one of the most fundamental properties of living systems. It occurs throughout all biological scales, from adaptation of populations of species over evolutionary time to adaptation of a single cell to different environmental stresses during its life span. In this article, we review some of the recent progress made in understanding molecular mechanisms of cellular-level adaptation. We take the minimalist (or the physicist) approach and study the simplest systems that exhibit generic adaptive behaviors, namely chemotaxis in bacterium cells (Escherichia coli) and eukaryotic cells (Dictyostelium). We focus on understanding the basic biochemical interaction networks that are responsible for adaptation dynamics. By combining theoretical modeling with quantitative experimentation, we demonstrate universal features in adaptation as well as important differences in different cellular systems. Future work in extending the modeling framework to study adaptation in more complex systems such as sensory neurons is also discussed.

  20. Plant adaptation to temperature and photoperiod

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. JUNTTILA

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Plants respond to environmental conditions both by adaptation and by acclimation. The ability of the plants to grow, reproduce and survive under changing climatic conditions depends on the efficiency of adaptation and acclimation. The adaptation of developmental processes in plants to temperature and photoperiod is briefly reviewed. In annual plants this adaptation is related to growth capacity and to the timing of reproduction. In perennial plants growing under northern conditions, adaptation of the annual growth cycle to the local climatic cycle is of primary importance. Examples of the role of photothermal conditions in regulation of these phenological processes are given and discussed. The genetic and physiological bases for climatic adaptation in plants are briefly examined.;

  1. Defining the biosecurity risk posed by transported soil: Effects of storage time and environmental exposure on survival of soil biota

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark R. McNeill

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Soil frequently occurs as a contaminant on numerous sea, land and air transport pathways. It can carry unwanted invasive species, is widely recognized as a biosecurity risk, and is usually strictly regulated by biosecurity authorities. However, little is known about relative risk levels between pathways, thus authorities have limited capability to identify and target the riskiest soil pathways for management. We conducted a an experiment to test the hypotheses that biosecurity risks from soil organisms will increase both with declining transport duration and with increasing protection from environmental extremes. Soil was collected from two sites, a native forest remnant and an orchard, and stored on, in and under sea containers, or in cupboards, and assayed after 0, 3, 6 and 12 months for bacteria, fungi, nematodes and seeds. Results showed that viability of Pseudomonas spp., bacteria, nematodes and plants declined over 12 months, irrespective of soil source. Also, mortality of most biota was higher when exposed to sunlight, moisture and desiccation than when protected. However, bacterial and fungal numbers were higher in exposed environments, possibly due to ongoing colonization of exposed soil by airborne propagules. The results were consistent with our observations of organisms in soil intercepted from airports and sea ports, and indicated there is potential to rank risks from transported soils based partly on transport duration and environmental exposure. This would help authorities to optimally allocate management resources according to pathway-specific risks.

  2. Adaptation and beyond: Lessons from community based adaptation ...

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

    25 avr. 2016 ... Without underestimating the severity of climate change, this approach recognizes that environmental stress can also be an opportunity for personal and ... Chapitre d'un livre sur les bienfaits et les coûts de l'adaptation en ce qui a trait à l'eau et aux changements climatiques dans le bassin de la rivière Berg ...

  3. Ecophysiological adaptations of coexisting Sphagnum mosses

    OpenAIRE

    HÁJEK, Tomáš

    2008-01-01

    I studied ecological and physiological adaptations of peat misses (Sphagnum species) coexisting along the environmental gradients in mires. Production, decomposition, water relations, desiccation tolerance and nutrient economy of Sphagnum species were evaluates along the hummock-hollow gradient of water table, while the light adaptations were assessed in an open and forested mire

  4. Phloem RNA-binding proteins as potential components of the long-distance RNA transport system.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    VICENTE ePALLAS

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available RNA-binding proteins (RBPs govern a myriad of different essential processes in eukaryotic cells. Recent evidence reveals that apart from playing critical roles in RNA metabolism and RNA transport, RBPs perform a key function in plant adaption to various environmental conditions. Long distance RNA transport occurs in land plants through the phloem, a conducting tissue that integrates the wide range of signalling pathways required to regulate plant development and response to stress processes. The macromolecules in the phloem pathway vary greatly and include defence proteins, transcription factors, chaperones acting in long distance trafficking, and RNAs (mRNAs, siRNAs and miRNAs. How these RNA molecules translocate through the phloem is not well understood, but recent evidence indicates the presence of translocatable RNA-binding proteins in the phloem, which act as potential components of long distance RNA transport system. This review updates our knowledge on the characteristics and functions of RBPs present in the phloem.

  5. Redesigning transport equipment – comparative analysis of energy expenditure (power and water in refrigerators

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisiane Ilha Librelotto

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Sustainability is defined as an approach that integrates social, economic and environmental concerns (SEE. This philosophy carries several implications for daily factory work, where culturally, the economic issue is considered most important. This paper provides a case study at a meat and bone-meal (MBM factory, and the preliminary studies of the adaptation of this factory to the SEE philosophy, focusing initially on economic aspect, and its relationship with the two other aspects. It also shows how the design of a conveyor belt - used to transport entrails and feathers from the slaughter site to the byproducts production site - could improve the consumption of power and water resources at the factory studied. Currently, this transport is accomplished manually (for feathers and by pneumatic conveying (for entrails. As a result, it was found that a change in the transport processes to align with the SEE philosophy would allow an 18% reduction of water use.

  6. Predictable variation of range-sizes across an extreme environmental gradient in a lizard adaptive radiation: evolutionary and ecological inferences.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Pincheira-Donoso

    Full Text Available Large-scale patterns of current species geographic range-size variation reflect historical dynamics of dispersal and provide insights into future consequences under changing environments. Evidence suggests that climate warming exerts major damage on high latitude and elevation organisms, where changes are more severe and available space to disperse tracking historical niches is more limited. Species with longer generations (slower adaptive responses, such as vertebrates, and with restricted distributions (lower genetic diversity, higher inbreeding in these environments are expected to be particularly threatened by warming crises. However, a well-known macroecological generalization (Rapoport's rule predicts that species range-sizes increase with increasing latitude-elevation, thus counterbalancing the impact of climate change. Here, I investigate geographic range-size variation across an extreme environmental gradient and as a function of body size, in the prominent Liolaemus lizard adaptive radiation. Conventional and phylogenetic analyses revealed that latitudinal (but not elevational ranges significantly decrease with increasing latitude-elevation, while body size was unrelated to range-size. Evolutionarily, these results are insightful as they suggest a link between spatial environmental gradients and range-size evolution. However, ecologically, these results suggest that Liolaemus might be increasingly threatened if, as predicted by theory, ranges retract and contract continuously under persisting climate warming, potentially increasing extinction risks at high latitudes and elevations.

  7. Ready or Not: Microbial Adaptive Responses in Dynamic Symbiosis Environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Mengyi; Goodrich-Blair, Heidi

    2017-08-01

    In mutually beneficial and pathogenic symbiotic associations, microbes must adapt to the host environment for optimal fitness. Both within an individual host and during transmission between hosts, microbes are exposed to temporal and spatial variation in environmental conditions. The phenomenon of phenotypic variation, in which different subpopulations of cells express distinctive and potentially adaptive characteristics, can contribute to microbial adaptation to a lifestyle that includes rapidly changing environments. The environments experienced by a symbiotic microbe during its life history can be erratic or predictable, and each can impact the evolution of adaptive responses. In particular, the predictability of a rhythmic or cyclical series of environments may promote the evolution of signal transduction cascades that allow preadaptive responses to environments that are likely to be encountered in the future, a phenomenon known as adaptive prediction. In this review, we summarize environmental variations known to occur in some well-studied models of symbiosis and how these may contribute to the evolution of microbial population heterogeneity and anticipatory behavior. We provide details about the symbiosis between Xenorhabdus bacteria and Steinernema nematodes as a model to investigate the concept of environmental adaptation and adaptive prediction in a microbial symbiosis. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

  8. Environmental taxes 1991 - 2001 (2002)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    2002-01-01

    The statistics presents statements of environmental taxes for the period 1991-2001 (and budget figure for 2002). Environmental taxes are a concept for pollution, energy, transportation and resource related taxes. Income of the government from environmental taxes have increased from 30,0 billions DDK in 1991 to 62,2 billions DDK in 2001 - a little more than a doubling. The environmental taxes' part of the total taxes' part og the total taxes has increased from 7,5% in 1991 to 9,4% in 2001. In 2001 the energy taxes are 57%, the transportation taxes 36% and the pollution and resource taxes 7% of the environmental taxes. (LN)

  9. 77 FR 25781 - Environmental Impact Statement; Washington, DC

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-01

    ... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Highway Administration Environmental Impact Statement... Columbia, Department of Transportation. ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact... agencies and the public that a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) will be prepared to assess the...

  10. Evolution of phenotypic clusters through competition and local adaptation along an environmental gradient.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leimar, Olof; Doebeli, Michael; Dieckmann, Ulf

    2008-04-01

    We have analyzed the evolution of a quantitative trait in populations that are spatially extended along an environmental gradient, with gene flow between nearby locations. In the absence of competition, there is stabilizing selection toward a locally best-adapted trait that changes gradually along the gradient. According to traditional ideas, gradual spatial variation in environmental conditions is expected to lead to gradual variation in the evolved trait. A contrasting possibility is that the trait distribution instead breaks up into discrete clusters. Doebeli and Dieckmann (2003) argued that competition acting locally in trait space and geographical space can promote such clustering. We have investigated this possibility using deterministic population dynamics for asexual populations, analyzing our model numerically and through an analytical approximation. We examined how the evolution of clusters is affected by the shape of competition kernels, by the presence of Allee effects, and by the strength of gene flow along the gradient. For certain parameter ranges clustering was a robust outcome, and for other ranges there was no clustering. Our analysis shows that the shape of competition kernels is important for clustering: the sign structure of the Fourier transform of a competition kernel determines whether the kernel promotes clustering. Also, we found that Allee effects promote clustering, whereas gene flow can have a counteracting influence. In line with earlier findings, we could demonstrate that phenotypic clustering was favored by gradients of intermediate slope.

  11. Event driven adaptation, land use and human coping strategies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reenberg, Anette; Birch-Thomsen, Torben; Fog, Bjarne

    perceive cause-effect relationships between societal and environmental events and their individual and collective management of resources. The coupled human-environment timelines are used to discuss ways in which the local communities' adaptive resource management strategies have been employed in the face......The paper focuses on assessing the wider perspectives of adaptive resource management strategies in former subsistence agriculture societies in the SW Pacific. Firstly, we will briefly introduce the theoretical context related to the livelihood framework, adaptation to socio-environmental change...... and the concept of coupled human-environmental timelines. Secondly, with point of departure in a baseline characterization of Bellona Island derived from a comprehensive survey in the late 1960s and resent fieldwork in late 2006, we present the case of Bellona Island. Key issues addressed concern climatic events...

  12. Environmental Impacts of Promoting New Public Transport Systems in Urban Mobility: A Case Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abel Ortego

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Urban mobility is highly dependent on private vehicles causing pollution, traffic congestion and traffic accidents. The tram has become one of the most relevant public transport modes in those cities which need to reduce the private vehicle dependency. However, the implementation of this kind of infrastructure must be done carefully to avoid unsuccessful route designs which make the system unfeasible to operate. With the aim of analysing the impact that a tram can cause in a city, an original methodology has been developed, which takes into account the effect of the new transport system implementation on three subimpacts: traffic, public bus and outskirts neighbourhoods. This methodology uses different data sources from urban traffic, environmental and energy systems. The methodology has been applied to the city of Zaragoza (Spain with a current population of around 700,000 inhabitants. The main results found were that tram line 1 saves 6% of the annual final energy consumption of urban mobility, urban traffic has decreased by 7.7% in the city as a whole and by 39.7% for streets close to the tramway.

  13. Scenarios of high greenhouse gas emission reduction in transports and buildings by 2050

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Teissier, O.; Meunier, L.

    2008-01-01

    The authors report simulations of different environmental policy measures concerning transports and buildings in France. First, they review measures which may entail a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and comment their emission reduction potential and their implementation costs. These measures are then ranked, and only those presenting a significant potential and an economically and technologically feasibility are finally considered. Their impact is then simulated by using different models which are adapted to the both sectors and to time ranges. The obtained results are compared to those obtained with a calibrated trend scenario and with a 'factor 4' scenario

  14. Technological alternatives for plutonium transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1978-12-01

    This paper considers alternative transport modes (air, sea, road, rail) for moving (1) plutonium from a reprocessing plant to a store or a fuel fabrication facility, and (2) MOX fuel from the latter to a reactor. These transport modes and differing forms of plutonium are considered in terms of: their proliferation resistance and safeguards; environmental and safety aspects; and economic aspects. It is tentatively proposed that the transport of plutonium could continue by air or sea where long distances are involved and by road or rail over shorter distances; this would be acceptable from the non-proliferation, environmental impact and economic aspects - there may be advantages in protection if plutonium is transported in the form of mixed oxide

  15. Sustainable Transportation and Health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Norbert Mundorf

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available We are experiencing a shift in thinking about Transportation and Mobility, which makes this Special Issue on Sustainable Transportation and Health in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health especially timely.[...

  16. Review of global environmental-transport models for 3H, 14C, 85Kr, and 129I

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kocher, D.C.; Killough, G.G.

    1983-01-01

    Global environmental transport models for the long-lived and mobile radionuclides 3 H, 14 C, 85 Kr, and 129 I are reviewed from the perspective of their application to collective dose assessments following releases, e.g., from the nuclear fuel cycle. Contributions to the collective dose commitment from first-pass local and regional exposures are compared. Current global models for 14 C and 85 Kr appear to be satisfactory for dose assessment purposes. Global modeling for 3 H is more difficult than for 14 C and 85 Kr, because of the different physico-chemical forms in which atmospheric releases occur. Global models for 129 I models indicate the primary importance of retention in surface soils for collective doses during the first 10 4 years following atmospheric releases and the importance of long-term transport to ocean sediments for reducing the dose commitment

  17. A Different Trolley Problem: The Limits of Environmental Justice and the Promise of Complex Moral Assessments for Transportation Infrastructure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Epting, Shane

    2016-12-01

    Transportation infrastructure tremendously affects the quality of life for urban residents, influences public and mental health, and shapes social relations. Historically, the topic is rich with social and political controversy and the resultant transit systems in the United States cause problems for minority residents and issues for the public. Environmental justice frameworks provide a means to identify and address harms that affect marginalized groups, but environmental justice has limits that cannot account for the mainstream population. To account for this condition, I employ a complex moral assessment measure that provides a way to talk about harms that affect the public.

  18. Transport of poly(acrylic acid) coated 2-line ferrihydrite nanoparticles in saturated aquifer sediments for environmental remediation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiang, Aishuang; Zhou, Sheng; Koel, Bruce E.; Jaffé, Peter R.

    2014-04-01

    Groundwater remediation using iron oxide and zero-valent iron nanoparticles (NPs) can be effective, but is limited in many applications due to the NP strong retention in groundwater-saturated porous media after injection, the passivation of the porous surface, and the high cost of nanomaterials versus macro scale iron. In this study, we investigated transport of bare and polymer-coated 2-line ferrihydrite NPs (30-300 nm) in saturated aquifer sediments. The influence of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) polymer coatings was studied on the colloidal stability and transport in sediments packed column tests simulating groundwater flow in saturated sediments. In addition, the influence of calcium cations was investigated by transport measurements using sediments with calcium concentrations in the aqueous phase ranging from 0.5 (typical for most sediments) to 2 mM. Measurements were also made of zeta potential, hydrodynamic diameter, polymer adsorption and desorption properties, and bio-availability of PAA-coated NPs. We found that NP transport through the saturated aquifer sediments was improved by PAA coating and that the transport properties could be tuned by adjusting the polymer concentration. We further discovered that PAA coatings enhanced NP transport, compared to bare NPs, in all calcium-containing experiments tested, however, the presence of calcium always exhibited a negative effect on NP transport. In tests of bioavailability, the iron reduction rate of the coated and bare NPs by Geobacter sulfurreducens was the same, which shows that the PAA coating does not significantly reduce NP Fe(III) bioavailability. Our results demonstrate that much improved transport of iron oxide NP can be achieved in saturated aquifer sediments by introducing negatively charged polyelectrolytes and optimizing polymer concentrations, and furthermore, these coated NPs retain their bioavailability that is needed for applications in bio-environmental remediation.

  19. Model-Based Design of Adaptive Embedded Systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Basten, T.; Hamberg, R.; Reckers, F.; Verriet, J.

    2013-01-01

    Today’s embedded systems have to operate in a wide variety of dynamically changing environmental circumstances. Adaptivity, the ability of a system to autonomously adapt itself, is a means to optimise a system’s behaviour to accommodate changes in its environment. It involves making in-product

  20. Evolutionary ancestry and novel functions of the mammalian glucose transporter (GLUT) family.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson-O'Brien, Amy L; Patron, Nicola; Rogers, Suzanne

    2010-05-21

    In general, sugar porters function by proton-coupled symport or facilitative transport modes. Symporters, coupled to electrochemical energy, transport nutrients against a substrate gradient. Facilitative carriers transport sugars along a concentration gradient, thus transport is dependent upon extracellular nutrient levels. Across bacteria, fungi, unicellular non-vertebrates and plants, proton-coupled hexose symport is a crucial process supplying energy under conditions of nutrient flux. In mammals it has been assumed that evolution of whole body regulatory mechanisms would eliminate this need. To determine whether any isoforms bearing this function might be conserved in mammals, we investigated the relationship between the transporters of animals and the proton-coupled hexose symporters found in other species. We took a comparative genomic approach and have performed the first comprehensive and statistically supported phylogenetic analysis of all mammalian glucose transporter (GLUT) isoforms. Our data reveals the mammalian GLUT proteins segregate into five distinct classes. This evolutionary ancestry gives insight to structure, function and transport mechanisms within the groups. Combined with biological assays, we present novel evidence that, in response to changing nutrient availability and environmental pH, proton-coupled, active glucose symport function is maintained in mammalian cells. The analyses show the ancestry, evolutionary conservation and biological importance of the GLUT classes. These findings significantly extend our understanding of the evolution of mammalian glucose transport systems. They also reveal that mammals may have conserved an adaptive response to nutrient demand that would have important physiological implications to cell survival and growth.

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