Results of monitoring at Olkiluoto in 2009. Environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haapanen, A. (ed.) (Haapanen Forest Consulting, Vanhakylae (Finland))

2010-10-15

This Working Report presents the main results of Posiva Oy's environmental monitoring programme on Olkiluoto Island in 2009. These summary reports have been published since 2005. The environmental monitoring system supervised by Posiva Oy produces input for biosphere modelling for long-term safety purposes as well as for monitoring the state of the environment during the construction (and later operation) of ONKALO underground characterization facility. Part of the monitoring is performed by the company running the nuclear power plants on the island, Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO). Monitoring has been carried out for varying periods of time depending on the sector: some monitoring activities performed by TVO originate from the 1970s and the repository-related environmental monitoring of Olkiluoto from the early 2000s. The monitoring programme evolves according to the experiences gained from the modelling work and an increased understanding of the site. Augmentations in 2009 include e.g. establishment of a new forest intensive monitoring plot (FIP14), continuation of studies on fine roots and on the species composition and abundances of small mammals. Line transect samplings of ants, terrestrial snails and earthworms were carried out and a systematic monitoring of island birds was started. In addition, a project was started where the sediment load and factors affecting the sediment transportation into Eurajoensalmi bay is examined. Dust produced during construction of the third nuclear power unit (OL3), ONKALO and related infrastructure can be seen in the soil solution and deposition results. Furthermore, the construction works and road traffic have a raising effect on the noise levels of the immediate surroundings. The land-use continues to change, but the remaining natural environment resembles other coastal locations. The young age of the soils and the closeness of the sea are reflected in the soil properties. Mammalian fauna on the island is typical of coastal

Results of monitoring at Olkiluoto in 2009. Environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haapanen, A.

2010-10-01

This Working Report presents the main results of Posiva Oy's environmental monitoring programme on Olkiluoto Island in 2009. These summary reports have been published since 2005. The environmental monitoring system supervised by Posiva Oy produces input for biosphere modelling for long-term safety purposes as well as for monitoring the state of the environment during the construction (and later operation) of ONKALO underground characterization facility. Part of the monitoring is performed by the company running the nuclear power plants on the island, Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO). Monitoring has been carried out for varying periods of time depending on the sector: some monitoring activities performed by TVO originate from the 1970s and the repository-related environmental monitoring of Olkiluoto from the early 2000s. The monitoring programme evolves according to the experiences gained from the modelling work and an increased understanding of the site. Augmentations in 2009 include e.g. establishment of a new forest intensive monitoring plot (FIP14), continuation of studies on fine roots and on the species composition and abundances of small mammals. Line transect samplings of ants, terrestrial snails and earthworms were carried out and a systematic monitoring of island birds was started. In addition, a project was started where the sediment load and factors affecting the sediment transportation into Eurajoensalmi bay is examined. Dust produced during construction of the third nuclear power unit (OL3), ONKALO and related infrastructure can be seen in the soil solution and deposition results. Furthermore, the construction works and road traffic have a raising effect on the noise levels of the immediate surroundings. The land-use continues to change, but the remaining natural environment resembles other coastal locations. The young age of the soils and the closeness of the sea are reflected in the soil properties. Mammalian fauna on the island is typical of coastal

Mineral-microorganism interactions in Acid Mine Drainage environments: preliminary results

Science.gov (United States)

Carbone, Cristina; Zotti, Mirca; Pozzolini, Marina; Giovine, Marco; Di Piazza, Simone; Mariotti, Mauro; Lucchetti, Gabriella

2014-05-01

Minerals play a key role in controlling the mobility and distribution of metals and metalloids of environmental concern in supergenic environments. These are involved in a variety of processes, spanning the alteration of primary minerals to the formation of secondary authigenic phases and can represent a source or a trap for Potentially Ecotoxic Elements (PTEs). Soil, sediments, and waters heavily polluted with PTEs through AMD processes are a reservoir of a unusual bacteria and fungi well adapted to these toxic environments. Classical studies of biotic weathering have mainly focused on water-mineral interaction and on the ability of microorganism to influence the soil solution chemical composition. In this work, we analyzed two different representative ochreous and greenish-blue AMD colloidal precipitates in order to i) characterize the biota population present in these colloidal minerals and ii) verify the bioaccumulation of PTEs into the fungi and the potential impact of bacteria in the geochemistry of the system. The samples are composed by nanocrystalline goethite which contains high amounts of Fe, Cu, Zn, Pb, and Ni and woodwardite that is characterized by Cu, Zn, Ni, Y, and Ce. These precipitates were examined in order to evaluate the presence of fungal strains and to extract bacteria DNA. The preliminary results of fungi characterization show an interesting and selected mycobiota able to survive under unfavourable environmental conditions. A significant number of fungal strains was isolated in pure culture. Most of them belong to the genus Mucor and Penicillium. It is worth noting the presence of Trametes versicolor, a macrofungal lignicolous species already known for heavy metal biosorption capability from aqueous solution (Gülay et al 2003). The same colloidal precipitates have been processed to extract bacteria DNA, using a specific procedure developed for DNA extraction from sediments. The results gave a good yield of nucleic acids and the positive PCR

Results of monitoring at Olkiluoto in 2010 - Environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haapanen, A. (ed.) [Haapanen Forest Consulting, Vanhakylae (Finland)

2011-10-15

This Working Report presents the main results of Posiva Oy's environmental monitoring programme on Olkiluoto Island in 2010. These summary reports have been published since 2005. The environmental monitoring system supervised by Posiva Oy produces input for biosphere modelling for long-term safety purposes as well as for monitoring the state of the environment during the construction (and later operation) of ONKALO underground rock characterization facility. Part of the monitoring is performed by the company running the nuclear power plants on the island, Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO). Monitoring has been carried out for varying periods of time depending on the sector: some monitoring activities performed by TVO originate from the 1970s and the repository-related environmental monitoring of Olkiluoto from the early 2000s. The monitoring programme evolves according to experiences gained from the modelling work and increased understanding of the site. Augmentations in 2010 include one previously unmonitored private drilled well, and sampling of crop plants, aquatic macrophytes, and bottom fauna, as well as soil and water in order to obtain more data on site-specific concentration ratios. In addition to Olkiluoto Island, two so called reference lakes have been included in the sampling. Studies have been going on on one reference mire, as well. Bottom fauna studies of River Eurajoki exist from late 1970s, but have not been presented here before. Dust produced during construction of the third nuclear power unit (OL3), ONKALO and related infrastructure can be seen in the analysis results of needle litter. The construction works and road traffic have a raising effect on the noise levels of the immediate surroundings. The land-use continues to change, but the remaining natural environment resembles other coastal locations. The young age of the soils and the closeness of the sea are reflected in the soil properties. Mammalian fauna on the island is typical of coastal

Results of monitoring at Olkiluoto in 2010 - Environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haapanen, A.

2011-10-01

This Working Report presents the main results of Posiva Oy's environmental monitoring programme on Olkiluoto Island in 2010. These summary reports have been published since 2005. The environmental monitoring system supervised by Posiva Oy produces input for biosphere modelling for long-term safety purposes as well as for monitoring the state of the environment during the construction (and later operation) of ONKALO underground rock characterization facility. Part of the monitoring is performed by the company running the nuclear power plants on the island, Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO). Monitoring has been carried out for varying periods of time depending on the sector: some monitoring activities performed by TVO originate from the 1970s and the repository-related environmental monitoring of Olkiluoto from the early 2000s. The monitoring programme evolves according to experiences gained from the modelling work and increased understanding of the site. Augmentations in 2010 include one previously unmonitored private drilled well, and sampling of crop plants, aquatic macrophytes, and bottom fauna, as well as soil and water in order to obtain more data on site-specific concentration ratios. In addition to Olkiluoto Island, two so called reference lakes have been included in the sampling. Studies have been going on on one reference mire, as well. Bottom fauna studies of River Eurajoki exist from late 1970s, but have not been presented here before. Dust produced during construction of the third nuclear power unit (OL3), ONKALO and related infrastructure can be seen in the analysis results of needle litter. The construction works and road traffic have a raising effect on the noise levels of the immediate surroundings. The land-use continues to change, but the remaining natural environment resembles other coastal locations. The young age of the soils and the closeness of the sea are reflected in the soil properties. Mammalian fauna on the island is typical of coastal areas in

Results of Monitoring at Olkiluoto in 2011. Environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haapanen, A. [Haapanen Forest Consulting, Vanhakylae (Finland)

2012-11-15

This Working Report presents the main results of Posiva Oy's environmental monitoring programme on Olkiluoto Island in 2011. These summary reports have been published since 2005. The environmental monitoring system supervised by Posiva Oy produces input for biosphere modelling for long-term safety purposes as well as for monitoring the state of the environment during the construction (and later operation) of ONKALO underground rock characterization facility. Part of the monitoring is performed by the company running the nuclear power plants on the island, Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO). Monitoring has been carried out for varying periods of time depending on the sector: some monitoring activities performed by TVO originate from the 1970s and the repository-related environmental monitoring of Olkiluoto from the early 2000s. The monitoring programme evolves according to experiences gained from the modelling work and increased understanding of the site. Monitoring activities in 2011 proceeded according to the plans. The land-use of the island continues to change due to the construction work of OL3, ONKALO and related infrastructure, but the remaining natural environment resembles other coastal locations. The amount of nitrogen in the bulk deposition increased in 2011, whereas that of sulphur decreased. Some litterfall fractions showed higher Al and Fe values than earlier, likely caused by soil dust. Proximity of the sea is seen in wet deposition and soil solution results. Soil solution also reflects the young age of soils. Undestorey vegetation has shown no essential changes during the monitoring period. Mammalian fauna on the island is typical of coastal areas in Southwestern Finland. Game catches vary according to hunting pressure and natural variation in populations. The condition of the nearby sea is affected by the continuous land uplift, the shallowness of the area, the weather conditions, the general condition of the Bothnian Sea, the nutrient and sediment loads

Results of Monitoring at Olkiluoto in 2011. Environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haapanen, A.

2012-11-01

This Working Report presents the main results of Posiva Oy's environmental monitoring programme on Olkiluoto Island in 2011. These summary reports have been published since 2005. The environmental monitoring system supervised by Posiva Oy produces input for biosphere modelling for long-term safety purposes as well as for monitoring the state of the environment during the construction (and later operation) of ONKALO underground rock characterization facility. Part of the monitoring is performed by the company running the nuclear power plants on the island, Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO). Monitoring has been carried out for varying periods of time depending on the sector: some monitoring activities performed by TVO originate from the 1970s and the repository-related environmental monitoring of Olkiluoto from the early 2000s. The monitoring programme evolves according to experiences gained from the modelling work and increased understanding of the site. Monitoring activities in 2011 proceeded according to the plans. The land-use of the island continues to change due to the construction work of OL3, ONKALO and related infrastructure, but the remaining natural environment resembles other coastal locations. The amount of nitrogen in the bulk deposition increased in 2011, whereas that of sulphur decreased. Some litterfall fractions showed higher Al and Fe values than earlier, likely caused by soil dust. Proximity of the sea is seen in wet deposition and soil solution results. Soil solution also reflects the young age of soils. Undestorey vegetation has shown no essential changes during the monitoring period. Mammalian fauna on the island is typical of coastal areas in Southwestern Finland. Game catches vary according to hunting pressure and natural variation in populations. The condition of the nearby sea is affected by the continuous land uplift, the shallowness of the area, the weather conditions, the general condition of the Bothnian Sea, the nutrient and sediment loads

Results of Monitoring at Olkiluoto in 2011. Environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haapanen, A. (ed.) [Haapanen Forest Consulting, Vanhakylae (Finland)

2012-11-15

This Working Report presents the main results of Posiva Oy's environmental monitoring programme on Olkiluoto Island in 2011. These summary reports have been published since 2005. The environmental monitoring system supervised by Posiva Oy produces input for biosphere modelling for long-term safety purposes as well as for monitoring the state of the environment during the construction (and later operation) of ONKALO underground rock characterization facility. Part of the monitoring is performed by the company running the nuclear power plants on the island, Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO). Monitoring has been carried out for varying periods of time depending on the sector: some monitoring activities performed by TVO originate from the 1970s and the repository-related environmental monitoring of Olkiluoto from the early 2000s. The monitoring programme evolves according to experiences gained from the modelling work and increased understanding of the site. Monitoring activities in 2011 proceeded according to the plans. The land-use of the island continues to change due to the construction work of OL3, ONKALO and related infrastructure, but the remaining natural environment resembles other coastal locations. The amount of nitrogen in the bulk deposition increased in 2011, whereas that of sulphur decreased. Some litterfall fractions showed higher Al and Fe values than earlier, likely caused by soil dust. Proximity of the sea is seen in wet deposition and soil solution results. Soil solution also reflects the young age of soils. Undestorey vegetation has shown no essential changes during the monitoring period. Mammalian fauna on the island is typical of coastal areas in Southwestern Finland. Game catches vary according to hunting pressure and natural variation in populations. The condition of the nearby sea is affected by the continuous land uplift, the shallowness of the area, the weather conditions, the general condition of the Bothnian Sea, the nutrient and sediment

Results of monitoring at Olkiluoto in 2005. Environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haapanen, R.

2006-08-01

This Working Report presents the main results of Posiva Oy's environmental monitoring programme on Olkiluoto Island in 2005. This is the second annual report. Monitoring has been carried out for varying time periods depending on the sector: some monitoring activities performed by TVO originate from the 1970s, others connected with the construction of the final disposal repository for nuclear waste and the underground research facility ONKALO have just started. The system supervised by Posiva Oy produces input for biosphere modelling for long-term safety purposes as well as for environmental impact analyses. In 2005 the deposition collectors and nearby needles caught some dust from the rock piling and crushing activities and traffic. Noise was another clear effect, originating mostly from OL3 construction, rock piling and crushing area and the concrete station. The studies further confirmed that the vegetation, forests, soils and animal life are typical of a coastal region within the same vegetation zone. The nearby marine environment is affected by the cooling water from the nuclear power plant, to varying extents depending on the organism and the distance. Monitoring of marine environments as well as radionuclide analyses at the moment produce reference data for the future and create a basis for the construction of a model, as no input from Posiva's activities will influence these areas for a long time. (orig.)

Results of monitoring at Olkiluoto in 2008. Environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haapanen, A.

2009-09-01

This Working Report presents the main results of Posiva Oy's environmental monitoring programme on Olkiluoto Island in 2008. These summary reports have been published since 2005 (target year 2004). The environmental monitoring system supervised by Posiva Oy produces input for biosphere modelling for long-term safety purposes as well as for monitoring the state of the environment during the construction (and later operation) of ONKALO underground characterization facility. Although some of the nuclear power production related monitoring studies by TVO (the power company) have been going on from the 1970s, the repository-related environmental monitoring of Olkiluoto Island has only recently been comprehensive. However, the monitoring programme evolves according to experiences from modelling work and increasing knowledge of most important site data. For example, in addition to the originally planned activities, in 2008 several studies on fauna were carried out, some soil and vegetation transects running from land to sea were established, a separate survey of water quality with automatic detectors was carried out and zooplankton and organic carbon studies were started in context of sea monitoring. In the monitoring data, the ongoing construction work (OL3, ONKALO and related infrastructure) is seen for instance in raised levels of noise and some deposited elements. The land-use continues to change, but where there is natural environment is affected by the cooling water from the nuclear power plant. (orig.)

Monitoring of radiation in the environment in the Netherlands. Results in 2001

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Knetsch GJ; RIZA; RIKZ; LSO

2003-01-01

This report presents the results of radioactivity measurements in the Dutch environment in 2001. The measurements were carried out by RIVM, RIZA, RIKZ and Inspectorate for Health Protection and Veterinary Public Health. Radioactivity measurements were carried out on airborne particles, deposition,

CN in the Sgr A* environment - first results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stankovic, M; Seaquist, E R; Muehle, S

2006-01-01

The radical CN, through the CN/HCN ratio, has proven to be an exceptionally good tool to study the photodissociation regions (PDRs) dominated by FUV radiation. Our region of interest, the circumnuclear disk (CND) surrounding Sgr A*, is exposed to the strong UV radiation field originating from the central stellar cluster. It contains potentially star forming cores recently elucidated by interferometric HCN observations with OVRO by Christopher et al. (2005). We present the results of preliminary observations of CN (N = 2-l) transitions with the IRAM 30-m telescope and report, for the first time, detection of CN emission in the GC region indicative of PDR, activity. This work motivates the further investigation of the role of PDRs in the clumpy medium of the Galactic center (GC) environment in global photodissociation and in promoting or inhibiting star formation in the CND

Monitoring of radiation in the environment in the Netherlands. Results in 2000

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Knetsch GJ; LSO; RIZA; RIKZ; Keuringsdienst van Waren

2002-01-01

This report presents the results of radioactivity measurements in the environment in the Netherlands carried out by RIVM, RIZA, RIKZ and Inspectorate for Health Protection and Veterinary Public Health in 2000. Measurements of radioactivity have been carried out in airborne particulates, deposition,

Results of microbiological Investigations of Orbital Station MIR Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Novikova, N.

15-year experience of orbital station MIR service demonstrated that specifically modified space vehicle environment allows to consider spaceship habitats as a certain ecological niche of microbial community development and functioning, which was formed from the organisms of different physiological and taxonomical groups. As a result of on-board experiments and revision of interior and equipment more than 234 microorganisms were identified. They were represented by technophylic specia, which cause material damage, as well as potential pathogens (bacteria, actinomyces spp, fungi), which capable to grow on artificial substrates. Resident colonization of interior and equipment of space habitat by bacterial and fungal associations, taking place during long-term microbiota exposure on cosmophysic, physic-chemical and biological factors, which is accompanied by appearance of technological and medical risks, capable to provide significant influence on safety of humans and reliability of space equipment. These risks are due to such processes: biodestruction of synthetic and organic polymeres, biocorrosion of metals, biofoulding of surfaces (biofilms), formation of obturation in vital activity support system, occurrence of biodisturbances resulting in devise and equipment failure, occurrence and development of supertolerants and other variants with unpredictable attributes, which are expressed as a result of phenotypical and genotypical modifications. Based on the information from results of in-flight and laboratory microbiological investigations, the following suppositions can be made to characterize evolution of the microbial community aboard long-operating space vehicle: - environment of a long-operating piloted space vehicle may be a peculiar kind of ecological niche for development and reproduction of bacilli and fungi belonging to particular species, - bacteriofungal associations primarily reside on decorative-finish and structural materials of space interior and

Testing Delays Resulting in Increased Identification Accuracy in Line-Ups and Show-Ups.

Science.gov (United States)

Dekle, Dawn J.

1997-01-01

Investigated time delays (immediate, two-three days, one week) between viewing a staged theft and attempting an eyewitness identification. Compared lineups to one-person showups in a laboratory analogue involving 412 subjects. Results show that across all time delays, participants maintained a higher identification accuracy with the showup…

Early results of experiments with responsive open learning environments

OpenAIRE

Friedrich, M.; Wolpers, M.; Shen, R.; Ullrich, C.; Klamma, R.; Renzel, D.; Richert, A.; Heiden, B. von der

2011-01-01

Responsive open learning environments (ROLEs) are the next generation of personal learning environments (PLEs). While PLEs rely on the simple aggregation of existing content and services mainly using Web 2.0 technologies, ROLEs are transforming lifelong learning by introducing a new infrastructure on a global scale while dealing with existing learning management systems, institutions, and technologies. The requirements engineering process in highly populated test-beds is as important as the t...

Oldest human occupation of Wallacea at Laili Cave, Timor-Leste, shows broad-spectrum foraging responses to late Pleistocene environments

Science.gov (United States)

Hawkins, Stuart; O'Connor, Sue; Maloney, Tim Ryan; Litster, Mirani; Kealy, Shimona; Fenner, Jack N.; Aplin, Ken; Boulanger, Clara; Brockwell, Sally; Willan, Richard; Piotto, Elena; Louys, Julien

2017-09-01

The Wallacea Archipelago provides an extraordinary laboratory for the study of human colonisation and adaptation, yet few detailed archaeological studies have been conducted in the region that span the earliest phase of human settlement. Laili Cave, in northern Timor-Leste, preserves the oldest human occupation in this insular region with a cultural sequence spanning 11,200 to 44,600 cal BP. Small-bodied vertebrates and invertebrates were recovered to the lowest excavated levels, associated with highly concentrated stone artefacts. We report on human behavioural adaptations within the context of Pleistocene environments and changing landscapes using zooarchaeological, stone artefact, bathymetric, and experimental isotopic analyses. Results indicate that Pleistocene humans used the abundant local chert liberally and engaged in mobile broad-spectrum exploitation of invertebrates and fishes from marine, estuarine, and freshwater environments within close proximity of Laili Cave. The faunal assemblage indicates heterogeneous but relatively stable environments during the late Pleistocene. Variability in subsistence strategies over time appears to be a response to changing landscapes and concomitant local resources. This record contrasts with marine specialisations evident from other sites in Timor-Leste and within the broader Wallacean region.

Neighborhood food environment and body mass index among Japanese older adults: results from the Aichi Gerontological Evaluation Study (AGES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hirai Hiroshi

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The majority of studies of the local food environment in relation to obesity risk have been conducted in the US, UK, and Australia. The evidence remains limited to western societies. The aim of this paper is to examine the association of local food environment to body mass index (BMI in a study of older Japanese individuals. Methods The analysis was based on 12,595 respondents from cross-sectional data of the Aichi Gerontological Evaluation Study (AGES, conducted in 2006 and 2007. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS, we mapped respondents' access to supermarkets, convenience stores, and fast food outlets, based on a street network (both the distance to the nearest stores and the number of stores within 500 m of the respondents' home. Multiple linear regression and logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the association between food environment and BMI. Results In contrast to previous reports, we found that better access to supermarkets was related to higher BMI. Better access to fast food outlets or convenience stores was also associated with higher BMI, but only among those living alone. The logistic regression analysis, using categorized BMI, showed that the access to supermarkets was only related to being overweight or obese, but not related to being underweight. Conclusions Our findings provide mixed support for the types of food environment measures previously used in western settings. Importantly, our results suggest the need to develop culture-specific approaches to characterizing neighborhood contexts when hypotheses are extrapolated across national borders.

Research result information for agriculture and environment. No.12; Nogyo kankyo kenkyu seika joho. 12

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-08-26

Essential purposes of productivity improvement, which human being have desires in agriculture for a long time, can not be discussed without considering relations with the environment, nowadays. In these situations, significant investigations have been created among the researches in the agriculture and environment field in response to the requirements of the time. In this report, results of 41 main researches submitted to the agriculture and environment research promotion conference in FY 1995 are compiled. This field covers the environment and resource characterization, the agrioecology, and the environment assessment and control. The environment and resource characterization field includes studies on the micro-meteorological mechanism of desert expansion due to excess pasturage, the salt removal function of clays, and the protection of ground water quality by grassland. The agrioecology field includes studies on the antimicrobial substance contained in Glycyrrhiza glabra against the soil decease of potatoes caused by Streptomyces scabies and the new plant growth obstruction substance contained in Sphenoclea zeylanica. The environment assessment and control field includes studies on the producing district change prediction of main grains accompanied with global environmental change and the carbon balance in the ecosystem of farm lands and rice fields. This report includes a lot of noticeable papers. 103 figs., 24 tabs.

Equivalence of qubit-environment entanglement and discord generation via pure dephasing interactions and the resulting consequences

Science.gov (United States)

Roszak, Katarzyna; Cywiński, Łukasz

2018-01-01

We find that when a qubit initialized in a pure state experiences pure dephasing due to interaction with an environment, separable qubit-environment states generated during the evolution also have zero quantum discord with respect to the environment. What follows is that the set of separable states which can be reached during the evolution has zero volume, and hence, such effects as sudden death of qubit-environment entanglement are very unlikely. In the case of the discord with respect to the qubit, a vast majority of qubit-environment separable states is discordant, but in specific situations zero-discord states are possible. This is conceptually important since there is a connection between the discordance with respect to a given subsystem and the possibility of describing the evolution of this subsystem using completely positive maps. Finally, we use the formalism to find an exemplary evolution of an entangled state of two qubits that is completely positive, and occurs solely due to interaction of only one of the qubits with its environment (so one could guess that it corresponds to a local operation, since it is local in a physical sense), but which nevertheless causes the enhancement of entanglement between the qubits. While this simply means that the considered evolution is completely positive, but does not belong to local operations and classical communication, it shows how much caution has to be exercised when identifying evolution channels that belong to that class.

Study of the Barada river environment pollution with poisonous trace elements resulting from tanning and electroplating industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khamis, I.; Sarheel, A.; Al-Somel, N.; Al-Masri, M. S.

2001-01-01

Investigation of leather industry impact on Barada river environment, specifically in the eastern part of Damascus was made. Differential samples such as sediments, soil, and plantations from various locations were collected. results show high increase of chromium in river's sediment and soil adjacent to the river banks. However, such increase was not noticed in plantations or tree leaves. Copper and nickel concentrations were also high in sediments due to waste coming out of the electroplating industry. Concentration of titanium, one of the polishing and coloring industry's wastes, was noticed to be rather high too. Concentration of all previous pollutants was noticed to decrease as the distance become farther from the industrial complex. (Author)

AREVA: Operating performance shows distinct improvement; Results heavily impacted by the cost of remedial measures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-01-01

The 2015 results illustrate the progress AREVA made in 2015 and open up favorable prospects for 2016 and the following years in view of its fundamentals. The group's competitiveness plan had a very positive impact on its costs and cash, despite the heavy net loss situation which continues and in a market environment that remained difficult in 2015. Half of this loss of 2 billion Euro is due to additional provisions for OL3 and half to provisions for restructuring and impairment related to market conditions. Concerning the group's liquidity, 2016 is funded and the capital increase which will be launched in the coming months will enable AREVA to gradually regain the group's positive profile. A new phase awaits the Group in 2016 with clarity and confidence in the implementation of the restructuring announced in 2015 and in particular the autonomy of AREVA NP and the creation of New AREVA

Issues and challenges of information fusion in contested environments: panel results

Science.gov (United States)

Blasch, Erik; Kadar, Ivan; Chong, Chee; Jones, Eric K.; Tierno, Jorge E.; Fenstermacher, Laurie; Gorman, John D.; Levchuk, Georgiy

2015-05-01

With the plethora of information, there are many aspects to contested environments such as the protection of information, network privacy, and restricted observational and entry access. In this paper, we review and contrast the perspectives of challenges and opportunities for future developments in contested environments. The ability to operate in a contested environment would aid societal operations for highly congested areas with limited bandwidth such as transportation, the lack of communication and observations after a natural disaster, or planning for situations in which freedom of movement is restricted. Different perspectives were presented, but common themes included (1) Domain: targets and sensors, (2) network: communications, control, and social networks, and (3) user: human interaction and analytics. The paper serves as a summary and organization of the panel discussion as towards future concerns for research needs in contested environments.

Laboratory results of stress corrosion cracking of steam generator tubes in a complex environment - An update

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Horner, Olivier; Pavageau, Ellen-Mary; Vaillant, Francois [EDF R and D, Materials and Mechanics of Components Department, 77818 Moret-sur-Loing (France); Bouvier, Odile de [EDF Nuclear Engineering Division, Centre d' Expertise et d' Inspection dans les Domaines de la Realisation et de l' Exploitation, 93206 Saint Denis (France)

2004-07-01

Stress corrosion cracking occurs in the flow-restricted areas on the secondary side of steam generator tubes of Pressured Water Reactors (PWR), where water pollutants are likely to concentrate. Chemical analyses carried out during the shutdowns gave some insight into the chemical composition of these areas, which has evolved during these last years (i.e. less sodium as pollutants). It has been modeled in laboratory by tests in two different typical environments: the sodium hydroxide and the sulfate environments. These models satisfactorily describe the secondary side corrosion of steam generator tubes for old plant units. Furthermore, a third typical environment - the complex environment - which corresponds to an All Volatile Treatment (AVT) environment containing alumina, silica, phosphate and acetic acid has been recently studied. This particular environment satisfactorily reproduces the composition of the deposits observed on the surface of the steam generator tubes as well as the degradation of the tubes. A review of the recent laboratory results obtained by considering the complex environment are presented here. Several tests have been carried out in order to study initiation and propagation of secondary side corrosion cracking for some selected materials in such an environment. 600 Thermally Treated (TT) alloy reveals to be less sensitive to secondary side corrosion cracking than 600 Mill Annealed (MA) alloy. Finally, the influence of some related factors like stress, temperature and environmental factors are discussed. (authors)

Laboratory results of stress corrosion cracking of steam generator tubes in a complex environment - An update

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horner, Olivier; Pavageau, Ellen-Mary; Vaillant, Francois; Bouvier, Odile de

2004-01-01

Stress corrosion cracking occurs in the flow-restricted areas on the secondary side of steam generator tubes of Pressured Water Reactors (PWR), where water pollutants are likely to concentrate. Chemical analyses carried out during the shutdowns gave some insight into the chemical composition of these areas, which has evolved during these last years (i.e. less sodium as pollutants). It has been modeled in laboratory by tests in two different typical environments: the sodium hydroxide and the sulfate environments. These models satisfactorily describe the secondary side corrosion of steam generator tubes for old plant units. Furthermore, a third typical environment - the complex environment - which corresponds to an All Volatile Treatment (AVT) environment containing alumina, silica, phosphate and acetic acid has been recently studied. This particular environment satisfactorily reproduces the composition of the deposits observed on the surface of the steam generator tubes as well as the degradation of the tubes. A review of the recent laboratory results obtained by considering the complex environment are presented here. Several tests have been carried out in order to study initiation and propagation of secondary side corrosion cracking for some selected materials in such an environment. 600 Thermally Treated (TT) alloy reveals to be less sensitive to secondary side corrosion cracking than 600 Mill Annealed (MA) alloy. Finally, the influence of some related factors like stress, temperature and environmental factors are discussed. (authors)

Research status and some results of numerical system to study regional environment: SPEEDI-MP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chino, Masamichi

2004-01-01

Research status and some results of 'Numerical system to study regional environment: SPEEDI-MP', which reproduces circulations of materials in the atmospheric, oceanic and terrestrial environments, are introduced. The purpose of this system are the development of various environmental models, the connection of atmospheric, oceanic and terrestrial models and the construction of research bases for numerical environmental studies. In addition to the accurate prediction of environmental behavior of radionuclides, the system has been applied to the non-nuclear fields, e.g., numerical analysis of environmental effects to volcanic gases from Miyake Jima, real-time prediction of the migration of rice planthoppers from Eastern Asia. (author)

Tellurium in active volcanic environments: Preliminary results

Science.gov (United States)

Milazzo, Silvia; Calabrese, Sergio; D'Alessandro, Walter; Brusca, Lorenzo; Bellomo, Sergio; Parello, Francesco

2014-05-01

Tellurium is a toxic metalloid and, according to the Goldschmidt classification, a chalcophile element. In the last years its commercial importance has considerably increased because of its wide use in solar cells, thermoelectric and electronic devices of the last generation. Despite such large use, scientific knowledge about volcanogenic tellurium is very poor. Few previous authors report result of tellurium concentrations in volcanic plume, among with other trace metals. They recognize this element as volatile, concluding that volcanic gases and sulfur deposits are usually enriched with tellurium. Here, we present some results on tellurium concentrations in volcanic emissions (plume, fumaroles, ash leachates) and in environmental matrices (soils and plants) affected by volcanic emissions and/or deposition. Samples were collected at Etna and Vulcano (Italy), Turrialba (Costa Rica), Miyakejima, Aso, Asama (Japan), Mutnovsky (Kamchatka) at the crater rims by using common filtration techniques for aerosols (polytetrafluoroethylene filters). Filters were both eluted with Millipore water and acid microwave digested, and analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Volcanic ashes emitted during explosive events on Etna and Copahue (Argentina) were analyzed for tellurium bulk composition and after leaching experiments to evaluate the soluble fraction of tellurium. Soils and leaves of vegetation were also sampled close to active volcanic vents (Etna, Vulcano, Nisyros, Nyiragongo, Turrialba, Gorely and Masaya) and investigated for tellurium contents. Preliminary results showed very high enrichments of tellurium in volcanic emissions comparing with other volatile elements like mercury, arsenic, thallium and bismuth. This suggests a primary transport in the volatile phase, probably in gaseous form (as also suggested by recent studies) and/or as soluble salts (halides and/or sulfates) adsorbed on the surface of particulate particles and ashes. First

The transfer of radionuclides in the terrestrial environments. Recent research results in monsoon tropical condition of Vietnam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Binh, Nguyen Thanh; Y, Truong; Sieu, Le Nhu; Ngo, Nguyen Trong; Phuc, Nguyen Van; Huong, Mai Thi; Quang, Nguyen Hao; Nhan, Dang Duc

2003-01-01

The data on Radionuclide transfer parameters in the environments, which are used in radioecological models, are very necessary for setting release limits of radioactive effluent and assessing the radiation dose to Man related to the releases of radionuclides from nuclear facilities. They strongly depend on climatic, geographic, environmental and pedological conditions. For temperate environments, they are abundant and have been established fairly well. Meanwhile the literature data are still scare and dispersal for Tropical and Sub-tropical zones. Besides, the improvement of Environmental Transfer Models and Parameters is an important problem so that they may be adapted for Southeast Asian countries including Japan as environmental conditions and foodstuffs in this Region are significantly different from those in Europe and North America. The paper presents measurements results of the dry deposition velocities of atmospheric aerosols carrying 7 Be, 137 Cs radionuclides and measurements results of soil to plant transfer factors (TF) for 60 Co, 65 Zn, 85 ASr and 134 Cs resulted from the out door radiotracer experiments with large pots. The selected soil types (Podzolic, Ferralitic, Ferralic Acrisols, Eutric Fluvisols and Orthi-thionic Fluvisols soil) and the plants (rice, black bean, cabbage, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, carrot, white radish, potato) used for the research are the most common in Vietnam. The measured Vg values (cm/s) are in the range of 0.01 - 1.84 for 7 Be and 1.95 - 49.77 for 137 Cs. An analysis of the associated meteorological parameters showed some correlations between 7 Be Vg with humidity and 137 Cs Vg with wind velocity. More than 400 TF (edible part) values were determined and their dependences on some soil parameters have been shown. (author)

Biological effect of aerospace environment on alfalfa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Yuexue; Liu Jielin; Han Weibo; Tang Fenglan; Hao Ruochao; Shang Chen; DuYouying; Li Jikai; Wang Changshan

2009-01-01

The biological effect of aerospace environment on two varieties of Medicago sativa L. was studied. In M 1 germination results showed that aerospace environment increased cell division and the number of micronucleus, changed germination rate, caused seedling aberrations. Cytogenetical and seedling aberration of Zhaodong showed more sensitivity than Longmu 803. Branches and fresh weight of Zhaodong had shown more serious damage than control and Longmu 803. (authors)

Dolphin shows and interaction programs: benefits for conservation education?

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, L J; Zeigler-Hill, V; Mellen, J; Koeppel, J; Greer, T; Kuczaj, S

2013-01-01

Dolphin shows and dolphin interaction programs are two types of education programs within zoological institutions used to educate visitors about dolphins and the marine environment. The current study examined the short- and long-term effects of these programs on visitors' conservation-related knowledge, attitude, and behavior. Participants of both dolphin shows and interaction programs demonstrated a significant short-term increase in knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. Three months following the experience, participants of both dolphin shows and interaction programs retained the knowledge learned during their experience and reported engaging in more conservation-related behaviors. Additionally, the number of dolphin shows attended in the past was a significant predictor of recent conservation-related behavior suggesting that repetition of these types of experiences may be important in inspiring people to conservation action. These results suggest that both dolphin shows and dolphin interaction programs can be an important part of a conservation education program for visitors of zoological facilities. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The results of farms from LFA compared with others – are we in danger of giving up the production in unfavourable environment?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tadeusz Sobczyński

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Based on FADN data the output and economic results from EU with LFA countries were compared with the results of those farms located in favourable environment. In 2004-2009 farmers from unfavourable environment received lower crop output per land unit (by 55% with lower crop protection (by 4% and higher fertilizers costs (by 12%. Unfavourable environment lowered also livestock output by 25%. The influence of the environment is accumulated in economic results per ha of agricultural unit: net value added was lower by 35% and family farm income was lower only by 3%. It appeared that whole system of subsidies and taxes (not only subsidies for unfavourable environment levelled land productivity for areas with favourable and unfavourable environment. The presented results concerned EU average, while particular countries may differ significantly.

[Living conditions: stumbling block or path to successful ageing? Results of the Augsburg regional conference "Living environment, age and health"].

Science.gov (United States)

Strobl, R; Maier, W; Mielck, A; Fuchs, J; Richter-Kornweitz, A; Gostomzyk, J; Grill, E

2014-09-01

In addition to good medical care, living environment is of central importance in encouraging social participation among older people. Therefore, municipalities should prioritise the age-appropriate design of living environments. Results of the KORA Age study were presented at the regional conference "Living environment, age and health" in the Augsburg town hall on October 1, 2013. The results on participation and living environment were discussed with local policy makers and senior citizens' representatives from Augsburg and two surrounding regions. The study examined the impact of living environment on participation using two different approaches: qualitative findings from focus group discussions and quantitative findings based on telephone interviews and the use of a geographic information system. The results were complemented by contributions from a regional and national perspective. It was stressed in the closing discussion that a senior-friendly living environment can only be created by using a broad range of different measures. On the one hand physical barriers need to be removed, while at the same time the sense of community, neighborhood cohesion and solidarity should be encouraged further.

Simple webs of natural environment theme as a result of sharing in science teacher training

Science.gov (United States)

Tapilouw, M. C.; Firman, H.; Redjeki, S.; Chandra, D. T.

2018-03-01

Thematic learning is one type of integrated science (Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Earth Science) in Science Education. This study is concerning about simple webs of natural environment theme in science learning, as one of training material in science teacher training program. Making simple web is a goal of first step in teacher training program. Every group explain their web illustration to other group. Twenty Junior High School science teacher above one education foundation participate in science teacher training program. In order to gather simple webs, sharing method was used in this first step of science teacher training. The result of this study is five different simple web of natural environment themes. These webs represent science learning in class VII/Semester I, class VII/Semester II, Class VIII, Class IX/Semester I, Class IX/Semester II based on basic competency in National Curriculum 2013. Each group discussed web of natural environment theme based on their learning experience in real class which basic competency and subject matters are linked with natural environment theme. As a conclusion, simple webs are potential to develop in the next step of science teacher training program and to be implemented in real class.

Family Environment and the Metabolic Syndrome: Results from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) Sociocultural Ancillary Study (SCAS).

Science.gov (United States)

Penedo, Frank J; Brintz, Carrie E; LLabre, Maria M; Arguelles, William; Isasi, Carmen R; Arredondo, Elva M; Navas-Nacher, Elena L; Perreira, Krista M; González, Hector M; Rodriguez, Carlos J; Daviglus, Martha; Schneiderman, Neil; Gallo, Linda C

2015-12-01

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Very limited work has evaluated associations of sociocultural processes with prevalence of the MetS. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate associations between family environment (cohesion/conflict) and the MetS, in a multi-site sample of US Hispanics/Latinos. A total of 3278 participants from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos underwent a clinical exam and completed psychosocial measures including family environment (cohesion and conflict) as part of the Sociocultural Ancillary Study. The association between family environment and the MetS was moderated by sex. Among all women, higher family conflict was associated with MetS prevalence. Results by ancestry group showed that only among Cuban women, higher conflict was associated with the MetS, whereas only among Dominican men, greater cohesion was associated with the MetS. The family context may be a sociocultural protective or risk factor among Hispanics/Latinos in terms of MetS risk, but these associations may vary by sex and Hispanic background.

Sociodemographic Moderators of Environment-Physical Activity Associations: Results From the International Prevalence Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Perez, Lilian G; Conway, Terry L; Bauman, Adrian; Kerr, Jacqueline; Elder, John P; Arredondo, Elva M; Sallis, James F

2018-01-01

Associations between the built environment and physical activity (PA) may vary by sociodemographic factors. However, such evidence from international studies is limited. This study tested the moderating effects of sociodemographic factors on associations between perceived environment and self-reported total PA among adults from the International Prevalence Study. Between 2002 and 2003, adults from 9 countries (N = 10,258) completed surveys assessing total PA (International Physical Activity Questionnaire-short), perceived environment, and sociodemographics (age, gender, and education). Total PA was dichotomized as meeting/not meeting (a) high PA levels and (b) minimum PA guidelines. Logistic models tested environment by sociodemographic interactions (24 total). Education and gender moderated the association between safety from crime and meeting high PA levels (interaction P environment-PA associations. International efforts to improve built environments are needed to promote health-enhancing PA and maintain environmental sustainability.

Suppressing decoherence by preparing the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Landon-Cardinal, Olivier; MacKenzie, Richard

2013-01-01

To protect a quantum system from decoherence due to interaction with its environment, we investigate the existence of initial states of the environment allowing for decoherence-free evolution of the system. For a class of models in which a two-state system and a dynamical environment interact through a Hamiltonian restricted to be a tensor product, we prove that such states exist if and only if the interaction and self-evolution Hamiltonians of the environment share an eigenstate. If decoherence by state preparation is not possible, we show that initial states minimizing decoherence result from a delicate compromise between the environment and interaction dynamics

Supportability Analysis in LCI Environment

OpenAIRE

Dragan Vasiljevic; Ana Horvat

2013-01-01

Starting from the basic pillars of the supportability analysis this paper queries its characteristics in LCI (Life Cycle Integration) environment. The research methodology contents a review of modern logistics engineering literature with the objective to collect and synthesize the knowledge relating to standards of supportability design in e-logistics environment. The results show that LCI framework has properties which are in fully compatibility with the requirement of s...

DEVELOPMENT OF KITSAT-1 AND 2 MECHANICAL SYSTEM AND RESULTS OF ENVIRONMENT TEST

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. S. Bae

1996-06-01

Full Text Available The satellite experiences the launch environment such as vibration, acceleration, shock induced by rocket and the orbit environment such as high vacuum, no gravity, high temperature and cryogenic. Therefore, the satellite should be designed and manufactured to endure such environments. Also, special care must be taken on the assembly of parts and subsystem. Finally, we describe the environment test of microsatellite to ensure the reliable operation during launch period as well as in-orbit operation.

Impact on the marine environment of radioactive releases resulting from the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear accident. May 13, 2011

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

This information note updates and supplements the previous note of 4 April on the same subject. It describes the origins of the contamination of the marine environment (Direct releases into the sea close to the damaged reactors, atmospheric fall-out onto the surface of the sea, transport of radioactive pollution by leaching of contaminated soil). Then, while proposing several maps, the authors analyse and comment the dispersion in the sea of radioactive pollutants: ocean currents off the Japanese coasts, charts showing the distribution of caesium 137 in seawater, and results of simulations of dispersion. The report briefly discusses the impact of radioactive pollution on living species: concentrations observed in fish, expected concentrations based on the seawater measurements. Finally, it briefly discusses the presence of radionuclides in sediments

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...

Preliminary results of thermal igniter experiments in H2-air-steam environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lowry, W.

1981-01-01

Thermal igniters (glow plugs), proposed by the Tennessee Valley Authority for intentional ignition of hydrogen in nuclear reactor containment, have been tested for functionability in mixtures of air, hydrogen, and steam. Test environments included 6% to 16% hydrogen concentrations in air, and 8%, 10%, and 12% hydrogen in mixtures with 30% and 40% steam fractions. All were conducted in a 10.6 ft 3 insulated pressure vessel. For all of these tests the glow plug successfully initiated combustion. Dry air/hydrogen tests exhibited a distinct tendency for complete combustion at hydrogen concentrations between 8% and 9%. Steam suppressed both peak pressures and completeness of combustion. No combustion could be initiated at or above a 50% steam fraction. Circulation of the mixture with a fan increased the completeness of combustion. The glow plug showed no evidence of performance degradation throughout the program

Results from the European Integrated Project '' New Materials for Extreme Environments (ExtreMat) ''

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bolt, H.; Linsmeier, Ch.; Baluc, N.; Garcia-Rosales, G.; Gualco, G. C.; Simancik, F.

2006-01-01

The goal of the European Integrated Project '' ExtreMat '' is to provide and to industrialize new materials and their compounds for applications in extreme environments that are beyond reach with incremental materials development only. The R(and)D activities in this project aim to provide a) self-passivating protection materials for sensitive structures operated in physico-chemically aggressive environments at high temperatures; b) new heat sink materials with the capability of very efficient heat removal, often at very high temperature level; c) radiation resistant materials for very high operation temperatures; d) new processing routes for complex heterogeneous compounds that can be operated in extreme environments. Key applications for these new materials are in the sectors of fusion, advanced fission, space, and electronic applications. Further use of these materials is expected in spin-off fields, such as brake applications and energy conversion. The project started in December 2004 for a duration of five years and is supported by the European Community. The 37 project participants are from 13 EU member states and include 6 universities, 7 research institutes, 10 research centres and 14 industrial companies. Research results regarding the development of materials for application in nuclear fusion, especially on protection, heat sink, and radiation resistant materials will be presented. A view to other applications of these materials in the fields of fission, space and electronics will be given in the presentation. ExtreMat Project Partners: see http://www.extremat.org/. (author)

Sulphur in the Arctic environment (1): results of a catchment-based multi-medium study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kashulina, G.; Reimann, C.

2001-01-01

S-concentrations were determined in 9 different sample materials (precipitation (rain and snow), vegetation, O-, E-, B- and C-horizon of podzols, stream water and ground water) collected in eight small catchments (10-30 km 2 ) at different distances from major SO 2 point-source emitters on the Kola Peninsula, Russia. Comparison of the results from these materials, representing different compartments of the ecosystem under varying natural conditions leads to a better understanding of sources, cycling and fate of S in the Arctic environment. More than 300,000 t of SO 2 emitted annually from the Kola smelters affect the air quality over a large area. Arctic climatic conditions (cold and dry) and the remote location of the emitters result in considerably lower S-deposition values than those observed in central Europe. The pathways of atmospheric S-deposition in the terrestrial environment vary significantly from summer to winter because different compartments of the ecosystem, with a different capability to accumulate S, are active. The actual S-flux is altered by every component of the ecosystem. When estimating the total S-deposition this effect must be considered. (Author)

Environmental aspects of hydraulic fracturing - Main results and recommendations from two studies on behalf of the German Environment Agency

Science.gov (United States)

Krischbaum, Bernd; Bertram, Andreas; Böttcher, Christian; Iyimen-Schwarz, Züleyha; Rechenberg, Jörg; Dannwolf, Uwe; Meiners, Georg

2016-04-01

The German Environment Agency (UBA) accompanies the debate on fracking for years. Two major reports on risks and environmental impacts regarding the exploration and exploitation of unconventional natural gas, in particular shale gas have been published. On the basis of these studies as well as on scientific evidence UBA considers ecological barriers as a sustainable means to minimize the risks to environment and human health. 1) Recent studies show that the contamination of shallow aquifers by rise of fluids through natural faults or artificially created fractures is extremely unlikely. However, activities on the surface and lack of wellbore integrity pose threats and substantial risks for the quality of shallow aquifers. 2) The need for thorough groundwater monitoring is fully accepted, yet its range and design is subject to discussion. 3) Formerly, analysis and mass balances of flowback and produced water have been insufficient, thus there is a lack of exact information on proportions of frac-fluids, flowback and formation water respectively, as well as data on possible reaction products. 4) Currently, neither on national nor on European level best reference techniques (BREF) for the treatment and disposal of flowback and produced water are available. 5) In addition, land consumption, emission of greenhouse gases, and induced seismicity are major issues. UBA recommends amongst others the implementation of an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for fracking activities, the prohibition of fracking in water protection areas as well as their catchments, and the disclosure of all frac-fluid chemicals within a national chemical registry. To achieve these objectives the German Environment Agency suggests a step-by-step approach. The paper will present the main results from the studies and the recommendations of the German Environment Agency regarding hydraulic fracturing for unconventional gas exploitation.

THE INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENT ON THE CIRCUMGALACTIC MEDIUM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoon, Joo Heon; Putman, Mary E.

2013-01-01

The effect of environment on the circumgalactic medium (CGM) is investigated through a comparison of Lyα absorption line data in the Virgo Cluster and the field. This Letter uses the first systematic survey of background QSOs in and around the Virgo Cluster and large existing surveys of galaxies at low redshift. While previous studies found denser gas (higher equivalent width) closer to a galaxy (lower impact parameter), this correlation disappears in the Virgo environment. In addition, the covering fraction of the CGM is lower in the cluster environment than in the circumcluster environment and field. The results indicate that the CGM is suppressed for cluster galaxies while galaxies in the circumcluster environment have abundant CGM. The truncation of the CGM may result in the quenching of star formation through starvation. Our results also show that CGM surveys must consider the role of environment

Shyer and larger bird species show more reduced fear of humans when living in urban environments.

Science.gov (United States)

delBarco-Trillo, Javier

2018-04-01

As the natural habitats of many species are degraded or disappear, there is scope for these species to be established in urban habitats. To ease the establishment and maintenance of urban populations of more species we need to better understand what degree of phenotypical change to expect as different species transition into urban environments. During the first stages of urban colonization, behavioural changes such as an increase in boldness are particularly important. A consistent response in urban populations is to decrease the distance at which individuals flee from an approaching human (flight initiation distance, or FID). Performing a phylogenetic generalized least-squares (PGLS) analysis on 130 avian species, I found that the largest changes in FID between rural and urban populations occur in species that are larger-bodied and naturally shy (higher rural FID), two phenotypic traits that are not normally associated with urban colonizers. More unlikely species may thus be able to colonize urban environments, especially if we design cities in ways that promote such urban colonizations. © 2018 The Author(s).

Children show limited movement repertoire when learning a novel motor skill.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Mei-Hua; Farshchiansadegh, Ali; Ranganathan, Rajiv

2017-09-27

Examining age differences in motor learning using real-world tasks is often problematic due to task novelty and biomechanical confounds. Here, we investigated how children and adults acquire a novel motor skill in a virtual environment. Participants of three different age groups (9-year-olds, 12-year-olds, and adults) learned to use their upper body movements to control a cursor on a computer screen. Results showed that 9-year-old and 12-year-old children showed poorer ability to control the cursor at the end of practice. Critically, when we investigated the movement coordination, we found that the lower task performance of children was associated with limited exploration of their movement repertoire. These results reveal the critical role of motor exploration in understanding developmental differences in motor learning. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Appropriating the Environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meyer, Jan-Henrik

2011-01-01

Environmental policy has become an important area of European Union (EU) policy making, even though it had not originally been foreseen in the Treaty of Rome. Its emergence in the early 1970s can be understood as a result of a transfer of the novel policy idea of the environment to the European...... of the environment as a political concept emerging in the context of international organizations at the time. Secondly, an analysis of the first Environmental Action Programme of 1973 will be used to show how the EC conceptualized the environment, including the definition of problems and potential remedies. Thirdly...... level. This paper thus inquires into the emergence of a European environmental policy from a diffusion of ideas perspective. Rather than focusing on multi-level policy making it seeks to trace the diffusion of environmental ideas from the level of international organizations to the European Communities...

Evaluate of environment quality for γ irradiation facilities using fuzzy comprehensive judgment method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ha Yiming

2002-01-01

The environment quality of Jining Irradiation Centre new γ radiation facility was evaluated by fuzzy comprehensive judgment method. The result showed that the place of γ radiation facility was well and the measures of radiate shelter and environment protect were effective. The environment quality of its area was not obvious change and the result of environment evaluation was first-rate

CONSEQUENCES OF EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ON ENTREPRENEURIAL MOTIVATION IN IRAN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hassan Gholipour Fereidouni

2010-07-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to examine importance of business environment, social status of entrepreneurs, and country external conflicts as predictors of motivation to start a business in an environment, such as that in Iran, in which the economy is highly dependent on government initiatives. Data are collected from 106 MBA students through questionnaires. Respondents are questioned regarding the perceived importance of the business environment, socio-cultural factors (social status, and country external conflicts. The results show that the importance of business environment and country external conflicts contribute considerably to the level of entrepreneurial motivation. Further, the results reveal that social status is not a critical factor in determining the level of motivation to start a business. In particular, business environment is the most important factor in predicting entrepreneurial motivation. The results contribute to the growing body of literature in entrepreneurship and provide some implications for Iranian policy makers to create favourable external environment for potential entrepreneurs.

Adjustment problems and residential care environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Sebastian Novotný

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Problem: Residential care environment represents a specific social space that is associated with a number of negative consequences, covering most aspects of children and youth functioning. The paper analyzes of the presence of adjustment problems among adolescents from institutional care environment and compares this results with a population of adolescents who grew up in a family. Methods: The sample consisted of two groups of adolescents. The first group included 285 adolescents currently growing up in an residential care environment, aged 13 to 21 (M = 16.23, SD = 1.643. The second group consisted of 214 adolescents growing up in a family, aged 15 to 20 (M = 17.07, SD = 1.070. We used a questionnaire Youth Self Report. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and MANOVA. Results: Results showed that adolescents in residential care exhibit higher average values in all adjustment problems. Also, in the context of diagnostic categories are the residential care adolescents more frequently in non-normal range (borderline and clinical, primarily in the border range. The greatest differences were reflected in the Thought problems and Rule-breaking behavior. MANOVA showed a significant multivariate effect between groups of adolescents, Hotelling's T = .803, F(8, 490 = 49.202, p <.001, d = .445 (large effect. Univariate analysis further showed a significant effect for Withdrawn/depressed (p = .044, d = .089, small effect, Somatic complaints (p = .002, d = .139, medium effect, Social problems (p = 004, d = .127, a small effect, Thought problems (p <.001, d = .633, strong effect, Attention problems (p <.001, d = .320,strong effect, Rule-breaking behavior (p <.001 , d = .383, strong effect, and Aggressive behavior (p = 015, d = .110, small effect. Results for the dimension of Anxious/depressed were not significant (p = .159. Discussion: The results didn’t confirmed the assumption that more than 30% of residential care adolescents have adjustment

Polygenic scores predict alcohol problems in an independent sample and show moderation by the environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Salvatore, Jessica E; Aliev, Fazil; Edwards, Alexis C; Evans, David M; Macleod, John; Hickman, Matthew; Lewis, Glyn; Kendler, Kenneth S; Loukola, Anu; Korhonen, Tellervo; Latvala, Antti; Rose, Richard J; Kaprio, Jaakko; Dick, Danielle M

2014-04-10

Alcohol problems represent a classic example of a complex behavioral outcome that is likely influenced by many genes of small effect. A polygenic approach, which examines aggregate measured genetic effects, can have predictive power in cases where individual genes or genetic variants do not. In the current study, we first tested whether polygenic risk for alcohol problems-derived from genome-wide association estimates of an alcohol problems factor score from the age 18 assessment of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC; n = 4304 individuals of European descent; 57% female)-predicted alcohol problems earlier in development (age 14) in an independent sample (FinnTwin12; n = 1162; 53% female). We then tested whether environmental factors (parental knowledge and peer deviance) moderated polygenic risk to predict alcohol problems in the FinnTwin12 sample. We found evidence for both polygenic association and for additive polygene-environment interaction. Higher polygenic scores predicted a greater number of alcohol problems (range of Pearson partial correlations 0.07-0.08, all p-values ≤ 0.01). Moreover, genetic influences were significantly more pronounced under conditions of low parental knowledge or high peer deviance (unstandardized regression coefficients (b), p-values (p), and percent of variance (R2) accounted for by interaction terms: b = 1.54, p = 0.02, R2 = 0.33%; b = 0.94, p = 0.04, R2 = 0.30%, respectively). Supplementary set-based analyses indicated that the individual top single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) contributing to the polygenic scores were not individually enriched for gene-environment interaction. Although the magnitude of the observed effects are small, this study illustrates the usefulness of polygenic approaches for understanding the pathways by which measured genetic predispositions come together with environmental factors to predict complex behavioral outcomes.

Polygenic Scores Predict Alcohol Problems in an Independent Sample and Show Moderation by the Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jessica E. Salvatore

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Alcohol problems represent a classic example of a complex behavioral outcome that is likely influenced by many genes of small effect. A polygenic approach, which examines aggregate measured genetic effects, can have predictive power in cases where individual genes or genetic variants do not. In the current study, we first tested whether polygenic risk for alcohol problems—derived from genome-wide association estimates of an alcohol problems factor score from the age 18 assessment of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC; n = 4304 individuals of European descent; 57% female—predicted alcohol problems earlier in development (age 14 in an independent sample (FinnTwin12; n = 1162; 53% female. We then tested whether environmental factors (parental knowledge and peer deviance moderated polygenic risk to predict alcohol problems in the FinnTwin12 sample. We found evidence for both polygenic association and for additive polygene-environment interaction. Higher polygenic scores predicted a greater number of alcohol problems (range of Pearson partial correlations 0.07–0.08, all p-values ≤ 0.01. Moreover, genetic influences were significantly more pronounced under conditions of low parental knowledge or high peer deviance (unstandardized regression coefficients (b, p-values (p, and percent of variance (R2 accounted for by interaction terms: b = 1.54, p = 0.02, R2 = 0.33%; b = 0.94, p = 0.04, R2 = 0.30%, respectively. Supplementary set-based analyses indicated that the individual top single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs contributing to the polygenic scores were not individually enriched for gene-environment interaction. Although the magnitude of the observed effects are small, this study illustrates the usefulness of polygenic approaches for understanding the pathways by which measured genetic predispositions come together with environmental factors to predict complex behavioral outcomes.

Entrepreneur environment management behavior evaluation method derived from environmental economy.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Lili; Hou, Xilin; Xi, Fengru

2013-12-01

Evaluation system can encourage and guide entrepreneurs, and impel them to perform well in environment management. An evaluation method based on advantage structure is established. It is used to analyze entrepreneur environment management behavior in China. Entrepreneur environment management behavior evaluation index system is constructed based on empirical research. Evaluation method of entrepreneurs is put forward, from the point of objective programming-theory to alert entrepreneurs concerned to think much of it, which means to take minimized objective function as comprehensive evaluation result and identify disadvantage structure pattern. Application research shows that overall behavior of Chinese entrepreneurs environmental management are good, specially, environment strategic behavior are best, environmental management behavior are second, cultural behavior ranks last. Application results show the efficiency and feasibility of this method. Copyright © 2013 The Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Patients with environment-related disorders: comprehensive results of interdisciplinary diagnostics.

Science.gov (United States)

Brand, Serge; Heller, Pia; Bircher, Andreas J; Braun-Fahrleander, Charlotte; Huss, Anke; Niederer, Markus; Schwarzenbach, Simone; Waeber, Roger; Wegmann, Lukas; Kuechenhoff, Joachim

2009-03-01

Researchers dealing with environmental illnesses face complex diagnostic and methodological difficulties. Poor objective findings contrast with high subjective suffering and a firm belief that environmental exposure is the only source of complaints. The Basel pilot research project established a multi-modal assessment procedure and assessed complaints attributed to the environment. Medical, psychological and environmental findings were evaluated as to their pathogenic validity. Furthermore, patients were pooled into distinguishable subgroups in order to formulate more appropriate therapy strategies. Sixty-three patients took part in the threefold diagnostic approach (medical examination, psychiatric exploration, environmental analysis) of a mixed qualitative/quantitative study. Interdisciplinary case conferences allowed a consensus rating of the aetiological relevance of the findings to be reached. The discrepancy between self-rating and experts' judgement was exploited for subgroup formation. About 50% of the patients' symptoms could be attributed to psychiatric causes. Based on self-rating and experts' judgement, four subgroups were distinguished with differing medical, psychiatric and environmental aetiologies, personality traits and interactional competencies. Patients with environment-related disorders form a heterogeneous group. An interdisciplinary assessment and a comparison between self- and experts' judgements enable a more differentiated psychotherapeutic procedure and may enhance future treatment success.

Assessment indices for uniform and non-uniform thermal environments

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2008-01-01

Different assessment indices for thermal environments were compared and selected for proper assessment of indoor thermal environments.30 subjects reported their overall thermal sensation,thermal comfort,and thermal acceptability in uniform and non-uniform conditions.The results show that these three assessment indices provide equivalent evaluations in uniform environments.However,overall thermal sensation differs from the other two indices and cannot be used as a proper index for the evaluation of non-uniform environments.The relationship between the percentage and the mean vote for each index is established.

The Role Of Environment In Stellar Mass Growth

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Daniel

2017-06-01

In this talk I give a brief summary of methods to measure galaxy environment. I then discuss the dependence of stellar population properties on environmental density: it turns out that the latter are driven by galaxy mass, and galaxy environment only plays a secondary role, mostly at late times in low-mass galaxies. I show that this evidence has now been extended to stellar population gradients using the IFU survey SDSS/MaNGA that again turn out to be independent of environment, including central-satellite classification. Finally I present results from the DES, where the dependence of the stellar mass function with redshift and environmental density is explored. It is found that the fraction of massive galaxies is larger in high density environments than in low density environments. The low density and high density components converge with increasing redshift up to z 1.0 where the shapes of the mass function components are indistinguishable. This study shows how high density structures build up around massive galaxies through cosmic time, which sets new valuable constraints on galaxy formation models.

Directed Hidden-Code Extractor for Environment-Sensitive Malwares

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Chunfu; Wang, Zhi; Lu, Kai; Liu, Xinhai; Liu, Xin

Malware writers often use packing technique to hide malicious payload. A number of dynamic unpacking tools are.designed in order to identify and extract the hidden code in the packed malware. However, such unpacking methods.are all based on a highly controlled environment that is vulnerable to various anti-unpacking techniques. If execution.environment is suspicious, malwares may stay inactive for a long time or stop execution immediately to evade.detection. In this paper, we proposed a novel approach that automatically reasons about the environment requirements.imposed by malware, then directs a unpacking tool to change the controlled environment to extract the hide code at.the new environment. The experimental results show that our approach significantly increases the resilience of the.traditional unpacking tools to environment-sensitive malware.

Neighborhood built environment and physical activity of Japanese older adults: results from the Aichi Gerontological Evaluation Study (AGES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hirai Hiroshi

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Although many studies have reported the association between neighborhood built environment (BE and physical activity (PA, less is known about the associations for older populations or in countries besides the US and Australia. The aim of this paper is to examine the associations for older adult populations in Japan. Methods Our analyses were based on cross-sectional data from the Aichi Gerontological Evaluation Study (AGES, conducted in 2003. The respondents were older adults, aged 65 years or over (n = 9,414, from 8 municipalities across urban, suburban, and rural areas. The frequency of leisure time sports activity and total walking time were used as the outcome variables. Using geographic information systems (GIS, we measured residential density, street connectivity, number of local destinations, access to recreational spaces, and land slope of the respondents' neighborhoods, based on network distances with multiple radii (250 m, 500 m, 1,000 m. An ordinal logistic regression model was used to analyze the association between PA and BE measures. Results Population density and presence of parks or green spaces had positive associations with the frequency of sports activity, regardless of the selected buffer zone. The analysis of total walking time, however, showed only a few associations. Conclusions Our findings provide mixed support for the association between PA and the characteristics of BE measures, previously used in Western settings. Some characteristics of the neighborhood built environment may facilitate leisure time sports activity, but not increase the total walking time for Japanese older adults.

Prediction of software operational reliability using testing environment factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Hoan Sung; Seong, Poong Hyun

1995-01-01

For many years, many researches have focused on the quantification of software reliability and there are many models developed to quantify software reliability. Most software reliability models estimate the reliability with the failure data collected during the test assuming that the test environments well represent the operation profile. The experiences show that the operational reliability is higher than the test reliability User's interest is on the operational reliability rather than on the test reliability, however. With the assumption that the difference in reliability results from the change of environment, testing environment factors comprising the aging factor and the coverage factor are defined in this study to predict the ultimate operational reliability with the failure data. It is by incorporating test environments applied beyond the operational profile into testing environment factors. The application results are close to the actual data

Peptide Fractions Obtained from Rice By-Products by Means of an Environment-Friendly Process Show In Vitro Health-Related Bioactivities.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maura Ferri

Full Text Available Recently, the isolation of new health-related bioactive molecules derived from agro-food industrial by-products by means of environment-friendly extraction processes has become of particular interest. In the present study, a protein by-product from the rice starch industry was hydrolysed with five commercial proteolytic enzymes, avoiding the use of solvents or chemicals. The digestion processes were optimised, and the digestates were separated in fractions with four different molecular weight ranges by using a cross-flow membrane filtration technique. Total hydrolysates and fractions were tested in vitro for a wide range of biological activities. For the first time rice-derived peptides were assayed for anti-tyrosinase, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxicity and irritation capacities. Antioxidant and anti-hypertensive activities were also evaluated. Protamex, Alcalase and Neutrase treatments produced peptide fractions with valuable bioactivities without resulting cytotoxic or irritant. Highest levels of bioactivity were detected in Protamex-derived samples, followed by samples treated with Alcalase. Based on the present results, a future direct exploitation of isolated peptide fractions in the nutraceutical, functional food and cosmetic industrial fields may be foreseen.

Peptide Fractions Obtained from Rice By-Products by Means of an Environment-Friendly Process Show In Vitro Health-Related Bioactivities.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferri, Maura; Graen-Heedfeld, Jürgen; Bretz, Karlheinz; Guillon, Fabien; Michelini, Elisa; Calabretta, Maria Maddalena; Lamborghini, Matteo; Gruarin, Nicolò; Roda, Aldo; Kraft, Axel; Tassoni, Annalisa

2017-01-01

Recently, the isolation of new health-related bioactive molecules derived from agro-food industrial by-products by means of environment-friendly extraction processes has become of particular interest. In the present study, a protein by-product from the rice starch industry was hydrolysed with five commercial proteolytic enzymes, avoiding the use of solvents or chemicals. The digestion processes were optimised, and the digestates were separated in fractions with four different molecular weight ranges by using a cross-flow membrane filtration technique. Total hydrolysates and fractions were tested in vitro for a wide range of biological activities. For the first time rice-derived peptides were assayed for anti-tyrosinase, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxicity and irritation capacities. Antioxidant and anti-hypertensive activities were also evaluated. Protamex, Alcalase and Neutrase treatments produced peptide fractions with valuable bioactivities without resulting cytotoxic or irritant. Highest levels of bioactivity were detected in Protamex-derived samples, followed by samples treated with Alcalase. Based on the present results, a future direct exploitation of isolated peptide fractions in the nutraceutical, functional food and cosmetic industrial fields may be foreseen.

Environment and Teacher Interpersonal Behaviour in Secondary Science Classes in Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Heui-Baik; Fisher, Darrell L.; Fraser, Barry J.

2000-01-01

Studied classroom learning environment and teacher behavior in 12 Korean schools through questionnaires administered to 543 eighth graders. Results, which support the cross-cultural validity of both measures, show positive relationships between classroom environment and interpersonal teacher behavior and students' attitudinal outcome. Boys…

Search Results | Page 56 | IDRC - International Development ...

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

Showing 551 - 560 of 1131 results : "food" ... of health, environment and development outcomes in urban ecohealth project, Katmandu ... Journal articles ... change to better understand how climate stressors affect agricultural productivity, with ...

The relationship of the local food environment with obesity: A systematic review of methods, study quality and results

Science.gov (United States)

Cobb, Laura K; Appel, Lawrence J; Franco, Manuel; Jones-Smith, Jessica C; Nur, Alana; Anderson, Cheryl AM

2015-01-01

Objective To examine the relationship between local food environments and obesity and assess the quality of studies reviewed. Methods Systematic keyword searches identified studies from US and Canada that assessed the relationship of obesity to local food environments. We applied a quality metric based on design, exposure and outcome measurement, and analysis. Results We identified 71 studies representing 65 cohorts. Overall, study quality was low; 60 studies were cross-sectional. Associations between food outlet availability and obesity were predominantly null. Among non-null associations, we saw a trend toward inverse associations between supermarket availability and obesity (22 negative, 4 positive, 67 null) and direct associations between fast food and obesity (29 positive, 6 negative, 71 null) in adults. We saw direct associations between fast food availability and obesity in lower income children (12 positive, 7 null). Indices including multiple food outlets were most consistently associated with obesity in adults (18 expected, 1 not expected, 17 null). Limiting to higher quality studies did not affect results. Conclusions Despite the large number of studies, we found limited evidence for associations between local food environments and obesity. The predominantly null associations should be interpreted cautiously due to the low quality of available studies. PMID:26096983

Developing the health, safety and environment excellence instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammadfam, Iraj; Saraji, Gebraeil Nasl; Kianfar, Ali; Mahmoudi, Shahram

2013-01-07

Quality and efficiency are important issues in management systems. To increase quality, to reach best results, to move towards the continuous improvement of system and also to make the internal and external customers satisfied, it is necessary to consider the system performance measurement. In this study the Health, Safety and Environment Excellence Instrument was represented as a performance measurement tool for a wide range of health, safety and environment management systems. In this article the development of the instrument overall structure, its parts, and its test results in three organizations are presented. According to the results, the scores ranking was the managership organization, the manufacturing company and the powerhouse construction project, respectively. The results of the instrument test in three organizations show that, on the whole, the instrument has the ability to measure the performance of health, safety and environment management systems in a wide range of organizations.

Perceived Satisfaction, Perceived Usefulness and Interactive Learning Environments as Predictors to Self-Regulation in e-Learning Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Liaw, Shu-Sheng; Huang, Hsiu-Mei

2013-01-01

The research purpose is to investigate learner self-regulation in e-learning environments. In order to better understand learner attitudes toward e-learning, 196 university students answer a questionnaire survey after use an e-learning system few months. The statistical results showed that perceived satisfaction, perceived usefulness, and…

The Environment as Information--An Examination of the Mechanism of Environmental Effect on Behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Biggers, Thompson; Walker, Barbara

1984-01-01

Exposed subjects (N=96) to environments pretested to elicit feelings of pleasure or displeasure while hearing or reading a message. Results showed attitude change was significantly higher in pleasant environments than in unpleasant environments. The environmental effect was only found when subjects were allowed time to soak in the environment. (BH)

The Safety Analysis of Shipborne Ammunition in Fire Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Junpeng; Wang, Xudong; Yue, Pengfei

2017-12-01

The safety of Ammunition has always been the focus of national military science and technology issues. And fire is one of the major safety threats to the ship’s ammunition storage environment, In this paper, Mk-82 shipborne aviation bomb has been taken as the study object, simulated the whole process of fire by using the FDS (Fire Detection System) software. According to the simulation results of FDS, ANSYS software was used to simulate the temperature field of Mk-82 carrier-based aviation bomb under fire environment, and the safety of aviation bomb in fire environment was analyzed. The result shows that the aviation bombs under the fire environment can occur the combustion or explosion after 70s constant cook-off, and it was a huge threat to the ship security.

Visual Variables in Physical Environments and Virtual Environments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mullins, Michael

, then to locate them and identify their shape on scaled drawings.  Results are presented together with statistical analysis. In a discussion of the results, the paper addresses the assertions that depth perception in physical reality and its virtual representations in CAVE and Panorama are quantifiably different......; that differences are attributable to prior contextual experience and spatial ability of the viewer; and that general attributes of virtual environments may be drawn from the experiments findings. The paper discusses implications of spatial ability for virtual environments in architectural education......This study compares aspects of spatial perception in a physical environment and its virtual representations in a CAVE and Panorama, based on the author?s recent empirical research. Participants in an experiment were shown objects identically placed in the virtual and physical environments...

Family environment and child development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tina Kavčič

2005-04-01

Full Text Available The paper presents an overview of research findings on influence of family environment, especially parental behaviour, on child's development. Contemporary authors question early socialization researchers' claims that family characteristics and parental behaviour have important influence on behaviour of their children. Later researchers examined the size and durability of possible effects of family environment on child development. In addition, they focused on establishing whether it is actually the parental behaviour that influences child's development or, on the contrary, parental behaviour represents mainly a reaction to child's characteristics. Behaviour genetic studies have provided evidence that many traditional measures of family environment, including measures of parental behaviour, show genetic influence, thus reflecting genetically influenced child characteristics. Behaviour geneticists also suggest that environmental influences on child (personality development include predominantly non-shared environment, i.e. individual child's specific experiences, his/her own perceptions and interpretations of objectively same events. Based on empirically determined significant genetic effects on most behavioural traits and inconclusive results of studies on effects of family environment on child development some authors believe that it is not the parents, but rather genetic factor and/or peers who have the key role in child development. With respect to findings of behaviour genetics numerous recent studies of relations between family environment and child development involve child specific measures of (extrafamilial environment and examine the interactions between characteristics of an individual and those of his/her environment.

Feasibility of multi-sector policy measures that create activity-friendly environments for children: results of a Delphi study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aarts Marie-Jeanne

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Although multi-sector policy is a promising strategy to create environments that stimulate physical activity among children, little is known about the feasibility of such a multi-sector policy approach. The aims of this study were: to identify a set of tangible (multi-sector policy measures at the local level that address environmental characteristics related to physical activity among children; and to assess the feasibility of these measures, as perceived by local policy makers. Methods In four Dutch municipalities, a Delphi study was conducted among local policy makers of different policy sectors (public health, sports, youth and education, spatial planning/public space, traffic and transportation, and safety. In the first Delphi round, respondents generated a list of possible policy measures addressing three environmental correlates of physical activity among children (social cohesion, accessibility of facilities, and traffic safety. In the second Delphi round, policy makers weighted different feasibility aspects (political feasibility, cultural/community acceptability, technical feasibility, cost feasibility, and legal feasibility and assessed the feasibility of the policy measures derived from the first round. The third Delphi round was aimed at reaching consensus by feedback of group results. Finally, one overall feasibility score was calculated for each policy measure. Results Cultural/community acceptability, political feasibility, and cost feasibility were considered most important feasibility aspects. The Delphi studies yielded 16 feasible policy measures aimed at physical and social environmental correlates of physical activity among children. Less drastic policy measures were considered more feasible, whereas environmental policy measures were considered less feasible. Conclusions This study showed that the Delphi technique can be a useful tool in reaching consensus about feasible multi-sector policy measures. The

The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE): Initial Science Results

Science.gov (United States)

Elphic, R. C.; Hine, B.; Delory, G. T.; Salute, J. S.; Noble, S.; Colaprete, A.; Horanyi, M.; Mahaffy, P.

2014-01-01

On September 6, 2013, a near-perfect launch of the first Minotaur V rocket successfully carried NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) into a high-eccentricity geocentric orbit. LADEE arrived at the Moon on October 6, 2013, dur-ing the government shutdown. The spacecraft impact-ed the lunar surface on April 18, 2014, following a completely successful mission. LADEE's science objectives were twofold: (1) De-termine the composition and variability of the lunar atmosphere; (2) Characterize the lunar exospheric dust environment, and its variability. The LADEE science payload consisted of the Lunar Dust Experiment (LDEX), which sensed dust impacts in situ, for parti-cles between 100 nm and 5 micrometers; a neutral mass spectrometer (NMS), which sampled lunar exo-spheric gases in situ, over the 2-150 Dalton mass range; an ultraviolet/visible spectrometer (UVS) ac-quired spectra of atmospheric emissions and scattered light from tenuous dust, spanning a 250-800 nm wave-length range. UVS also performed dust extinction measurements via a separate solar viewer optic. The following are preliminary results for the lunar exosphere: (1) The helium exosphere of the Moon, first observed during Apollo, is clearly dominated by the delivery of solar wind He++. (2) Neon 20 is clearly seen as an important constituent of the exosphere. (3) Argon 40, also observed during Apollo and arising from interior outgassing, exhibits variations related to surface temperature-driven condensation and release, and is also enhanced over specific selenographic longi-tudes. (4) The sodium abundance varies with both lu-nar phase and with meteoroid influx, implicating both solar wind sputtering and impact vaporization process-es. (5) Potassium was also routinely monitored and exhibits some of the same properties as sodium. (6) Other candidate species were seen by both NMS and UVS, and await confirmation. Dust measurements have revealed a persistent "shroud" of small dust particles

Work environment and health among Swedish livestock workers

OpenAIRE

Kolstrup, Christina

2008-01-01

During the last decades, Swedish livestock farming has undergone considerable structural changes and technical development, which have influenced the work environment and health of the workers in several ways. The general aim of the studies was to investigate the work environment and health among Swedish livestock workers on large modern dairy and pig farms. The studies were mainly based on questionnaires. The results showed that the livestock workers reported high frequencies of musculoskele...

Is a hilly neighborhood environment associated with diabetes mellitus among older people? Results from the JAGES 2010 study.

Science.gov (United States)

Fujiwara, Takeo; Takamoto, Iseki; Amemiya, Airi; Hanazato, Masamichi; Suzuki, Norimichi; Nagamine, Yuiko; Sasaki, Yuri; Tani, Yukako; Yazawa, Aki; Inoue, Yosuke; Shirai, Kokoro; Shobugawa, Yugo; Kondo, Naoki; Kondo, Katsunori

2017-06-01

Although living in a hilly environment may promote muscular activity in the daily lives of residents, and such activity may prevent diabetes mellitus, few studies have focused on the impact of living in a hilly environment on diabetes mellitus. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a hilly neighborhood environment on DM in older people. We used data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, a population-based, cross-sectional study of individuals aged 65 or older without long-term care needs in Japan, which was conducted in 2010. A total of 8904 participants in 46 neighborhoods had responded to the questionnaire and undergone a health check. Diabetes mellitus was diagnosed as HbA 1c  ≥ 6.5% and those undergoing treatment for diabetes mellitus. Poorly controlled diabetes mellitus was diagnosed in those without other chronic diseases who had an HbA 1c > 7.5%, and in those with other chronic diseases if their HbA 1c was >8.0%. Neighborhood environment was evaluated based on the percentage of positive responses in the questionnaire and geographical information system data. A multilevel analysis was performed, adjusted for individual-level risk factors. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis was conducted for those who were undergoing treatment for diabetes mellitus (n = 1007). After adjustment for other physical environmental and individual covariates, a 1 interquartile range increase (1.48°) in slope in the neighborhood decreased the risk of poorly controlled diabetes mellitus by 18% (odds ratio [OR]: 0.82, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.70-0.97). Sensitivity analysis confirmed that larger slopes in the neighborhood showed a significant protective effect against diabetes mellitus among those who were undergoing treatment for diabetes mellitus (OR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.59-0.90). A hilly neighborhood environment was not associated with diabetes mellitus, but was protective against poorly controlled diabetes mellitus. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier

Lifespan and reproduction of isoclonal individual E.coli in different environments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jouvet, Lionel; Steiner, Ulrich

Lifespan and reproduction are key fitness components, both of which are influences by genetics and the environment. Tracking large numbers of genotypically known individuals throughout their lives in known environments has been challenging. Here we show for isogenic individual E. coli bacteria...... under controlled environments how demographic parameters and distributions in reproduction and survival change across environments. We achieve this by using a microfluidic device that traps thousands of individual E. coli cells and tracks their division (reproduction) over their lifespan. Our results...

Large urban fire environment: trends and model city predictions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larson, D.A.; Small, R.D.

1983-01-01

The urban fire environment that would result from a megaton-yield nuclear weapon burst is considered. The dependence of temperatures and velocities on fire size, burning intensity, turbulence, and radiation is explored, and specific calculations for three model urban areas are presented. In all cases, high velocity fire winds are predicted. The model-city results show the influence of building density and urban sprawl on the fire environment. Additional calculations consider large-area fires with the burning intensity reduced in a blast-damaged urban center

Results of monitoring of tritium behaviour and its concentration in the objects of Chernobylsk NPP environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Badyaev, V.V.; Egorov, Yu.A.; Korobejnikov, V.L.; Krasnozhen, G.N.; Stegachev, G.F.; Tolstykh, V.D.

1985-01-01

Results of systematic observations on tritium behaviur at the Chernobyl NPP in the system ''source of formation-environment'' are presented. Investigations were conducted in a stepwise manner. Investigations of the first step were performed in order to make an experimental basis of the tritium dynamic model. Tritium activity is determined in all NPP technological subsystems, in cooling reservoir and in the atmosphere. The dynamic model of tritium accumulation at NPP with LWGR-reactor and its exchange with environment is developed and studied at the second step. The third step of investigations includes studies of tritium behaviour in complex experiments along with the behaviour of other radionuclides present in NPP releases and effluents incidentally state of environmental objects is recorded. It is shown that tritium specific activity in atmosphere does not exceed the background values. Tritium activity in leaves of trees is equal to (5-7)x10 -11 Ci/kg of mass

Prior Exposure and Educational Environment towards Entrepreneurial Intention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karla Soria-Barreto

2017-07-01

Full Text Available This research is based on the responses to a questionnaire applied to 351 students of business management in Chile and Colombia. Through the analysis of structural equations on Ajzen’s model, we found that entrepreneurial education, the University environment, and the prior entrepreneurial exposure are mediated by the factors of the Ajzen`s model to generate entrepreneurial intention in higher education students. The results show that entrepreneurial education strengthens the perceived control of behavior and, with it, albeit in a differentiated way, the entrepreneurial intention of men and women. University environment affects entrepreneurial intention through attitude towards entrepreneurship; and finally, the work experience, used as one of the variables that measure prior entrepreneurial exposure, explains the entrepreneurial intention inversely through the subjective norms. We found that gender has a moderate effect on perceived control of behavior and entrepreneurial education. The scarce studies on the impact of the University environment and the mixed results of the entrepreneurial education and prior entrepreneurial exposure toward entrepreneurial intention show the necessity for further research. A second contribution is the opportunity to present new evidence about the relationship between University environment, entrepreneurial education and prior exposure to developing countries of South America, including the gender effect (moderator for entrepreneurial intention. It is important to note that most of the research in this area applies to developed countries, and some scholars suggest that extrapolating the results is not convenient.

Beam test results of CMS RPCs at high eta region under high-radiation environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, S.; Ahn, S.H.; Bahk, S.Y.; Hong, B.; Hong, S.J.; Kang, D.H.; Kang, T.I.; Kim, T.J.; Kim, Y.J.; Kim, Y.U.; Koo, D.G.; Lee, H.W.; Lee, K.S.; Lee, S.J.; Lim, J.K.; Moon, D.H.; Nam, S.K.; Oh, J.K.; Park, W.J.; Rhee, J.T.; Ryu, M.S.; Shim, H.H.; Sim, K.S.

2004-01-01

The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) forward resistivity plate chambers (RPCs) at the high eta region must be operated in presence of a radiation-induced rate as high as 1kHz/cm2. It is still unknown if the RPCs coated with linseed oil can be operated under such a high-radiation environment over the lifetime of CMS. Non-oiled RPCs may be one of the options since phenolic or melamine-coated bakelite is chemically stabler than linseed oil. We have constructed oiled and non-oiled RPCs at the high eta region of CMS using phenolic bakelite and tested them in the Gamma Irradiation Facility at CERN. While both RPCs show the same characteristics in the efficiency and the strip multiplicity, the non-oiled RPC generates an intrinsic noise rate of 50Hz/cm2, compared to only 5Hz/cm2 for the oiled RPC, both at 10.0kV which is about 100V above the 95% knee of the efficiency curve

Beam test results of CMS RPCs at high eta region under high-radiation environment

CERN Document Server

Park, S; Bahk, S Y; Hong, B; Hong, S J; Kang, D H; Kang, T I; Kim, T J; Kim, Y J; Kim, Y U; Koo, D G; Lee, H W; Lee, K S; Lee, S J; Lim, J K; Moon, D H; Nam, S K; Oh, J K; Park, W J; Rhee, J T; Ryu, M S; Shim, H H; Sim, K S

2004-01-01

The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) forward resistivity plate chambers (RPCs) at the high eta region must be operated in presence of a radiation-induced rate as high as 1 kHz/cm**2. It is still unknown if the RPCs coated with linseed oil can be operated under such a high- radiation environment over the lifetime of CMS. Non-oiled RPCs may be one of the options since phenolic or melamine-coated bakelite is chemically stabler than linseed oil. We have constructed oiled and non-oiled RPCs at the high eta region of CMS using phenolic bakelite and tested them in the Gamma Irradiation Facility at CERN. While both RPCs show the same characteristics in the efficiency and the strip multiplicity, the non-oiled RPC generates an intrinsic noise rate of 50 Hz/cm**2, compared to only 5 Hz/cm**2 for the oiled RPC, both at 10.0kV which is about 100 V above the 95% knee of the efficiency curve.

Learning under uncertainty in smart home environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Shuai; McClean, Sally; Scotney, Bryan; Nugent, Chris

2008-01-01

Technologies and services for the home environment can provide levels of independence for elderly people to support 'ageing in place'. Learning inhabitants' patterns of carrying out daily activities is a crucial component of these technological solutions with sensor technologies being at the core of such smart environments. Nevertheless, identifying high-level activities from low-level sensor events can be a challenge, as information may be unreliable resulting in incomplete data. Our work addresses the issues of learning in the presence of incomplete data along with the identification and the prediction of inhabitants and their activities under such uncertainty. We show via the evaluation results that our approach also offers the ability to assess the impact of various sensors in the activity recognition process. The benefit of this work is that future predictions can be utilised in a proposed intervention mechanism in a real smart home environment.

Listeria monocytogenes strains show large variations in competitive growth in mixed culture biofilms and suspensions with bacteria from food processing environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Heir, Even; Møretrø, Trond; Simensen, Andreas; Langsrud, Solveig

2018-06-20

Interactions and competition between resident bacteria in food processing environments could affect their ability to survive, grow and persist in microhabitats and niches in the food industry. In this study, the competitive ability of L. monocytogenes strains grown together in separate culture mixes with other L. monocytogenes (L. mono mix), L. innocua (Listeria mix), Gram-negative bacteria (Gram- mix) and with a multigenera mix (Listeria + Gram- mix) was investigated in biofilms on stainless steel and in suspensions at 12 °C. The mixed cultures included resident bacteria from processing surfaces in meat and salmon industry represented by L. monocytogenes (n = 6), L. innocua (n = 5) and Gram-negative bacteria (n = 6; Acinetobacter sp., Pseudomonas fragi, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Serratia liquefaciens, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia). Despite hampered in growth in mixed cultures, L. monocytogenes established in biofilms with counts at day nine between 7.3 and 9.0 log per coupon with the lowest counts in the Listeria + G- mix that was dominated by Pseudomonas. Specific L. innocua inhibited growth of L. monocytogenes strains differently; inhibition that was further enhanced by the background Gram-negative microbiota. In these multispecies and multibacteria cultures, the growth competitive effects lead to the dominance of a strong competitor L. monocytogenes strain that was only slightly inhibited by L. innocua and showed strong competitive abilities in mixed cultures with resident Gram-negative bacteria. The results indicates complex patterns of bacterial interactions and L. monocytogenes inhibition in the multibacteria cultures that only partially depend on cell contact and likely involve various antagonistic and bacterial tolerance mechanisms. The study indicates large variations among L. monocytogenes in their competitiveness under multibacterial culture conditions that should be considered in further studies towards understanding of L

Environment and environmental impacts

OpenAIRE

Rejane de Fátima Victor Vasconcelos

2009-01-01

The article shows what can be environmental impacts and how those happen, both by the actions made by human kind and by natural disasters. Another concern of the research is the unstoppable incident of the natural resources destruction, result f the globalization actions and the economy, and that the environment impacts have happen in every direction, independently of the geographic scale, harming the life in earth, without giving importance who is the target. The article made reference to in...

Data and methods in the environment-migration nexus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eklund, Lina; Romankiewicz, Clemens; Brandt, Martin Stefan

2016-01-01

The relationship between environment and migration has gained increased attention since the 1990s when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projected climate change to become a major driver of human migration. Evaluations of this relationship include both quantitative and qualitative ass....... Several case studies base their results on data at very coarse resolutions that have undergone strong modifications and generalizations. We argue that scale-related shortcomings must be considered in all stages of environment-migration research....... assessments. This review article introduces the concept of scale to environment-migration research as an important methodological issue for the reliability of conclusions drawn. The review of case studies shows that scale issues are highly present in environment-migration research but rarely discussed...

A palliative environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Timmermann, Connie; Uhrenfeldt, Lisbeth; Høybye, Mette Terp

2015-01-01

The findings show a tension between clinical and technical sensory impressions and more aesthetic ones in the hospital environment. Aesthetic elements in an environment dominated by many clinical impressions proved important for the patients’ positive thoughts and feelings. Aesthetic sensory...... impressions caused a sense of homeliness and familiarity in the hospital environment that was perceived by the patients as carrying a positive meaning. Clinical impressions, on the other hand, were generally associated with unfamiliarity and insecurity and were experienced as creating a negative mood....

Local environment can enhance fidelity of quantum teleportation

Science.gov (United States)

BadziaĢ, Piotr; Horodecki, Michał; Horodecki, Paweł; Horodecki, Ryszard

2000-07-01

We show how an interaction with the environment can enhance fidelity of quantum teleportation. To this end, we present examples of states which cannot be made useful for teleportation by any local unitary transformations; nevertheless, after being subjected to a dissipative interaction with the local environment, the states allow for teleportation with genuinely quantum fidelity. The surprising fact here is that the necessary interaction does not require any intelligent action from the parties sharing the states. In passing, we produce some general results regarding optimization of teleportation fidelity by local action. We show that bistochastic processes cannot improve fidelity of two-qubit states. We also show that in order to have their fidelity improvable by a local process, the bipartite states must violate the so-called reduction criterion of separability.

Experimental checking results of mathematical modeling of the radiation environment sensor based on diamond detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gladchenkov, E V; Kolyubin, V A; Nedosekin, P G; Zaharchenko, K V; Ibragimov, R F; Kadilin, V V; Tyurin, E M

2017-01-01

Were conducted a series of experiments, the purpose of which had to verify the mathematical model of the radiation environment sensor. Theoretical values of the beta particles count rate from 90 Sr - 90 Y source registered by radiation environment sensor was compared with the experimental one. Theoretical (calculated) count rate of beta particles was found with using the developed mathematical model of the radiation environment sensor. Deviation of the calculated values of the beta particle count rate does not exceed 10% from the experimental. (paper)

Mapping Students Use of Technologies in Problem Based Learning Environments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rongbutsri, Nikorn; Khalid, Md. Saifuddin; Ryberg, Thomas

2011-01-01

This paper aims to understand how students use technology to enhance their learning in problem-based learning environments. The research methodology is based on both qualitative and quantitative studies. The results are based on students’ interviews, a survey and students’ reflections in course......-related blog posts; they show that students have positive perceptions toward using technologies in problem-based learning environments....

Cross-layer TCP Performance Analysis in IEEE 802.11 Vehicular Environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Janevski

2014-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper we provide a performance analysis of TCP in IEEE 802.11 vehicular environments for different well-known TCP versions, such as Tahoe, Reno, New Reno, Vegas, and Sack. The parameters of interest from the TCP side are the number of Duplicate Acknowledgements - DupAck, and the number of Delayed Acknowledgements - DelAck, while on the wireless network side the analyzed parameter is the interface queue - IFQ. We have made the analysis for the worst-case distance scenario for single-hop and worst-case multihop vehicular environments. The results show that the number of wireless hops in vehicular environments significantly reduces the TCP throughput. The best average performances considering all scenarios were obtained for TCP Vegas. However, the results show that the interface queue at wireless nodes should be at least five packets or more. On the other side, due to shorter distances in the vehicular wireless network, results show possible flexibility of using different values for the DupAck without degradation of the TCP throughput. On the other side, the introduction of the DelAck parameter provides enhancement in the average TCP throughput for all TCP versions.

Fetal Environment Is a Major Determinant of the Neonatal Blood Thyroxine Level: Results of a Large Dutch Twin Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Zwaveling-Soonawala, Nitash; van Beijsterveldt, Catharina E M; Mesfum, Ertirea T; Wiedijk, Brenda; Oomen, Petra; Finken, Martijn J J; Boomsma, Dorret I; van Trotsenburg, A S Paul

2015-06-01

The interindividual variability in thyroid hormone function parameters is much larger than the intraindividual variability, suggesting an individual set point for these parameters. There is evidence to suggest that environmental factors are more important than genetic factors in the determination of this individual set point. This study aimed to quantify the effect of genetic factors and (fetal) environment on the early postnatal blood T4 concentration. This was a classical twin study comparing the resemblance of neonatal screening blood T4 concentrations in 1264 mono- and 2566 dizygotic twin pairs retrieved from the population-based Netherlands Twin Register. Maximum-likelihood estimates of variance explained by genetic and environmental influences were obtained by structural equation modeling in data from full-term and preterm twin pairs. In full-term infants, genetic factors explained 40%/31% of the variance in standardized T4 scores in boys/girls, and shared environment, 27%/22%. The remaining variance of 33%/47% was due to environmental factors not shared by twins. For preterm infants, genetic factors explained 34%/0% of the variance in boys/girls, shared environment 31%/57%, and unique environment 35%/43%. In very preterm twins, no significant contribution of genetic factors was observed. Environment explains a large proportion of the resemblance of the postnatal blood T4 concentration in twin pairs. Because we analyzed neonatal screening results, the fetal environment is the most likely candidate for these environmental influences. Genetic influences on the T4 set point diminished with declining gestational age, especially in girls. This may be due to major environmental influences such as immaturity and nonthyroidal illness in very preterm infants.

Validity and Reliability of Farsi Version of Youth Sport Environment Questionnaire.

Science.gov (United States)

Eshghi, Mohammad Ali; Kordi, Ramin; Memari, Amir Hossein; Ghaziasgar, Ahmad; Mansournia, Mohammad-Ali; Zamani Sani, Seyed Hojjat

2015-01-01

The Youth Sport Environment Questionnaire (YSEQ) had been developed from Group Environment Questionnaire, a well-known measure of team cohesion. The aim of this study was to adapt and examine the reliability and validity of the Farsi version of the YSEQ. This version was completed by 455 athletes aged 13-17 years. Results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated that two-factor solution showed a good fit to the data. The results also revealed that the Farsi YSEQ showed high internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and good concurrent validity. This study indicated that the Farsi version of the YSEQ is a valid and reliable measure to assess team cohesion in sport setting.

Permian tetrapods from the Sahara show climate-controlled endemism in Pangaea.

Science.gov (United States)

Sidor, Christian A; O'Keefe, F Robin; Damiani, Ross; Steyer, J Sébastien; Smith, Roger M H; Larsson, Hans C E; Sereno, Paul C; Ide, Oumarou; Maga, Abdoulaye

2005-04-14

New fossils from the Upper Permian Moradi Formation of northern Niger provide an insight into the faunas that inhabited low-latitude, xeric environments near the end of the Palaeozoic era (approximately 251 million years ago). We describe here two new temnospondyl amphibians, the cochleosaurid Nigerpeton ricqlesi gen. et sp. nov. and the stem edopoid Saharastega moradiensis gen. et sp. nov., as relicts of Carboniferous lineages that diverged 40-90 million years earlier. Coupled with a scarcity of therapsids, the new finds suggest that faunas from the poorly sampled xeric belt that straddled the Equator during the Permian period differed markedly from well-sampled faunas that dominated tropical-to-temperate zones to the north and south. Our results show that long-standing theories of Late Permian faunal homogeneity are probably oversimplified as the result of uneven latitudinal sampling.

Corrosion behaviour of high temperature alloys in impure helium environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shindo, Masami; Quadakkers, W.J.; Schuster, H.

1986-01-01

Corrosion tests with Ni-base high temperature alloys were carried out at 900 and 950 0 C in simulated high temperature reactor helium environments. It is shown that the carburization and decarburization behaviour is strongly affected by the Cr and Ti(Al) contents of the alloys. In carburizing environments, additions of Ti, alone or in combination with Al, significantly improve the carburization resistance. In oxidizing environment, the alloys with high Cr and Al(Ti) contents are the most resistant against decarburization. In this environment alloys with additions of Ti and Al show poor oxidation resistance. The experimental results obtained are compared with a recently developed theory describing corrosion of high temperature alloys in high temperature reactor helium environments. (orig.)

Sunflower mega-environments in Serbia revealed by GGE biplot analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Balalić Igor

2013-01-01

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

Environmental confounding in gene-environment interaction studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Vanderweele, Tyler J; Ko, Yi-An; Mukherjee, Bhramar

2013-07-01

We show that, in the presence of uncontrolled environmental confounding, joint tests for the presence of a main genetic effect and gene-environment interaction will be biased if the genetic and environmental factors are correlated, even if there is no effect of either the genetic factor or the environmental factor on the disease. When environmental confounding is ignored, such tests will in fact reject the joint null of no genetic effect with a probability that tends to 1 as the sample size increases. This problem with the joint test vanishes under gene-environment independence, but it still persists if estimating the gene-environment interaction parameter itself is of interest. Uncontrolled environmental confounding will bias estimates of gene-environment interaction parameters even under gene-environment independence, but it will not do so if the unmeasured confounding variable itself does not interact with the genetic factor. Under gene-environment independence, if the interaction parameter without controlling for the environmental confounder is nonzero, then there is gene-environment interaction either between the genetic factor and the environmental factor of interest or between the genetic factor and the unmeasured environmental confounder. We evaluate several recently proposed joint tests in a simulation study and discuss the implications of these results for the conduct of gene-environment interaction studies.

Environment-based pin-power reconstruction method for homogeneous core calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leroyer, H.; Brosselard, C.; Girardi, E.

2012-01-01

Core calculation schemes are usually based on a classical two-step approach associated with assembly and core calculations. During the first step, infinite lattice assemblies calculations relying on a fundamental mode approach are used to generate cross-sections libraries for PWRs core calculations. This fundamental mode hypothesis may be questioned when dealing with loading patterns involving several types of assemblies (UOX, MOX), burnable poisons, control rods and burn-up gradients. This paper proposes a calculation method able to take into account the heterogeneous environment of the assemblies when using homogeneous core calculations and an appropriate pin-power reconstruction. This methodology is applied to MOX assemblies, computed within an environment of UOX assemblies. The new environment-based pin-power reconstruction is then used on various clusters of 3x3 assemblies showing burn-up gradients and UOX/MOX interfaces, and compared to reference calculations performed with APOLLO-2. The results show that UOX/MOX interfaces are much better calculated with the environment-based calculation scheme when compared to the usual pin-power reconstruction method. The power peak is always better located and calculated with the environment-based pin-power reconstruction method on every cluster configuration studied. This study shows that taking into account the environment in transport calculations can significantly improve the pin-power reconstruction so far as it is consistent with the core loading pattern. (authors)

ANALYSIS RESULTS OF THE JUSTIFICATION OF INVESTMENTS INTO QUALITY, ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AND PRODUCTS SAFETY IN SUMADIJA AND POMORAVLJE REGION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dejan Raonić

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Within the project "Improvement of quality and environment protection in Sumadija and Pomoravlje", financed by EU, "The study on vindication investments into quality improvement and environment protection in Sumadija and Pomoravlje" has been made. This paper discusses the results of cost/benefit analysis that includes SME from metal-processing industry, industry for non-metalic materials production and manufacturing, agriculture and food-processing industry, tourism and catering industry. The paper also includes the indicators of total economic benefits and costs that may be the result of QMS, EMS and HACCP initiation, as well as of CE mark for the products obtaining. We illustrated necessary financial investments in relation to predicted percentage of certified SME in the region in five years period, and on this basis financial indicators of justification of investments and the proof of those investments through calculated net present values (NPV.

Work environment investments: outcomes from three cases.

Science.gov (United States)

Rydell, Alexis; Andersson, Ing-Marie

2017-09-27

Work environment investments are important in order to create a healthy and safe workplace. This article presents findings from a seven-step interventions process aimed at examining and following-up work environment investments in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with a particular focus on air contaminants. Three different cases were analyzed and included in the study: (a) an educational center for welding; (b) a paint station in furniture manufacturing; (c) a joinery in furniture manufacturing. The results show that the work environment investments were highly appreciated by the employees and managers, but at the same time the investment could be optimized through markedly decreased exposure levels for the worker. Factors such as follow-ups of the investment, education and training in how to use the equipment, worker involvement in the process and leadership engagement are important in order to optimize work environment investments.

Fish kidney cells show higher tolerance to hyperosmolality than amphibian

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lang Gui

2018-05-01

Full Text Available In contrast to fish, amphibians inhabit both aquatic and terrestrial environments. To better understand osmoregulation in fish and amphibian, we have investigated the morphological changes in kidney cells to osmotic stress. To address this, kidney cell line isolated from the freshwater grass carp (CIK and Chinese giant salamander (GSK were challenged to different mediums with distinct osmotic pressures (100, 300 and 700 mOsm. Morphological alterations of the fish and amphibian cells were compared by optical and electron microscopy. Following hyposmotic treatment (100 mOsm, both CIK and GSK cells became unhealthy and show condensed chromatin, swollen mitochondria and cytoplasmic vacuole. Meanwhile, after hyperosmotic treatment (700 mOsm, shrunken CIK cells with multipolar shape, pale or lightly stained cytoplasm, condensed chromatin, vacuoles and swollen mitochondria were detected. GSK cells were seriously damaged and most were completely lysed. The results suggest that fish kidney cells show a higher degree of tolerance to hyperosmoticity by comparing to amphibians and provide novel insights on the osmoregulatory capacity and adaptability of kidney cells between the two animal groups.

Occurrence, behavior and effects of nanoparticles in the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nowack, Bernd; Bucheli, Thomas D.

2007-01-01

The increasing use of engineered nanoparticles (NP) in industrial and household applications will very likely lead to the release of such materials into the environment. Assessing the risks of these NP in the environment requires an understanding of their mobility, reactivity, ecotoxicity and persistency. This review presents an overview of the classes of NP relevant to the environment and summarizes their formation, emission, occurrence and fate in the environment. The engineered NP are thereby compared to natural products such as soot and organic colloids. To date only few quantitative analytical techniques for measuring NP in natural systems are available, which results in a serious lack of information about their occurrence in the environment. Results from ecotoxicological studies show that certain NP have effects on organisms under environmental conditions, though mostly at elevated concentrations. The next step towards an assessment of the risks of NP in the environment should therefore be to estimate the exposure to the different NP. It is also important to notice that most NP in technical applications are functionalized and therefore studies using pristine NP may not be relevant for assessing the behavior of the NP actually used. - The behavior and the effects of natural and engineered nanoparticles in the environment are reviewed

Environment and Growth

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Horii, Ryo; Ikefuji, Masako

. In a less developed country, this link, which we call “limits to growth,” emerges as the “poverty-environment trap,” which explains the persistent international inequality both in terms of income and environment. This link also threatens the sustainability of the world’s economic growth, particularly when...... the emission of greenhouse gases raises the risk of natural disasters. Stronger environmental policies are required to overcome this link. While there is a trade-off between the environment and growth in the short run, we show that an appropriate policy can improve both in the long run....

Diet of the prehistoric population of Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile) shows environmental adaptation and resilience.

Science.gov (United States)

Jarman, Catrine L; Larsen, Thomas; Hunt, Terry; Lipo, Carl; Solsvik, Reidar; Wallsgrove, Natalie; Ka'apu-Lyons, Cassie; Close, Hilary G; Popp, Brian N

2017-10-01

The Rapa Nui "ecocide" narrative questions whether the prehistoric population caused an avoidable ecological disaster through rapid deforestation and over-exploitation of natural resources. The objective of this study was to characterize prehistoric human diets to shed light on human adaptability and land use in an island environment with limited resources. Materials for this study included human, faunal, and botanical remains from the archaeological sites Anakena and Ahu Tepeu on Rapa Nui, dating from c. 1400 AD to the historic period, and modern reference material. We used bulk carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses and amino acid compound specific isotope analyses (AA-CSIA) of collagen isolated from prehistoric human and faunal bone, to assess the use of marine versus terrestrial resources and to investigate the underlying baseline values. Similar isotope analyses of archaeological and modern botanical and marine samples were used to characterize the local environment. Results of carbon and nitrogen AA-CSIA independently show that around half the protein in diets from the humans measured came from marine sources; markedly higher than previous estimates. We also observed higher δ 15 N values in human collagen than could be expected from the local environment. Our results suggest highly elevated δ 15 N values could only have come from consumption of crops grown in substantially manipulated soils. These findings strongly suggest that the prehistoric population adapted and exhibited astute environmental awareness in a harsh environment with nutrient poor soils. Our results also have implications for evaluating marine reservoir corrections of radiocarbon dates. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cultural Capital in Context: Heterogeneous Returns to Cultural Capital Across Schooling Environments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Ida Gran; Jæger, Mads Meier

2015-01-01

This paper tests two competing explanations of differences in returns to cultural capital across schooling environments: Cultural reproduction (cultural capital yields a higher returns in high-achieving environments than in low-achieving ones) and cultural mobility (cultural capital yields higher...... returns in low-achieving environments). Using multilevel mixture models, empirical results from analyses based on PISA data from three countries (Canada, Germany, and Sweden) show that returns to cultural capital tend to be higher in low-achieving schooling environments than in high-achieving ones....... These results principally support the cultural mobility explanation and suggest that research should pay explicit attention to the institutional contexts in which cultural capital is converted into educational success....

Women and the Environment: Ecofeministic Approach to Environmental Attitudes and Behavior in Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fahimeh Hosseinnezhad

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In the contemporary world industry, urbanization, and capitalism have destroyed the environment on such a large-scale that to solve this problem would require expensive and long-term treatments. Public participation is a low-cost way to address these issues. Women are able to protect the environment because some of the environment's problems begin from the home. The current research is using the survey based on quantitative research method to investigate the theory of ecofeminism, the attitudes and behaviors of women and men regarding the environment. Data collected thorugh questionnaire and multiple choice questions. Results of this study show that women pay more attention to the environment. Efficient consumption of energy, use of public transport, waste separation, reuse of certain goods, and the avoidance of waste dumping in the environment are significant for women, but men show little interest in these behaviors. Women are more supportive of the environment than men are.

The French path after the Grenelle Environment: result indicators. Report for the Conference on the Environment of the September 14 and 15 2012

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wahl, Thierry; Mordant, Guillaume; Poupard, Christophe

2012-09-01

Before presenting a set of 29 indicators, the background of their selection, their definition, the methodology used to assess them, graphs illustrating their evolution, this document highlights the fact that these indicators do not have all the same capacity to express the situation of the environment, reports comments made by some partners about these indicators, discusses the various evolutions noticed for these different indicators, and outlines how these evolutions reveal contrasted results and France's position with respect to other countries in Europe and in the world. The indicators are related to buildings, urban planning, transports, energy and climate, sea and biodiversity, water, agriculture, risks and health, wastes and materials, public bodies, and eco-activities

Measuring competitive fitness in dynamic environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Razinkov, Ivan A; Baumgartner, Bridget L; Bennett, Matthew R; Tsimring, Lev S; Hasty, Jeff

2013-10-24

Most yeast genes are dispensable for optimal growth in laboratory cultures. However, this apparent lack of fitness contribution is difficult to reconcile with the theory of natural selection. Here we use stochastic modeling to show that environmental fluctuations can select for a genetic mechanism that does not affect growth in static laboratory environments. We then present a novel experimental platform for measuring the fitness levels of specific genotypes in fluctuating environments. We test this platform by monitoring a mixed culture of two yeast strains that differ in their ability to respond to changes in carbon source yet exhibit the same fitness level in static conditions. When the sugar in the growth medium was switched between galactose and glucose, the wild-type strain gained a growth advantage over the mutant strain. Interestingly, both our computational and experimental results show that the strength of the adaptive advantage conveyed by the wild-type genotype depends on the total number of carbon source switches, not on the frequency of these fluctuations. Our results illustrate the selective power of environmental fluctuations on seemingly slight phenotypic differences in cellular response dynamics and underscore the importance of dynamic processes in the evolution of species.

Reference waste package environment report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glassley, W.E.

1986-01-01

One of three candidate repository sites for high-level radioactive waste packages is located at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, in rhyolitic tuff 700 to 1400 ft above the static water table. Calculations indicate that the package environment will experience a maximum temperature of ∼230 0 C at 9 years after emplacement. For the next 300 years the rock within 1 m of the waste packages will remain dehydrated. Preliminary results suggest that the waste package radiation field will have very little effect on the mechanical properties of the rock. Radiolysis products will have a negligible effect on the rock even after rehydration. Unfractured specimens of repository rock show no change in hydrologic characteristics during repeated dehydration-rehydration cycles. Fractured samples with initially high permeabilities show a striking permeability decrease during dehydration-rehydration cycling, which may be due to fracture healing via deposition of silica. Rock-water interaction studies demonstrate low and benign levels of anions and most cations. The development of sorptive secondary phases such as zeolites and clays suggests that anticipated rock-water interaction may produce beneficial changes in the package environment

Validity and Reliability of Farsi Version of Youth Sport Environment Questionnaire

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Ali Eshghi

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The Youth Sport Environment Questionnaire (YSEQ had been developed from Group Environment Questionnaire, a well-known measure of team cohesion. The aim of this study was to adapt and examine the reliability and validity of the Farsi version of the YSEQ. This version was completed by 455 athletes aged 13–17 years. Results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated that two-factor solution showed a good fit to the data. The results also revealed that the Farsi YSEQ showed high internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and good concurrent validity. This study indicated that the Farsi version of the YSEQ is a valid and reliable measure to assess team cohesion in sport setting.

Assessment of the radiological status of the French environment in 2008: synthesis of the results of the IRSN's watch networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

This report presents the data obtained in 2008 within the frame of the follow-up by the IRSN of the levels of radioactivity on the French national territory. After having recalled the objectives of this radiological watch of the environment and its organization, the report describes the methodology adopted for the choice of the watch stations, the choice of the environmental matrices, the analysis plans, the sample preparation and packing. It presents the various radionuclides which are naturally or artificially present in the French environment. Then, it presents the results obtained by the different station networks by watching the atmosphere, rivers and soils, or coasts. The report recalls and comments the different radiological events which occurred in 2008, i.e. the detection of different radionuclides in different environments: nuclear plants, nuclear research centres, nuclear sites, nuclear industries, nuclear waste storage sites, nuclear marine bases, rivers

Engineers' Role in the Management of Working Environment in Danish Enterprises: Results of a National Survey

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Broberg, Ole; Hansen, Nanette Juhler; Høgsbo, Mette Maribo

1998-01-01

training at engineering schools are very limited. As the engineers find it very important to teach working environment at engineering schools it must be considered what kind of curriculum would be most effective for the engineering career. Finally, the engineers do not perceive that management or others......This study confirms that many engineers are not aware that they influence the working environment of other people through their engineering. Also, it indicates that the extent of influence dependends on engineering domain and task content. Many engineers and enterprises have an espoused theory...... expressing a positive attitude towards working environment considerations in engineering. However, the theory-in-action seems to be quite different. Engineers do not know what to do in relation to working environment considerations. They mainly point to solidifying their knowledge in the area combined...

The relationship of the local food environment with obesity: A systematic review of methods, study quality, and results.

Science.gov (United States)

Cobb, Laura K; Appel, Lawrence J; Franco, Manuel; Jones-Smith, Jessica C; Nur, Alana; Anderson, Cheryl A M

2015-07-01

To examine the relationship between local food environments and obesity and assess the quality of studies reviewed. Systematic keyword searches identified studies from US and Canada that assessed the relationship of obesity to local food environments. We applied a quality metric based on design, exposure and outcome measurement, and analysis. We identified 71 studies representing 65 cohorts. Overall, study quality was low; 60 studies were cross-sectional. Associations between food outlet availability and obesity were predominantly null. Among non-null associations, we saw a trend toward inverse associations between supermarket availability and obesity (22 negative, 4 positive, 67 null) and direct associations between fast food and obesity (29 positive, 6 negative, 71 null) in adults. We saw direct associations between fast food availability and obesity in lower income children (12 positive, 7 null). Indices including multiple food outlets were most consistently associated with obesity in adults (18 expected, 1 not expected, 17 null). Limiting to higher quality studies did not affect results. Despite the large number of studies, we found limited evidence for associations between local food environments and obesity. The predominantly null associations should be interpreted cautiously due to the low quality of available studies. © 2015 The Obesity Society.

The farrier's work environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Löfqvist, Lotta; Pinzke, Stefan

2012-01-01

The horse industry in Sweden has rapidly expanded in recent years. This increasing number of horses implies a greater need for more farriers. Shoeing a horse is hard physical work, and includes awkward work postures and repetitive movements. It is well known that hard physical work increases the risk of injuries and musculoskeletal problems. The risk is especially high for musculoskeletal disorders when certain movements are constantly repeated. Heavy or repeated unilateral loads lead to considerable stress on the muscles, which can lead to rupture and fatigue that can cause long term problems. A case study showed that farriers worked 75% of their work time with their backs in bent positions (often more than 70 degrees). Farriers are also exposed to risk factors in their physical environment like dust, noise and poor lighting. Risk of kicks and bites, eye injuries and burns are other factors that make their work environment hazardous. There are only a few studies available that have documented the farriers' working environment and these are not of recent date. A US study from 1984 described kicks and bites from horses, metal splinters in the eyes, heat exhaustion and problematic postures to be perceived as the greatest risks in their work. The back, knees and wrists were the most exposed body regions. There is a need for more current and in-depth studies investigating the farriers' working conditions in order to gain more knowledge of their health and work environment. The aim of the present study is to investigate the physical health and work environment of farriers. The investigation will use questionnaires, work load measurements and workplace analysis. The results will serve as a base for improvements concerning the design of the workplace, equipment, tools and aids as well as supplying recommendations about physical exercise and the correct work technique, etc. The results are planned to be incorporated in the education of farriers.

Forces and torques on rigid inclusions in an elastic environment: Resulting matrix-mediated interactions, displacements, and rotations

Science.gov (United States)

Puljiz, Mate; Menzel, Andreas M.

2017-05-01

Embedding rigid inclusions into elastic matrix materials is a procedure of high practical relevance, for instance, for the fabrication of elastic composite materials. We theoretically analyze the following situation. Rigid spherical inclusions are enclosed by a homogeneous elastic medium under stick boundary conditions. Forces and torques are directly imposed from outside onto the inclusions or are externally induced between them. The inclusions respond to these forces and torques by translations and rotations against the surrounding elastic matrix. This leads to elastic matrix deformations, and in turn results in mutual long-ranged matrix-mediated interactions between the inclusions. Adapting a well-known approach from low-Reynolds-number hydrodynamics, we explicitly calculate the displacements and rotations of the inclusions from the externally imposed or induced forces and torques. Analytical expressions are presented as a function of the inclusion configuration in terms of displaceability and rotateability matrices. The role of the elastic environment is implicitly included in these relations. That is, the resulting expressions allow a calculation of the induced displacements and rotations directly from the inclusion configuration, without having to explicitly determine the deformations of the elastic environment. In contrast to the hydrodynamic case, compressibility of the surrounding medium is readily taken into account. We present the complete derivation based on the underlying equations of linear elasticity theory. In the future, the method will, for example, be helpful to characterize the behavior of externally tunable elastic composite materials, to accelerate numerical approaches, as well as to improve the quantitative interpretation of microrheological results.

Cultural capital in context: heterogeneous returns to cultural capital across schooling environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Andersen, Ida Gran; Jæger, Mads Meier

2015-03-01

This paper tests two competing explanations of differences in returns to cultural capital across schooling environments: Cultural reproduction (cultural capital yields a higher returns in high-achieving environments than in low-achieving ones) and cultural mobility (cultural capital yields higher returns in low-achieving environments). Using multilevel mixture models, empirical results from analyses based on PISA data from three countries (Canada, Germany, and Sweden) show that returns to cultural capital tend to be higher in low-achieving schooling environments than in high-achieving ones. These results principally support the cultural mobility explanation and suggest that research should pay explicit attention to the institutional contexts in which cultural capital is converted into educational success. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PubChem atom environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Hähnke, Volker D; Bolton, Evan E; Bryant, Stephen H

2015-01-01

seemingly due to erroneous interpretation of structures from patent data. Compared to fragmentation statistics published 40 years ago, the exponential growth in chemistry is mirrored in a nearly eightfold increase in the number of unique chemical fragments; however, this result is clearly an upper bound estimate as earlier studies employed structure sampling approaches and this study shows that a relatively high rate of atom fragments are found in only a single chemical structure (singletons). In addition, the percentage of singletons grows as the size of the chemical fragment is increased. The observed growth of the numbers of unique fragments over time suggests that many chemically possible connections of atom types to larger fragments have yet to be explored by chemists. A dramatic drop in the relative rate of increase of atom environments from smaller to larger fragments shows that larger fragments mainly consist of diverse combinations of a limited subset of smaller fragments. This is further supported by the observed concomitant increase of singleton atom environments. Combined, these findings suggest that there is considerable opportunity for chemists to combine known fragments to novel chemical compounds. The comparison of PubChem to an older study of known chemical structures shows noticeable differences. The changes suggest advances in synthetic capabilities of chemists to combine atoms in new patterns. Log-log plots of fragment incidence show small numbers of fragments are found in many structures and that large numbers of fragments are found in very few structures, with nearly half being novel using the methods in this work. The relative decrease in the count of new fragments as a function of size further suggests considerable opportunity for more novel chemicals exists. Lastly, the differences in atom environment diversity between PubChem Substance and Compound showcase the effect of PubChem standardization protocols, but also indicate that a normalization

Effect of quality of family environment on the child's adaptation capabilities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivana Kreft

2008-08-01

Full Text Available The aim of the paper was to investigate how the quality of family environment is related to the child's adaptation capabilities. Child's adaptation was evaluated with a special assessment called SPP-3 (Systematic Psychological Assessment of a 3-year Old Child, that screens the population of 3-year olds to look for inadequate adaptation patterns. I assumed that in families where parents have higher education and where the environment is more stimulating children will show more effective and adaptive behaviour. Seventy-five children and parents who attended the psychological assessment in their regional hospitals first concluded the psychological examination (SPP-3 and then filled-in two questionnaires: The Family Environment Questionnaire (Zupančič, Podlesek, & Kavčič, 2004 and The Home Literacy Environment Questionnaire (Marjanovič Umek, Podlesek, & Fekonja, 2005. The results showed that quality of family environment does effect the child's adaptive capabilities and is associated with parental level of education. Of special importance for the child's socialization is the parents' ability to use effective control (to have consistent and clear demands. Hypothesis that the level of parental education affects the child's adaptation capabilities was not confirmed. Perhaps the parents' relations with the child are of greater importance, and these are probably not related to parents' education. The results show that child's adaptation capabilities are associated with parenting methods, so preventive psychological counselling may also be used to help parents choose more effective methods in order to allow the child to develop effective adaptive behaviour.

[Regional atmospheric environment risk source identification and assessment].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiao-Chun; Chen, Wei-Ping; Ma, Chun; Zhan, Shui-Fen; Jiao, Wen-Tao

2012-12-01

Identification and assessment for atmospheric environment risk source plays an important role in regional atmospheric risk assessment and regional atmospheric pollution prevention and control. The likelihood exposure and consequence assessment method (LEC method) and the Delphi method were employed to build a fast and effective method for identification and assessment of regional atmospheric environment risk sources. This method was applied to the case study of a large coal transportation port in North China. The assessment results showed that the risk characteristics and the harm degree of regional atmospheric environment risk source were in line with the actual situation. Fast and effective identification and assessment of risk source has laid an important foundation for the regional atmospheric environmental risk assessment and regional atmospheric pollution prevention and control.

Mapping Students’ Informal Learning Using Personal Learning Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jelena Anđelković Labrović

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Personal learning environments are a widely spared ways of learning, especially for the informal learning process. The aim of this research is to identify the elements of studens’ personal learning environment and to identify the extent to which students use modern technology for learning as part of their non-formal learning. A mapping system was used for gathering data and an analysis of percentages and frequency counts was used for data analysis in the SPSS. The results show that students’ personal learning environment includes the following elements: Wikipedia, Google, YouTube and Facebook in 75% of all cases, and an interesting fact is that all of them belong to a group of Web 2.0 tools and applications.

Work environments and organizational effectiveness: A call for integration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heerwagen, J.H.; Heubach, J.G.; Brown, B.W.; Sanchez, J.A.; Montgomery, J.C.; Weimer, W.C.

1994-07-01

In response to a request from the Pacific Northwest Laboratory`s Analytical Chemistry Upgrades Program, a team was formed to (1) review work environment and productivity research, (2) report the research in a manner usable to organizational decision-makers, (3) identify Hanford Site facilities examples of the work environment principles and research, and (4) publish the review results in a referred journal. This report summarizes the work environment-organizational effectiveness research reviewed, provides the foundation for a publishable article, and outlines the integration of work environment research and organizational effectiveness in continuing improvement programs and strategic planning. The research cited in this review shows that the physical work environment offers a valuable tool that, used wisely, can contribute significantly to the performance of an organization, its bottom-line economics, and the well-being of all of its employees. This finding leads to one central recommendation: to derive the maximum benefit to the corporation, managers and designers must integrate organizational goals and programs with work environment design. While much of the research cited focuses on office environments, the results and design principles and practices are relevant to a full range of settings: laboratories, schools, hospitals, and factories. The major findings of the research reviewed are summarized below in four areas: (1) performance, (2) well-being, (3) image, and (4) turnover and recruitment.

Blue mussel shell shape plasticity and natural environments: a quantitative approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Telesca, Luca; Michalek, Kati; Sanders, Trystan

2018-01-01

Shape variability represents an important direct response of organisms to selective environments. Here, we use a combination of geometric morphometrics and generalised additive mixed models (GAMMs) to identify spatial patterns of natural shell shape variation in the North Atlantic and Arctic blue...... scales analysed. Our results show how shell shape plasticity represents a powerful indicator to understand the alterations of blue mussel communities in rapidly changing environments....

Physically Active Men Show Better Semen Parameters than Their Sedentary Counterparts.

Science.gov (United States)

Lalinde-Acevedo, Paula C; Mayorga-Torres, B Jose Manuel; Agarwal, Ashok; du Plessis, Stefan S; Ahmad, Gulfam; Cadavid, Ángela P; Cardona Maya, Walter D

2017-10-01

The quality of semen depends upon several factors such as environment, life style, physical activity, age, and occupation. The aim of this study was to analyze and compare the conventional and functional semen parameters in men practicing vigorous physical activity to those of sedentary men. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, semen samples of 17 physically active men and 15 sedentary men were collected for analysis. Semen analysis was performed according to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, while functional parameters were evaluated by flow cytometry. Results showed that several semen parameters (semen volume, viability, progressive motility, total motility, normal morphology, and moribund cells) were superior in the physically active group in comparison with the sedentary group. Semen parameters such as viability, progressive motility and total motility, as well as the percentage of moribund spermatozoa were significantly different between both groups. However, sperm DNA damage, lipid peroxidation and mitochondrial potential were not significantly different among the groups. Nevertheless, the physical activity shows better semen parameters than sedentary group. Taken together, our results demonstrate that regular physical activity has beneficial impact in sperm fertility parameters and such a life style can enhance the fertility status of men. Copyright© by Royan Institute. All rights reserved.

A method for extracting chaotic signal from noisy environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shang, L.-J.; Shyu, K.-K.

2009-01-01

In this paper, we propose a approach for extracting chaos signal from noisy environment where the chaotic signal has been contaminated by white Gaussian noise. The traditional type of independent component analysis (ICA) is capable of separating mixed signals and retrieving them independently; however, the separated signal shows unreal amplitude. The results of this study show with our method the real chaos signal can be effectively recovered.

Evidence Accumulation and Change Rate Inference in Dynamic Environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Radillo, Adrian E; Veliz-Cuba, Alan; Josić, Krešimir; Kilpatrick, Zachary P

2017-06-01

In a constantly changing world, animals must account for environmental volatility when making decisions. To appropriately discount older, irrelevant information, they need to learn the rate at which the environment changes. We develop an ideal observer model capable of inferring the present state of the environment along with its rate of change. Key to this computation is an update of the posterior probability of all possible change point counts. This computation can be challenging, as the number of possibilities grows rapidly with time. However, we show how the computations can be simplified in the continuum limit by a moment closure approximation. The resulting low-dimensional system can be used to infer the environmental state and change rate with accuracy comparable to the ideal observer. The approximate computations can be performed by a neural network model via a rate-correlation-based plasticity rule. We thus show how optimal observers accumulate evidence in changing environments and map this computation to reduced models that perform inference using plausible neural mechanisms.

Assessment on ecological environment impact caused by the exploitation of a uranium mine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Xueli; Xu Lechang; Li Xianjie; Wang Erqi; Wei Guangzhi; Hu Penghua

2008-01-01

On the basis of investigation, the assessment index of ecological environment impact is determined from the aspects of natural eco-environment and social eco-environment. Both qualitative analysis and quantitative assessment are adopted for assessing the ecological environment impact during the exploitation of a uranium mine in Jiangxi province. The results show that some values of the assessment index in natural eco-subsystem decline slightly, while those of the assessment index in social eco-subsystem ascend so that the ecological environment quality around the uranium mine ascend slightly. Moreover, some reasonable advices on eco-environment protection measures are put forward in order to build a ecotype uranium mine. (authors)

Prediction of safety critical software operational reliability from test reliability using testing environment factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Hoan Sung; Seong, Poong Hyun

1999-01-01

It has been a critical issue to predict the safety critical software reliability in nuclear engineering area. For many years, many researches have focused on the quantification of software reliability and there have been many models developed to quantify software reliability. Most software reliability models estimate the reliability with the failure data collected during the test assuming that the test environments well represent the operation profile. User's interest is however on the operational reliability rather than on the test reliability. The experiences show that the operational reliability is higher than the test reliability. With the assumption that the difference in reliability results from the change of environment, from testing to operation, testing environment factors comprising the aging factor and the coverage factor are developed in this paper and used to predict the ultimate operational reliability with the failure data in testing phase. It is by incorporating test environments applied beyond the operational profile into testing environment factors. The application results show that the proposed method can estimate the operational reliability accurately. (Author). 14 refs., 1 tab., 1 fig

First results of a radioecological research on the agricultural environment on the north-eastern region of Italy (Friuli-Venezia Giulia)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belli, M.; Blasi, M.; Borgia, A.; Poggi, M.; Sansone, U.; Menegon, S.; Nazzi, P.

1988-01-01

The consequences of the radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl accident have been used to increase present knowledges of radionuclides transfer and accumulation mechanisms in natural and anthropized ecosystems and have provided an opportunity for a critical review of radioactivity transfer models in the environment. The Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region was more affected than other regions of Italy by the radioactive fallout and has been adopted as a large and important natural laboratory in which the principal components of terrestrial, lake and marine ecosystems can be studied for an adequate number of years. Activities in the agricultural environment started in May 1986 and involved a preliminary stage to identify the parameters required to categorize the complex agricultural environment (physical and chemical characteristics of soils, agricultural practices). 35 sampling stations were selected in the main agricultural areas representative of the soils and agricultural practices. The samples collected were cultivated soils and associated crops as well as undisturbed soils and forage crops. Some results of the studies in the agricultural environment are presented. Cs-137 deposition on the ground is discussed first. The influence of agricultural practices on Cs-deposition in soils is then described and lastly soil-maize transfer factors are reported

Take off the heater: Utility effect and food environment effect in food consumption decisions

OpenAIRE

Lombardini-Riipinen, Chiara; Lankoski, Leena

2010-01-01

In this paper, we describe individual food consumption decisions as driven by a utility effect and a food environment effect. To outline the utility effect, we first develop a new theoretical model of individual food consumption. Next, we introduce the food environment effect by showing how the food environment can affect food consumption decisions and how this can skew the resulting food consumption vector. Finally, we analyse manipulations of the food environment as a potential form of poli...

Associations between physical activity and the neighbourhood social environment: baseline results from the HABITAT multilevel study.

Science.gov (United States)

Rachele, Jerome N; Ghani, Fatima; Loh, Venurs H Y; Brown, Wendy J; Turrell, Gavin

2016-12-01

Limitations have arisen when measuring associations between the neighbourhood social environment and physical activity, including same-source bias, and the reliability of aggregated neighbourhood-level social environment measures. This study examines cross-sectional associations between the neighbourhood social environment (perceptions of incivilities, crime, and social cohesion) and self-reported physical activity, while accounting for same-source bias and reliability of neighbourhood-level exposure measures, using data from a large population-based clustered sample. This investigation included 11,035 residents aged 40-65years from 200 neighbourhoods in Brisbane, Australia, in 2007. Respondents self-reported their physical activity and perceptions of the social environment (neighbourhood incivilities, crime and safety, and social cohesion). Models were adjusted for individual-level education, occupation, and household income, and neighbourhood disadvantage. Exposure measures were generated via split clusters and an empirical Bayes estimation procedure. Data were analysed in 2016 using multilevel multinomial logistic regression. Residents of neighbourhoods with the highest incivilities and crime, and lowest social cohesion were reference categories. Individuals were more likely to be in the higher physical activity categories if they were in neighbourhoods with the lowest incivilities and the lowest crime. No associations were found between social cohesion and physical activity. This study provides a basis from which to gain a clearer understanding of the relationship between the neighbourhood social environment and individual physical activity. Further work is required to explore the pathways between perceptions of the neighbourhood social environment and physical activity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

IDEOLOGICAL DISCOURSES ON ENVIRONMENT IN BALI TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ni Gst Nym Suci Murni

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The environment is increasingly occupying important issues in all aspects of life including the tourism business that is often highlighted to ignore  the environment. Because it is so crucial, it is constantly discoursed not only in local and national contexts but more globally. In these evolving discourses, it turns out that there are a number of ideologies that show the interests of those who discoursing  them. This research uses qualitative approach, and scientifi cultural studies paradigm. The purpose of this research is to know the ideologies of global, national and local environmental discourse. Research results show that based on the global ideology of sustainable development, there are ecological sustainability, economic sustainability, and social sustainability. Ideology of national environmental discourse which is a transformation from developmentalism ideology (modernization can also hegemonize company industry, society, with legitimizing by law and regulations issued about tourism and environment, so that the sustainability of development can be achieved. The ideology of local environmental discourse there are various local knowledge (local genius related to the environment that has been practiced by certain countries, especially the developing countries, where tourist destination areas such as Bali have run it through religious ritual, as well as  through the daily life of the community .

NRPA. Radioactivity in the marine environment 2008 and 2009. Results from the Norwegian national monitoring programme (RAME)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gaefvert, T.; Heldal, H. E.; Brungot, A. L.; Gwynn, J.; Svaeren, I.; Kolstad, A. K.; Moeller, B.; Straalberg, E.; Christensen, G. C.; Drefvelin, J.; Dowdall, M.; Lind, B.; Rudjord, A. L.

2011-04-01

document levels and trends of radionuclides in the Norwegian marine environment. Other industrial activities, such as mining and oil production, may change the distribution of naturally occurring radionuclides in the environment. The discharge of radium from water produced by oil installations is one area that has received special attention. Recently, there have been an increased number of transports involving spent nuclear fuel in Norwegian marine waters. Spent nuclear fuel is shipped to Murmansk for further transport and processing at Mayak. Accidents during these transports may lead to releases of radioactivity in the marine environment.The marine monitoring programme (RAME) is funded by the Ministry of the Environment and focus on monitoring of radioactivity both in coastal areas and in the open sea. The marine monitoring programme also includes the compilation of discharge data from Norwegian sources, in addition to the collection of discharge data relevant for the long-range transport of radionuclides from various sources. Liquid discharge data for 2008 and 2009 from nuclear installations are summarised in Chapter 2. During 2008 and 2009, samples for monitoring radioactivity in the marine environment were collected mainly in the Barents Sea, the North Sea, the Skagerak and at permanent coastal stations along the Norwegian coastline. Results from the analysis of these samples are presented in Chapters 4 and 5. In Chapter 6, a summary of the findings and the conclusions is given. In the Appendix, technical information regarding sample preparation techniques and analytical methods employed in the laboratories are presented. (Author)

Plasticity Regulators Modulate Specific Root Traits in Discrete Nitrogen Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Gifford, Miriam L.; Banta, Joshua A.; Katari, Manpreet S.; Hulsmans, Jo; Chen, Lisa; Ristova, Daniela; Tranchina, Daniel; Purugganan, Michael D.; Coruzzi, Gloria M.; Birnbaum, Kenneth D.

2013-01-01

Plant development is remarkably plastic but how precisely can the plant customize its form to specific environments? When the plant adjusts its development to different environments, related traits can change in a coordinated fashion, such that two traits co-vary across many genotypes. Alternatively, traits can vary independently, such that a change in one trait has little predictive value for the change in a second trait. To characterize such “tunability” in developmental plasticity, we carried out a detailed phenotypic characterization of complex root traits among 96 accessions of the model Arabidopsis thaliana in two nitrogen environments. The results revealed a surprising level of independence in the control of traits to environment – a highly tunable form of plasticity. We mapped genetic architecture of plasticity using genome-wide association studies and further used gene expression analysis to narrow down gene candidates in mapped regions. Mutants in genes implicated by association and expression analysis showed precise defects in the predicted traits in the predicted environment, corroborating the independent control of plasticity traits. The overall results suggest that there is a pool of genetic variability in plants that controls traits in specific environments, with opportunity to tune crop plants to a given environment. PMID:24039603

Occupant satisfaction with the acoustical environment : green office buildings before and after treatment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hodgson, M. [British Columbia Univ., Vancouver, BC (Canada). School of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, Acoustics and Noise Research Group

2009-07-01

Sustainable architecture is meant to preserve the environment and conserve natural resources, as well as provide an environment for the occupants that promotes wellbeing and productivity. Occupants generally claim that the acoustical environment is the least satisfactory aspect of green office buildings. They are dissatisfied with excessive noise and poor speech privacy. This paper reported on the results of 2 studies of the acoustical environments in green office buildings before and after acoustical-control measures were installed. Acoustical quality was evaluated by occupant-satisfaction surveys and acoustical-parameter measurements. The first study, which involved 6 green office buildings, showed that buildings designed to obtain LEED ratings are unlikely to have satisfactory acoustical environments. A naturally-ventilated, green university building with a poor acoustical environment was examined in the second study. The results of this study suggest that improving acoustical environments in green buildings requires good acoustical design, with input from an acoustical specialist from the beginning of the design process. The design should consider site selection and building orientation; external envelope and penetrations in it; building layout and internal partitions; HVAC systems; appropriate dimensioning of spaces; and the amount and location of sound absorbing treatments. The study also showed that a building's energy efficiency, lighting, ventilation, air-quality and acoustics are interconnected, and that no aspect can be successfully designed in isolation. It was concluded that optimized engineering-control measures can improve poor acoustical environments. 11 refs., 1 tab., 1 fig.

Quantum correlations of coupled superconducting two-qubit system in various cavity environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, Yanxia; Fu, Guolan; Guo, L.P.; Pan, Hui; Wang, Z.S.

2013-01-01

Highlights: •We investigate dynamic evolutions of quantum and classical correlations for coupled superconducting system with various cavity environments. •We show that the quantum discord continues to reflect quantum information. •A transition of quantum discord is founded between classical loss and quantum increasing of correlations for a purely dephasing mode. •We show that the environment-dependent models can delay the loss of quantum discord. •We find that the results depend strongly on the initial angle. -- Abstract: Dynamic evolutions of quantum discord, concurrence, and classical correlation are investigated in coupled superconducting system with various cavity environments, focusing on the two-qubit system at an initially entangling X-state and Y-state. We find that for a smaller photon number, the quantum discord, concurrence and classical correlation show damped oscillations for all different decay modes. Differently from the sudden death or the dark and bright periods emerging in evolving processing of the concurrence and classical correlation, however, the quantum discord decreases gradually to zero. The results reveal that the quantum entanglement and classical correlation are lost, but the quantum discord continues to reflect quantum information in the same evolving period. For a larger photon number, the oscillations disappear. It is surprised that there exists a transition of quantum discord between classical loss and quantum increasing of correlations for a purely dephasing mode. For a larger photon number in the Y-state, the transition disappears. Moreover, we show that the environment-dependent models can delay the loss of quantum discord. The results depend strongly on the initial angle, which provide a clue to control the quantum gate of superconducting circuit

Scanning the business external environment for information: evidence from Greece

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Kourteli

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. This paper examines the business external environment scanning theory for information in the context of Greece. Method. A questionnaire was developed to explore the relationships between general and task business environment, perceived uncertainty, scanning strategy, and sources of information with respect to type of environment, size and industry.The research was based on a sample of 144 private organizations operating in North Greece. Analysis. Data collected were analysed using SPSS. The statistical procedures of chi-squared homogeneity test, ANOVA, Duncan's test of homogeneity of means, and related samples t-test were followed for testing the hypotheses developed. Results. The results show that perceived uncertainty of the general and task business external environment factors depend on the type of the environment, size of organization, and industry where the organizations operate; organizations adapt their scanning strategy to the complexity of the environment; personal sources of information seem to be more important than impersonal sources; external sources of information are equally important with internal sources; and higher levels of environmental uncertainty are associated with higher levels of scanning the various sources. Conclusion. Business external environment scanning of information is influenced by the characteristics of the organizations themselves and by the characteristics of the external environment within which the organizations operate. The study contributes to both environmental scanning theory and has important messages for practitioners.

Radioactivity in food and the environment, 1996

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-09-01

This report continues the series which combines the results of the radioactivity monitoring programmes previously published by MAFF in two documents: the 'Terrestrial Radioactivity Monitoring Programme (TRAMP) Report: Radioactivity in food and agricultural products in England and Wales' and the 'Aquatic Environment Monitoring Report: Radioactivity in surface and coastal waters of the British Isles' (AEMR). For the first time the report includes the results of all environmental monitoring for radioactivity carried out on behalf of the regulatory authority in Scotland. These results were previously presented in the 'Statistical Bulletin: Environmental Monitoring for Radioactivity in Scotland' (e.g. The Scottish Office, (1996). Measurements in 1996 included the analysis of samples of food and other materials from the environment and detection of beta and gamma dose rates in the environment. The results show that radionuclide concentrations and radiation dose rates were generally similar to those in 1995. However, near Sellafield, despite the general downward trend in disposals from the site during 1996, there were some increases in concentrations of technetium-99 and carbon-14 in marine foodstuffs reflecting disposals from and operations on the site in previous years. These operations included processing of stored wastes and the operation of the Enhanced Actinide Removal Plant (EARP). The Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (THORP) continued its commissioning phase in 1996 and its disposals had little effect on food and the marine environment. The results of the monitoring have been interpreted in terms of public radiation exposures using data on activity levels in food and local surveys to establish potential 'critical groups' of people likely to be most exposed. (author)

The ambiguity of contents and results in the Norwegian internal control of safety, health and environment reform

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hovden, Jan

1998-05-01

The results of introducing a mandatory public reform in Norway with regard to the requirements on enterprises' management of safety, health and environment (SHE) systems are reviewed and discussed. The reform, named internal control (IC), implies a delegation of the direct control of SHE conditions to the enterprises, and introduces system auditing as the main tool for the regulatory bodies. A mixture of successes and failures in implementing the reform, including some perspectives for further adaptation and development of the IC concept are discussed.

Unstable maternal environment, separation anxiety, and heightened CO2 sensitivity induced by gene-by-environment interplay.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesca R D'Amato

2011-04-01

Full Text Available In man, many different events implying childhood separation from caregivers/unstable parental environment are associated with heightened risk for panic disorder in adulthood. Twin data show that the occurrence of such events in childhood contributes to explaining the covariation between separation anxiety disorder, panic, and the related psychobiological trait of CO(2 hypersensitivity. We hypothesized that early interference with infant-mother interaction could moderate the interspecific trait of response to CO(2 through genetic control of sensitivity to the environment.Having spent the first 24 hours after birth with their biological mother, outbred NMRI mice were cross-fostered to adoptive mothers for the following 4 post-natal days. They were successively compared to normally-reared individuals for: number of ultrasonic vocalizations during isolation, respiratory physiology responses to normal air (20%O(2, CO(2-enriched air (6% CO(2, hypoxic air (10%O(2, and avoidance of CO(2-enriched environments.Cross-fostered pups showed significantly more ultrasonic vocalizations, more pronounced hyperventilatory responses (larger tidal volume and minute volume increments to CO(2-enriched air and heightened aversion towards CO(2-enriched environments, than normally-reared individuals. Enhanced tidal volume increment response to 6%CO(2 was present at 16-20, and 75-90 postnatal days, implying the trait's stability. Quantitative genetic analyses of unrelated individuals, sibs and half-sibs, showed that the genetic variance for tidal volume increment during 6%CO(2 breathing was significantly higher (Bartlett χ = 8.3, p = 0.004 among the cross-fostered than the normally-reared individuals, yielding heritability of 0.37 and 0.21 respectively. These results support a stress-diathesis model whereby the genetic influences underlying the response to 6%CO(2 increase their contribution in the presence of an environmental adversity. Maternal grooming

Effects of living environment on the postoperative Scoliosis Research Society-24 results in females with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Misterska, Ewa; Głowacki, Maciej; Panek, Sławomir; Ignyś-O'Byrne, Anna; Głowacki, Jakub; Ignyś, Iwona; Krauss, Hanna; Piątek, Jacek

2012-08-01

There are many factors influencing postoperative health-related quality of life of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients, including the degree of the deformity, culture, differences in geography, rural versus urban living environments, and social factors. The objective of this study was to analyze the significance of geographic factors and their differences influencing the postoperative quality of life in females with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis residing in urban and rural environments, by use of the Polish version of the SRS-24 questionnaire. Forty urban and 20 rural postoperative patients with adolescent scoliosis with a minimum 2-year follow-up period after surgery were included in the study. The process of cross-cultural adaptation was performed according to the IQOLA Project. General results of the Polish SRS-24 equalled 4.1 (SD 0.5) and 4.0 (SD.0.5) in the rural and urban groups of patients, respectively. The 2 groups do not differ in incidence of floor and ceiling effects. The Cronbach's alpha values are excellent for the general result of SRS-24 in urban and rural groups (0.85 and 0.85, respectively). The sub-groups differed significantly in the self-image after surgery domain (p=0.048). Patients from the rural group scored higher in the self-image after surgery domain but reported higher pain levels when compared to urban patients. The associations between SRS-24 results and radiographic parameters in the rural group of patients were strong, compared with moderate relations reported in the urban group.

Partially blind instantly decodable network codes for lossy feedback environment

KAUST Repository

Sorour, Sameh; Douik, Ahmed S.; Valaee, Shahrokh; Al-Naffouri, Tareq Y.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2014-01-01

an expression for the expected decoding delay increment for any arbitrary transmission. This expression is then used to find the optimal policy that reduces the decoding delay in such lossy feedback environment. Results show that our proposed solutions both

Sustainable Agriculture for Environment Protection: Results of Six Years of Cooperation between China and Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Corrado Clini

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The importance of a shift toward agricultural systems, which are more complex in terms of biodiversity in emerging countries such as China, where most of the population (about 60% lives in rural areas, in poor conditions and still relies on agriculture as the main source of income, is discussed. In China the problems caused by shifting to more intensive and polluting agricultural production patterns to address the demand for food of the growing population and by the need of higher incomes of rural communities are serious. The experience gained in the framework of the Sino-Italian Cooperation Program for Environment Protection jointly launched by the Italian Ministry for the Environment and Territory (IMET and the State Environment Protection Administration of China (SEPA in the year 2000, through the implementation of several cooperation projects in different rural areas of China is critically discussed.

Effect of crevice environment PH on corrosion damage of horizontal steam generator tubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brozova, A.; Burda, J.; Splichal, K.

2002-01-01

In support of a project on lifetime calculation experiments were carried out to evaluate the resistance to environmentally assisted cracking (EAC) of steam generator tubes during operation. Estimations of the incubation period for crack initiation and the threshold K value, K Iscc , and the crack growth rate were made to predict evolution of damage in tube walls. The paper summarizes results of experiments of C ring specimen for the initiation testing and results of SENT (single edge notch tensile) specimen for the crack growth rate (CGR) testing. The specimens were exposed to concentrated environments at elevated temperatures simulating crevice environments in secondary side crevices in horizontal steam generators. The results show that the material of SG tubes is sensitive to transgranular environmentally assisted cracking in the three basic concentrated environments used, alkaline, neutral and acid. The most corrosive medium was the acid environment. The crack initiated practically immediately after acid environment exposure. The initiation process takes a long time in neutral and alkaline environments. The K Iscc values for environmentally assisted crack growth rate in alkaline and neutral concentrated environment were essentially the same. The crack growth rate was slightly higher for the neutral environment than for the alkaline one. Fracture patterns for the both environments were similar. (author)

Bacteriological Evaluation of Kwale General Hospital Environment ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... Pharmacy (40.7%) and Theatre (18.5%). This study showed that Kwale General Hospital environment is heavily contaminated and therefore underlies the necessity for regular evaluation of the hospital environment. Keywords: Bacteriological evaluation, hospital, environment. Journal of Medical Laboratory Sciences Vol.

Considering Affective Responses towards Environments for Enhancing Location Based Services

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, H.; Gartner, G.; Klettner, S.; Schmidt, M.

2014-04-01

A number of studies in the field of environmental psychology show that humans perceive and evaluate their surroundings affectively. Some places are experienced as unsafe, while some others as attractive and interesting. Experiences from daily life show that many of our daily behaviours and decision-making are often influenced by this kind of affective responses towards environments. Location based services (LBS) are often designed to assist and support people's behaviours and decision-making in space. In order to provide services with high usefulness (usability and utility), LBS should consider these kinds of affective responses towards environments. This paper reports on the results of a research project, which studies how people's affective responses towards environments can be modelled and acquired, as well as how LBS can benefit by considering these affective responses. As one of the most popular LBS applications, mobile pedestrian navigation systems are used as an example for illustration.

[Evaluation of comprehensive capacity of resources and environments in Poyang Lake Eco-economic Zone].

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Yan-Chun; Yu, Dan

2014-10-01

With the development of the society and economy, the contradictions among population, resources and environment are increasingly worse. As a result, the capacity of resources and environment becomes one of the focal issues for many countries and regions. Through investigating and analyzing the present situation and the existing problems of resources and environment in Poyang Lake Eco-economic Zone, seven factors were chosen as the evaluation criterion layer, namely, land resources, water resources, biological resources, mineral resources, ecological-geological environment, water environment and atmospheric environment. Based on the single factor evaluation results and with the county as the evaluation unit, the comprehensive capacity of resources and environment was evaluated by using the state space method in Poyang Lake Eco-economic Zone. The results showed that it boasted abundant biological resources, quality atmosphere and water environment, and relatively stable geological environment, while restricted by land resource, water resource and mineral resource. Currently, although the comprehensive capacity of the resources and environments in Poyang Lake Eco-economic Zone was not overloaded as a whole, it has been the case in some counties/districts. State space model, with clear indication and high accuracy, could serve as another approach to evaluating comprehensive capacity of regional resources and environment.

Still making progress to improve the hospital workplace environment? Results from the 2008 National Survey of Registered Nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Buerhaus, Peter I; DesRoches, Catherine; Donelan, Karen; Hess, Robert

2009-01-01

Despite the majority of RNs perceiving a shortage of nurses, findings from the 2008 National Survey of RNs indicate the hospital workplace improved in several areas compared to a 2006 survey. Improvements included the time RNs spend with patients, quality of nursing care, and a decreasing impact of the shortage on delaying nurses' responses to pages or calls, staff communication, patients' wait time for surgery, and timeliness and efficiency of care. Areas the environment was perceived to have worsened included overtime hours, sexual harassment/hostile, and physical violence. RNs hold mixed views about the consequences of reporting errors and mistakes with a majority agreeing that reporting them had led to positive changes to prevent future errors, but that mistakes were held against them. Overall, results suggest that hospital managers can be reassured that their efforts to improve the workplace environment are having their intended effect but, at the same time, important areas for improvement remain.

Impact on the marine environment of radioactive releases resulting from the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear accident. April 4, 2011

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

After having outlined that measurements taken over several days in the sea water in the vicinity of the power station have revealed severe contamination of the marine environment by various radionuclides released as a result of the accident at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power station, this report describes the origins of the contamination of the marine environment (release of liquid effluents directly into the sea in the vicinity of the damaged reactors, atmospheric fallout onto the surface of the sea, conveyance of radioactive pollution by rainout of contaminated ground). Then, while proposing several maps, the authors analyse and comment the dispersion in the sea of radioactive pollutants by addressing the following issues: topography of the sea bed and sea currents off the Japanese coast, immediate or short term dispersion (a few days), mid-term dispersion (weeks and months), long term and large scale future of the radioactive pollutants. Finally, the report briefly discusses the impact of radioactive pollution on living species

Profiling medical school learning environments in Malaysia: a validation study of the Johns Hopkins Learning Environment Scale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sean Tackett

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Purpose: While a strong learning environment is critical to medical student education, the assessment of medical school learning environments has confounded researchers. Our goal was to assess the validity and utility of the Johns Hopkins Learning Environment Scale (JHLES for preclinical students at three Malaysian medical schools with distinct educational and institutional models. Two schools were new international partnerships, and the third was school leaver program established without international partnership. Methods: First- and second-year students responded anonymously to surveys at the end of the academic year. The surveys included the JHLES, a 28-item survey using five-point Likert scale response options, the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM, the most widely used method to assess learning environments internationally, a personal growth scale, and single-item global learning environment assessment variables. Results: The overall response rate was 369/429 (86%. After adjusting for the medical school year, gender, and ethnicity of the respondents, the JHLES detected differences across institutions in four out of seven domains (57%, with each school having a unique domain profile. The DREEM detected differences in one out of five categories (20%. The JHLES was more strongly correlated than the DREEM to two thirds of the single-item variables and the personal growth scale. The JHLES showed high internal reliability for the total score (α=0.92 and the seven domains (α, 0.56-0.85. Conclusion: The JHLES detected variation between learning environment domains across three educational settings, thereby creating unique learning environment profiles. Interpretation of these profiles may allow schools to understand how they are currently supporting trainees and identify areas needing attention.

The hot plasma environment at jupiter: ulysses results.

Science.gov (United States)

Lanzerotti, L J; Armstrong, T P; Gold, R E; Anderson, K A; Krimigis, S M; Lin, R P; Pick, M; Roelof, E C; Sarris, E T; Simnett, G M; Maclennan, C G; Choo, H T; Tappin, S J

1992-09-11

Measurements of the hot plasma environment during the Ulysses flyby of Jupiter have revealed several new discoveries related to this large rotating astrophysical system. The Jovian magnetosphere was found by Ulysses to be very extended, with the day-side magnetopause located at approximately 105 Jupiter radii. The heavy ion (sulfur, oxygen, and sodium) population in the day-side magnetosphere increased sharply at approximately 86 Jupiter radii. This is somewhat more extended than the "inner" magnetosphere boundary region identified by the Voyager hot plasma measurements. In the day-side magnetosphere, the ion fluxes have the anisotropy direction expected for corotation with the planet, with the magnitude of the anisotropy increasing when the spacecraft becomes more immersed in the hot plasma sheet. The relative abundances of sulfur, oxygen, and sodium to helium decreased somewhat with decreasing radial distance from the planet on the day-side, which suggests that the abundances of the Jupiter-derived species are dependent on latitude. In the dusk-side, high-latitude region, intense fluxes of counter-streaming ions and electrons were discovered from the edge of the plasma sheet to the dusk-side magnetopause. These beams of electrons and ions were found to be very tightly aligned with the magnetic field and to be superimposed on a time- and space-variable isotropic hot plasma background. The currents carried by the measured hot plasma particles are typically approximately 1.6 x 10(-4) microamperes per square meter or approximately 8 x 10(5) amperes per squared Jupiter radius throughout the high-latitude magnetosphere volume. It is likely that the intense particle beams discovered at high Jovian latitudes produce auroras in the polar caps of the planet.

Preparation of nanoparticles with an environment-friendly approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Kefu; Peng, Zhen; Fan, Xiaolin

2009-01-01

Developing various approaches for preparing high performance materials has long been topics and tasks both for scientists and for engineers. Despite that many methods have been developed for preparing nanomaterials, developing simple and environment-friendly ways for preparing nanomaterials is very attractive. Here a simple approach of synthesizing Fe3O4 nanoparticles by arc-discharge submerging in water was reported. The results showed that by this method Fe3O4 nanoparticles can be synthesized at large scale. The as-prepared Fe3O4 nanoparticles exhibited uniform spherical shape and their diameters varied with arc-discharging parameters. The experimental results showed that the size of the synthesized Fe3O4 nanoparticles can be controlled through adjusting the processing parameters. Since no vacuum system has been used, the synthesizing process is greatly simplified. In addition, only cheap deionized water and industrial iron bar are used and no pollution or harmful byproducts are found in the synthesis process. It indicated that the present approach is a simple, low-cost and environment-friendly one for preparing nanoparticles.

Moisture Buffer Effect and its Impact on Indoor Environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Mingjie; Qin, Menghao; Chen, Zhi

2017-01-01

The moisture buffer effect of building materials may have great influence on indoor hygrothermal environment. In order to characterize the moisture buffering ability of materials, the basic concept of moisture buffer value (MBV) is adopted. Firstly, a theoretical correction factor is introduced...... in this paper. The moisture uptake/release by hygroscopic materials can be calculated with the factor and the basic MBV. Furthermore, the validation of the correction factor is carried out. The impact of moisture buffering on indoor environment is assessed by using numerical simulations. The results show...

Investigation of a coupling model of coordination between urbanization and the environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yangfan; Li, Yi; Zhou, Yan; Shi, Yalou; Zhu, Xiaodong

2012-05-15

China's coastal cities are experiencing rapid urbanization, which has resulted in many challenges. This paper presents a comprehensive index system for assessment of the level of urbanization based on four aspects: demographic urbanization, economic urbanization, social urbanization and spatial urbanization. The developed index system also characterizes the environment based on three factors: environmental pressure, environmental level and environmental control. Furthermore, a coupling coordination degree model (CCDM) focusing on the degree of coordination between urbanization and the environment was established using panel data collected from 2000 to 2008 for Lianyungang, China. The results showed that: (1) the dynamic of coordination between urbanization and the environment showed a U-shaped curve, and both sub-systems evolved into a superior balance during rapid urbanization; (2) social urbanization and environmental control make the greatest contribution to the coupling system, indicating that they are the critical factors to consider when adjusting coordination development during decision-making; and (3) the two parameters (α-urbanization, β-environment) that have been widely used in previous studies had less of an effect on the coupling coordinated system than the other factors considered herein. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stem cells show promising results for lymphoedema treatment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Toyserkani, Navid Mohamadpour; Quaade, Marlene Louise; Sheikh, Søren Paludan

2015-01-01

Abstract Lymphoedema is a debilitating condition, manifesting in excess lymphatic fluid and swelling of subcutaneous tissues. Lymphoedema is as of yet still an incurable condition and current treatment modalities are not satisfactory. The capacity of mesenchymal stem cells to promote angiogenesis......, secrete growth factors, regulate the inflammatory process, and differentiate into multiple cell types make them a potential ideal therapy for lymphoedema. Adipose tissue is the richest and most accessible source of mesenchymal stem cells and they can be harvested, isolated, and used for therapy...... in a single stage procedure as an autologous treatment. The aim of this paper was to review all studies using mesenchymal stem cells for lymphoedema treatment with a special focus on the potential use of adipose-derived stem cells. A systematic search was performed and five preclinical and two clinical...

Corrosion products of reinforcement in concrete in marine and industrial environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vera, R.; Villarroel, M.; Carvajal, A.M.; Vera, E.; Ortiz, C.

2009-01-01

The corrosion products formed on embedded steel in concrete under simulated marine and industrial conditions and natural marine environment were studied. A 0.50 water/cement ratio concrete was used and 3.5% NaCl and 180 g L -1 of H 2 SO 4 with 70 ppm of chloride ions solutions were used to simulate the synthetic medium. The initial electrochemical variables of the steel and pH, chlorides and sulfates profiles were measured according to the concrete depth. The morphology of the corrosive attack was determined via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the composition of the corrosion products was determined using an X-ray analyzer and an X-ray diffractometer (XRD). The protective power of the corrosion products was evaluated through anodic polarization curves in a saturated Ca(OH) 2 solution. The results from XRD and SEM show that all the resulting corrosion products correspond to lepidocrocite, goethite and magnetite mixtures; moreover, akaganeite was also identified under natural and simulated marine environments. Siderite was only detected in samples exposed to a natural marine environment. Concerning the protective nature of the corrosion products, these show lower performance in a simulated industrial environment, where the corrosion rate of the steel is up to 1.48 μm year -1

Corrosion products of reinforcement in concrete in marine and industrial environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vera, R. [Instituto de Quimica, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso, Avenida Brasil 2950, Casilla 4059, Valparaiso (Chile)], E-mail: rvera@ucv.cl; Villarroel, M. [Instituto de Quimica, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso, Avenida Brasil 2950, Casilla 4059, Valparaiso (Chile); Carvajal, A.M. [Facultad de Ingenieria, Escuela de Construccion Civil, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Av. Vicuna Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago (Chile); Vera, E.; Ortiz, C. [Universidad Pedagogica y Tecnologica de Colombia, Avenida Central Norte, Km 2, Tunja (Colombia)

2009-03-15

The corrosion products formed on embedded steel in concrete under simulated marine and industrial conditions and natural marine environment were studied. A 0.50 water/cement ratio concrete was used and 3.5% NaCl and 180 g L{sup -1} of H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} with 70 ppm of chloride ions solutions were used to simulate the synthetic medium. The initial electrochemical variables of the steel and pH, chlorides and sulfates profiles were measured according to the concrete depth. The morphology of the corrosive attack was determined via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the composition of the corrosion products was determined using an X-ray analyzer and an X-ray diffractometer (XRD). The protective power of the corrosion products was evaluated through anodic polarization curves in a saturated Ca(OH){sub 2} solution. The results from XRD and SEM show that all the resulting corrosion products correspond to lepidocrocite, goethite and magnetite mixtures; moreover, akaganeite was also identified under natural and simulated marine environments. Siderite was only detected in samples exposed to a natural marine environment. Concerning the protective nature of the corrosion products, these show lower performance in a simulated industrial environment, where the corrosion rate of the steel is up to 1.48 {mu}m year{sup -1}.

A Study on Students’ Views On Blended Learning Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meryem YILMAZ SOYLU

2006-07-01

Full Text Available In the 21st century, information and communication technologies (ICT have developed rapidly and influenced most of the fields and education as well. Then, ICT have offered a favorable environment for the development and use of various methods and tools. With the developments in technology, blended learning has gained considerable popularity in recent years. Together with the developments it brought along the description of particular forms of teaching with technology. Blended learning is defined simply as a learning environment that combines technology with face-to-face learning. In other words blended learning means using a variety of delivery methods to best meet the course objectives by combining face-to-face teaching in a traditional classroom with teaching online. This article examines students’ views on blended learning environment. The study was conducted on 64 students from Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technologies in 2005–2006 fall semester in Instructional Design and Authoring Languages in PC Environment at Hacettepe University. The results showed that the students enjoyed taking part in the blended learning environment. Students’ achievement levels and their frequency of participation to forum affected their views about blended learning environment. Face-to-face interaction in blended learning application had the highest score. This result demonstrated the importance of interaction and communication for the success of on-line learning.

Non-lane-discipline-based car-following model under honk environment

Science.gov (United States)

Rong, Ying; Wen, Huiying

2018-04-01

This study proposed a non-lane-discipline-based car-following model by synthetically considering the visual angles and the timid/aggressive characteristics of drivers under honk environment. We firstly derived the neutral stability condition by the linear stability theory. It showed that the parameters related to visual angles and driving characteristics of drivers under honk environment all have significant impact on the stability of non-lane-discipline traffic flow. For better understanding the inner mechanism among these factors, we further analyzed how each parameter affects the traffic flow and gained further insight into how the visual angles information influences other parameters and then influences the non-lane-discipline traffic flow under honk environment. And the results showed that the other aspects such as driving characteristics of drivers or honk effect are all interacted with the "Visual-Angle Factor". And the effect of visual angle is not just to say simply it has larger stable region or not as the existing studies. Finally, to verify the proposed model, we carried out the numerical simulation under the periodic boundary condition. And the results of numerical simulation are agreed well with the theoretical findings.

The impact of ergonomic work environment exposures on the risk of disability pension: Prospective results from DWECS/DREAM.

Science.gov (United States)

Labriola, Merete; Feveile, Helene; Christensen, Karl B; Strøyer, Jesper; Lund, Thomas

2009-11-01

The objectives were to identify the impact of ergonomic work environment exposures on the risk of disability pension. A representative sample of 8475 employees of the total working population in Denmark were interviewed regarding work environment exposures and followed in a national register with data on granted disability pension. For women, approximately 34% of the disability pension cases were attributable to ergonomic work environment exposures. For men, 21% of the disability pension cases were attributable to ergonomic work environment. Ergonomic work environment, especially physically demanding work, working with hands lifted and repetitive work, are areas of intervention at the workplace that can facilitate and prolong labour market participation. The study provides estimates for the association between ergonomic exposures at work and administrative, cost-related measures of work disability in a large population-based longitudinal cohort study over 14 years. Approximately 21% for men and 34% for women of the disability pension cases were attributable to ergonomic work environment exposures.

Roadside soils show low plant available zinc and copper concentrations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morse, Natalie; Walter, M. Todd; Osmond, Deanna; Hunt, William

2016-01-01

Vehicle combustion and component wear are a major source of metal contamination in the environment, which could be especially concerning where road ditches are actively farmed. The objective of this study was to assess how site variables, namely age, traffic (vehicles day"−"1), and percent carbon (%C) affect metal accumulation in roadside soils. A soil chronosequence was established with sites ranging from 3 to 37 years old and bioavailable, or mobile, concentrations of Zinc (Zn) and Copper (Cu) were measured along major highways in North Carolina using a Mehlich III extraction. Mobile Zn and Cu concentrations were low overall, and when results were scaled via literature values to “total metal”, the results were still generally lower than previous roadside studies. This could indicate farming on lands near roads would pose a low plant toxicity risk. Zinc and Cu were not correlated with annual average traffic count, but were positively correlated with lifetime traffic load (the product of site age and traffic count). This study shows an often overlooked variable, site age, should be included when considering roadside pollution accumulation. Zinc and Cu were more strongly associated with %C, than traffic load. Because vehicle combustion is also a carbon source, it is not obvious whether the metals and carbon are simply co-accumulating or whether the soil carbon in roadside soils may facilitate previously overlooked roles in sequestering metals on-site. - Highlights: • Low plant available zinc and copper concentrations in roadside soils of the southeast U.S. • Metals from vehicular traffic may not be adversely affecting plants in roadside environment. • Traffic volume and site age better predictor of metal pollution than traffic volume alone. - Mobile concentrations of Zn and Cu in roadside soils were below toxic levels. Zn and Cu concentrations were better correlated with lifetime vehicle load, as opposed to traffic volume.

Employment status, residential and workplace food environments: associations with women's eating behaviours.

Science.gov (United States)

Thornton, Lukar E; Lamb, Karen E; Ball, Kylie

2013-11-01

There remains a lack of consistent evidence linking food environments with eating behaviours. Studies to date have largely ignored the way different individuals interact with their local food environment and have primarily focussed on exposures within the residential neighbourhood without consideration of exposures around the workplace, for example. In this study we firstly examine whether associations between the residential food environment and eating behaviours differ by employment status and, secondly, whether food environments near employed women's workplaces are more strongly associated with dietary behaviours than food environments near home. Employment status did not modify the associations between residential food environments and eating behaviours, however results showed that having access to healthy foods near the workplace was associated with healthier food consumption. Policies focused on supportive environments should consider commercial areas as well as residential neighbourhoods. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Experimental results showing the internal three-component velocity field and outlet temperature contours for a model gas turbine combustor

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Meyers, BC

2011-09-01

Full Text Available by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc. All rights reserved ISABE-2011-1129 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS SHOWING THE INTERNAL THREE-COMPONENT VELOCITY FIELD AND OUTLET TEMPERATURE CONTOURS FOR A MODEL GAS TURBINE COMBUSTOR BC Meyers*, GC... identifier c Position identifier F Fuel i Index L (Combustor) Liner OP Orifice plate Introduction There are often inconsistencies when comparing experimental and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations for gas turbine combustors [1...

Nutrients in the Canadian environment: reporting on the state of Canada's environment

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Ironside, G. R

2001-01-01

.... This state of the environment (SOE) report on nutrients looks at how the Canadian environment is being affected by nitrogen and phosphorus compounds that are released as a result of human activities...

The impact of ergonomic work environment exposures on the risk of disability pension: Prospective results from DWECS/DREAM

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Labriola, Merete; Feveile, Helene; Christensen, Karl B

2009-01-01

The objectives were to identify the impact of ergonomic work environment exposures on the risk of disability pension. A representative sample of 8475 employees of the total working population in Denmark were interviewed regarding work environment exposures and followed in a national register...... with data on granted disability pension. For women, approximately 34% of the disability pension cases were attributable to ergonomic work environment exposures. For men, 21% of the disability pension cases were attributable to ergonomic work environment. Ergonomic work environment, especially physically...... demanding work, working with hands lifted and repetitive work, are areas of intervention at the workplace that can facilitate and prolong labour market participation. The study provides estimates for the association between ergonomic exposures at work and administrative, cost-related measures of work...

Oxidation of 316 stainless steel and other alloys in prototypic GCFR environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Acharya, R.T.

1980-05-01

The oxidation behavior of type 316 stainless steel and candidate advanced alloys for the gas-cooled fast reactor (GCFR) is being investigated at General Atomic Company. The test program consists of oxidation tests in prototypic GCFR environments. Two tests have been completed to date and a third test is under way. The first test was performed in an environment containing a hydrogen/water ratio of 10. The oxidation behavior of all the alloys was good to excellent in this environment. Preferential oxidation of chromium was responsible for this behavior. The second test was performed in an environment containing a hydrogen/water ratio of 0.25, where both chromium and iron oxides are thermodynamically stable. Some of the alloys and some of the ribbed type 316 stainless steel test specimens showed unacceptable oxidation resistance in this environment. In the third test, presently under way, two different pretreatment procedures are being used to control the poor oxidation behavior observed in the second test. Early results show some degree of success

Integration of computer-aided diagnosis/detection (CAD) results in a PACS environment using CAD-PACS toolkit and DICOM SR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le, Anh H.T.; Liu, Brent; Huang, H.K.

2009-01-01

Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) is a mature technology in health care delivery for daily clinical imaging service and data management. Computer-aided detection and diagnosis (CAD) utilizes computer methods to obtain quantitative measurements from medical images and clinical information to assist clinicians to assess a patient's clinical state more objectively. CAD needs image input and related information from PACS to improve its accuracy; and PACS benefits from CAD results online and available at the PACS workstation as a second reader to assist physicians in the decision making process. Currently, these two technologies remain as two separate independent systems with only minimal system integration. This paper describes a universal method to integrate CAD results with PACS in its daily clinical environment. The method is based on Health Level 7 (HL7) and Digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) standards, and Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) workflow profiles. In addition, the integration method is Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant. The paper presents (1) the clinical value and advantages of integrating CAD results in a PACS environment, (2) DICOM Structured Reporting formats and some important IHE workflow profiles utilized in the system integration, (3) the methodology using the CAD-PACS integration toolkit, and (4) clinical examples with step-by-step workflows of this integration. (orig.)

Boys with Oppositional Defiant Disorder/Conduct Disorder Show Impaired Adaptation During Stress: An Executive Functioning Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Schoorl, Jantiene; van Rijn, Sophie; de Wied, Minet; van Goozen, Stephanie; Swaab, Hanna

2018-04-01

Evidence for problems in executive functioning (EF) in children with oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder (ODD/CD) is mixed and the impact stress may have on EF is understudied. Working memory, sustained attention, inhibition and cognitive flexibility of boys with ODD/CD (n = 65) and non-clinical controls (n = 32) were examined under typical and stressful test conditions. Boys with ODD/CD showed impaired working memory under typical testing conditions, and impairments in working memory and sustained attention under stressful conditions. In contrast to controls, performance on sustained attention, cognitive flexibility and inhibition was less influenced by stress in boys with ODD/CD. These results suggest that boys with ODD/CD show impairments in adaptation to the environment whereas typically developing boys show adaptive changes in EF.

Introducing Switching Ordered Statistic CFAR Type I in Different Radar Environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saeed Erfanian

2009-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a new CFAR detector based on a switching algorithm and OS-CFAR for nonhomogeneous background environments is introduced. The new detector is named Switching Ordered Statistic CFAR type I (SOS CFAR I. The SOS CFAR I selects a set of suitable cells and then with the help of the ordering method, estimates the unknown background noise level. The proposed detector does not require any prior information about the background environment and uses cells with similar statistical specifications to estimate the background noise. The performance of SOS CFAR I is evaluated and compared with other detectors such as CA-CFAR, GO-CFAR, SO-CFAR, and OS-CFAR for the Swerling I target model in homogeneous and nonhomogeneous noise environments such as those with multiple interference and clutter edges. The results show that SOS CFAR I detectors considerably reduce the problem of excessive false alarm probability near clutter edges while maintaining good performance in other environments. Also, simulation results confirm the achievement of an optimum detection threshold in homogenous and nonhomogeneous radar environments by the mentioned processor.

Trust in Leadership for Sustaining Innovations: How Leaders Enact on Showing Trustworthiness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Savolainen Taina

2014-11-01

Full Text Available In the environment of continuous change today, trust is needed more in most organizations but is enacted less. This paper discusses trust in leadership. Trust is the essence of leadership forming a foundation for functioning relationships and co-operation. Trust is intangible asset, a managerial skill, and an influencing power for leaders. Leadership by trust emphasizes trustful behavior towards employees. It can be defined as an interactive way of leading organizations for effectiveness and profitability. In this paper, we suggest that, it is trustworthiness in leader behavior that matters. Showing trustworthiness by competence, integrity, benevolence, and credibility makes a difference in daily leadership work and sustaining innovations. This paper focuses on how leaders enact on trust by showing trustworthiness to subordinates. Real life case examples are presented and their implications are discussed. In conclusion, leadership by trust matters in building innovative work environment. As to untrustworthy leader behavior, it is worth noting that building and sustaining trust is reciprocal in nature. A practical implication for leaders is that the development of an awareness of trustworthiness and skills for demonstrating it should be a top priority in the current business environment, which demands strong interaction, cooperation, and communication abilities.

Design of Virtual Environments for the Comprehension of Planetary Phenomena Based on Students' Ideas.

Science.gov (United States)

Bakas, Christos; Mikropoulos, Tassos A.

2003-01-01

Explains the design and development of an educational virtual environment to support the teaching of planetary phenomena, particularly the movements of Earth and the sun, day and night cycle, and change of seasons. Uses an interactive, three-dimensional (3D) virtual environment. Initial results show that the majority of students enthused about…

Grasping trajectories in a virtual environment adhere to Weber's law.

Science.gov (United States)

Ozana, Aviad; Berman, Sigal; Ganel, Tzvi

2018-06-01

Virtual-reality and telerobotic devices simulate local motor control of virtual objects within computerized environments. Here, we explored grasping kinematics within a virtual environment and tested whether, as in normal 3D grasping, trajectories in the virtual environment are performed analytically, violating Weber's law with respect to object's size. Participants were asked to grasp a series of 2D objects using a haptic system, which projected their movements to a virtual space presented on a computer screen. The apparatus also provided object-specific haptic information upon "touching" the edges of the virtual targets. The results showed that grasping movements performed within the virtual environment did not produce the typical analytical trajectory pattern obtained during 3D grasping. Unlike as in 3D grasping, grasping trajectories in the virtual environment adhered to Weber's law, which indicates relative resolution in size processing. In addition, the trajectory patterns differed from typical trajectories obtained during 3D grasping, with longer times to complete the movement, and with maximum grip apertures appearing relatively early in the movement. The results suggest that grasping movements within a virtual environment could differ from those performed in real space, and are subjected to irrelevant effects of perceptual information. Such atypical pattern of visuomotor control may be mediated by the lack of complete transparency between the interface and the virtual environment in terms of the provided visual and haptic feedback. Possible implications of the findings to movement control within robotic and virtual environments are further discussed.

Virtual age model for equipment aging plant based on operation environment and service state

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Liming; Cai Qi; Zhao Xinwen; Chen Ling

2010-01-01

The accelerated life model based on the operation environment and service state was established by taking the virtual age as the equipment aging indices. The effect of different operation environments and service states on the reliability and virtual age under the continuum operation conditions and cycle operation conditions were analyzed, and the sensitivities of virtual age on operational environments and service states were studied. The results of the example application show that the effect of NPP equipment lifetime and the key parameters related to the reliability can be quantified by this model, and the result is in accordance with the reality.(authors)

Adaptive Role of Inversion Polymorphism of Drosophila subobscura in Lead Stressed Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Kenig, Bojan; Kurbalija Novičić, Zorana; Patenković, Aleksandra; Stamenković-Radak, Marina; Anđelković, Marko

2015-01-01

Local adaptation to environmental stress at different levels of genetic polymorphism in various plants and animals has been documented through evolution of heavy metal tolerance. We used samples of Drosophila subobscura populations from two differently polluted environments to analyze the change of chromosomal inversion polymorphism as genetic marker during laboratory exposure to lead. Exposure to environmental contamination can affect the genetic content within a particular inversion and produce targets for selection in populations from different environments. The aims were to discover whether the inversion polymorphism is shaped by the local natural environments, and if lead as a selection pressure would cause adaptive divergence of two populations during the multigenerational laboratory experiment. The results showed that populations retain signatures from past contamination events, and that heavy metal pollution can cause adaptive changes in population. Differences in inversion polymorphism between the two populations increased over generations under lead contamination in the laboratory. The inversion polymorphism of population originating from the more polluted natural environment was more stable during the experiment, both under conditions with and without lead. Therefore, results showed that inversion polymorphism as a genetic marker reflects a strong signature of adaptation to the local environment, and that historical demographic events and selection are important for both prediction of evolutionary potential and long-term viability of natural populations.

SRB thermal protection systems materials test results in an arc-heated nitrogen environment

Science.gov (United States)

Wojciechowski, C. J.

1979-01-01

The external surface of the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) will experience imposed thermal and shear environments due to aerodynamic heating and radiation heating during launch, staging and reentry. This report is concerned with the performance of the various TPS materials during the staging maneuver. During staging, the wash from the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) exhust plumes impose severe, short duration, thermal environments on the SRB. Five different SRB TPS materials were tested in the 1 MW Arc Plasma Generator (APG) facility. The maximum simulated heating rate obtained in the APG facility was 248 Btu/sq ft./sec, however, the test duration was such that the total heat was more than simulated. Similarly, some local high shear stress levels of 0.04 psia were not simulated. Most of the SSME plume impingement area on the SRB experiences shear stress levels of 0.02 psia and lower. The shear stress levels on the test specimens were between 0.021 and 0.008 psia. The SSME plume stagnation conditions were also simulated.

Effect of pH to adsorption behavior of Pu on bentonite in aqueous environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Xiaoqiang; Tuo Xianguo; Li Pingchuan; Leng Yangchun; Su Jilong; Yueping

2013-01-01

The effects of pH to the adsorption behavior of Pu in GMZ-bentonite, Lingshou Ca-bentonite, Na-bentonite and bleaching earth were tested by static adsorption experiments in aqueous environment. The results show that the adsorption equilibrium time of Pu is four days in GMZ-bentonite and 5-6 days in bleaching earth, Ca-bentonite and Na-bentonite. In aqueous environment, the adsorption capacity of bentonite to Pu increases with pH in water phase, and it is weak in acidic aqueous environment and strong in alkaline aqueous environment extremely. (authors)

The hovercraft environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Lovesey, E J

1970-06-01

In just over a decade the hovercraft has progressed from first prototype to a successful commercial form of transport which also has the ability to penetrate many environments hitherto virtually inaccessible to manned vehicles. Comparison with rival short range vehicles such as the helicopter and hydrofoil show that the hovercraft has become one of the most versatile forms of transport available. This versatility and ability to operate in unusual or extreme environments has been accompanied by the problems of control and of protection of the occupants of the hovercraft from the hazards associated with these environments. Several of these problems are discussed, together with their possible solutions. This article is based on a paper given to the Nederlands Vereniging Voor Ergonomie/Ergonomics Research Society joint conference at Noordwijk in Holland, 11-13 June, 1969.

Analysing contractual environments: lessons from Indigenous health in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Science.gov (United States)

Lavoie, Josée; Boulton, Amohia; Dwyer, Judith

2010-01-01

Contracting in health care is a mechanism used by the governments of Canada, Australia and New Zealand to improve the participation of marginalized populations in primary health care and improve responsiveness to local needs. As a result, complex contractual environments have emerged. The literature on contracting in health has tended to focus on the pros and cons of classical versus relational contracts from the funder's perspective. This article proposes an analytical framework to explore the strengths and weaknesses of contractual environments that depend on a number of classical contracts, a single relational contract or a mix of the two. Examples from indigenous contracting environments are used to inform the elaboration of the framework. Results show that contractual environments that rely on a multiplicity of specific contracts are administratively onerous, while constraining opportunities for local responsiveness. Contractual environments dominated by a single relational contract produce a more flexible and administratively streamlined system.

Bayesian Genomic Prediction with Genotype × Environment Interaction Kernel Models

Science.gov (United States)

Cuevas, Jaime; Crossa, José; Montesinos-López, Osval A.; Burgueño, Juan; Pérez-Rodríguez, Paulino; de los Campos, Gustavo

2016-01-01

The phenomenon of genotype × environment (G × E) interaction in plant breeding decreases selection accuracy, thereby negatively affecting genetic gains. Several genomic prediction models incorporating G × E have been recently developed and used in genomic selection of plant breeding programs. Genomic prediction models for assessing multi-environment G × E interaction are extensions of a single-environment model, and have advantages and limitations. In this study, we propose two multi-environment Bayesian genomic models: the first model considers genetic effects (u) that can be assessed by the Kronecker product of variance–covariance matrices of genetic correlations between environments and genomic kernels through markers under two linear kernel methods, linear (genomic best linear unbiased predictors, GBLUP) and Gaussian (Gaussian kernel, GK). The other model has the same genetic component as the first model (u) plus an extra component, f, that captures random effects between environments that were not captured by the random effects u. We used five CIMMYT data sets (one maize and four wheat) that were previously used in different studies. Results show that models with G × E always have superior prediction ability than single-environment models, and the higher prediction ability of multi-environment models with u and f over the multi-environment model with only u occurred 85% of the time with GBLUP and 45% of the time with GK across the five data sets. The latter result indicated that including the random effect f is still beneficial for increasing prediction ability after adjusting by the random effect u. PMID:27793970

Bayesian Genomic Prediction with Genotype × Environment Interaction Kernel Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaime Cuevas

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The phenomenon of genotype × environment (G × E interaction in plant breeding decreases selection accuracy, thereby negatively affecting genetic gains. Several genomic prediction models incorporating G × E have been recently developed and used in genomic selection of plant breeding programs. Genomic prediction models for assessing multi-environment G × E interaction are extensions of a single-environment model, and have advantages and limitations. In this study, we propose two multi-environment Bayesian genomic models: the first model considers genetic effects ( u that can be assessed by the Kronecker product of variance–covariance matrices of genetic correlations between environments and genomic kernels through markers under two linear kernel methods, linear (genomic best linear unbiased predictors, GBLUP and Gaussian (Gaussian kernel, GK. The other model has the same genetic component as the first model ( u plus an extra component, f, that captures random effects between environments that were not captured by the random effects u . We used five CIMMYT data sets (one maize and four wheat that were previously used in different studies. Results show that models with G × E always have superior prediction ability than single-environment models, and the higher prediction ability of multi-environment models with u   and   f over the multi-environment model with only u occurred 85% of the time with GBLUP and 45% of the time with GK across the five data sets. The latter result indicated that including the random effect f is still beneficial for increasing prediction ability after adjusting by the random effect u .

Assessment of the French environment radiological status in 2009. Synthesis of the results obtained by the IRSN survey networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

After a brief recall of the IRSN's missions, this report describes why and how radioactivity is controlled in France. It presents the national network for environment radioactivity measurements, and indicates the objectives of this radiological survey. It comments the status and levels of the natural and artificial radioactivity in France, discusses the results of the territory general survey (atmosphere, inland, coast, regions), the results of fuel cycle related sites (nuclear sites, old mining sites, front end industries, electricity production plants, back end industries, waste storage sites), the results concerning the nuclear medicine radioactive releases, the results obtained during selective expertises, and discusses the assessment of the exposure of the French population to ionizing radiations. It finally indicates how those data are published

Inhibitive Action of Ferrous Gluconate on Aluminum Alloy in Saline Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patricia Abimbola Idowu Popoola

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The corrosion of aluminum in saline environment in the presence of ferrous gluconate was studied using weight loss and linear polarization methods. The corrosion rates were studied in different concentrations of ferrous gluconate 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 g/mL at 28°C. Experimental results revealed that ferrous gluconate in saline environment reduced the corrosion rate of aluminum alloy at the different concentrations studied. The minimum inhibition efficiency was obtained at 1.5 g/mL concentration of inhibitor while the optimum inhibition efficiency was achieved with 1.0 g/mL inhibitor concentration. The results showed that adsorption of ferrous gluconate on the aluminium alloy surface fits Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The potentiodynamic polarization results showed that ferrous gluconate is a mixed type inhibitor. Ferrous gluconate acted as an effective inhibitor for aluminium alloy within the temperature and concentration range studied. The data obtained from weight loss and potentiodynamic polarization methods were in good agreement.

CONSTRUCTIVE EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT SCHOOL-UNIVERSITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalya Petrovna Shatalova

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The article presents the results of the study the key components of the development of constructive thinking of students on the basis of model building constructive educational environment school-University. It was conducted from a position of constructive approach in education, as a process of systemic-structural methodology of cognitive and creative activity of the student, promotes development and formation of various constructive qualities of the individual. The functions of constructive educational environment school-University aimed at developing constructive thinking of students, defined by its structural components and connections, shows the consistency of self-development of constructive thinking and job satisfaction the development of constructive skills. The findings reveal innovative possibilities of cooperation of schools and universities in the design and functioning model of constructive educatio-nal space that contributes to the development of constructive thinking of all its stakeholders.Purpose: measuring the effectiveness of the model constructive educational environment school-University aimed at the development of students.Methodology: the Programme of research included: (1 diagnosis of the development level of constructive thinking on the questionnaire developed in the context of the constructive theory of education, (2 augmented and revised by the author the diagnosis of satisfaction and importance model of constructive educational environment school-University by the method of G.A. Gagarin, as well as theoretical modeling, method of involved observation, formal teaching method.Results. The article introduces the concept of «constructive learning environments», which are considered in relation to the organization and conduct of joint activities of teachers, teachers and students. The authors give a theoretical comparative analysis of scientific works of colleagues in the context of the problem. Offer a brief

Living environment and its relationship to depressive mood: A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Rautio, Nina; Filatova, Svetlana; Lehtiniemi, Heli; Miettunen, Jouko

2018-02-01

The notion that environment affects mental health has a long history; in this systematic review, we aimed to study whether the living environment is related to depressive mood. We searched databases of PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science for population-based original studies prior to October 2016. We included studies that measured depressive symptoms or depression and had measures of urbanization, population density, aesthetics of living environment, house/built environment, green areas, walkability, noise, air pollution or services. Out of 1,578 articles found, 44 studies met our inclusion criteria. Manual searches of the references yielded 13 articles, resulting in 57 articles being included in the systematic review. Most of the studies showed statistically significant associations with at least one of the characteristics of living environment and depressive mood. House and built environment with, for example, poor housing quality and non-functioning, lack of green areas, noise and air pollution were more clearly related to depressive mood even after adjustment for different individual characteristics. On the contrary, the results in relation to population density, aesthetics and walkability of living environment, and availability of services and depressive mood were more inconsistent. Adverse house/built environment, including poor housing quality and non-functioning, lack of green spaces, noise and air pollution are related to depressive mood and should be taken into account during planning in order to prevent depressive mood.

In situ oil burning in the marshland environment : soil temperatures resulting from crude oil and diesel fuel burns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bryner, N.P.; Walton, W.D.; Twilley, W.H.; Roadarmel, G.; Mendelssohn, I.A.; Lin, Q.; Mullin, J.V.

2001-01-01

The unique challenge associated with oil spill cleanups in sensitive marsh environments was discussed. Mechanical recovery of crude or refined hydrocarbons in wetlands may cause more damage to the marsh than the oil itself. This study evaluated whether in situ burning of oiled marshlands would provide a less damaging alternative than mechanical recovery. This was done through a series of 6 crude oil and 5 diesel fuel burns conducted in a test tank to examine the impact of intentional burning of oil spilled in a wetlands environment. There are several factors which may influence how well such an environment would recover from an in situ oil burn, such as plant species, fuel type and load, water level, soil type, and burn duration. This paper focused on soil, air and water temperatures, as well as total heat fluxes that resulted when 3 plant species were exposed to full-scale in situ burns that were created by burning diesel fuel and crude oil. The soil temperatures were monitored during the test burn at three different soil/water elevations for 700 second burn exposures. A total of 184 plant sods were harvested from marshlands in southern Louisiana and were subjected to the burning fuel. They were instrumental in characterizing the thermal and chemical stress that occur during an in-situ burn. The plants were inserted into the test tanks at various water and soil depths. The results indicated that diesel fuel and crude oil burns produced similar soil temperature profiles at each of three plant sod elevations. Although in-situ burning did not appear to remediate oil that had penetrated into the soil, it did effectively remove floating oil from the water surface, thereby preventing it from potentially contaminating adjacent habitats and penetrating the soil when the water recedes. The regrowth and recovery of the plants will be described in a separate report. 25 refs., 7 tabs., 15 figs

Quantum Darwinism in a Mixed Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Zwolak, Michael; Quan, H. T.; Zurek, Wojciech H.

2009-09-01

Quantum Darwinism recognizes that we—the observers—acquire our information about the “systems of interest” indirectly from their imprints on the environment. Here, we show that information about a system can be acquired from a mixed-state, or hazy, environment, but the storage capacity of an environment fragment is suppressed by its initial entropy. In the case of good decoherence, the mutual information between the system and the fragment is given solely by the fragment’s entropy increase. For fairly mixed environments, this means a reduction by a factor 1-h, where h is the haziness of the environment, i.e., the initial entropy of an environment qubit. Thus, even such hazy environments eventually reveal the state of the system, although now the intercepted environment fragment must be larger by ˜(1-h)-1 to gain the same information about the system.

Microbiological and environmental issues in show caves.

Science.gov (United States)

Saiz-Jimenez, Cesareo

2012-07-01

Cultural tourism expanded in the last half of the twentieth century, and the interest of visitors has come to include caves containing archaeological remains. Some show caves attracted mass tourism, and economical interests prevailed over conservation, which led to a deterioration of the subterranean environment and the rock art. The presence and the role of microorganisms in caves is a topic that is often ignored in cave management. Knowledge of the colonisation patterns, the dispersion mechanisms, and the effect on human health and, when present, over rock art paintings of these microorganisms is of the utmost importance. In this review the most recent advances in the study of microorganisms in caves are presented, together with the environmental implications of the findings.

Assessment of Combustor Working Environments

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Leiyong Jiang

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In order to assess the remaining life of gas turbine critical components, it is vital to accurately define the aerothermodynamic working environments and service histories. As a part of a major multidisciplinary collaboration program, a benchmark modeling on a practical gas turbine combustor is successfully carried out, and the two-phase, steady, turbulent, compressible, reacting flow fields at both cruise and takeoff are obtained. The results show the complicated flow features inside the combustor. The airflow over each flow element of the combustor can or liner is not evenly distributed, and considerable variations, ±25%, around the average values, are observed. It is more important to note that the temperatures at the combustor can and cooling wiggle strips vary significantly, which can significantly affect fatigue life of engine critical components. The present study suggests that to develop an adequate aerothermodynamics tool, it is necessary to carry out a further systematic study, including validation of numerical results, simulations at typical engine operating conditions, and development of simple correlations between engine operating conditions and component working environments. As an ultimate goal, the cost and time of gas turbine engine fleet management must be significantly reduced.

Comb-push ultrasound shear elastography of breast masses: initial results show promise.

Science.gov (United States)

Denis, Max; Mehrmohammadi, Mohammad; Song, Pengfei; Meixner, Duane D; Fazzio, Robert T; Pruthi, Sandhya; Whaley, Dana H; Chen, Shigao; Fatemi, Mostafa; Alizad, Azra

2015-01-01

To evaluate the performance of Comb-push Ultrasound Shear Elastography (CUSE) for classification of breast masses. CUSE is an ultrasound-based quantitative two-dimensional shear wave elasticity imaging technique, which utilizes multiple laterally distributed acoustic radiation force (ARF) beams to simultaneously excite the tissue and induce shear waves. Female patients who were categorized as having suspicious breast masses underwent CUSE evaluations prior to biopsy. An elasticity estimate within the breast mass was obtained from the CUSE shear wave speed map. Elasticity estimates of various types of benign and malignant masses were compared with biopsy results. Fifty-four female patients with suspicious breast masses from our ongoing study are presented. Our cohort included 31 malignant and 23 benign breast masses. Our results indicate that the mean shear wave speed was significantly higher in malignant masses (6 ± 1.58 m/s) in comparison to benign masses (3.65 ± 1.36 m/s). Therefore, the stiffness of the mass quantified by the Young's modulus is significantly higher in malignant masses. According to the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), the optimal cut-off value of 83 kPa yields 87.10% sensitivity, 82.61% specificity, and 0.88 for the area under the curve (AUC). CUSE has the potential for clinical utility as a quantitative diagnostic imaging tool adjunct to B-mode ultrasound for differentiation of malignant and benign breast masses.

Relationships between diatoms and tidal environments in Oregon and Washington, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Sawai, Yuki; Horton, Benjamin P.; Kemp, Andrew C.; Hawkes, Andrea D.; Nagumo, Tamostsu; Nelson, Alan R.

2016-01-01

A new regional dataset comprising 425 intertidal diatom taxa from 175 samples from 11 ecologically diverse Oregon and Washington estuaries illustrates the importance of compiling a large modern dataset from a range of sites. Cluster analyses and detrended correspondence analysis of the diatom assemblages identify distinct vertical zones within supratidal, intertidal and subtidal environments at six of the 11 study sites, but the abundance of some of the most common species varies widely among and within sites. Canonical correspondence analysis of the regional dataset shows relationships between diatom species and tidal exposure, salinity and substratum (grain size and organic content). Correspondence analyses of local datasets show higher values of explained variation than the analysis of the combined regional dataset. Our results emphasize that studies of the autecology of diatom species require many samples from a range of modern environments to adequately characterize species–environment relationships.

Results of a monitoring programme in the environs of Berkeley aimed at collecting Chernobyl data for foodchain model validation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nair, S.; Darley, P.J.; Shaer, J.

1989-03-01

The results of a fallout measurement programme which was carried out in the environs of Berkeley Nuclear Laboratory in the United Kingdom following the Chernobyl reactor accident in April 1986 are presented in this report. The programme was aimed at establishing a time-dependent data base of concentrations of Chernobyl fallout radionuclides in selected agricultural products. Results were obtained for milk, grass, silage, soil and wheat over an eighteen month period from May 1986. It is intended to use the data to validate the CEGB's dynamic foodchain model, which is incorporated in the FOODWEB module of the NECTAR environmental code. (author)

Environment-quality demands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delfini, M.G.; Leenhouts, H.P.

1988-12-01

In the framework of the Environment Quality Requirements (MKE) project a model has been designed in which environment-quality demands have been defined and quantified, and a measuring strategy has been developed. In the model it is required for the quality of the environment that the radionuclide concentration in the various environment compartiments remains limited in order to keep the effective dose equivalence for the 'reference man' under a certain reference level. In order to be able to determine the maximum nuclide concentration it is necessary to quantify the relation between the concentration in the environment and the dose for the people. The quantitative relation between concentration and dose has been established on the base of parameters (Derived Activity Limits (DAL's) which have to be calculated for each environment compartiment, each nuclide and each exposure pathway. This model has been described and, as example, the DAL's have been calculated for the compartiment air (for which the two exposure pathways inhalation and direct radiation were considered). For the other environment compartiments a similar elaboration is needed. The feasibility of application of the MKE-model in the actual practice of measurements in the environment and examination of dose for the population depends upon the possibility for performing nuclide specific measurements in all environment compartiments, the level of the dose resulting from the contamination of the environment and the related accurateness of the measurements

Thermal Environment Evaluation in Commercial Kitchens of United States

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Simone, Angela; Olesen, Bjarne W.

The indoor climate in commercial kitchens is often unsatisfactory and the working conditions can have a significant effect on employees’ comfort and productivity. The differences between type (fast food, dining, etc.) and climatic zone can have an influence on the environment conditions and on th......The indoor climate in commercial kitchens is often unsatisfactory and the working conditions can have a significant effect on employees’ comfort and productivity. The differences between type (fast food, dining, etc.) and climatic zone can have an influence on the environment conditions...... of defining the values of thermal comfort parameters in kitchens. It can also help to evaluate if the standardized methods are applicable for such non-uniform environment, like commercial kitchens. By using an established method and procedure for evaluating the indoor thermal comfort in commercial kitchens...... more than 100 kitchens environments in the United States were investigated in summer and winter. Results show the influence due to type of kitchen (fast food, casual, etc.) and climatic region. Physical measurement confirmed that communally the workers are exposed to a warm or hot environment...

Model-Based Learning Environment Based on The Concept IPS School-Based Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamid Darmadi

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The results showed: (1 learning model IPS-oriented environment can grow and not you love the cultural values of the area as a basis for the development of national culture, (2 community participation, and the role of government in implementing learning model of IPS-based environment provides a positive impact for the improvement of management school resources, (3 learning model IPS-based environment effectively creating a way of life together peacefully, increase the intensity of togetherness and mutual respect (4 learning model IPS-based environment can improve student learning outcomes, (5 there are differences in the expression of attitudes and results learning among students who are located in the area of conflict with students who are outside the area of conflict (6 analysis of the scale of attitudes among school students da SMA result rewards high school students to the values of unity and nation, respect for diversity and peaceful coexistence, It is recommended that the Department of Education authority as an institution of Trustees and the development of social and cultural values in the province can apply IPS learning model based environments.

Improving the information environment for analysts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Farooq, Omar; Nielsen, Christian

2014-01-01

they have more information. Our results also show that intellectual capital disclosure related to employees and strategic statements are the most important disclosures for analysts. Research limitations/implications: More relevant methods, such as survey or interviews with management, may be used to improve...... the information content of intellectual capital disclosure. Analysts, probably, deduce intellectual capital of a firm from interaction with management rather than financial statements. Practical implications: Firms in biotechnology sector can improve their information environment by disclosing more information...

Information Space, Information Field, Information Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victor Ya. Tsvetkov

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The article analyzes information space, information field and information environment; shows that information space can be natural and artificial; information field is substantive and processual object and articulates the space property; information environment is concerned with some object and acts as the surrounding in relation to it and is considered with regard to it. It enables to define information environment as a subset of information space. It defines its passive description. Information environment can also be defined as a subset of information field. It corresponds to its active description.

Radioactivity monitoring of the Irish marine environment 1993 to 1995

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pollard, D.; Long, S.; Hayden, E.; Smith, V.; Ryan, T.P.; Dowdall, A.; McGarry, A.; Cunningham, J.D.

1996-10-01

This report presents the results of the marine radioactivity monitoring programme carried out by the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland during the period 1993 to 1995. The principal objective of this programme is to assess the exposure to the Irish population arising from radioactive contamination in the Irish marine environment and to estimate the risks to human health arising from such exposure. In addition, the programme aims to assess the distribution of the significant contaminating radionuclides in the marine environment and to identify tends with a view to assessing possible future effects. The results show that by 1995 the mean concentration of caesium-137 in fish landed at north-east ports had fallen to 1.6 Bq/kg, from a figure of 68 Bq/kg in 1979-82 and 3.0 Bq/kg in 1993. A similar decline is evident for seawater, sediment and seaweed. In addition, the Irish Sea data show the progressive dilution of artificial radioactivity with increasing distance from Sellafield

Simple measurement of 14C in the environment using gel suspension method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wakabayashi, Genichiro; Oura, Hirotaka; Nagao, Kenjiro; Okai, Tomio; Matoba, Masaru; Kakiuchi, Hideki; Momoshima, Noriyuki; Kawamura, Hidehisa

1999-01-01

A gel suspension method using N-lauroyl-L-glutamic-α, γ-dibutylamide as gelling agent and calcium carbonate as sample was studied and it was proved a more simple measurement method of 14 C in environment than the ordinary method. 100, 20 and 7 ml of sample could introduce 3.6, 0.72 and 0.252 g of carbon, respectively. When 100 ml and 20 ml of vial introduced the maximum carbon, the lower limit of detection was about 0.3 dpm/g-C and 0.5 dpm/g-C, respectively. These values showed that this method was able to determine 14 C in the environment. The value of sample has been constant for two years or more. This fact indicated the sample prepared by this method was good for repeat measurement and long-term storage. Many samples prepared by the same calcium carbonate showed almost same values. The concentrations of 14 C in the growth rings of a tree and in rice in the environment were determined and the results agreed with the values in the references. From these above results, this method is more simple measurement method of 14 C in the environment than the ordinary method and can apply to determine 14 C in and around the nuclear installation. (S.Y.)

Comb-push ultrasound shear elastography of breast masses: initial results show promise.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Max Denis

Full Text Available To evaluate the performance of Comb-push Ultrasound Shear Elastography (CUSE for classification of breast masses.CUSE is an ultrasound-based quantitative two-dimensional shear wave elasticity imaging technique, which utilizes multiple laterally distributed acoustic radiation force (ARF beams to simultaneously excite the tissue and induce shear waves. Female patients who were categorized as having suspicious breast masses underwent CUSE evaluations prior to biopsy. An elasticity estimate within the breast mass was obtained from the CUSE shear wave speed map. Elasticity estimates of various types of benign and malignant masses were compared with biopsy results.Fifty-four female patients with suspicious breast masses from our ongoing study are presented. Our cohort included 31 malignant and 23 benign breast masses. Our results indicate that the mean shear wave speed was significantly higher in malignant masses (6 ± 1.58 m/s in comparison to benign masses (3.65 ± 1.36 m/s. Therefore, the stiffness of the mass quantified by the Young's modulus is significantly higher in malignant masses. According to the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC, the optimal cut-off value of 83 kPa yields 87.10% sensitivity, 82.61% specificity, and 0.88 for the area under the curve (AUC.CUSE has the potential for clinical utility as a quantitative diagnostic imaging tool adjunct to B-mode ultrasound for differentiation of malignant and benign breast masses.

Sexual selection is influenced by both developmental and adult environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Gillespie, Stephanie R; Scarlett Tudor, M; Moore, Allen J; Miller, Christine W

2014-12-01

Sexual selection is often assumed to be strong and consistent, yet increasing research shows it can fluctuate over space and time. Few experimental studies have examined changes in sexual selection in response to natural environmental variation. Here, we use a difference in resource quality to test for the influence of past environmental conditions and current environmental conditions on male and female mate choice and resulting selection gradients for leaf-footed cactus bugs, Narnia femorata. We raised juveniles on natural high- and low-quality diets, cactus pads with and without ripe cactus fruits. New adults were again assigned a cactus pad with or without fruit, paired with a potential mate, and observed for mating behaviors. We found developmental and adult encounter environments affected mating decisions and the resulting patterns of sexual selection for both males and females. Males were not choosy in the low-quality encounter environment, cactus without fruit, but they avoided mating with small females in the high-quality encounter environment. Females were choosy in both encounter environments, avoiding mating with small males. However, they were the choosiest when they were in the low-quality encounter environment. Female mate choice was also context dependent by male developmental environment. Females were more likely to mate with males that had developed on cactus with fruit when they were currently in the cactus with fruit environment. This pattern disappeared when females were in the cactus without fruit environment. Altogether, these results experimentally demonstrate context-dependent mate choice by both males and females. Furthermore, we demonstrate that simple, seasonal changes in resources can lead to fluctuations in sexual selection. © 2014 The Author(s). Evolution © 2014 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Analysis of the time in virtual training environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ángel GARCÍA DEL DUJO

2011-09-01

Full Text Available The objective of this article is to analyze the character of time on virtual training environments, meaning, to see whether in these environments is present or not the sense, the sensation, the notion of time; if so, it aims, secondly, to rebuilt the forms how this notion is generated and their senses on different environments, meaning, to identify the mechanisms used to generate this timing notion and the processes and transformations that are produced. we assume that, if the Network has a sense in the education field, besides being an information tool and a training space, it is also because the individuals and social groups move, coexist, have relations and communicate among them, building and destroying, creating multiple and complex identities, being all this possible only if its activity answer to timing-space traditional coordinates. The article present the data of a study conducted with a sample of 93 individuals among 20 and 30 years old. The results support the thesis of timing perception and show diverse timing mechanism in different virtual environments.

Thermomechanical fatigue behavior of SiC/Ti-24Al-11Nb in air and argon environments

Science.gov (United States)

Bartolotta, Paul A.; Verrilli, Michael J.

1992-01-01

A series of tension-tension, load-controlled thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) tests were conducted on a titanium aluminide composite in both laboratory air and a flowing argon environment. Results from these tests show that the environment plays an increasingly important role as applied stress levels are decreased. Differences in damage mechanisms between the two environments were observed which corresponds to observed variations in TMF lives.

Leadership styles of nurse managers in a multinational environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Suliman, Wafika A

2009-01-01

This is a descriptive study conducted at a multinational working environment, where 1500 nurses representing 52 nationalities are employed. The study aimed at exploring the predominant leadership style of nurse managers through self-evaluation and staff nurses' evaluation and the impact of working in a multinational environment on their intention to stay or quit. The value lies in its focus on leadership styles in an environment where national diversity among managers, staff, and patients is very challenging. The study included 31 nurse managers and 118 staff nurses using Bass and Avolio's (1995) Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. The results showed that nurse managers and staff nurses reported transformational leadership as predominant with significant difference in favor of nurse managers. Participants' nationality and intention to stay or quit affected their perception of transformational leadership as a predominant style. The implications highlight the need for senior nursing management to set effective retention strategies for transformational nurse managers who work at multinational environments.

Incubation environment impacts the social cognition of adult lizards.

Science.gov (United States)

Siviter, Harry; Deeming, D Charles; van Giezen, M F T; Wilkinson, Anna

2017-11-01

Recent work exploring the relationship between early environmental conditions and cognition has shown that incubation environment can influence both brain anatomy and performance in simple operant tasks in young lizards. It is currently unknown how it impacts other, potentially more sophisticated, cognitive processes. Social-cognitive abilities, such as gaze following and social learning, are thought to be highly adaptive as they provide a short-cut to acquiring new information. Here, we investigated whether egg incubation temperature influenced two aspects of social cognition, gaze following and social learning in adult reptiles ( Pogona vitticeps ). Incubation temperature did not influence the gaze following ability of the bearded dragons; however, lizards incubated at colder temperatures were quicker at learning a social task and faster at completing that task. These results are the first to show that egg incubation temperature influences the social cognitive abilities of an oviparous reptile species and that it does so differentially depending on the task. Further, the results show that the effect of incubation environment was not ephemeral but lasted long into adulthood. It could thus have potential long-term effects on fitness.

Identification of ergonomic issues that affect workers in oilrigs in desert environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Shikdar, Ashraf A

2004-01-01

The main objective of this research was to conduct an assessment of ergonomic-related problems in oilrigs in a desert environment. A checklist, physical audit and medical records were used in the investigation. The results showed significant health, environment and work-related problems that could be attributed to ergonomic deficiencies in the work system of the oilrig. Some major ergonomic issues identified were hard physical work, back pain, discomfort, hot environment, long shift, and diverse schedule. Ninety-four percent of the employees perceived the workday as very long, 79% were dissatisfied with the work schedule, while 61% of the employees perceived the summer work environment as extremely hot. Ergonomics should be considered in the work system design so as to reduce or eliminate problems in oilrigs in hot desert environments.

A Secure Protocol Based on a Sedentary Agent for Mobile Agent Environments

OpenAIRE

Abdelmorhit E. Rhazi; Samuel Pierre; Hanifa Boucheneb

2007-01-01

The main challenge when deploying mobile agent environments pertains to security issues concerning mobile agents and their executive platform. This paper proposes a secure protocol which protects mobile agents against attacks from malicious hosts in these environments. Protection is based on the perfect cooperation of a sedentary agent running inside a trusted third host. Results show that the protocol detects several attacks, such as denial of service, incorrect execution and re-execution of...

Trihalomethanes formation in marine environment in front of Nuweibaa desalination plant as a result of effluents loaded by chlorine residual

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed A. Hamed

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Trihalomethanes have been identified as the most important disinfection byproducts resulted from using chlorine in desalination plants. Nuweibaa desalination plant was chosen to study their effluents impacts on the marine environment in front of the plant in the coastal area of Gulf of Aqaba. Surface and bottom Water Samples were collected from nine locations in the outfall area of this desalination plant during spring and autumn 2014, and analyzed for water temperature, pH value, Salinity, Dissolved Oxygen, Biological oxygen demand, Oxidizible organic matter, Total, fixed and volatile suspended matter, residual chlorine (free and combined and trihalomethanes. High total chlorine dosage discharged from the desalination plant achieved high levels of trihalomethanes in the receiving seawater of the outfall area. It has been estimated that about 14524.65671 kg of BOD, 74123.4 kg of OOM, 166896.4375 kg of total suspended solids, 623.634 kg of free chlorine, 469.21 kg of combined chlorine, 206.64 kg of chloroform and 76.48 kg of bromoform are discharged annually from this plant into the Gulf of Aqaba affecting the marine ecosystems. The results of THMs showed that the two main forms of THMs formed in the receiving seawater were chloroform and bromoform and ranged between (5.09–156.59, (2.82–566.06 μg/L respectively. High pH and High combined chlorine concentrations favored the formation of high concentrations of chloroform.

DIME Students Show Off their Lego(TM) Challenge Creation

Science.gov (United States)

2002-01-01

Two students show the Lego (TM) Challenge device they designed and built to operate in the portable drop tower demonstrator as part of the second Dropping in a Microgravity Environment (DIME) competition held April 23-25, 2002, at NASA's Glenn Research Center. Competitors included two teams from Sycamore High School, Cincinnati, OH, and one each from Bay High School, Bay Village, OH, and COSI Academy, Columbus, OH. DIME is part of NASA's education and outreach activities. Details are on line at http://microgravity.grc.nasa.gov/DIME_2002.html.

Energy and environment efficiency analysis based on an improved environment DEA cross-model: Case study of complex chemical processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geng, ZhiQiang; Dong, JunGen; Han, YongMing; Zhu, QunXiong

2017-01-01

Highlights: •An improved environment DEA cross-model method is proposed. •Energy and environment efficiency analysis framework of complex chemical processes is obtained. •This proposed method is efficient in energy-saving and emission reduction of complex chemical processes. -- Abstract: The complex chemical process is a high pollution and high energy consumption industrial process. Therefore, it is very important to analyze and evaluate the energy and environment efficiency of the complex chemical process. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used to evaluate the relative effectiveness of decision-making units (DMUs). However, the traditional DEA method usually cannot genuinely distinguish the effective and inefficient DMU due to its extreme or unreasonable weight distribution of input and output variables. Therefore, this paper proposes an energy and environment efficiency analysis method based on an improved environment DEA cross-model (DEACM) method. The inputs of the complex chemical process are divided into energy and non-energy inputs. Meanwhile, the outputs are divided into desirable and undesirable outputs. And then the energy and environment performance index (EEPI) based on the cross evaluation is used to represent the overall performance of each DMU. Moreover, the improvement direction of energy-saving and carbon emission reduction of each inefficiency DMU is quantitatively obtained based on the self-evaluation model of the improved environment DEACM. The results show that the improved environment DEACM method has a better effective discrimination than the original DEA method by analyzing the energy and environment efficiency of the ethylene production process in complex chemical processes, and it can obtain the potential of energy-saving and carbon emission reduction of ethylene plants, especially the improvement direction of inefficient DMUs to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emission.

Development of a Novel Motor Imagery Control Technique and Application in a Gaming Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ting; Zhang, Jinhua; Xue, Tao; Wang, Baozeng

2017-01-01

We present a methodology for a hybrid brain-computer interface (BCI) system, with the recognition of motor imagery (MI) based on EEG and blink EOG signals. We tested the BCI system in a 3D Tetris and an analogous 2D game playing environment. To enhance player's BCI control ability, the study focused on feature extraction from EEG and control strategy supporting Game-BCI system operation. We compared the numerical differences between spatial features extracted with common spatial pattern (CSP) and the proposed multifeature extraction. To demonstrate the effectiveness of 3D game environment at enhancing player's event-related desynchronization (ERD) and event-related synchronization (ERS) production ability, we set the 2D Screen Game as the comparison experiment. According to a series of statistical results, the group performing MI in the 3D Tetris environment showed more significant improvements in generating MI-associated ERD/ERS. Analysis results of game-score indicated that the players' scores presented an obvious uptrend in 3D Tetris environment but did not show an obvious downward trend in 2D Screen Game. It suggested that the immersive and rich-control environment for MI would improve the associated mental imagery and enhance MI-based BCI skills.

Development of a Novel Motor Imagery Control Technique and Application in a Gaming Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ting Li

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We present a methodology for a hybrid brain-computer interface (BCI system, with the recognition of motor imagery (MI based on EEG and blink EOG signals. We tested the BCI system in a 3D Tetris and an analogous 2D game playing environment. To enhance player’s BCI control ability, the study focused on feature extraction from EEG and control strategy supporting Game-BCI system operation. We compared the numerical differences between spatial features extracted with common spatial pattern (CSP and the proposed multifeature extraction. To demonstrate the effectiveness of 3D game environment at enhancing player’s event-related desynchronization (ERD and event-related synchronization (ERS production ability, we set the 2D Screen Game as the comparison experiment. According to a series of statistical results, the group performing MI in the 3D Tetris environment showed more significant improvements in generating MI-associated ERD/ERS. Analysis results of game-score indicated that the players’ scores presented an obvious uptrend in 3D Tetris environment but did not show an obvious downward trend in 2D Screen Game. It suggested that the immersive and rich-control environment for MI would improve the associated mental imagery and enhance MI-based BCI skills.

Bayesian Genomic Prediction with Genotype × Environment Interaction Kernel Models.

Science.gov (United States)

Cuevas, Jaime; Crossa, José; Montesinos-López, Osval A; Burgueño, Juan; Pérez-Rodríguez, Paulino; de Los Campos, Gustavo

2017-01-05

The phenomenon of genotype × environment (G × E) interaction in plant breeding decreases selection accuracy, thereby negatively affecting genetic gains. Several genomic prediction models incorporating G × E have been recently developed and used in genomic selection of plant breeding programs. Genomic prediction models for assessing multi-environment G × E interaction are extensions of a single-environment model, and have advantages and limitations. In this study, we propose two multi-environment Bayesian genomic models: the first model considers genetic effects [Formula: see text] that can be assessed by the Kronecker product of variance-covariance matrices of genetic correlations between environments and genomic kernels through markers under two linear kernel methods, linear (genomic best linear unbiased predictors, GBLUP) and Gaussian (Gaussian kernel, GK). The other model has the same genetic component as the first model [Formula: see text] plus an extra component, F: , that captures random effects between environments that were not captured by the random effects [Formula: see text] We used five CIMMYT data sets (one maize and four wheat) that were previously used in different studies. Results show that models with G × E always have superior prediction ability than single-environment models, and the higher prediction ability of multi-environment models with [Formula: see text] over the multi-environment model with only u occurred 85% of the time with GBLUP and 45% of the time with GK across the five data sets. The latter result indicated that including the random effect f is still beneficial for increasing prediction ability after adjusting by the random effect [Formula: see text]. Copyright © 2017 Cuevas et al.

The spectrum of progressive derecho formation environments

Science.gov (United States)

Guastini, Corey T.

Progressive derechos are severe mesoscale convective systems that often form east of the Rocky Mountains during the warm season (May--August) and cause, by definition, straight-line wind damage along paths upwards of 400 km long. This study develops a subjective, seven-category classification scheme that spans the spectrum of progressive derecho formation environments from those dominated by robust upper-level ridges to those characterized by vigorous upper-level troughs. A climatology of 256 progressive derecho events is created for 1996--2013 and is categorized according to the developed classification scheme. Derecho initiation-relative composites are constructed for each of the seven groups using 0.5° Climate Forecast System Reanalysis data to document the environmental characteristics unique to each group as well as those shared among them. Finally, two in-depth case studies and five cursory case studies provide examples of the seven categories and reveal important nuances in mesoscale dynamic and thermodynamic structure inherent to all derecho cases. Results of the climatology show progressive derecho activity increases from 1 May through 1 July before decreasing again through the end of August and follows a northward trend in latitude from 1 May through 1 August before shifting slightly southward through the end of the warm season. Upslope flow in the vicinity of the Rocky Mountains initiates 28 percent of progressive derechos, upper-level troughs initiate 20 percent, 47 percent form in benign synoptic environments, and 5 percent are unclassifiable. Composite results show all progressive derecho initiation environments are marked by a long axis of instability caused by the overlap of high atmospheric moisture content and steep midlevel lapse rates, but the relative positions and strengths of upper-level troughs and ridges are crucial in determining how the instability axis develops and what its orientation in space will be. Case studies reveal instability

On the relationship between residue structural environment and sequence conservation in proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jen-Wei; Lin, Jau-Ji; Cheng, Chih-Wen; Lin, Yu-Feng; Hwang, Jenn-Kang; Huang, Tsun-Tsao

2017-09-01

Residues that are crucial to protein function or structure are usually evolutionarily conserved. To identify the important residues in protein, sequence conservation is estimated, and current methods rely upon the unbiased collection of homologous sequences. Surprisingly, our previous studies have shown that the sequence conservation is closely correlated with the weighted contact number (WCN), a measure of packing density for residue's structural environment, calculated only based on the C α positions of a protein structure. Moreover, studies have shown that sequence conservation is correlated with environment-related structural properties calculated based on different protein substructures, such as a protein's all atoms, backbone atoms, side-chain atoms, or side-chain centroid. To know whether the C α atomic positions are adequate to show the relationship between residue environment and sequence conservation or not, here we compared C α atoms with other substructures in their contributions to the sequence conservation. Our results show that C α positions are substantially equivalent to the other substructures in calculations of various measures of residue environment. As a result, the overlapping contributions between C α atoms and the other substructures are high, yielding similar structure-conservation relationship. Take the WCN as an example, the average overlapping contribution to sequence conservation is 87% between C α and all-atom substructures. These results indicate that only C α atoms of a protein structure could reflect sequence conservation at the residue level. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Digital literacy and problem solving in technology-rich environments

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Vesna Dolničar

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Rapid development and progress, as well as the growing presence of information and communications technologies dictate the need for more highly developed digital skills in individuals. The paper focuses on the concepts of digital skills and problem solving in technology-rich environments. It examines these on the basis of empirical data obtained in the international study PIAAC. The introductory part presents an overview of the literature and the results of previous research in the field of measurement of digital skills, and data on the use of information society services among the EU Member States. The second part of the article refers to the results obtained in the study PIAAC. The results, confirmed by the results of other studies, showed the impact of age and education level on the problem solving in technology-rich environments. Article concludes with suggestions for improving the current state of integration of all population groups in training programs in the field of digital skills.

Slow progress in changing the school food environment: nationally representative results from public and private elementary schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, Lindsey; Chaloupka, Frank J

2012-09-01

Children spend much of their day in school, and authorities have called for improvements in the school food environment. However, it is not known whether changes have occurred since the federal wellness policy mandate took effect in 2006-2007. We examined whether the school food environment in public and private elementary schools changed over time and examined variations by school type and geographic division. Survey data were gathered from respondents at nationally representative samples of elementary schools during the 2006-2007 and 2009-2010 school years (respectively, 578 and 680 public schools, and 259 and 313 private schools). Topics assessed included competitive foods, school meals, and other food-related practices (eg, school gardens and nutrition education). A 16-item food environment summary score was computed, with possible scores ranging from 0 (least healthy) to 100 (healthiest). Multivariate regression models were used to examine changes over time in the total school food environment score and component items, and variations by US census division. Many practices improved, such as participation in school gardens or farm-to-school programs, and availability of whole grains and only lower-fat milks in lunches. Although the school food environment score increased significantly, the magnitude of change was small; as of 2009-2010 the average score was 53.5 for public schools (vs 50.1 in 2006-2007) and 42.2 for private schools (vs 37.2 in 2006-2007). Scores were higher in public schools than in private schools (Pschool size. For public schools, scores were higher in the Pacific and West South Central divisions compared with the national average. Changes in the school food environment have been minimal, with much room remaining for improvement. Additional policy changes may be needed to speed the pace of improvement. Copyright © 2012 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Strategic environment and bank performance; (Empirical study of bank listed in Indonesian stock exchange period 2011-2015

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Mursalim Nohong

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to explain the interaction between macroeconomic and the internal environment with the performance of banks in Indonesia. The analysed data obtained from 10 banks for 5-year observation period by using descriptive and inferential analysis through PLS program. The results showed that the BI rate is the most significant indicator in measuring changes in the macro environment, the efficiency ratio indicators for internal environment variables and indicators ROA for the variable performance. Further analysis showed that changes in the macro environment do not significantly influence the efficiency and performance of the banking system. However, efficiency is measured by using a ratio BOPO significant effect on performance.

Mobility transition in a dynamic environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basu, Urna; Maes, Christian

2014-01-01

Depending on how the dynamical activity of a particle in a random environment is influenced by an external field E, its differential mobility at intermediate E can turn negative. We discuss the case where for slowly changing random environment the driven particle shows negative differential mobility while that mobility turns positive for faster environment changes. We illustrate this transition using a two-dimensional-lattice Lorentz model where a particle moves in a background of simple exclusion walkers. The effective escape rate of the particle (or minus its collision frequency) which is essential for its mobility-behavior depends both on E and on the kinetic rate γ of the exclusion walkers. Large γ, i.e., fast obstacle motion, amounts to merely rescaling the particle's free motion with the obstacle density, while slow obstacle dynamics results in particle motion that is more singularly related to its free motion and preserves the negative differential mobility already seen at γ = 0. In more general terms that we also illustrate using one-dimensional random walkers, the mobility transition is between the time-scales of the quasi-stationary regime and that of the fluid limit. (paper)

An Inexpensive, Stable, and Accurate Relative Humidity Measurement Method for Challenging Environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Wei; Ma, Hong; Yang, Simon X

2016-03-18

In this research, an improved psychrometer is developed to solve practical issues arising in the relative humidity measurement of challenging drying environments for meat manufacturing in agricultural and agri-food industries. The design in this research focused on the structure of the improved psychrometer, signal conversion, and calculation methods. The experimental results showed the effect of varying psychrometer structure on relative humidity measurement accuracy. An industrial application to dry-cured meat products demonstrated the effective performance of the improved psychrometer being used as a relative humidity measurement sensor in meat-drying rooms. In a drying environment for meat manufacturing, the achieved measurement accuracy for relative humidity using the improved psychrometer was ±0.6%. The system test results showed that the improved psychrometer can provide reliable and long-term stable relative humidity measurements with high accuracy in the drying system of meat products.

Changing the Environment Based on Empowerment as Intrinsic Motivation

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Christoph Salge

2014-05-01

Full Text Available One aspect of intelligence is the ability to restructure your own environment so that the world you live in becomes more beneficial to you. In this paper we investigate how the information-theoretic measure of agent empowerment can provide a task-independent, intrinsic motivation to restructure the world. We show how changes in embodiment and in the environment change the resulting behaviour of the agent and the artefacts left in the world. For this purpose, we introduce an approximation of the established empowerment formalism based on sparse sampling, which is simpler and significantly faster to compute for deterministic dynamics. Sparse sampling also introduces a degree of randomness into the decision making process, which turns out to beneficial for some cases. We then utilize the measure to generate agent behaviour for different agent embodiments in a Minecraft-inspired three dimensional block world. The paradigmatic results demonstrate that empowerment can be used as a suitable generic intrinsic motivation to not only generate actions in given static environments, as shown in the past, but also to modify existing environmental conditions. In doing so, the emerging strategies to modify an agent’s environment turn out to be meaningful to the specific agent capabilities, i.e., de facto to its embodiment.

What’s the Score? Walkable Environments and Subsidized Households

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Young-Jae Kim

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Neighborhood walkability can influence individual health, social interactions, and environmental quality, but the relationships between subsidized households and their walkable environment have not been sufficiently examined in previous empirical studies. Focusing on two types of subsidized housing developments (Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC and Public Housing (PH in Austin, Texas, this study evaluates the neighborhood walkability of place-based subsidized households, utilizing objectively measured Walk Score and walking-related built environment data. We also used U.S. Census block group data to account for the socio-demographic covariates. Based on various data, we employed bivariate and multivariate analyses to specify the relationships between subsidized households and their neighborhood walkable environment. The results of our bivariate analyses show that LIHTC households tend to be located in car-dependent neighborhoods and have more undesirable walking-related built environment conditions compared with non-LIHTC neighborhoods. Our regression results also represent that LIHTC households are more likely to be exposed to neighborhoods with low Walk Score, less sidewalk coverage, and more highways and major roads, while there are no significant associations for PH households. These findings imply that more attention and effort toward reducing the inequitable distributions of walkable neighborhood features supporting rather than hindering healthy lifestyles must be provided to subsidized households.

Stratification of the state of Santa Catarina in macro-environments for bean cultivation

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Juliano Garcia Bertoldo

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to suggest a division of the State of Santa Catarina in macro-environments forexperimentation and bean production. Data of the traits grain yield and plant cycle were evaluated in 10 common beangenotypes grown in nine environments. The data were submitted to the Student-Newman Keuls test, to detect differencesbetween environments, and the Best Linear Unbiased Prediction, to predict the environmental values. The results showed: (adifferences between the regions of Santa Catarina for the traits grain yield and plant cycle, which had a significant positivecorrelation of 0.26 (b Based on the genotypes and environments studied the state can be divided in two macro-environments(MA1 and MA2 and four micro-environments (MI1, MI2, MI3 and MI4. The state of Santa Catarina may be roughly dividedin at least two macro-environments for the recommendation of new cultivars.

Effect of retro-reflective materials on temperature environment in tents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lili Zhang

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Due to the low thermal inertia and poor thermal insulation of ultrathin envelope in tents, its indoor temperature environment is extremely bad and its occupants are tormented. Especially under the high solar radiation, both indoor air temperature and inner surface radiation temperature increase rapidly. And thereby, decreasing radiation heat gain in summer is necessary to refine indoor temperature environment in tents. Retro-reflective materials make it a reasonable choice due to their high reflectivity for solar radiation. To reveal the temperature environment improvement of tents by integrating with retro-reflective materials, a comparative experiment is carried out under the summer climatic conditions of Chengdu city, China. Experimental results show that due to integrating with retro-reflective materials, indoor air peak temperature in the tent can be reduced by more than 7.7 °C, while inner surface radiant temperature can be lowered up to 4.8 °C in the day time. It shows retro-reflective materials could refine indoor temperature environment in tents. Through a comparison of the walls in different orientations, on which retro-reflective materials are covered, the top, east and north walls are found to be better choices, while the north wall is the worst one for retro-reflective materials.

Temperature field simulation of complex structures in fire environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Weifen; Hao Zhiming; Li Minghai

2010-01-01

In this paper, the typical model of the system of dangerous goods - steel - wood composite structure including components of explosives is used as the research object. Using MARC program, the temperature field of the structure in the fire environment is simulated. Radiation, conduction and convection heat transfer within the gap of the structure are taken into account, contact heat transfer is also considered. The phenomenon of thermal decomposition of wood in high temperature is deal with by equivalent method. The results show that the temperature of the explosives is not high in the fire environment. The timber inside the composite structure has played a very good insulation effect of explosives.

Physiological and behavioral responses to the social environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davis, D.E.

1978-01-01

Physiological and behavioral reactions to the social environment are mediated in nature principally through aggressive interactions, although in some cases other aspects of the environment such as temperature or predators are important. Observations from 1946-50 of changes in populations of rats after alteration of social conditions suggested the hypothesis that changes in birth and mortality rates followed aggressive interactions. The pituitary-adrenal-gonadal mechanism provided a process that could be tested in three types of conditions: laboratory, simulated field, and field. Changes in social environment can result from: seasonal changes in conditions; appearance of transients; habitat changes due to succession; and increase of population. It became apparent from laboratory research that a physiological feedback from aggressive behavior could reduce birth rates and increase mortality rates. Studies in nature showed that a reduction of Norway rat population by 38 percent was followed by a reduction of adrenal weight by 32 percent. Also as the population of rats increased the weight of the adrenals increased. A comprehensive study of woodchucks, started in 1957, showed that the alteration of age composition and the increase in immigration was associated with increased adrenal function. Research by others on lemmings shows that the adrenals at the peak of a population fluctuation are larger and produce more hormones than at the low point. No evidence was obtained to support the hypothesis that genetic selection for aggressive behavior within the population occurs during the increase or decline of a population. The changes occur within an individual. The future of studies of responses to the social environment will require experimental programs in nature that last for a decade or more, long enough to monitor changes in numbers under a variety of conditions

A Hair & a Fungus: Showing Kids the Size of a Microbe

Science.gov (United States)

Richter, Dana L.

2013-01-01

A simple method is presented to show kids the size of a microbe--a fungus hypha--compared to a human hair. Common household items are used to make sterile medium on a stove or hotplate, which is dispensed in the cells of a weekly plastic pill box. Mold fungi can be easily and safely grown on the medium from the classroom environment. A microscope…

Micro-navigation in complex periodic environments

Science.gov (United States)

Chamolly, Alexander; Ishikawa, Takuji; Lauga, Eric

2017-11-01

Natural and artificial small-scale swimmers may often self-propel in environments subject to complex geometrical constraints. While most past theoretical work on low-Reynolds number locomotion addressed idealised geometrical situations, not much is known on the motion of swimmers in heterogeneous environments. We investigate theoretically and numerically the behaviour of a single spherical micro-swimmer located in an infinite, periodic body-centred cubic lattice consisting of rigid inert spheres of the same size as the swimmer. We uncover a surprising and complex phase diagram of qualitatively different trajectories depending on the lattice packing density and swimming actuation strength. These results are then rationalised using hydrodynamic theory. In particular we show that the far-field nature of the swimmer (pusher vs. puller) governs the behaviour even at high volume fractions. ERC Grant PhyMeBa (682754, EL); JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) (17H00853, TI).

Physiological environment induce quick response - slow exhaustion reactions

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Noriko eHiroi

2011-09-01

Full Text Available In vivo environments are highly crowded and inhomogeneous, which may affect reaction processes in cells. In this study we examined the effects of intracellular crowding and an inhomogeneity on the behavior of in vivo reactions by calculating the spectral dimension (ds, which can be translated into the reaction rate function. We compared estimates of anomaly parameters obtained from Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS data with fractal dimensions derived from Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM image analysis. FCS analysis indicated that the anomalous property was linked to physiological structure. Subsequent TEM analysis provided an in vivo illustration; soluble molecules likely percolate between intracellular clusters, which are constructed in a self-organizing manner. We estimated a cytoplasmic spectral dimension ds to be 1.39 ± 0.084. This result suggests that in vivo reactions initially run faster than the same reactions in a homogeneous space; this conclusion is consistent with the anomalous character indicated by FCS analysis. We further showed that these results were compatible with our Monte-Carlo simulation in which the anomalous behavior of mobile molecules correlates with the intracellular environment, leading to description as a percolation cluster, as demonstrated using TEM analysis. We confirmed by the simulation that the above-mentioned in vivo like properties are different from those of homogeneously concentrated environments. Additionally, simulation results indicated that crowding level of an environment might affect diffusion rate of reactant. Such knowledge of the spatial information enables us to construct realistic models for in vivo diffusion and reaction systems.

SCAFFOLDING IN CONNECTIVIST MOBILE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

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Ozlem OZAN

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Social networks and mobile technologies are transforming learning ecology. In this changing learning environment, we find a variety of new learner needs. The aim of this study is to investigate how to provide scaffolding to the learners in connectivist mobile learning environment: Ø to learn in a networked environment, Ø to manage their networked learning process, Ø to interact in a networked society, and Ø to use the tools belonging to the network society. The researcher described how Vygotsky's “scaffolding” concept, Berge’s “learner support” strategies, and Siemens’ “connectivism” approach can be used together to satisfy mobile learners’ needs. A connectivist mobile learning environment was designed for the research, and the research was executed as a mixed-method study. Data collection tools were Facebook wall entries, personal messages, chat records; Twitter, Diigo, blog entries; emails, mobile learning management system statistics, perceived learning survey and demographic information survey. Results showed that there were four major aspects of scaffolding in connectivist mobile learning environment as type of it, provider of it, and timing of it and strategies of it. Participants preferred mostly social scaffolding, and then preferred respectively, managerial, instructional and technical scaffolding. Social scaffolding was mostly provided by peers, and managerial scaffolding was mostly provided by instructor. Use of mobile devices increased the learner motivation and interest. Some participants stated that learning was more permanent by using mobile technologies. Social networks and mobile technologies made it easier to manage the learning process and expressed a positive impact on perceived learning.

Co-Evolution of Social Learning and Evolutionary Preparedness in Dangerous Environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Lindström, Björn; Selbing, Ida; Olsson, Andreas

2016-01-01

Danger is a fundamental aspect of the lives of most animals. Adaptive behavior therefore requires avoiding actions, objects, and environments associated with danger. Previous research has shown that humans and non-human animals can avoid such dangers through two types of behavioral adaptions, (i) genetic preparedness to avoid certain stimuli or actions, and (ii) social learning. These adaptive mechanisms reduce the fitness costs associated with danger but still allow flexible behavior. Despite the empirical prevalence and importance of both these mechanisms, it is unclear when they evolve and how they interact. We used evolutionary agent-based simulations, incorporating empirically based learning mechanisms, to clarify if preparedness and social learning typically both evolve in dangerous environments, and if these mechanisms generally interact synergistically or antagonistically. Our simulations showed that preparedness and social learning often co-evolve because they provide complimentary benefits: genetic preparedness reduced foraging efficiency, but resulted in a higher rate of survival in dangerous environments, while social learning generally came to dominate the population, especially when the environment was stochastic. However, even in this case, genetic preparedness reliably evolved. Broadly, our results indicate that the relationship between preparedness and social learning is important as it can result in trade-offs between behavioral flexibility and safety, which can lead to seemingly suboptimal behavior if the evolutionary environment of the organism is not taken into account.

Work environment and health in the fishing fleet: results from a survey amongst Norwegian fishers.

Science.gov (United States)

Sønvisen, Signe Annie; Thorvaldsen, Trine; Holmen, Ingunn M; Øren, Anita

Fishery is an important industry in Norway. Compared to other industries the number of occupational accidents is high. Fishers are exposed to a range of unfavourable working conditions, but there is limited research-based knowledge about the interaction between working conditions and health. The aim of the article is to study fishers' 1) work-related exposures and health complaints, 2) sickness absence, 3) subjective perception of health status and 3) level of job satisfaction. Data was gathered through a telephone survey. The survey included questions about exposure, health complaints, health status and job satisfaction. Methods for analysis were descriptive statistics and relative risk (RR). A total of 830 full-time fishers were interviewed. Coastal fishers are more exposed to factors such as climatic (RR = 1.546, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.311-1.823), ergonomic (RR = 1.539, 95% CI 1.293-1.833) and processing (RR = 2.119, 95% CI 1.847-2.431), compared to other groups of fishers. Coastal fishers are also more likely to experience musculoskeletal problems (RR = 1.623, 95% CI 1.139-2.314), sickness absence (RR = 1.337, 95% CI 1.081-1.655) and to perceive their own health as poor (RR = 2.155, 95% CI 1.119-4.152). Purse sein fishers are less exposed to climatic (RR = 0.777, 95% CI 0.633-0.953), ergonomic (RR = 0.617, 95% CI 0.487-0.783) and processing (RR = 0.292, 95% CI 0.221-0.385) factors and are less likely to experience sickness absence (RR = 0.635, 95% CI 0.479-0.840). In terms of job satisfaction, 99% if our respondents enjoy their work. Norwegian fishers have a high degree of job satisfaction and overall good health. Challenges regarding health complaints and exposures in the working environment were identified. This may be helpful for the industry, showing where measures should be implemented to prevent exposure, illness and sickness absence. Findings may also serve as a basis for future intervention studies aimed at promoting healthy working environments

ENVIRONMENTS and EOL

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pafilis, Evangelos; Pletscher-Frankild, Sune; Schnetzer, Julia

2015-01-01

are needed to facilitate large-scale analyses. Therefore, we developed ENVIRONMENTS, a fast dictionary-based tagger capable of identifying Environment Ontology (ENVO) terms in text. We evaluate the accuracy of the tagger on a new manually curated corpus of 600 Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) species pages. We use...... the tagger to associate taxa with environments by tagging EOL text content monthly, and integrate the results into the EOL to disseminate them to a broad audience of users. Availability and implementation: The software and the corpus are available under the open-source BSD and the CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0 licenses...

Integrating analytical procedures into the continuous audit environment

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Eija Koskivaara

2006-12-01

Full Text Available The objective of this article is to show how to embed analytical procedures (AP into the continuous audit environment. The audit environment is discussed in terms of audit phases, where the role of APs is to obtain evidence for auditors. The article addresses different characteristics of AP techniques. Furthermore, the article compares four different AP techniques to form expectations for the monthly sales values. Two of these techniques are simple quantitative ones, such as the previous year’s value and the mean of the previous years’ values. The advanced quantitative techniques are regression analysis and an artificial neural network (ANN-based model. In a comparison of the prediction results, the regression analysis and ANN model turn out to be equally good. The development of these kinds of tools is crucial to the continuous audit environment, especially when most data transmission between companies and their stakeholders are moved into the electronic form.

Assessment of radiation awareness training in immersive virtual environments

Science.gov (United States)

Whisker, Vaughn E., III

assessment phase of the experiment. The CAVE supplied an activity-based training environment where learners were able to use a virtual survey meter to explore the properties of radiation sources and the effects of time and distance on radiation exposure. Once the training stage had ended, the subjects completed an assessment activity where they were asked to complete four tasks in a simulated radiation environment in the CAVE, which was designed to provide a more authentic assessment than simply testing understanding using a quiz. After the practicum, the subjects completed a post-test. Survey information was also collected to assist the researcher with interpretation of the collected data. Response to the training was measured by completion time, radiation exposure received, successful completion of the four tasks in the practicum, and scores on the post-test. These results were combined to create a radiation awareness score. In addition, observational data was collected as the subjects completed the tasks. The radiation awareness scores of the control group and the group that received supplemental training in the virtual environment were compared. T-tests showed that the effect of the supplemental training was not significant; however, calculation of the effect size showed a small-to-medium effect of the training. The CAVE group received significantly less radiation exposure during the assessment activity, and they completed the activities on an average of one minute faster. These results indicate that the training was effective, primarily for instilling radiation sensitivity. Observational data collected during the assessment supports this conclusion. The training environment provided by the immersive virtual reality recreated a radiation environment where learners could apply knowledge they had been taught by computer-based training. Activity-based training has been shown to be a more effective way to transfer skills because of the similarity between the training

Transuranic elements in marine environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bowen, V.T.

1975-04-01

Transuranic elements are present in marine environments as a result of worldwide fallout, close-in fallout, the SNAP-9A burnup, pipeline disposal of reprocessing wastes, neutron capture by uranium in one-pass cooling-water reactors and the B-52 crash in Thule, Greenland. Distributions and movements of 239 Pu, 240 Pu, 241 Am, and 137 Cs from these introductions in the Atlantic Ocean are being studied partly because the transuranic elements themselves are geochemically interesting, partly because they appear to serve as tracers for specific oceanographic processes, and partly because of concern that man is faced with the problem of disposal of rapidly increasing amounts of transuranics as radioactive waste, and that we must be able, soon, to predict the fates and the effects of those amounts that reach the coastal waters or the deep oceans. Plutonium and americium are widely distributed in the oceans as a result of man's activities. Both appear to be more mobile than expected, and Pu shows little behavior in these environments that had been predicted from laboratory studies. Although their associations with biological material seem to be most striking for rooted plants or Sargassum, it is too premature to dismiss the possibility of their being a real hazard to marine life

Passive thermal management system for downhole electronics in harsh thermal environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shang, Bofeng; Ma, Yupu; Hu, Run; Yuan, Chao; Hu, Jinyan; Luo, Xiaobing

2017-01-01

Highlights: • A passive thermal management system is proposed for downhole electronics. • Electronics temperature can be maintained within 125 °C for six-hour operating time. • The result shows potential application for the logging tool in oil and gas industry. - Abstract: The performance and reliability of downhole electronics will degrade in high temperature environments. Various active cooling techniques have been proposed for thermal management of such systems. However, these techniques require additional power input, cooling liquids and other moving components which complicate the system. This study presents a passive Thermal Management System (TMS) for downhole electronics. The TMS includes a vacuum flask, Phase Change Material (PCM) and heat pipes. The thermal characteristics of the TMS is evaluated experimentally. The results show that the system maintains equipment temperatures below 125 °C for a six-hour operating period in a 200 °C downhole environment, which will effectively protect the downhole electronics.

Show-Bix &

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2014-01-01

The anti-reenactment 'Show-Bix &' consists of 5 dias projectors, a dial phone, quintophonic sound, and interactive elements. A responsive interface will enable the Dias projectors to show copies of original dias slides from the Show-Bix piece ”March på Stedet”, 265 images in total. The copies are...

Bacterial contribution to iodine volatilization in the environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amachi, S; Kasahara, M; Fujii, T [Chiba Univ., Dept. of Bioresources Chemistry, Matsudo, Chiba (Japan); Muramatsu, Y [National Inst. of Radiological Sciences, Chiba (Japan)

2003-09-01

The roles of microorganisms in iodine volatilization from the environment were studied. More than 100 bacterial strains were isolated from various environments such as soils, seawater and marine sediments, and were examined their capacities for volatilizing iodine. Approximately 40% of these bacteria showed significant capacities for volatilizing iodine. Gas chromatographic determinations revealed that the chemical species of gaseous iodine is methyl iodide (CH{sub 3}I). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S ribosomal DNA showed that these 'iodine-volatilizing bacteria' are widely distributed through the bacterial domain. The iodide-methylating reaction was mediated by an enzyme protein with S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) as the methyl donor. We then estimated bacterial contribution to iodine volatilization from soils. Iodine in soils was volatilized mainly as CH{sub 3}I. CH{sub 3}I emission was enhanced in the presence of glucose or yeast extract, but was inhibited by autoclaving of soils. Little CH{sub 3}I was produced under anaerobic conditions. Furthermore, the addition of streptomycin and tetracycline, antibiotics which inhibit bacterial growth, strongly inhibited CH{sub 3}I emission, while a fungal inhibitor cycloheximide caused little effect. These results suggest that iodine in soils is volatilized as CH{sub 3}I mainly by the action of aerobic soil bacteria. Similar experiment was carried out by using sea water samples. The emission of iodine from sea waters occurred biologically, and bacterial (and also other microbial) contribution was confirmed. Our results suggest that iodine is methylated and volatilized into the atmosphere as a result of bacterial activities. Since bacteria are so abundant and widespread in the environments, they may significantly contribute to global iodine volatilization. This indicates that if {sup 129}I would be released from nuclear facilities, weapons testing or ground storage of nuclear wastes, the pathway of volatilization by

Kinesiological Analysis of Stationary Running Performed in Aquatic and Dry Land Environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lima Alberton Cristine

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the present study was to analyze the electromyographic (EMG signals of the rectus femoris (RF, vastus lateralis (VL, semitendinosus (ST and short head of the biceps femoris (BF during the performance of stationary running at different intensities in aquatic and dry land environments. The sample consisted of 12 female volunteers who performed the stationary running exercise in aquatic and dry land environments at a submaximal cadence (80 beats·min-1 controlled by a metronome and at maximal velocity, with EMG signal measurements from the RF, VL, ST and BF muscles. The results showed a distinct pattern between environments for each muscle examined. For the submaximal cadence of 80 beats·min-1, there was a reduced magnitude of the EMG signal in the aquatic environment, except for the ST muscle, the pattern of which was similar in both environments. In contrast to the submaximal cadence, the pattern of the EMG signal from all of the muscles showed similar magnitudes for both environments and phases of movement at maximal velocity, except for the VL muscle. Therefore, the EMG signals from the RF, VL, ST and BF muscles of women during stationary running had different patterns of activation over the range of motion between aquatic and dry land environments for different intensities. Moreover, the neuromuscular responses of the lower limbs were optimized by an increase in intensity from submaximal cadence to maximal velocity.

Complex Genotype by Environment interactions and changing genetic architectures across thermal environments in the Australian field cricket, Teleogryllus oceanicus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dowling Damian K

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Biologists studying adaptation under sexual selection have spent considerable effort assessing the relative importance of two groups of models, which hinge on the idea that females gain indirect benefits via mate discrimination. These are the good genes and genetic compatibility models. Quantitative genetic studies have advanced our understanding of these models by enabling assessment of whether the genetic architectures underlying focal phenotypes are congruent with either model. In this context, good genes models require underlying additive genetic variance, while compatibility models require non-additive variance. Currently, we know very little about how the expression of genotypes comprised of distinct parental haplotypes, or how levels and types of genetic variance underlying key phenotypes, change across environments. Such knowledge is important, however, because genotype-environment interactions can have major implications on the potential for evolutionary responses to selection. Results We used a full diallel breeding design to screen for complex genotype-environment interactions, and genetic architectures underlying key morphological traits, across two thermal environments (the lab standard 27°C, and the cooler 23°C in the Australian field cricket, Teleogryllus oceanicus. In males, complex three-way interactions between sire and dam parental haplotypes and the rearing environment accounted for up to 23 per cent of the scaled phenotypic variance in the traits we measured (body mass, pronotum width and testes mass, and each trait harboured significant additive genetic variance in the standard temperature (27°C only. In females, these three-way interactions were less important, with interactions between the paternal haplotype and rearing environment accounting for about ten per cent of the phenotypic variance (in body mass, pronotum width and ovary mass. Of the female traits measured, only ovary mass for crickets

Electrophysiological measurement of interest during walking in a simulated environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Takeda, Yuji; Okuma, Takashi; Kimura, Motohiro; Kurata, Takeshi; Takenaka, Takeshi; Iwaki, Sunao

2014-09-01

A reliable neuroscientific technique for objectively estimating the degree of interest in a real environment is currently required in the research fields of neuroergonomics and neuroeconomics. Toward the development of such a technique, the present study explored electrophysiological measures that reflect an observer's interest in a nearly-real visual environment. Participants were asked to walk through a simulated shopping mall and the attractiveness of the shopping mall was manipulated by opening and closing the shutters of stores. During the walking task, participants were exposed to task-irrelevant auditory probes (two-stimulus oddball sequence). The results showed a smaller P2/early P3a component of task-irrelevant auditory event-related potentials and a larger lambda response of eye-fixation-related potentials in an interesting environment (i.e., open-shutter condition) than in a boring environment (i.e., closed-shutter condition); these findings can be reasonably explained by supposing that participants allocated more attentional resources to visual information in an interesting environment than in a boring environment, and thus residual attentional resources that could be allocated to task-irrelevant auditory probes were reduced. The P2/early P3a component and the lambda response may be useful measures of interest in a real visual environment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Feasibility of in situ beta ray measurements in underwater environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Hye Min; Park, Ki Hyun; Kang, Sung Won; Joo, Koan Sik

2017-09-01

We describe an attempt at the development of an in situ detector for beta ray measurements in underwater environment. The prototype of the in situ detector is based on a CaF2: Eu scintillator using crystal light guide and Si photomultiplier. Tests were conducted using various reference sources for evaluating the linearity and stability of the detector in underwater environment. The system is simple and stable for long-term monitoring, and consumes low power. We show here an effective detection distance of 7 mm and a 2.273 MeV end-point energy spectrum of 90 Sr/ 90 Y when using the system underwater. The results demonstrate the feasibility of in situ beta ray measurements in underwater environment and can be applied for designing an in situ detector for radioactivity measurement in underwater environment. The in situ detector can also have other applications such as installation on the marine monitoring platform and quantitative analysis of radionuclides. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fatigue Performance of SFPSC under Hot-Wet Environments and Cyclic Bending Loads

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shanshan Luo

2018-01-01

Full Text Available A new structural material named “steel fiber polymer structural concrete (SFPSC” with features of both high strength and high toughness was developed by this research group and applied to the bridge superstructures in the hot-wet environments. In order to investigate the fatigue performance and durability of SFPSC under hot-wet environments, the environment and fatigue load uncoupling method and the coupling action of environment and fatigue load were used or developed. Three-point bending fatigue experiments with uncoupling action of environments and cyclic loads were carried out for SFPSC specimens which were pretreated under hot-wet environments, and the experiments with the coupling action of environments and cyclic loads for SFPSC specimens were carried out under hot-wet environments. Then, the effects of hot-wet environments and the experimental methods on the fatigue mechanism of SFPSC material were discussed, and the environmental fatigue equations of SFPSC material under coupling and uncoupling action of hot-wet environments and cyclic bending loads were established. The research results show that the fatigue limits of SFPSC under the coupling action of the environments and cyclic loads were lower about 15%. The proposed fatigue equations could be used to estimate the fatigue lives and fatigue limits of SFPSC material.

Sensor Systems for Vehicle Environment Perception in a Highway Intelligent Space System

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Xiaofeng; Gao, Feng; Xu, Guoyan; Ding, Nenggen; Cai, Yao; Ma, Mingming; Liu, Jianxing

2014-01-01

A Highway Intelligent Space System (HISS) is proposed to study vehicle environment perception in this paper. The nature of HISS is that a space sensors system using laser, ultrasonic or radar sensors are installed in a highway environment and communication technology is used to realize the information exchange between the HISS server and vehicles, which provides vehicles with the surrounding road information. Considering the high-speed feature of vehicles on highways, when vehicles will be passing a road ahead that is prone to accidents, the vehicle driving state should be predicted to ensure drivers have road environment perception information in advance, thereby ensuring vehicle driving safety and stability. In order to verify the accuracy and feasibility of the HISS, a traditional vehicle-mounted sensor system for environment perception is used to obtain the relative driving state. Furthermore, an inter-vehicle dynamics model is built and model predictive control approach is used to predict the driving state in the following period. Finally, the simulation results shows that using the HISS for environment perception can arrive at the same results detected by a traditional vehicle-mounted sensors system. Meanwhile, we can further draw the conclusion that using HISS to realize vehicle environment perception can ensure system stability, thereby demonstrating the method's feasibility. PMID:24834907

Social learning in a high-risk environment: incomplete disregard for the 'minnow that cried pike' results in culturally transmitted neophobia.

Science.gov (United States)

Crane, Adam L; Mathiron, Anthony G E; Ferrari, Maud C O

2015-08-07

Many prey species rely on conspecifics to gather information about unknown predation threats, but little is known about the role of varying environmental conditions on the efficacy of social learning. We examined predator-naive minnows that had the opportunity to learn about predators from experienced models that were raised in either a low- or high-risk environment. There were striking differences in behaviour among models; high-risk models showed a weaker response to the predator cue and became neophobic in response to the control cue (a novel odour, NO). Observers that were previously paired with low-risk models acquired a strong antipredator response only to the predator cue. However, observers that interacted with high-risk models, displayed a much weaker response to the predator odour and a weak neophobic response to the NO. This is the first study reporting such different outcomes of social learning under different environmental conditions, and suggests high-risk environments promote the cultural transmission of neophobia more so than social learning. If such a transfer can be considered similar to secondary traumatization in humans, culturally transmitted neophobia in minnows may provide a good model system for understanding more about the social ecology of fear disorders. © 2015 The Author(s).

Factors Influencing Learning Environments in an Integrated Experiential Program

Science.gov (United States)

Koci, Peter

The research conducted for this dissertation examined the learning environment of a specific high school program that delivered the explicit curriculum through an integrated experiential manner, which utilized field and outdoor experiences. The program ran over one semester (five months) and it integrated the grade 10 British Columbian curriculum in five subjects. A mixed methods approach was employed to identify the students' perceptions and provide richer descriptions of their experiences related to their unique learning environment. Quantitative instruments were used to assess changes in students' perspectives of their learning environment, as well as other supporting factors including students' mindfulness, and behaviours towards the environment. Qualitative data collection included observations, open-ended questions, and impromptu interviews with the teacher. The qualitative data describe the factors and processes that influenced the learning environment and give a richer, deeper interpretation which complements the quantitative findings. The research results showed positive scores on all the quantitative measures conducted, and the qualitative data provided further insight into descriptions of learning environment constructs that the students perceived as most important. A major finding was that the group cohesion measure was perceived by students as the most important attribute of their preferred learning environment. A flow chart was developed to help the researcher conceptualize how the learning environment, learning process, and outcomes relate to one another in the studied program. This research attempts to explain through the consideration of this case study: how learning environments can influence behavioural change and how an interconnectedness among several factors in the learning process is influenced by the type of learning environment facilitated. Considerably more research is needed in this area to understand fully the complexity learning

Urban environment and well-being: cross-cultural studies on Perceived Residential Environment Quality Indicators (PREQIs).

Science.gov (United States)

Bonaiuto, Marino; Fornara, Ferdinando; Alves, Susana; Ferreira, Ines; Mao, Yanhui; Moffat, Eva; Piccinin, Gloria; Rahimi, Leila

2015-09-01

Architectural and environmental psychology literature has shown the importance of urban design in provoking stress feelings or enhancing well-being and quality of life. The aim of this contribution is to show the main results of a set of cross-cultural survey studies concerning the perceived quality of urban features at the neighbourhood level. A questionnaire was used including the extended or the short version of the 11 scales measuring Perceived Residential Environment Quality Indicators (PREQIs), which cover architectural, social, functional, and contextual aspects. Both versions of PREQIs showed a similar factorial structure and a good (or at least acceptable) reliability across different geographical contexts, even though some differences emerged in those countries that are more distant from the Western linguistic and cultural milieu. The development of tools like PREQIs should increase a "user-centred" vision on urban issues.

Human-Automation Cooperation for Separation Assurance in Future NextGen Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Mercer, Joey; Homola, Jeffrey; Cabrall, Christopher; Martin, Lynne; Morey, Susan; Gomez, Ashley; Prevot, Thomas

2014-01-01

A 2012 Human-In-The-Loop air traffic control simulation investigated a gradual paradigm-shift in the allocation of functions between operators and automation. Air traffic controllers staffed five adjacent high-altitude en route sectors, and during the course of a two-week experiment, worked traffic under different function-allocation approaches aligned with four increasingly mature NextGen operational environments. These NextGen time-frames ranged from near current-day operations to nearly fully-automated control, in which the ground systems automation was responsible for detecting conflicts, issuing strategic and tactical resolutions, and alerting the controller to exceptional circumstances. Results indicate that overall performance was best in the most automated NextGen environment. Safe operations were achieved in this environment for twice todays peak airspace capacity, while being rated by the controllers as highly acceptable. However, results show that sector operations were not always safe; separation violations did in fact occur. This paper will describe in detail the simulation conducted, as well discuss important results and their implications.

Displacements in organisations’ responses to the inspections of their psychosocial working environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Starheim, Liv

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to analyse how organisational activities correspond with the Working Environment Authority’s description of psychosocial working environment problems at the workplaces. Through the case study of twelve workplaces the activities are analysed focusing on the relationship...... between the Working Environment Authority’s problem descriptions after an inspection visit, and the solutions implemented by the workplace to solve the pinpointed problems. The Garbage Can mode l of decision making frames the understanding of how the workplaces decides, which activities they initiate...... as a result of the Working Environment Authority inspection. Displacement of the problem solving is suggested as a category of decision-making. The analysis shows, how the organisations choose relevant or displaced activities depended upon their agreement in the problem description, their acceptance...

The physical environment mediates male harm and its effect on selection in females.

Science.gov (United States)

Yun, Li; Chen, Patrick J; Singh, Amardeep; Agrawal, Aneil F; Rundle, Howard D

2017-07-12

Recent experiments indicate that male preferential harassment of high-quality females reduces the variance in female fitness, thereby weakening natural selection through females and hampering adaptation and purging. We propose that this phenomenon, which results from a combination of male choice and male-induced harm, should be mediated by the physical environment in which intersexual interactions occur. Using Drosophila melanogaster , we examined intersexual interactions in small and simple (standard fly vials) versus slightly more realistic (small cages with spatial structure) environments. We show that in these more realistic environments, sexual interactions are less frequent, are no longer biased towards high-quality females, and that overall male harm is reduced. Next, we examine the selective advantage of high- over low-quality females while manipulating the opportunity for male choice. Male choice weakens the viability advantage of high-quality females in the simple environment, consistent with previous work, but strengthens selection on females in the more realistic environment. Laboratory studies in simple environments have strongly shaped our understanding of sexual conflict but may provide biased insight. Our results suggest that the physical environment plays a key role in the evolutionary consequences of sexual interactions and ultimately the alignment of natural and sexual selection. © 2017 The Author(s).

Assessing the assessments: Pharmaceuticals in the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Enick, O.V.; Moore, M.M.

2007-01-01

The relatively new issue of pharmaceutical contamination of the environment offers the opportunity to explore the application of values to the construction, communication and management of risk. The still-developing regulatory policies regarding environmental contamination with pharmaceuticals provide fertile ground for the introduction of values into the definition and management of risk. In this report, we summarize the current knowledge regarding pharmaceutical contamination of the environment and discuss specific attributes of pharmaceuticals that require special consideration. We then present an analysis showing that if values are incorporated into assessing, characterizing and managing risk, the results of risk assessments will more accurately reflect the needs of various stakeholders. Originating from an acknowledgement of the inherent uncertainty and value-laden nature of risk assessment, the precautionary principle (and later, the multi-criteria, integrated risk assessment), provides a direction for further research and policy development

A comparison of random walks in dependent random environments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scheinhardt, Willem R.W.; Kroese, Dirk

We provide exact computations for the drift of random walks in dependent random environments, including $k$-dependent and moving average environments. We show how the drift can be characterized and evaluated using Perron–Frobenius theory. Comparing random walks in various dependent environments, we

Teachers’ interactions and mathematics learning within a virtual environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aline Terra Salles

2012-09-01

Full Text Available The use of information and communication technology brings new ways of enrolment and motivation of individuals. These technologies have been an important vehicle for sharing information and constitute various communities. For this reason, it is necessary analysis of learning in virtual environments. The aim of this article focuses on the analysis of teachers interactions in the environment Virtual Math Team (VMT-Chat in addressing one problem of taxicab geometry. We study learning through different forms of participation of individuals within the environment. The results shows that the identification of different types of interlocution (evaluative, interpretative, informative and negociative allows the teacher the creation of strategies to contribute with the continuity of the debate and to promote the development of mathematical ideas emerged from interlocutions. The analysis also illustrates how teachers interacted online with the use of combinatorial analysis on the metric in taxicab geometry.

Educational Outreach: The Space Science Road Show

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, N. L. J.

2002-01-01

The poster presented will give an overview of a study towards a "Space Road Show". The topic of this show is space science. The target group is adolescents, aged 12 to 15, at Dutch high schools. The show and its accompanying experiments would be supported with suitable educational material. Science teachers at schools can decide for themselves if they want to use this material in advance, afterwards or not at all. The aims of this outreach effort are: to motivate students for space science and engineering, to help them understand the importance of (space) research, to give them a positive feeling about the possibilities offered by space and in the process give them useful knowledge on space basics. The show revolves around three main themes: applications, science and society. First the students will get some historical background on the importance of space/astronomy to civilization. Secondly they will learn more about novel uses of space. On the one hand they will learn of "Views on Earth" involving technologies like Remote Sensing (or Spying), Communication, Broadcasting, GPS and Telemedicine. On the other hand they will experience "Views on Space" illustrated by past, present and future space research missions, like the space exploration missions (Cassini/Huygens, Mars Express and Rosetta) and the astronomy missions (Soho and XMM). Meanwhile, the students will learn more about the technology of launchers and satellites needed to accomplish these space missions. Throughout the show and especially towards the end attention will be paid to the third theme "Why go to space"? Other reasons for people to get into space will be explored. An important question in this is the commercial (manned) exploration of space. Thus, the questions of benefit of space to society are integrated in the entire show. It raises some fundamental questions about the effects of space travel on our environment, poverty and other moral issues. The show attempts to connect scientific with

Lacustrine Environment Reservoir Properties on Sandstone Minerals and Hydrocarbon Content: A Case Study on Doba Basin, Southern Chad

Science.gov (United States)

Sumery, N. F. Mohd; Lo, S. Z.; Salim, A. M. A.

2017-10-01

The contribution of lacustrine environment as the hydrocarbon reservoir has been widely known. However, despite its growing importance, the lacustrine petroleum geology has received far less attention than marine due to its sedimentological complexity. This study therefore aims in developing an understanding of the unique aspects of lacustrine reservoirs which eventually impacts the future exploration decisions. Hydrocarbon production in Doba Basin, particularly the northern boundary, for instance, has not yet succeeded due to the unawareness of its depositional environment. The drilling results show that the problems were due to the: radioactive sand and waxy oil/formation damage, which all are related to the lacustrine depositional environment. Detailed study of geological and petrophysical integration on wireline logs and petrographic thin sections analysis of this environment helps in distinguishing reservoir and non-reservoir areas and determining the possible mechanism causing the failed DST results. The interpretations show that the correlation of all types> of logs and rho matrix analysis are capable in identifying sand and shale bed despite of the radioactive sand present. The failure of DST results were due to the presence of arkose in sand and waxy oil in reservoir bed. This had been confirmed by the petrographic thin section analysis where the arkose has mineral twinning effect indicate feldspar and waxy oil showing bright colour under fluorescent light. Understanding these special lacustrine environment characteristics and features will lead to a better interpretation of hydrocarbon prospectivity for future exploration.

Non-classical Correlations and Quantum Coherence in Mixed Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Zheng-Da; Wei, Mei-Song; Wang, Jicheng; Zhang, Yixin; He, Qi-Liang

2018-05-01

We investigate non-classical correlations (entanglement and quantum discord) and quantum coherence for an open two-qubit system each independently coupled to a bosonic environment and a spin environment, respectively. The modulating effects of spin environment and bosonic environment are respectively explored. A relation among the quantum coherence, quantum discord and classical correlation is found during the sudden transition phenomenon. We also compare the case of mixed environments with that of the same environments, showing that the dynamics is dramatically changed.

On the eve of Copenhagen: Obama and the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pereon, Y.M.

2009-01-01

The author proposes a rather detailed overview of the United States posture with respect to climate change challenges on the eve of the Copenhagen conference. First, he shows how the public opinion in the United States is ambivalent and changing. Then, he outlines that the arrival of President Obama resulted in an important change for the United States environmental policy: a new team was set up and the environment protection became a priority. The author then reports the Congressional process for this policy, first through the House of Representatives, and then the Senate. He highlights the differences between agendas of firms and of environment protection organisations, and between that of the Copenhagen conference and that of the US government

The effect of PBL and film showing, frequent quizzes and lecture-based method on short-term performance of dentistry students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sadr Lahijani M.S

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Advocates have proposed that frequent testing increases the effectiveness of instruction by encouraging learners to study and review more often. It has also been argued that in this way, student errors can be identified and corrected earlier and good performance can be recognized, leading to more positive attitudes toward learning process. In problem-based learning (PBL, medical students reportedly take a more active role in learning and have better recall than students in a conventional learning environment. The hypothetical benefits of a PBL and studentbased environment and use of films in the class are the development of self-learning and problem-solving skills and enhancement of knowledge and motivation. Purpose: To examine the effect of combination of PBL method and film showing on the short-term performance of dentistry students and to compare it with lecture-based method and frequent quizzes. Methods: All students of 3 years (from 2000 till 2002 that had theoretical endodontic course (part 1 participated in this descriptive-analytic study. The scores of final examinations of this course were obtained from their files. Data were analyzed by SPSS software & ANOVA. Results: The results showed that by changing the way of learning (PBL and film showing in 2001, there was a statistical difference between scores of the students of 2000 and 2001. Also there was a statistical difference with the students’ scores in 2002- the group with frequent quizzes. Conclusion: The variables such as changing the way of learning, using different methods in teaching, showing scientific films in class or, as a whole, active learning have significant effects on the results of final examination. Key Words: PBL, lecture based method, education, frequent quizzes

Work environment and school dropout

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Claus D.; Andersen, Johan Hviid; Lund, Thomas

Aim The aim of this presentation is to examine the possible impact of work environment (and especially psychosocial work environment) on school dropout. The questions raised are: to what extent do psychosocial work environment and especially the social relations between young apprentices...... and their colleagues and managers play a role in dropping out of upper secondary education? Methods A cohort of 3058 adolescents born in 1989 and a cohort of approximately 2000 young adults born in 1983 are used to examine the associations between work environment and subsequent dropout in upper secondary educational...... indicated that ‘being treated badly by superior’ was part of the reason for doing so. Further analyses show that reporting repetitive and monotonous work tasks increases the risk of dropping out (OR: 1.74) and that reporting bad working climate at ones work place increases the risk of considering...

THE GEOLOGICAL CONDITIONING OF HYDROCARBON EMISSIONS RESULTING FROM SOIL CONTAMINATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ewa J. Lipińska

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Synchronization economy of oil mining and mineral waters is associated with planning the functions of spa treatment. Environmental protection of the spa areas also applies to preserve their technical and cultural heritage. This article attempts to determine the places of natural and anthropogenic hydrocarbon pollution substances. Their presence in the soil affects the quality of the environment. As a result, maps are produced showing directions of research: (1 the natural background of biodiversity, and (2 potential anthropogenic pollution. They are assessed in the context of the health and human life, protection of the environment and the possibility of damage to the environment. Research is conducted in communes of the status of the spa – for special protection.

Automatic laser beam alignment using blob detection for an environment monitoring spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Khidir, Jarjees; Chen, Youhua; Anderson, Gary

2013-05-01

This paper describes a fully automated system to align an infra-red laser beam with a small retro-reflector over a wide range of distances. The component development and test were especially used for an open-path spectrometer gas detection system. Using blob detection under OpenCV library, an automatic alignment algorithm was designed to achieve fast and accurate target detection in a complex background environment. Test results are presented to show that the proposed algorithm has been successfully applied to various target distances and environment conditions.

Polish Version of the Neighbourhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS-Poland).

Science.gov (United States)

Jaśkiewicz, Michał; Besta, Tomasz

2016-11-04

The characteristics of built environments are the subject of intense consideration in the search for solutions to promote wellbeing and a higher quality of life among the inhabitants of cities. Walkability, defined as the extent to which the built environment is friendly to living and fulfilling the needs of the area, has become an important concept in sustainable urban design, public health and environmental psychology. This study systematically adapted the Neighbourhood Environment Walkability Scale (NEWS) for Poland, and evaluated the construct validity aspects of the adapted version among Polish adults. A total sample of 783 participants from a TriCity (Trójmiasto) agglomeration completed the adapted version of the NEWS. Smaller extracted samples of the participants also completed wellbeing related scales, including self-efficacy, local identity and distance to city centre measures. It was expected that various districts of Gdańsk would differ in terms of walkability. The confirmatory factor analysis showed satisfactory goodness-of-fit statistics and factor loadings corresponding to the proposed original factor structure. According to the predictions, the NEWS subscales correlated with the self-efficacy, local identity and wellbeing related measures. In addition, the comparisons between the neighbourhoods of Gdańsk also showed a predictable pattern of results. Overall, the NEWS demonstrated satisfactory measurement properties, and may be useful in the evaluation of the built environment in Poland.

Motion direction estimation based on active RFID with changing environment

Science.gov (United States)

Jie, Wu; Minghua, Zhu; Wei, He

2018-05-01

The gate system is used to estimate the direction of RFID tags carriers when they are going through the gate. Normally, it is difficult to achieve and keep a high accuracy in estimating motion direction of RFID tags because the received signal strength of tag changes sharply according to the changing electromagnetic environment. In this paper, a method of motion direction estimation for RFID tags is presented. To improve estimation accuracy, the machine leaning algorithm is used to get the fitting function of the received data by readers which are deployed inside and outside gate respectively. Then the fitted data are sampled to get the standard vector. We compare the stand vector with template vectors to get the motion direction estimation result. Then the corresponding template vector is updated according to the surrounding environment. We conducted the simulation and implement of the proposed method and the result shows that the proposed method in this work can improve and keep a high accuracy under the condition of the constantly changing environment.

Controlling social stress in virtual reality environments.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dwi Hartanto

Full Text Available Virtual reality exposure therapy has been proposed as a viable alternative in the treatment of anxiety disorders, including social anxiety disorder. Therapists could benefit from extensive control of anxiety eliciting stimuli during virtual exposure. Two stimuli controls are studied in this study: the social dialogue situation, and the dialogue feedback responses (negative or positive between a human and a virtual character. In the first study, 16 participants were exposed in three virtual reality scenarios: a neutral virtual world, blind date scenario, and job interview scenario. Results showed a significant difference between the three virtual scenarios in the level of self-reported anxiety and heart rate. In the second study, 24 participants were exposed to a job interview scenario in a virtual environment where the ratio between negative and positive dialogue feedback responses of a virtual character was systematically varied on-the-fly. Results yielded that within a dialogue the more positive dialogue feedback resulted in less self-reported anxiety, lower heart rate, and longer answers, while more negative dialogue feedback of the virtual character resulted in the opposite. The correlations between on the one hand the dialogue stressor ratio and on the other hand the means of SUD score, heart rate and audio length in the eight dialogue conditions showed a strong relationship: r(6 = 0.91, p = 0.002; r(6 = 0.76, p = 0.028 and r(6 = -0.94, p = 0.001 respectively. Furthermore, more anticipatory anxiety reported before exposure was found to coincide with more self-reported anxiety, and shorter answers during the virtual exposure. These results demonstrate that social dialogues in a virtual environment can be effectively manipulated for therapeutic purposes.

Controlling social stress in virtual reality environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartanto, Dwi; Kampmann, Isabel L; Morina, Nexhmedin; Emmelkamp, Paul G M; Neerincx, Mark A; Brinkman, Willem-Paul

2014-01-01

Virtual reality exposure therapy has been proposed as a viable alternative in the treatment of anxiety disorders, including social anxiety disorder. Therapists could benefit from extensive control of anxiety eliciting stimuli during virtual exposure. Two stimuli controls are studied in this study: the social dialogue situation, and the dialogue feedback responses (negative or positive) between a human and a virtual character. In the first study, 16 participants were exposed in three virtual reality scenarios: a neutral virtual world, blind date scenario, and job interview scenario. Results showed a significant difference between the three virtual scenarios in the level of self-reported anxiety and heart rate. In the second study, 24 participants were exposed to a job interview scenario in a virtual environment where the ratio between negative and positive dialogue feedback responses of a virtual character was systematically varied on-the-fly. Results yielded that within a dialogue the more positive dialogue feedback resulted in less self-reported anxiety, lower heart rate, and longer answers, while more negative dialogue feedback of the virtual character resulted in the opposite. The correlations between on the one hand the dialogue stressor ratio and on the other hand the means of SUD score, heart rate and audio length in the eight dialogue conditions showed a strong relationship: r(6) = 0.91, p = 0.002; r(6) = 0.76, p = 0.028 and r(6) = -0.94, p = 0.001 respectively. Furthermore, more anticipatory anxiety reported before exposure was found to coincide with more self-reported anxiety, and shorter answers during the virtual exposure. These results demonstrate that social dialogues in a virtual environment can be effectively manipulated for therapeutic purposes.

Controlling Social Stress in Virtual Reality Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Hartanto, Dwi; Kampmann, Isabel L.; Morina, Nexhmedin; Emmelkamp, Paul G. M.; Neerincx, Mark A.; Brinkman, Willem-Paul

2014-01-01

Virtual reality exposure therapy has been proposed as a viable alternative in the treatment of anxiety disorders, including social anxiety disorder. Therapists could benefit from extensive control of anxiety eliciting stimuli during virtual exposure. Two stimuli controls are studied in this study: the social dialogue situation, and the dialogue feedback responses (negative or positive) between a human and a virtual character. In the first study, 16 participants were exposed in three virtual reality scenarios: a neutral virtual world, blind date scenario, and job interview scenario. Results showed a significant difference between the three virtual scenarios in the level of self-reported anxiety and heart rate. In the second study, 24 participants were exposed to a job interview scenario in a virtual environment where the ratio between negative and positive dialogue feedback responses of a virtual character was systematically varied on-the-fly. Results yielded that within a dialogue the more positive dialogue feedback resulted in less self-reported anxiety, lower heart rate, and longer answers, while more negative dialogue feedback of the virtual character resulted in the opposite. The correlations between on the one hand the dialogue stressor ratio and on the other hand the means of SUD score, heart rate and audio length in the eight dialogue conditions showed a strong relationship: r(6) = 0.91, p = 0.002; r(6) = 0.76, p = 0.028 and r(6) = −0.94, p = 0.001 respectively. Furthermore, more anticipatory anxiety reported before exposure was found to coincide with more self-reported anxiety, and shorter answers during the virtual exposure. These results demonstrate that social dialogues in a virtual environment can be effectively manipulated for therapeutic purposes. PMID:24671006

The importance of the social environment for physically active lifestyle: results from an international study.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stahl, T.; Rütten, A.; Nutbeam, D.; Bauman, A.; Kannas, L.; Abel, T.; Lüschen, G.; Rodríguez Diaz, J.A.; Vinck, J.; Zee, J. van der

2001-01-01

Physically active lifestyles are regularly associated with improved health and quality of life. Differences in lifestyles in society can partly be understood through the differences in the social and physical environment. This study examines the relationships between reported physical activity, and

Using 222Rn as a tracer of geophysical processes in underground environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lacerda, T.; Anjos, R. M.; Valladares, D. L.; Rizzotto, M.; Velasco, H.; Rosas, J. P. de; Ayub, J. Juri; Silva, A. A. R. da; Yoshimura, E. M.

2014-01-01

Radon levels in two old mines in San Luis, Argentina, are reported and analyzed. These mines are today used for touristic visitation. Our goal was to assess the potential use of such radioactive noble gas as tracer of geological processes in underground environments. CR-39 nuclear track detectors were used during the winter and summer seasons. The findings show that the significant radon concentrations reported in this environment are subject to large seasonal modulations, due to the strong dependence of natural ventilation on the variations of outside temperature. The results also indicate that radon pattern distribution appear as a good method to localize unknown ducts, fissures or secondary tunnels in subterranean environments

Constructivist Learning Environment During Virtual and Real Laboratory Activities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ari Widodo

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Laboratory activities and constructivism are two notions that have been playing significant roles in science education. Despite common beliefs about the importance of laboratory activities, reviews reported inconsistent results about the effectiveness of laboratory activities. Since laboratory activities can be expensive and take more time, there is an effort to introduce virtual laboratory activities. This study aims at exploring the learning environment created by a virtual laboratory and a real laboratory. A quasi experimental study was conducted at two grade ten classes at a state high school in Bandung, Indonesia. Data were collected using a questionnaire called Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES before and after the laboratory activities. The results show that both types of laboratories can create constructivist learning environments. Each type of laboratory activity, however, may be stronger in improving certain aspects compared to the other. While a virtual laboratory is stronger in improving critical voice and personal relevance, real laboratory activities promote aspects of personal relevance, uncertainty and student negotiation. This study suggests that instead of setting one type of laboratory against the other, lessons and follow up studies should focus on how to combine both types of laboratories to support better learning.

Students’ digital learning environments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Caviglia, Francesco; Dalsgaard, Christian; Davidsen, Jacob

2018-01-01

used tools in the students’ digital learning environments are Facebook, Google Drive, tools for taking notes, and institutional systems. Additionally, the study shows that the tools meet some very basic demands of the students in relation to collaboration, communication, and feedback. Finally...

Interactions between lean management and the psychosocial work environment in a hospital setting - a multi-method study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ulhassan, Waqar; von Thiele Schwarz, Ulrica; Thor, Johan; Westerlund, Hugo

2014-10-22

As health care struggles to meet increasing demands with limited resources, Lean has become a popular management approach. It has mainly been studied in relation to health care performance. The empirical evidence as to how Lean affects the psychosocial work environment has been contradictory. This study aims to study the interaction between Lean and the psychosocial work environment using a comprehensive model that takes Lean implementation information, as well as Lean theory and the particular context into consideration. The psychosocial work environment was measured twice with the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) employee survey during Lean implementations on May-June 2010 (T1) (n = 129) and November-December 2011 (T2) (n = 131) at three units (an Emergency Department (ED), Ward-I and Ward-II). Information based on qualitative data analysis of the Lean implementations and context from a previous paper was used to predict expected change patterns in the psychosocial work environment from T1 to T2 and subsequently compared with COPSOQ-data through linear regression analysis. Between T1 and T2, qualitative information showed a well-organized and steady Lean implementation on Ward-I with active employee participation, a partial Lean implementation on Ward-II with employees not seeing a clear need for such an intervention, and deterioration in already implemented Lean activities at ED, due to the declining interest of top management. Quantitative data analysis showed a significant relation between the expected and actual results regarding changes in the psychosocial work environment. Ward-I showed major improvements especially related to job control and social support, ED showed a major decline with some exceptions while Ward-II also showed improvements similar to Ward-I. The results suggest that Lean may have a positive impact on the psychosocial work environment given that it is properly implemented. Also, the psychosocial work environment may even

Self-organized Learning Environments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dalsgaard, Christian; Mathiasen, Helle

2007-01-01

system actively. The two groups used the system in their own way to support their specific activities and ways of working. The paper concludes that self-organized learning environments can strengthen the development of students’ academic as well as social qualifications. Further, the paper identifies......The purpose of the paper is to discuss the potentials of using a conference system in support of a project based university course. We use the concept of a self-organized learning environment to describe the shape of the course. In the paper we argue that educational technology, such as conference...... systems, has a potential to support students’ development of self-organized learning environments and facilitate self-governed activities in higher education. The paper is based on an empirical study of two project groups’ use of a conference system. The study showed that the students used the conference...

Prediction of software operational reliability using testing environment factor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Hoan Sung

1995-02-01

Software reliability is especially important to customers these days. The need to quantify software reliability of safety-critical systems has been received very special attention and the reliability is rated as one of software's most important attributes. Since the software is an intellectual product of human activity and since it is logically complex, the failures are inevitable. No standard models have been established to prove the correctness and to estimate the reliability of software systems by analysis and/or testing. For many years, many researches have focused on the quantification of software reliability and there are many models developed to quantify software reliability. Most software reliability models estimate the reliability with the failure data collected during the test assuming that the test environments well represent the operation profile. User's interest is on the operational reliability rather than on the test reliability, however. The experiences show that the operational reliability is higher than the test reliability. With the assumption that the difference in reliability results from the change of environment, testing environment factor comprising the aging factor and the coverage factor are defined in this work to predict the ultimate operational reliability with the failure data. It is by incorporating test environments applied beyond the operational profile into testing environment factor Test reliability can also be estimated with this approach without any model change. The application results are close to the actual data. The approach used in this thesis is expected to be applicable to ultra high reliable software systems that are used in nuclear power plants, airplanes, and other safety-critical applications

Physics in Screening Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Certik, Ondrej

In the current study, we investigated atoms in screening environments like plasmas. It is common practice to extract physical data, such as temperature and electron densities, from plasma experiments. We present results that address inherent computational difficulties that arise when the screening approach is extended to include the interaction between the atomic electrons. We show that there may arise an ambiguity in the interpretation of physical properties, such as temperature and charge density, from experimental data due to the opposing effects of electron-nucleus screening and electron-electron screening. The focus of the work, however, is on the resolution of inherent computational challenges that appear in the computation of two-particle matrix elements. Those enter already at the Hartree-Fock level. Furthermore, as examples of post Hartree-Fock calculations, we show second-order Green's function results and many body perturbation theory results of second order. A self-contained derivation of all necessary equations has been included. The accuracy of the implementation of the method is established by comparing standard unscreened results for various atoms and molecules against literature for Hartree-Fock as well as Green's function and many body perturbation theory. The main results of the thesis are presented in the chapter called Screened Results, where the behavior of several atomic systems depending on electron-electron and electron-nucleus Debye screening was studied. The computer code that we have developed has been made available for anybody to use. Finally, we present and discuss results obtained for screened interactions. We also examine thoroughly the computational details of the calculations and particular implementations of the method.

Preparation and mechanism analysis of an environment-friendly maize seed coating agent.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Defang; Fan, Zhao; Tian, Xu; Wang, Wenjin; Zhou, Mingchun; Li, Haochuan

2018-06-01

Traditional seed coating agents often contain toxic ingredients, which contaminate the environment and threaten human health. This paper expounds a method of preparing a novel environment-friendly seed coating agent for maize and researches its mechanism of action. The natural polysaccharide polymer, which is the main active ingredient of this environment-friendly seed coating agent, has the characteristics of innocuity and harmlessness, and it can replace the toxic ingredients used in traditional seed coating agents. This environment-friendly seed coating agent for maize was mainly made up of the natural polysaccharide polymer and other additives. The field trials results showed that the control efficacy of Helminthosporium maydis came to 93.72%, the anti-feeding rate of cutworms came to 81.29%, and the maize yield was increased by 17.75%. Besides, the LD 50 value (half the lethal dose in rats) of this seed coating agent was 10 times higher than that of the traditional seed coating agents. This seed coating agent could improve the activity of plant protective enzymes (peroxidase, catalase and superoxidase dismutase) and increase the chlorophyll content. This seed coating agent has four characteristics of disease prevention, desinsectization, increasing yield and safety. Results of mechanism analyses showed that this seed coating agent could enhance disease control effectiveness by improving plant protective enzymes activity and increase maize yield by improving chlorophyll content. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT, SELF-EFFICACY, AND ATTITUDE IMPACT VOCATIONAL STUDENTS’ ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTION?

OpenAIRE

Saptono, Ari; Purwana E.S., Dedi

2016-01-01

This research aims to examine the impact of learning environment, self-efficacy, and an entrepreneurial attitude towards entrepreneurial intention of Vocational High School students in DKI Jakarta. This study applied survey method with causal approach. Sampling techniques is random cluster sampling stages whose result in sample of 310 respondents. Research data was collected by questionnaires and then analyzed with path analysis. Research results empirically show that: a) Students entrepreneu...

The sociability of computer-supported collaborative learning environments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kreijns, C.J.; Kirschner, P.A.; Jochems, W.M.G.

2002-01-01

There is much positive research on computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments in asynchronous distributed learning groups (DLGs). There is also research that shows that contemporary CSCL environments do not completely fulfil expectations on supporting interactive group learning,

To the micro-climatic condition influence upon the environment pollution during exploitation of being oxidized mineral deposits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akhmedzhanov, T.K.; Al'mukhambetova, Sh.K.; Bajramov, I.M.

1998-01-01

Conducted researches showed dependence of environment pollution rate under exploration of being oxidized mineral deposits from number of meteorological futures of season changes. Zones of gases spreading in atmosphere from sources of pollution in dependence from micro-climatic conditions are estimated. Results can be used during preventive measures projecting for environment in deposits districts. (author)

Metagenomes Reveal Global Distribution of Bacterial Steroid Catabolism in Natural, Engineered, and Host Environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johannes Holert

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Steroids are abundant growth substrates for bacteria in natural, engineered, and host-associated environments. This study analyzed the distribution of the aerobic 9,10-seco steroid degradation pathway in 346 publically available metagenomes from diverse environments. Our results show that steroid-degrading bacteria are globally distributed and prevalent in particular environments, such as wastewater treatment plants, soil, plant rhizospheres, and the marine environment, including marine sponges. Genomic signature-based sequence binning recovered 45 metagenome-assembled genomes containing a majority of 9,10-seco pathway genes. Only Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria were identified as steroid degraders, but we identified several alpha- and gammaproteobacterial lineages not previously known to degrade steroids. Actino- and proteobacterial steroid degraders coexisted in wastewater, while soil and rhizosphere samples contained mostly actinobacterial ones. Actinobacterial steroid degraders were found in deep ocean samples, while mostly alpha- and gammaproteobacterial ones were found in other marine samples, including sponges. Isolation of steroid-degrading bacteria from sponges confirmed their presence. Phylogenetic analysis of key steroid degradation proteins suggested their biochemical novelty in genomes from sponges and other environments. This study shows that the ecological significance as well as taxonomic and biochemical diversity of bacterial steroid degradation has so far been largely underestimated, especially in the marine environment.

An approach to accidents modeling based on compounds road environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandes, Ana; Neves, Jose

2013-04-01

The most common approach to study the influence of certain road features on accidents has been the consideration of uniform road segments characterized by a unique feature. However, when an accident is related to the road infrastructure, its cause is usually not a single characteristic but rather a complex combination of several characteristics. The main objective of this paper is to describe a methodology developed in order to consider the road as a complete environment by using compound road environments, overcoming the limitations inherented in considering only uniform road segments. The methodology consists of: dividing a sample of roads into segments; grouping them into quite homogeneous road environments using cluster analysis; and identifying the influence of skid resistance and texture depth on road accidents in each environment by using generalized linear models. The application of this methodology is demonstrated for eight roads. Based on real data from accidents and road characteristics, three compound road environments were established where the pavement surface properties significantly influence the occurrence of accidents. Results have showed clearly that road environments where braking maneuvers are more common or those with small radii of curvature and high speeds require higher skid resistance and texture depth as an important contribution to the accident prevention. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Valentini, Chiara

2017-01-01

The term environment refers to the internal and external context in which organizations operate. For some scholars, environment is defined as an arrangement of political, economic, social and cultural factors existing in a given context that have an impact on organizational processes and structures....... For others, environment is a generic term describing a large variety of stakeholders and how these interact and act upon organizations. Organizations and their environment are mutually interdependent and organizational communications are highly affected by the environment. This entry examines the origin...... and development of organization-environment interdependence, the nature of the concept of environment and its relevance for communication scholarships and activities....

The development and application of a sub-channel code in ocean environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Pan; Shan, Jianqiang; Xiang, Xiong; Zhang, Bo; Gou, Junli; Zhang, Bin

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A sub-channel code named ATHAS/OE is developed for nuclear reactors in ocean environment. • ATHAS/OE is verified by another modified sub-channel code based on COBRA-IV. • ATHAS/OE is used to analyze thermal hydraulic of a typical SMR in heaving and rolling motion. • Calculation results show that ocean condition affect the thermal hydraulic of a reactor significantly. - Abstract: An upgraded version of ATHAS sub-channel code ATHAS/OE is developed for the investigation of the thermal hydraulic behavior of nuclear reactor core in ocean environment with consideration of heaving and rolling motion effect. The code is verified by another modified sub-channel code based on COBRA-IV and used to analyze the thermal hydraulic characteristics of a typical SMR under heaving and rolling motion condition. The calculation results show that the heaving and rolling motion affect the thermal hydraulic behavior of a reactor significantly.

Retinal shows its true colours

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Coughlan, N. J.A.; Adamson, B. D.; Gamon, L.

2015-01-01

Retinal is one of Nature's most important and widespread chromophores, exhibiting remarkable versatility in its function and spectral response, depending on its protein environment. Reliable spectroscopic and photochemical data for the isolated retinal molecule are essential for calibrating theor...

Predictors of Adolescents' Pornography: Level of Sexual Behavior and Family Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahbobe Ghavidel-Heidari

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Objective: To investigate on relationship among family environment, pornography and sexual behavior ofadolescents. Pornography may start from early youth along with starting of sexual behavior. Therefore itis important that the role of family factors in pornography be studied.Materials and methods: The sample includes 362 students who were chosen by Proportional Clustermethod from the first grade of High School (14 and 15 years old. The research instruments wereSchaefer’s Family Environment Scales (FES, a researcher made Sexual Behaviors Scale (SBS, andPornography Scale (PS.Results: The results indicate that there is a positive significant relationship between sexual BehaviorsScale (SBS and pornography and there is a positive significant relationship between levels of coldnessin family relationship and adolescents’ Freedom. Also the result of stepwise regression shows, in thefirst step, level of sexual behavior is the strongest variable that predicts .42 of variance of adolescent'spornography. In the second step, Coldness in family relationship determines .05 of variances ofpornography of adolescents. Gender differentiates shows that boys' pornography is more than for girls.Conclusion: Therefore coldness in family relationship is related with pornography and sexual behavior ofadolescents.

A study on environment public spending

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wellington Bueno

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This text deals with the importance of studying environment public spending. Initially, we discuss the concept of environment public spending and how it became a public accounting function. Later, an analysis of several studies on the theme was carried out to promote a discussion on the environment public funds allocated by governments. Next, a discussion on the relevance of the theme and the need for further studies is presented, since investments on environment management still need to be better allocated and duly dimensioned. Currently, transparence in public spending has promoted the realization of more studies, leading to a more careful observation of environmental issues by the society, showing that these issues still need more attention from the goverment.

Kidnapping Detection and Recognition in Previous Unknown Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang Tian

2017-01-01

Full Text Available An unaware event referred to as kidnapping makes the estimation result of localization incorrect. In a previous unknown environment, incorrect localization result causes incorrect mapping result in Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM by kidnapping. In this situation, the explored area and unexplored area are divided to make the kidnapping recovery difficult. To provide sufficient information on kidnapping, a framework to judge whether kidnapping has occurred and to identify the type of kidnapping with filter-based SLAM is proposed. The framework is called double kidnapping detection and recognition (DKDR by performing two checks before and after the “update” process with different metrics in real time. To explain one of the principles of DKDR, we describe a property of filter-based SLAM that corrects the mapping result of the environment using the current observations after the “update” process. Two classical filter-based SLAM algorithms, Extend Kalman Filter (EKF SLAM and Particle Filter (PF SLAM, are modified to show that DKDR can be simply and widely applied in existing filter-based SLAM algorithms. Furthermore, a technique to determine the adapted thresholds of metrics in real time without previous data is presented. Both simulated and experimental results demonstrate the validity and accuracy of the proposed method.

BIM Based Virtual Environment for Fire Emergency Evacuation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bin Wang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Recent building emergency management research has highlighted the need for the effective utilization of dynamically changing building information. BIM (building information modelling can play a significant role in this process due to its comprehensive and standardized data format and integrated process. This paper introduces a BIM based virtual environment supported by virtual reality (VR and a serious game engine to address several key issues for building emergency management, for example, timely two-way information updating and better emergency awareness training. The focus of this paper lies on how to utilize BIM as a comprehensive building information provider to work with virtual reality technologies to build an adaptable immersive serious game environment to provide real-time fire evacuation guidance. The innovation lies on the seamless integration between BIM and a serious game based virtual reality (VR environment aiming at practical problem solving by leveraging state-of-the-art computing technologies. The system has been tested for its robustness and functionality against the development requirements, and the results showed promising potential to support more effective emergency management.

BIM based virtual environment for fire emergency evacuation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Bin; Li, Haijiang; Rezgui, Yacine; Bradley, Alex; Ong, Hoang N

2014-01-01

Recent building emergency management research has highlighted the need for the effective utilization of dynamically changing building information. BIM (building information modelling) can play a significant role in this process due to its comprehensive and standardized data format and integrated process. This paper introduces a BIM based virtual environment supported by virtual reality (VR) and a serious game engine to address several key issues for building emergency management, for example, timely two-way information updating and better emergency awareness training. The focus of this paper lies on how to utilize BIM as a comprehensive building information provider to work with virtual reality technologies to build an adaptable immersive serious game environment to provide real-time fire evacuation guidance. The innovation lies on the seamless integration between BIM and a serious game based virtual reality (VR) environment aiming at practical problem solving by leveraging state-of-the-art computing technologies. The system has been tested for its robustness and functionality against the development requirements, and the results showed promising potential to support more effective emergency management.

Learning by Doing Approach in the Internet Environment to Improve the Teaching Efficiency of Information Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, X.-S.; Xie, Hua

This paper presents a learning-by-doing method in the Internet environment to enhance the results of information technology education by experimental work in the classroom of colleges. In this research, an practical approach to apply the "learning by doing" paradigm in Internet-based learning, both for higher educational environments and life-long training systems, taking into account available computer and network resources, such as blogging, podcasting, social networks, wiki etc. We first introduce the different phases in the learning process, which aimed at showing to the readers that the importance of the learning by doing paradigm, which is not implemented in many Internet-based educational environments. Secondly, we give the concept of learning by doing in the different perfective. Then, we identify the most important trends in this field, and give a real practical case for the application of this approach. The results show that the attempt methods are much better than traditional teaching methods.

Sources and proxy potential of long chain alkyl diols in lacustrine environments

Science.gov (United States)

Rampen, Sebastiaan W.; Datema, Mariska; Rodrigo-Gámiz, Marta; Schouten, Stefan; Reichart, Gert-Jan; Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap S.

2014-11-01

Long chain 1,13- and 1,15-alkyl diols form the base of a number of recently proposed proxies used for climate reconstruction. However, the sources of these lipids and environmental controls on their distribution are still poorly constrained. We have analyzed the long chain alkyl diol (LCD) composition of cultures of ten eustigmatophyte species, with three species from different families grown at various temperatures, to identify the effect of species composition and growth temperature on the LCD distribution. The results were compared with the LCD distribution of sixty-two lake surface sediments, and with previously reported LCD distributions from marine environments. The different families within the Eustigmatophyceae show distinct LCD patterns, with the freshwater family Eustigmataceae most closely resembling LCD distributions in both marine and lake environments. Unlike the other two eustigmatophyte families analyzed (Monodopsidaceae and Goniochloridaceae), C28 and C30 1,13-alkyl diols and C30 and C32 1,15-alkyl diols are all relatively abundant in the family Eustigmataceae, while the mono-unsaturated C32 1,15-alkyl diol was below detection limit. In contrast to the marine environment, LCD distributions in lakes did not show a clear relationship with temperature. The Long chain Diol Index (LDI), a proxy previously proposed for sea surface temperature reconstruction, showed a relatively weak correlation (R2 = 0.33) with mean annual air temperature used as an approximation for annual mean surface temperature of the lakes. A much-improved correlation (R2 = 0.74, p-value cultures of the family Eustigmataceae, suggesting that algae belonging to this family have an important role as a source for LCDs in lacustrine environments, or, alternatively, that the main sources of LCDs are similarly affected by temperature as the Eustigmataceae. The results suggest that LCDs may have the potential to be applicable as a palaeotemperature proxy for lacustrine environments

Patients’ experience of important factors in the healthcare environment in oncology care

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helle Wijk

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Background and objective. The aim of this study was to describe what factors of the healthcare environment are perceived as being important to patients in oncology care. Design. A qualitative design was adopted using focus group interviews. Setting and participants. The sample was 11 patients with different cancer diagnoses in an oncology ward at a university hospital in west Sweden. Results. Analysis of the patients’ perceptions of the environment indicated a complex entity comprising several aspects. These came together in a structure consisting of three main categories: safety, partnership with the staff, and physical space. The care environment is perceived as a complex entity, made up of several physical and psychosocial aspects, where the physical factors are subordinated by the psychosocial factors. It is clearly demonstrated that the patients’ primary desire was a psychosocial environment where they were seen as a unique person; the patients wanted opportunities for good encounters with staff, fellow patients, and family members, supported by a good physical environment; and the patients valued highly a place to withdraw and rest. Conclusions. This study presents those attributes that are valued by cancer patients as crucial and important for the support of their well-being and functioning. The results show that physical aspects were subordinate to psychosocial factors, which emerged strongly as being the most important in a caring environment.

A Longitudinal Analysis of the Influence of the Neighborhood Environment on Recreational Walking within the Neighborhood: Results from RESIDE.

Science.gov (United States)

Christian, Hayley; Knuiman, Matthew; Divitini, Mark; Foster, Sarah; Hooper, Paula; Boruff, Bryan; Bull, Fiona; Giles-Corti, Billie

2017-07-12

There is limited longitudinal evidence confirming the role of neighborhood environment attributes in encouraging people to walk more or if active people simply choose to live in activity-friendly neighborhoods. Natural experiments of policy changes to create more walkable communities provide stronger evidence for a causal effect of neighborhood environments on residents' walking. We aimed to investigate longitudinal associations between objective and perceived neighborhood environment measures and neighborhood recreational walking. We analyzed longitudinal data collected over 8 yr (four surveys) from the RESIDential Environments (RESIDE) Study (Perth, Australia, 2003-2012). At each time point, participants reported the frequency and total minutes of recreational walking/week within their neighborhood and neighborhood environment perceptions. Objective measures of the neighborhood environment were generated using a Geographic Information System (GIS). Local recreational walking was influenced by objectively measured access to a medium-/large-size park, beach access, and higher street connectivity, which was reduced when adjusted for neighborhood perceptions. In adjusted models, positive perceptions of access to a park and beach, higher street connectivity, neighborhood esthetics, and safety from crime were independent determinants of increased neighborhood recreational walking. Local recreational walking increased by 9 min/wk (12% increase in frequency) for each additional perceived neighborhood attribute present. Our findings provide urban planners and policy makers with stronger causal evidence of the positive impact of well-connected neighborhoods and access to local parks of varying sizes on local residents' recreational walking and health. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP823.

Neighbouring chimpanzee communities show different preferences in social grooming behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

van Leeuwen, Edwin J C; Cronin, Katherine A; Haun, Daniel B M; Mundry, Roger; Bodamer, Mark D

2012-11-07

Grooming handclasp (GHC) behaviour was originally advocated as the first evidence of social culture in chimpanzees owing to the finding that some populations engaged in the behaviour and others do not. To date, however, the validity of this claim and the extent to which this social behaviour varies between groups is unclear. Here, we measured (i) variation, (ii) durability and (iii) expansion of the GHC behaviour in four chimpanzee communities that do not systematically differ in their genetic backgrounds and live in similar ecological environments. Ninety chimpanzees were studied for a total of 1029 h; 1394 GHC bouts were observed between 2010 and 2012. Critically, GHC style (defined by points of bodily contact) could be systematically linked to the chimpanzee's group identity, showed temporal consistency both within and between groups, and could not be accounted for by the arm-length differential between partners. GHC has been part of the behavioural repertoire of the chimpanzees under study for more than 9 years (surpassing durability criterion) and spread across generations (surpassing expansion criterion). These results strongly indicate that chimpanzees' social behaviour is not only motivated by innate predispositions and individual inclinations, but may also be partly cultural in nature.

The redefined environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hermelin, Michel

1992-01-01

Although it seems an audacity to try to redefine the environment, the current interpretation of the concept of natural environment in Colombia makes necessary that task, with the purpose of arriving at the same time to a focus but realist and useful for those who should keep it in mind in the planning and in the taking of decisions. The definition of effective environment for most of the Colombians and diffused by entities like the Inderena it corresponds to a partial vision of the national reality. It is necessary to show to the country that that version is no-alone incomplete but dangerous, just as they have checked it the catastrophes of the last years that caused many kill and lost, fortunately the tendency of the last years on the part of some planners has been the one of conferring to the threats and the mineral resources the importance that it deserve. God willing that tendency be returns the denominator common of the whole studies dedicated to the ordination of the territory, so much urban as rural. This work recaptures and wide concepts that were presented previously by the author in several conferences and publications. The work understands a revision of the evolution of the environment concept in the first place in Colombia. They are made some observations next about the necessity of keeping in mind the geosciences in the use of the natural environment and are it finishes with the way to integrate those in the process of physical planning that it receives the name of environmental planning universally

Space radiation environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garrett, H.B.

1998-01-01

Coupled with the increasing concern over trapped radiation effects on microelectronics, the availability of new data, long term changes in the Earth's magnetic field, and observed variations in the trapped radiation fluxes have generated the need for better, more comprehensive tools for modeling and predicting the Earth's trapped radiation environment and its effects on space systems. The objective of this report is to describe the current status of those efforts and review methods for attacking the issues associated with modeling the trapped radiation environment in a systematic, practical fashion. The ultimate goal will be to point the way to increasingly better methods of testing, designing, and flying reliable microelectronic systems in the Earth's radiation environment. The review will include a description of the principal models of the trapped radiation environment currently available--the AE8 and AP8 models. Recent results rom radiation experiments on spacecraft such as CRRES, SAMPEX, and CLEMENTINE will then be described. (author)

External built residential environment characteristics that affect mental health of adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Ochodo, Charles; Ndetei, D M; Moturi, W N; Otieno, J O

2014-10-01

External built residential environment characteristics include aspects of building design such as types of walls, doors and windows, green spaces, density of houses per unit area, and waste disposal facilities. Neighborhoods that are characterized by poor quality external built environment can contribute to psychosocial stress and increase the likelihood of mental health disorders. This study investigated the relationship between characteristics of external built residential environment and mental health disorders in selected residences of Nakuru Municipality, Kenya. External built residential environment characteristics were investigated for 544 residents living in different residential areas that were categorized by their socioeconomic status. Medically validated interview schedules were used to determine mental health of residents in the respective neighborhoods. The relationship between characteristics of the external built residential environment and mental health of residents was determined by multivariable logistic regression analyses and chi-square tests. The results show that walling materials used on buildings, density of dwelling units, state of street lighting, types of doors, states of roofs, and states of windows are some built external residential environment characteristics that affect mental health of adult males and females. Urban residential areas that are characterized by poor quality external built environment substantially expose the population to daily stressors and inconveniences that increase the likelihood of developing mental health disorders.

Air ion concentrations in various urban outdoor environments

Science.gov (United States)

Ling, Xuan; Jayaratne, Rohan; Morawska, Lidia

2010-06-01

Atmospheric ions are produced by many natural and anthropogenic sources and their concentrations vary widely between different environments. There is very little information on their concentrations in different types of urban environments, how they compare across these environments and their dominant sources. In this study, we measured airborne concentrations of small ions, particles and net particle charge at 32 different outdoor sites in and around a major city in Australia and identified the main ion sources. Sites were classified into seven groups as follows: park, woodland, city centre, residential, freeway, power lines and power substation. Generally, parks were situated away from ion sources and represented the urban background value of about 270 ions cm -3. Median concentrations at all other groups were significantly higher than in the parks. We show that motor vehicles and power transmission systems are two major ion sources in urban areas. Power lines and substations constituted strong unipolar sources, while motor vehicle exhaust constituted strong bipolar sources. The small ion concentration in urban residential areas was about 960 cm -3. At sites where ion sources were co-located with particle sources, ion concentrations were inhibited due to the ion-particle attachment process. These results improved our understanding on air ion distribution and its interaction with particles in the urban outdoor environment.

Silence and table manners: when environments activate norms.

Science.gov (United States)

Joly, Janneke F; Stapel, Diederik A; Lindenberg, Siegwart M

2008-08-01

Two studies tested the conditions under which an environment (e.g., library, restaurant) raises the relevance of environment-specific social norms (e.g., being quiet, using table manners). As hypothesized, the relevance of such norms is raised when environments are goal relevant ("I am going there later") and when they are humanized with people or the remnants of their presence (e.g., a glass of wine on a table). Two studies show that goal-relevant environments and humanized environments raise the perceived importance of norms (Study 1) and the intention to conform to norms (Study 2). Interestingly, in both studies, these effects reach beyond norms related to the environments used in the studies.

Transparency Trade-offs for a 3-channel Controller Revealed by the Bounded Environment Passivity Method

OpenAIRE

Willaert, Bert; Corteville, Brecht; Reynaerts, Dominiek; Van Brussel, Hendrik; Vander Poorten, Emmanuel

2010-01-01

In this paper, the Bounded Environment Passivity method [1] is applied to a 3-channel controller. This method enables the design of teleoperation controllers that show passive behaviour for interactions with a bounded range of environments. The resulting tuning guidelines, derived analytically, provide interesting tuning flexibility, which allows to focus on different aspects of transparency. As telesurgery is the motivation behind this work, the focus lies on correctly r...

Environment-Friendly Control of Pear Scab and Rust Using Lime Sulfur

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ju Hoon Cha

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Pear scab and rust are the major diseases causing severe epidemics in organic cultivation of pear trees. Incidences of pear scab and rust were compared in organically managed plots and conventionally managed plots to obtain optimum application schedule of environment-friendly control agents in organically managed plots. Organically cultural practice with 10 time-applications of lime sulfur and Bordeaux mixture showed higher than 40% of control efficacies of pear scab and rust compared to conventionally cultural practice. Organically cultural practice with 8 time-applications of lime sulfur considering weather condition showed higher than 30% of control efficacies of pear scab compared to conventionally cultural practice. The results suggest that proper application of environment-friendly control agents such as lime sulfur considering weather condition will enable effective control of the major diseases for organic cultivation of pear.

Jump2Health Website™ for Head Start parents to promote a healthy home environment: Results from formative research.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurajada, Navya; Reed, Debra B; Taylor, Ashlee L

2017-12-13

Background: In US, approximately 23% of children between the ages of 2-5 years are overweight or obese. Parents need access to information to create healthy home environments for obesity prevention, yet participation for in-person education programs is challenging. Web-based interventions are promising educational tools due to 24/7 availability. However, information is limited on their development and evaluation. Design and Methods: This study reports on a rigorous development process that included six focus group discussions (FGD) with stakeholders (three FGD each with parents and teachers) to assess education needs and inform the development of the Jump2Health Website ™ by a multidisciplinary team. After development, the Website was evaluated by telephone interviews with stakeholders (five parents and six teachers) and reviewed by an expert panel of five Registered Dietitians. Results: Twenty Head Start parents and 22 Head Start teachers participated in the FGD. To address the needs identified by these stakeholders, the Website was designed to include components that were enabling and motivating, such as descriptions of health benefits by achieving the desired behaviours, short videos on easy meal preparation, and tip sheets on how to achieve healthy behaviours in easy, economical ways. Stakeholder evaluation of the Website indicated that the information was helpful, easy to use, and would be beneficial for parents. Conclusions: The development of Jump2Health Website ™ was strengthened by FGD with stakeholders that assessed educational needs. Interviews with stakeholders and an expert panel review showed that the Website may be an effective educational method to teach parents about healthy behaviours related to obesity prevention.

Jump2Health Website™ for Head Start parents to promote a healthy home environment: Results from formative research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Navya Gurajada

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Background: In US, approximately 23% of children between the ages of 2-5 years are overweight or obese. Parents need access to information to create healthy home environments for obesity prevention, yet participation for in-person education programs is challenging. Web-based interventions are promising educational tools due to 24/7 availability. However, information is limited on their development and evaluation. Design and Methods: This study reports on a rigorous development process that included six focus group discussions (FGD with stakeholders (three FGD each with parents and teachers to assess education needs and inform the development of the Jump2Health Website™ by a multidisciplinary team. After development, the Website was evaluated by telephone interviews with stakeholders (five parents and six teachers and reviewed by an expert panel of five Registered Dietitians. Results: Twenty Head Start parents and 22 Head Start teachers participated in the FGD. To address the needs identified by these stakeholders, the Website was designed to include components that were enabling and motivating, such as descriptions of health benefits by achieving the desired behaviours, short videos on easy meal preparation, and tip sheets on how to achieve healthy behaviours in easy, economical ways. Stakeholder evaluation of the Website indicated that the information was helpful, easy to use, and would be beneficial for parents. Conclusions: The development of Jump2Health Website™ was strengthened by FGD with stakeholders that assessed educational needs. Interviews with stakeholders and an expert panel review showed that the Website may be an effective educational method to teach parents about healthy behaviours related to obesity prevention.

Students’ digital learning environments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Caviglia, Francesco; Dalsgaard, Christian; Davidsen, Jacob

2018-01-01

The objective of the paper is to examine the nature of students’ digital learning environments to understand the interplay of institutional systems and tools that are managed by the students themselves. The paper is based on a study of 128 students’ digital learning environments. The objectives...... used tools in the students’ digital learning environments are Facebook, Google Drive, tools for taking notes, and institutional systems. Additionally, the study shows that the tools meet some very basic demands of the students in relation to collaboration, communication, and feedback. Finally...... of the study are 1) to provide an overview of tools for students’ study activities, 2) to identify the most used and most important tools for students and 3) to discover which activities the tools are used for. The empirical study reveals that the students have a varied use of digital media. Some of the most...

High-rise Buildings versus Outdoor Thermal Environment in Chongqing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin-sha Wang

2007-10-01

Full Text Available This paper gives a brief description of the over quick urbanization sinceChongqing, one of the biggest cities in China, has been a municipality directly under theCentral Government in 1997, excessive development and exceeding increase of high-risebuildings because of its special geographical position which finally leads to the worseningof the urban outdoor thermal environment. Then, this paper makes a bright balance to thefield measurement and simulated results of the wind speed field, temperature field of onemultifunctional high-rise building in Chongqing university located in the city center, andthe contrasted results validate the correctness of CFD in the outdoor thermal environmentalsimulation, expose the disadvantages of high-rise buildings on the aspects of blocking thewind field, decreasing wind speed which results in accumulation of the air-conditioningheat revolving around and periscian region where sunshine can not rip into. Finally, inorder to improve the urban outdoor thermal environment near the high-rise buildingsespecially for the angle of natural ventilation, this paper simulates the wind environment indifferent architectural compositions and architectural layouts by CFD, and the simulatedresults show that freestyle and tower buildings which can guarantee the wind speed andtake the air-conditioning heat away are much suitable and reasonable for the specialChongqing geography. These conclusions can also be used as a reference in othermountain cities, especially for the one with a great number of populations.

A Mobile Sensor Network System for Monitoring of Unfriendly Environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Guangming; Zhou, Yaoxin; Ding, Fei; Song, Aiguo

2008-11-14

Observing microclimate changes is one of the most popular applications of wireless sensor networks. However, some target environments are often too dangerous or inaccessible to humans or large robots and there are many challenges for deploying and maintaining wireless sensor networks in those unfriendly environments. This paper presents a mobile sensor network system for solving this problem. The system architecture, the mobile node design, the basic behaviors and advanced network capabilities have been investigated respectively. A wheel-based robotic node architecture is proposed here that can add controlled mobility to wireless sensor networks. A testbed including some prototype nodes has also been created for validating the basic functions of the proposed mobile sensor network system. Motion performance tests have been done to get the positioning errors and power consumption model of the mobile nodes. Results of the autonomous deployment experiment show that the mobile nodes can be distributed evenly into the previously unknown environments. It provides powerful support for network deployment and maintenance and can ensure that the sensor network will work properly in unfriendly environments.

E-learning environment as intelligent tutoring system

Science.gov (United States)

Nagyová, Ingrid

2017-07-01

The development of computers and artificial intelligence theory allow their application in the field of education. Intelligent tutoring systems reflect student learning styles and adapt the curriculum according to their individual needs. The building of intelligent tutoring systems requires not only the creation of suitable software, but especially the search and application of the rules enabling ICT to individually adapt the curriculum. The main idea of this paper is to attempt to specify the rules for dividing the students to systematically working students and more practically or pragmatically inclined students. The paper shows that monitoring the work of students in e-learning environment, analysis of various approaches to educational materials and correspondence assignments show different results for the defined groups of students.

Persistence of innovation in unstable environments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Suarez, Diana Valeria

2014-01-01

of the environment impact on the type of profitable innovations, and past innovations might not be suitable for the new environment. As a result, firm's innovative behavior might change, which means that the firm's set of decisions about engaging in the seek for innovations or not and, if so, the set of investments...... during 1998-2006, which coincides with a period of macroeconomic instability. Results suggest that persistence has to be analyzed in terms of a dynamic firm's innovative behavior - regardless of its results - and how it allows the firm to accumulate competences and resources, which increases the odds...... of successfully responding to changes in the environment and continuing to innovate....

Dynamic assessment of urban economy-environment-energy system using system dynamics model: A case study in Beijing.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Desheng; Ning, Shuang

2018-07-01

Economic development, accompanying with environmental damage and energy depletion, becomes essential nowadays. There is a complicated and comprehensive interaction between economics, environment and energy. Understanding the operating mechanism of Energy-Environment-Economy model (3E) and its key factors is the inherent part in dealing with the issue. In this paper, we combine System Dynamics model and Geographic Information System to analyze the energy-environment-economy (3E) system both temporally and spatially, which explicitly explore the interaction of economics, energy, and environment and effects of the key influencing factors. Beijing is selected as a case study to verify our SD-GIS model. Alternative scenarios, e.g., current, technology, energy and environment scenarios are explored and compared. Simulation results shows that, current scenario is not sustainable; technology scenario is applicable to economic growth; environment scenario maintains a balanced path of development for long term stability. Policy-making insights are given based on our results and analysis. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Worksite environment physical activity and healthy food choices: measurement of the worksite food and physical activity environment at four metropolitan bus garages

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gerlach Anne F

2007-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The present research describes a measure of the worksite environment for food, physical activity and weight management. The worksite environment measure (WEM instrument was developed for the Route H Study, a worksite environmental intervention for weight gain prevention in four metro transit bus garages in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Methods Two trained raters visited each of the four bus garages and independently completed the WEM. Food, physical activity and weight management-related items were observed and recorded on a structured form. Inter-rater reliability was computed at the item level using a simple percentage agreement. Results The WEM showed high inter-rater reliability for the number and presence of food-related items. All garages had vending machines, microwaves and refrigerators. Assessment of the physical activity environment yielded similar reliability for the number and presence/absence of fitness items. Each garage had a fitness room (average of 4.3 items of fitness equipment. All garages had at least one stationary bike and treadmill. Three garages had at least one weighing scale available. There were no designated walking areas inside or outside. There were on average Conclusion The WEM is a reliable measure of the worksite nutrition, physical activity, and weight management environment that can be used to assess changes in the work environment.

Human-inspired sound environment recognition system for assistive vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

González Vidal, Eduardo; Fredes Zarricueta, Ernesto; Auat Cheein, Fernando

2015-02-01

Objective. The human auditory system acquires environmental information under sound stimuli faster than visual or touch systems, which in turn, allows for faster human responses to such stimuli. It also complements senses such as sight, where direct line-of-view is necessary to identify objects, in the environment recognition process. This work focuses on implementing human reaction to sound stimuli and environment recognition on assistive robotic devices, such as robotic wheelchairs or robotized cars. These vehicles need environment information to ensure safe navigation. Approach. In the field of environment recognition, range sensors (such as LiDAR and ultrasonic systems) and artificial vision devices are widely used; however, these sensors depend on environment constraints (such as lighting variability or color of objects), and sound can provide important information for the characterization of an environment. In this work, we propose a sound-based approach to enhance the environment recognition process, mainly for cases that compromise human integrity, according to the International Classification of Functioning (ICF). Our proposal is based on a neural network implementation that is able to classify up to 15 different environments, each selected according to the ICF considerations on environment factors in the community-based physical activities of people with disabilities. Main results. The accuracy rates in environment classification ranges from 84% to 93%. This classification is later used to constrain assistive vehicle navigation in order to protect the user during daily activities. This work also includes real-time outdoor experimentation (performed on an assistive vehicle) by seven volunteers with different disabilities (but without cognitive impairment and experienced in the use of wheelchairs), statistical validation, comparison with previously published work, and a discussion section where the pros and cons of our system are evaluated. Significance

Intelligent navigation and accurate positioning of an assist robot in indoor environments

Science.gov (United States)

Hua, Bin; Rama, Endri; Capi, Genci; Jindai, Mitsuru; Tsuri, Yosuke

2017-12-01

Intact robot's navigation and accurate positioning in indoor environments are still challenging tasks. Especially in robot applications, assisting disabled and/or elderly people in museums/art gallery environments. In this paper, we present a human-like navigation method, where the neural networks control the wheelchair robot to reach the goal location safely, by imitating the supervisor's motions, and positioning in the intended location. In a museum similar environment, the mobile robot starts navigation from various positions, and uses a low-cost camera to track the target picture, and a laser range finder to make a safe navigation. Results show that the neural controller with the Conjugate Gradient Backpropagation training algorithm gives a robust response to guide the mobile robot accurately to the goal position.

Characterization and management trends of negative and positive impacts of tourism in show caves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heros Augusto Santos Lobo

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Caves are one of the most fragile environments on Earth ’s surface, in function of physical, atmospheric and biological specificities. The natural characteristics associated with cultural aspects of local people are the reasons to tourist potential of caves. However, the tourist use of caves can generate negative impacts on the environment. This consequence happens when inappropriate procedures of planning and management of tourism are used. Negative impacts are described in this review, as also indications of management techniques to avoid, decrease or eliminate the negative consequences of tourism in caves. Positive impacts are also presented, in order to achieve a sustainable tourism in show caves. The conclusion argues that the negative impacts should not be considered as impediments to tourism in caves. It is important to know these impacts and use it as a key to get previous answers which allow to raise the sustainability of show caves.

Decoherence control in different environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paavola, J.; Maniscalco, S.

2010-01-01

We investigate two techniques for controlling decoherence, focusing on the crucial role played by the environmental spectrum. We show how environments with different spectra lead to very different dynamical behaviors. Our study clearly proves that such differences must be taken into account when designing decoherence control schemes. The two techniques we consider are reservoir engineering and quantum Zeno control. We focus on a quantum harmonic oscillator initially prepared in a nonclassical state and derive analytically its non-Markovian dynamics in the presence of different bosonic thermal environments. On the one hand, we show how, by modifying the spectrum of the environment, it is possible to prolong or reduce the life of a Schroedinger cat state. On the other hand, we study the effect of nonselective energy measurements on the degradation of quantumness of initial Fock states. In this latter case, we see that the crossover between quantum Zeno and anti-Zeno effects, discussed by Maniscalco et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 130402 (2006)], is highly sensitive to the details of the spectrum. In particular, for certain types of spectra, even very small variations of the system frequency may cause a measurement-induced acceleration of decoherence rather than its inhibition.

A Survey of Security Tools for the Industrial Control System Environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hurd, Carl M. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); McCarty, Michael V. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2017-06-12

This report details the results of a survey conducted by Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to identify existing tools which could be used to prevent, detect, mitigate, or investigate a cyber-attack in an industrial control system (ICS) environment. This report compiles a list of potentially applicable tools and shows the coverage of the tools in an ICS architecture.

Corrosion fatigue crack growth of pressure vessel welds in PWR environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bamford, W.H.; Ceschini, L.J.; Moon, D.M.

1983-01-01

The fatigue crack growth rate behavior of several pressure vessel steel welds in PWR environment is discussed. The behavior is compared with associated heat-affected zone behavior, and with comparable base metal results. The welds show different degrees of susceptibility to the environmental influence, and this is discussed in some detail, along with fractographic observations on the tested specimens

A Survey of Security Tools for the Industrial Control System Environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hurd, Carl M.; McCarty, Michael V.

2017-01-01

This report details the results of a survey conducted by Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to identify existing tools which could be used to prevent, detect, mitigate, or investigate a cyber-attack in an industrial control system (ICS) environment. This report compiles a list of potentially applicable tools and shows the coverage of the tools in an ICS architecture.

Application of Markov chains-entropy to analysis of depositional environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Men Guizhen; Shi Xiaohong; Zhao Shuzhi

1989-01-01

The paper systematically and comprehensively discussed application of Markov chains-entropy to analysis of depositional environments of the upper Carboniferous series Taiyuan Formation in Anjialing, Pingshuo open-cast mine, Shanxi. Definite geological meanings were given respectively to calculated values of transition probability matrix, extremity probability matrix, substitution matrix and the entropy. The lithologic successions of coarse-fine-coarse grained layers from bottom upwards in the coal-bearing series made up the general symmetric cyclic patterns. It was suggested that the coal-bearing strata deposited in the coal-forming environment in delta plain-littoral swamps. Quantitative study of cyclic visibility and variation of formation was conducted. The assemblage relation among stratigraphic sequences and the significance of predicting vertical change were emphasized. Results of study showed that overall analysis of Markov chains was an effective method for analysis of depositional environments of coal-bearing strata. 2 refs., 5 figs.

Trust Model to Enhance Security and Interoperability of Cloud Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Wenjuan; Ping, Lingdi

Trust is one of the most important means to improve security and enable interoperability of current heterogeneous independent cloud platforms. This paper first analyzed several trust models used in large and distributed environment and then introduced a novel cloud trust model to solve security issues in cross-clouds environment in which cloud customer can choose different providers' services and resources in heterogeneous domains can cooperate. The model is domain-based. It divides one cloud provider's resource nodes into the same domain and sets trust agent. It distinguishes two different roles cloud customer and cloud server and designs different strategies for them. In our model, trust recommendation is treated as one type of cloud services just like computation or storage. The model achieves both identity authentication and behavior authentication. The results of emulation experiments show that the proposed model can efficiently and safely construct trust relationship in cross-clouds environment.

Implementation of 3D virtual learning environment to improve students’ cognitive achievement

Science.gov (United States)

Rasim; Langi, A. Z. R.; Rosmansyah, Y.; Munir

2018-05-01

Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) has been widely used in assisting learning. This study aims to implement VLE-based learning in software engineering course. VLE provides many facilities for learning. In this research, VLE components used were presenter and quiz chair components. Evaluation results showed a significant difference from classical learning.

Halo assembly bias and the tidal anisotropy of the local halo environment

Science.gov (United States)

Paranjape, Aseem; Hahn, Oliver; Sheth, Ravi K.

2018-05-01

We study the role of the local tidal environment in determining the assembly bias of dark matter haloes. Previous results suggest that the anisotropy of a halo's environment (i.e. whether it lies in a filament or in a more isotropic region) can play a significant role in determining the eventual mass and age of the halo. We statistically isolate this effect, using correlations between the large-scale and small-scale environments of simulated haloes at z = 0 with masses between 1011.6 ≲ (m/h-1 M⊙) ≲ 1014.9. We probe the large-scale environment, using a novel halo-by-halo estimator of linear bias. For the small-scale environment, we identify a variable αR that captures the tidal anisotropy in a region of radius R = 4R200b around the halo and correlates strongly with halo bias at fixed mass. Segregating haloes by αR reveals two distinct populations. Haloes in highly isotropic local environments (αR ≲ 0.2) behave as expected from the simplest, spherically averaged analytical models of structure formation, showing a negative correlation between their concentration and large-scale bias at all masses. In contrast, haloes in anisotropic, filament-like environments (αR ≳ 0.5) tend to show a positive correlation between bias and concentration at any mass. Our multiscale analysis cleanly demonstrates how the overall assembly bias trend across halo mass emerges as an average over these different halo populations, and provides valuable insights towards building analytical models that correctly incorporate assembly bias. We also discuss potential implications for the nature and detectability of galaxy assembly bias.

Using {sup 222}Rn as a tracer of geophysical processes in underground environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lacerda, T.; Anjos, R. M. [LARA - Laboratório de Radioecologia e Alterações Ambientais, Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Av. Gal Milton Tavares de Souza, s/no, Gragoatá, 24210-346, Niterói, RJ (Brazil); Valladares, D. L.; Rizzotto, M.; Velasco, H.; Rosas, J. P. de; Ayub, J. Juri [GEA - Instituto de Matemática Aplicada San Luis (IMASL), Universidad Nacional de San Luis, CCT-San Luis CONICET, Ej. de los Andes 950, D5700HHW San Luis (Argentina); Silva, A. A. R. da; Yoshimura, E. M. [Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, P.O. Box 66318, 05314-970, São Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2014-11-11

Radon levels in two old mines in San Luis, Argentina, are reported and analyzed. These mines are today used for touristic visitation. Our goal was to assess the potential use of such radioactive noble gas as tracer of geological processes in underground environments. CR-39 nuclear track detectors were used during the winter and summer seasons. The findings show that the significant radon concentrations reported in this environment are subject to large seasonal modulations, due to the strong dependence of natural ventilation on the variations of outside temperature. The results also indicate that radon pattern distribution appear as a good method to localize unknown ducts, fissures or secondary tunnels in subterranean environments.

Determination of long-lived radionuclides in environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seki, Riki

2001-01-01

This review summarized the recent papers published after 1985, because Higuchi had written 'Radiometry in Environment' for Advanced Review in this journal, 1985. Separation, purification and measurement method of long-lived radionuclide without light elements are reported. To determine radionuclide in the environment, a pretreatment of sample such as enrichment and separation is need. An extraction chromatography and adsorbents, for example, active carbon and AMP, were developed for the above objects. For analysis of low level radionuclide, background was decreased. ICP-MS, RIMS (Resonance Ionization Mass Spectroscopy) and AMS were used to determine mass of long-lived ones. ICP-MS can measure 93 Zr, 99 Tc, 107 Pd, 129 I and 135 Cs in the radioactive waste without a chemical analysis. RIMS determined 41 Ca, 236-244 Pu, 90 Sr and 237 Np. AMS showed good results for pure beta emitter nuclides ad trace long-lived radionuclide, for example, 14 C, 10 Be, 26 Al, 36 Cl, 129 I and 236 U. Measurement method and results of 14 C, 10 Be, 26 Al, 36 Cl, 41 Ca, 63 Ni, 79 Se, 85 Kr, 99 Tc, 129 I, 237 Np and Pu were explained. (S.Y.)

It is not all bad for the grey city - A crossover study on physiological and psychological restoration in a forest and an urban environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Stigsdotter, Ulrika K; Corazon, Sus Sola; Sidenius, Ulrik; Kristiansen, Jesper; Grahn, Patrik

2017-07-01

Today, urbanization presents a challenge to urban planning with regard to creating healthy living environments. The aim of this research is to gain further knowledge of the restorativeness of a best case urban and natural environment: that is a historic down town urban environment and forest environment located in an arboretum. The study has a cross-over design where 51 (N) female university students are exposed to the two environments through both seated viewing and walking. A mixed method approach is used with both physiological measurements of blood pressure (BP) and heart rate variability (HRV) and psychological measurements of mood change and perceived restorativeness. The HRV results show no significant differences between the two environments, and both environments are found to be more physiologically restorative than being at the office or on the minibus. The results of the psychological measures indicate that the forest walk has a positive effect on mood, while the walk in the urban environment has no effect. The forest environment is also rated more highly with regard to perceived restorativeness than the urban environment. The results support the current research that shows natural environments as more restorative than urban environments. The study also adds to the ongoing debate on healthy urban planning by indicating that architectural and historical qualities may be associated with the physiological well-being of citizens. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

A model for radiological dose assessment in an urban environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, Won Tae; Kim, Eun Han; Jeong, Hyo Joon; Suh, Kyung Suk; Han, Moon Hee

2007-01-01

A model for radiological dose assessment in an urban environment, METRO-K has been developed. Characteristics of the model are as follows ; 1) mathematical structures are simple (i.e. simplified input parameters) and easy to understand due to get the results by analytical methods using experimental and empirical data, 2) complex urban environment can easily be made up using only 5 types of basic surfaces, 3) various remediation measures can be applied to different surfaces by evaluating the exposure doses contributing from each contamination surface. Exposure doses contributing from each contamination surface at a particular location of a receptor were evaluated using the data library of kerma values as a function of gamma energy and contamination surface. A kerma data library was prepared for 7 representative types of Korean urban building by extending those data given for 4 representative types of European urban buildings. Initial input data are daily radionuclide concentration in air and precipitation, and fraction of chemical type. Final outputs are absorbed dose rate in air contributing from the basic surfaces as a function of time following a radionuclide deposition, and exposure dose rate contributing from various surfaces constituting the urban environment at a particular location of a receptor. As the result of a contaminative scenario for an apartment built-up area, exposure dose rates show a distinct difference for surrounding environment as well as locations of a receptor

Roadside soils show low plant available zinc and copper concentrations.

Science.gov (United States)

Morse, Natalie; Walter, M Todd; Osmond, Deanna; Hunt, William

2016-02-01

Vehicle combustion and component wear are a major source of metal contamination in the environment, which could be especially concerning where road ditches are actively farmed. The objective of this study was to assess how site variables, namely age, traffic (vehicles day(-1)), and percent carbon (%C) affect metal accumulation in roadside soils. A soil chronosequence was established with sites ranging from 3 to 37 years old and bioavailable, or mobile, concentrations of Zinc (Zn) and Copper (Cu) were measured along major highways in North Carolina using a Mehlich III extraction. Mobile Zn and Cu concentrations were low overall, and when results were scaled via literature values to "total metal", the results were still generally lower than previous roadside studies. This could indicate farming on lands near roads would pose a low plant toxicity risk. Zinc and Cu were not correlated with annual average traffic count, but were positively correlated with lifetime traffic load (the product of site age and traffic count). This study shows an often overlooked variable, site age, should be included when considering roadside pollution accumulation. Zinc and Cu were more strongly associated with %C, than traffic load. Because vehicle combustion is also a carbon source, it is not obvious whether the metals and carbon are simply co-accumulating or whether the soil carbon in roadside soils may facilitate previously overlooked roles in sequestering metals on-site. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Correlation between Family Environment and Suicidal Ideation in University Students in China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhai, Hui; Bai, Bing; Chen, Lu; Han, Dong; Wang, Lin; Qiao, Zhengxue; Qiu, Xiaohui; Yang, Xiuxian; Yang, Yanjie

2015-01-01

Background: This study investigated the association between suicidal ideation and family environment. The sample included 5183 Chinese university students. A number of studies on suicidal ideation have focused on individuals rather than families. This paper reviews the general principles of suicidal ideation and the consequences resulting from the family environment. Methods: This study used six different colleges as the dataset, which included 2645 males and 2538 females. Students were questioned with respect to social demographics and suicidal ideation factors. The data were analyzed with factor and logistic analyses to determine the association between suicidal ideation and poor family environment. Results: The prevalence of suicidal ideation was 9.2% (476/5183). Most participants with suicidal ideation had significant similarities: they had poor family structures and relationships, their parents had unstable work, and their parents used improper parenting styles. Female students were more likely to have suicidal thoughts than male students. Conclusions: This study shows that suicidal ideation is a public health issue among Chinese university students and demonstrates the importance of considering the family environment when examining university students’ suicidal ideation. Understanding family-related suicidal ideation risk factors can help to predict and prevent suicides among university students. PMID:25633031

Nano-textured W shows improvement of thermionic emission properties

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barmina, E.V.; Serkov, A.A.; Shafeev, G.A. [General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Wave Research Center of A.M. Prokhorov, Moscow (Russian Federation); Stratakis, E. [Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas, (IESL-FORTH), Heraklion (Greece); University of Crete, Materials Science and Technology Department, Heraklion (Greece); Fotakis, C. [Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas, (IESL-FORTH), Heraklion (Greece); University of Crete, Physics Department, Heraklion (Greece); Stolyarov, V.N.; Stolyarov, I.N. [Roentgenprom, Protvino, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2012-01-15

Laser-assisted nano-texturing of W substrates cathodes via ablation in liquid environment is experimentally realized. Two laser sources are used, either a Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser or a Nd:YAG laser with pulse duration of 350 ps. Laser exposure of W results in the formation of hemi-spherical nanostructures situated on top of periodic ripples. Nano-textured thermionic W cathode demonstrates the decrease of the efficient work function by 0.3 eV compared to pristine surface. (orig.)

Innovation Environment in Small Technology-Based Companies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriela Gonçalves Silveira Fiates

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Innovation has been identified as a strategy to achieve competitive advantage, particularly in contexts of change and especially for technology-based companies – TBCs. Although the adoption of innovation strategies is not easy, small companies have an organizational environment more conducive to innovation. This article examines how managers and employees of small TBCs perceive aspects of the internal environment of innovation in the organization (culture, organizational structure, personnel and infrastructure and their suitability for the innovation process. This is a qualitative research from a multicase study on five companies located in an incubator. Data were collected through open interviews, using a semi-structured script, with one of the managers and two employees from each company. Data were analyzed from preliminary content analysis. The results showed some discrepancies between the perceptions of managers and employees about the issues investigated and their suitability for the innovation system, as well as between reality and the theoretical basis used.

Report on Results 2000

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-07-01

This report discusses work being carried out in Norway to promote energy efficiency and the production of new renewable energy. An overall review of the quantifiable results of last year's activities at national level is available. It will serve to initiate an annual reporting tradition. The report represents a step towards an ongoing process for improved targeting and management of national efforts. During the course of the year 2000, NVE has evaluated and adjusted its activities and established a system involving indicators and reporting procedures. It is also important to take notice of the long-term work being undertaken to influence people's attitudes, even though this work is difficult to assess. NVE is investing in i.a. measures aimed at children and young people. Apart from directly influencing future energy users, this investment is also having an effect due to the children's encouragement of their parents to engage in more energy and environment-friendly behaviour. Published in 2000, the IEA report ''Trends in Norwegian Stationary Energy Use'' shows that total Norwegian energy consumption per GDP is not much higher than in other IEA countries, when adjusted for cold climate and industrial structure. However, Norwegians do stand out as intensive users of electricity. The IEA report shows a reduction of 10 TWh in energy usage when compared to the projected post 1990 figures. Energy efficiency activities have contributed towards this reduction. However, the potential for a more rational use of energy in Norway is still substantial and well documented. Based on experience most enterprises could save around 10% of energy used just by making changes to their operations, i.e. without major investments. Furthermore, the potential is growing because of massive technological developments in respect of energy usage, production and distribution. With this in mind, it is necessary to take full advantage of the extensive knowledge

Some effects of a modern university educational environment informatization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. N. Noskova

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The paper analyzes the effects that occur in the process of the educational environment informatization. The following effects were analyzed: information richness, openness, individualization of learning and collaboration. Examples of educational practice, illustrating the significant changes of the university educational environment associated with the manifestation of these effects, are presented. The aim of the pilot study carried out in Herzen University was to identify the attitude to the listed effects of teachers and students who are using information and communication technology in the educational interactions. The leading method of study were a series of surveys addressed to teachers and students. Groups of questions were related to basic information effects, manifested in the educational environment of the university. The total number of the survey participants is 200 students (bachelors and masters and 100 teachers, most actively using electronic environment for research, education and professional activities. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the results showed that information richness, spatial and temporal freedom of educational interactions are demanded by students, but at the same time, the data indicated a lack of systematic pedagogical support for the information and educational activities of students. A large part of students show a high autonomy in the information educational environment, but also demands implementing individualized information and communication educational request. Students and teachers are actively using a variety of information and communication opportunities of the electronic environment, but students’ activeness in the electronic environment is largely determined by the recommendations of teachers, rather than by a free choice of educational opportunities. The participants of the educational environment acquire a significant degree of freedom in relation to the time and place of interaction with

Chaos and the (un)predictability of evolution in a changing environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Rego-Costa, Artur; Débarre, Florence; Chevin, Luis-Miguel

2018-02-01

Among the factors that may reduce the predictability of evolution, chaos, characterized by a strong dependence on initial conditions, has received much less attention than randomness due to genetic drift or environmental stochasticity. It was recently shown that chaos in phenotypic evolution arises commonly under frequency-dependent selection caused by competitive interactions mediated by many traits. This result has been used to argue that chaos should often make evolutionary dynamics unpredictable. However, populations also evolve largely in response to external changing environments, and such environmental forcing is likely to influence the outcome of evolution in systems prone to chaos. We investigate how a changing environment causing oscillations of an optimal phenotype interacts with the internal dynamics of an eco-evolutionary system that would be chaotic in a constant environment. We show that strong environmental forcing can improve the predictability of evolution by reducing the probability of chaos arising, and by dampening the magnitude of chaotic oscillations. In contrast, weak forcing can increase the probability of chaos, but it also causes evolutionary trajectories to track the environment more closely. Overall, our results indicate that, although chaos may occur in evolution, it does not necessarily undermine its predictability. © 2017 The Author(s). Evolution © 2017 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

The Built Environment and Cognitive Disorders: Results From the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study II.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yu-Tzu; Prina, A Matthew; Jones, Andy; Matthews, Fiona E; Brayne, Carol

2017-07-01

Built environment features have been related to behavior modification and might stimulate cognitive activity with a potential impact on cognitive health in later life. This study investigated cross-sectional associations between features of land use and cognitive impairment and dementia, and also explored urban and rural differences in these associations. Postcodes of the 7,505 community-based participants (aged ≥65 years) in the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study II (collected in 2008-2011) were linked to environmental data from government statistics. Multilevel logistic regression investigated associations between cognitive impairment (defined as Mini-Mental State Examination score ≤25) and dementia (Geriatric Mental Status and Automatic Geriatric Examination for Computer-Assisted Taxonomy organicity level ≥3) and land use features, including natural environment availability and land use mix, fitting interaction terms with three rural/urban categories. Data were analyzed in 2015. Associations between features of land use and cognitive impairment were not linear. After adjusting for individual-level factors and area deprivation, living in areas with high land use mix was associated with a nearly 30% decreased odds of cognitive impairment (OR=0.72, 95% CI=0.58, 0.89). This was similar, yet non-significant, for dementia (OR=0.70, 95% CI=0.46, 1.06). In conurbations, living in areas with high natural environment availability was associated with 30% reduced odds of cognitive impairment (OR=0.70, 95% CI=0.50, 0.97). Non-linear associations between features of land use and cognitive impairment were confirmed in this new cohort of older people in England. Both lack of and overload of environmental stimulation may be detrimental to cognition in later life. Copyright © 2017 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sensitivity Analysis Techniques Applied in Video Streaming Service on Eucalyptus Cloud Environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosangela Melo

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Nowdays, several streaming servers are available to provide a variety of multimedia applications such as Video on Demand in cloud computing environments. These environments have the business potential because of the pay-per-use model, as well as the advantages of easy scalability and, up-to-date of the packages and programs. This paper uses hierarchical modeling and different sensitivity analysis techniques to determine the parameters that cause the greatest impact on the availability of a Video on Demand. The results show that distinct approaches provide similar results regarding the sensitivity ranking, with specific exceptions. A combined evaluation indicates that system availability may be improved effectively by focusing on a reduced set of factors that produce large variation on the measure of interest.

Solution species of 239Pu [V] in the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rai, D.; Serne, R.J.; Swanson, J.L.

1978-01-01

Information regarding the oxidation states of Pu in environmental samples is needed for estimating its migration through the geologic media. Thermodynamic data were used to develop stability fields for different Pu species. The data indicate that in the Eh-pH range of natural aqueous environments, the dominant species of Pu is likely to be Pu[V] in relatively oxidizing environments and Pu[III] in reducing environments. Because of the lack of methods of determining Pu[V] in environmental samples containing trace concentrations of Pu, Pu[V] has not been previously identified in these samples. Plutonium [VI] is generally assumed to be the dominant species in relatively oxidizing environments. However, a combination of solvent extraction and spectrophotometric techniques used in this study show that solutions (> 10 -5 4 M Pu) in equilibrium with 239 Pu[IV] hydroxide contain Pu[V], which is in agreement with the thermodynamic predictions. Although this method could not be used conclusively with the remaining solutions ( -5 4 M Pu) contacting 239 Pu[IV] hydroxide and 239 PuO 2 , the solvent extraction and Eh-pH results are similar for all the samples suggesting the strong possibility that all samples contain Pu[V]. Thus the possibility, ignored in the past, that Pu[V] may be the dominant species in relatively oxidizing environments should be considered

Kalijodo transformation in establishment of healthy environment in Jakarta

Science.gov (United States)

Sutanto, Erik; Junadi, Purnawan

2018-03-01

A good city setting can create a healthy environment. One of the structuring of cities that can create a healthy environment is the development of public space like Green Open Space (RTH) and Child-Friendly Integrated Public Space (RPTRA) such as in Kalijodo, Jakarta, Indonesia. The objective of building a public space in Kalijodo is to restore the functioning of the green zone in the area that previously used for housing residents and prostitution businesses to increase public space in Jakarta. The purpose of this study is to describe the formation of a healthy environment and the impact felt by users of this public space. The research method used in this research is descriptive qualitative with a phenomenological approach through interview, observation and documentation. There are three types of community activities in the public sphere, such as sports, children’s playground, and relaxation. The results show that the decline in crime rates and the presence of facilities and infrastructure in time to establish a healthy environment. The construction of facilities in the public spaces changes the image of Kalijodo from the previous place that has a negative image then turned into a positive image because the environment of Kalijodo became healthy. We also find that this changing image creates a positive spirit of the surrounding community and people are generally healthier and happier.

Robustness of Visual Place Cells in Dynamic Indoor and Outdoor Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Giovannangeli

2006-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a model of visual place cells (PCs based on precise neurobiological data is presented. The robustness of the model in real indoor and outdoor environments is tested. Results show that the interplay between neurobiological modelling and robotic experiments can promote the understanding of the neural structures and the achievement of robust robot navigation algorithms. Short Term Memory (STM, soft competition and sparse coding are important for both landmark identification and computation of PC activities. The extension of the paradigm to outdoor environments has confirmed the robustness of the vision-based model and pointed to improvements in order to further foster its performance.

New Inspiring Planetarium Show Introduces ALMA to the Public

Science.gov (United States)

2009-03-01

As part of a wide range of education and public outreach activities for the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009), ESO, together with the Association of French Language Planetariums (APLF), has produced a 30-minute planetarium show, In Search of our Cosmic Origins. It is centred on the global ground-based astronomical Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) project and represents a unique chance for planetariums to be associated with the IYA2009. ESO PR Photo 09a/09 Logo of the ALMA Planetarium Show ESO PR Photo 09b/09 Galileo's first observations with a telescope ESO PR Photo 09c/09 The ALMA Observatory ESO PR Photo 09d/09 The Milky Way band ESO PR Video 09a/09 Trailer in English ALMA is the leading telescope for observing the cool Universe -- the relic radiation of the Big Bang, and the molecular gas and dust that constitute the building blocks of stars, planetary systems, galaxies and life itself. It is currently being built in the extremely arid environment of the Chajnantor plateau, at 5000 metres altitude in the Chilean Andes, and will start scientific observations around 2011. ALMA, the largest current astronomical project, is a revolutionary telescope, comprising a state-of-the-art array of 66 giant 12-metre and 7-metre diameter antennas observing at millimetre and submillimetre wavelengths. In Search of our Cosmic Origins highlights the unprecedented window on the Universe that this facility will open for astronomers. "The show gives viewers a fascinating tour of the highest observatory on Earth, and takes them from there out into our Milky Way, and beyond," says Douglas Pierce-Price, the ALMA Public Information Officer at ESO. Edited by world fulldome experts Mirage3D, the emphasis of the new planetarium show is on the incomparable scientific adventure of the ALMA project. A young female astronomer guides the audience through a story that includes unique animations and footage, leading the viewer from the first observations by Galileo

The first results of measurements in military hospital laboratory for gamma spectrometry analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jankovic, Lj.; Pantelic, G.; Misovic, M.

1997-01-01

In this paper we present the basic features of the equipment for gamma spectrometry analysis and the first measurements results of the 134 Cs and 137 Cs activities. Gamma spectrum is measured using HP GE Detector. The obtained results show low level activities of the 134 Cs and 137 Cs in the environment. (author)

The bibliometrics of atmospheric environment

Science.gov (United States)

Brimblecombe, Peter; Grossi, Carlota M.

Bibliometric analysis is an important tool in the management of a journal. SCOPUS output is used to assess the increase in the quantity of material in Atmospheric Environment and stylistic changes in the way authors choose words and punctuation in titles and assemble their reference lists. Citation analysis is used to consider the impact factor of the journal, but perhaps more importantly the way in which it reflects the importance authors give to papers published in Atmospheric Environment. The impact factor of Atmospheric Environment (2.549 for 2007) from the Journal Citation Reports suggests it performs well within the atmospheric sciences, but it conceals the long term value authors place on papers appearing in the journal. Reference lists show that a fifth come through citing papers more than a decade old.

Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development: A Cross-Cultural Study between American and Lebanese Children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diala Ammar

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Considerable efforts have been devoted to map the relations between the home environment and selected aspects of child’s development. A recent instrument was developed that aimed at assessing the affordances in the home environment, the AHEMD-SR. Although the AHEMD-SR gave insight into affordances in the home, it was focused on two specific populations from the United States and Portugal. Currently, there is limited research regarding the validity of this instrument when used in different cultures. The purpose of this study was to compare a sample of Middle Eastern children to the normative sample that was used to validate the AHEMD. Results showed a significance difference between the socioeconomic statuses between the groups. Concerning factor analysis, results showed that the Lebanese group had five factors loading as did the American/Portuguese sample but with variables loading differently. Interestingly, the Lebanese group showed higher scores for affordances inside the home such replica toys and games. Our findings show that the state of the environment may play a role in the affordances and development. Future work is needed to look at the specific loading and possible variables that may be included in the AHMED-SR to look at other cultures that may have other limitations.

Emerging Contaminants in the Environment

Science.gov (United States)

This chapter explores the use of mass spectrometry and its application to emerging contaminants (ECs) in the environment; such classes of compounds as organometallics, pharmaceuticals/drugs, nanomaterials, and dispersants (surfactants). Table 1 shows the variety of ECs that are...

Ubiquitous Working: Do Work Versus Non-work Environments Affect Decision-Making and Concentration?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carolin P. Burmeister

2018-03-01

Full Text Available New communication technologies and mobile devices have enabled knowledge workers to work independently of location and in more than one fixed environment (ubiquitous working. Previous research shows that physical environments can influence cognition and work performance. We manipulated environment (i.e., a virtual office as a typical work environment compared to a virtual garden as a non-work environment and time pressure (i.e., inducing time pressure vs. no time pressure in order to investigate whether the environment influences decision-making and concentration. N = 109 students participated in this laboratory experiment. We posited (a that a work environment would activate a work-related schema which in turn would enhance concentration performance and make decisions more risky compared to non-work environments and (b that the environmental effect is more pronounced if time pressure is present compared to conditions where no time pressure is present. We found modest hypothesis-confirming main effects of environment on decision-making and concentration but no interaction effect with time pressure. As we used an innovative methodology that entails several limitations, future research is needed to give insights into the process and to investigate whether results hold true for all types of work settings, work demands, or work activities.

Ubiquitous Working: Do Work Versus Non-work Environments Affect Decision-Making and Concentration?

Science.gov (United States)

Burmeister, Carolin P; Moskaliuk, Johannes; Cress, Ulrike

2018-01-01

New communication technologies and mobile devices have enabled knowledge workers to work independently of location and in more than one fixed environment (ubiquitous working). Previous research shows that physical environments can influence cognition and work performance. We manipulated environment (i.e., a virtual office as a typical work environment compared to a virtual garden as a non-work environment ) and time pressure (i.e., inducing time pressure vs. no time pressure ) in order to investigate whether the environment influences decision-making and concentration. N = 109 students participated in this laboratory experiment. We posited (a) that a work environment would activate a work-related schema which in turn would enhance concentration performance and make decisions more risky compared to non-work environments and (b) that the environmental effect is more pronounced if time pressure is present compared to conditions where no time pressure is present. We found modest hypothesis-confirming main effects of environment on decision-making and concentration but no interaction effect with time pressure. As we used an innovative methodology that entails several limitations, future research is needed to give insights into the process and to investigate whether results hold true for all types of work settings, work demands, or work activities.

The effects of congestion of vehicles on the environment – an EIA in the Ngorongoro crater. Results from the scoping process

OpenAIRE

Thomassen, Jørn; Keyyu, Julius; Haaland, Hanne

2005-01-01

Thomassen, J., Keyyu, J., and Haaland, H. 2005. The effects of congestion of vehicles on the environment - an EIA in the Ngrongoro crates: results from the scoping process. - NINA Rapport 17. 68 s. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) faces a great challenge in managing the vehicle congestion in the Ngorongoro crater. They are in need for an assessment of the present situation and realistic plans for mitigating measures and other management actions. The situation is also dealt wi...

Physical Activity Practices, Policies and Environments in Washington State Child Care Settings: Results of a Statewide Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Tandon, Pooja S; Walters, Kelly M; Igoe, Bridget M; Payne, Elizabeth C; Johnson, Donna B

2017-03-01

Objectives Child care is an important setting for the promotion of physical activity (PA) in early childhood. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between specific PA environments and recommended practices in child care settings as well as the degree to which child care settings met recommended standards for total PA time. Methods In 2013, all programs licensed to care for children ages 2-5 in WA state were surveyed about their PA related practices. Logistic regression was used to determine odds of meeting best-practice standards for outdoor time and PA. Results The response rate was 45.8 % from centers (692/1511) and 32.1 % from homes (1281/3991). Few programs reported meeting best-practice standards for the amount of time children spend being physically active (centers: 12.1 %, homes: 20.1 %) and outdoor time (centers: 21.8 %, homes: 21.7 %). Programs where children go outside regardless of weather and those reporting more adult-led PA had higher odds of meeting best-practice standards for both PA and outdoor time. Meeting best-practice standards for outdoor time was the strongest predictor of meeting best-practice standards for total PA time [centers: OR 15.9 (9.3-27.2), homes: OR 5.2 (3.8-7.1)]. Conclusions for Practice There is considerable room for improvement in licensed child care settings in WA to meet best-practice standards for young children's outdoor and PA time. Initiatives that create policies and environments encouraging outdoor play and adult-led PA in child care have the potential to increase physical activity in substantial numbers of young children.

Pressure sound level measurements at an educational environment in Goiania, Goias, Brazil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Costa, Jhonatha J.L.; Nascimento, Eriberto O. do; Oliveira, Lucas N. de [Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de Goiás (IFG), Goiânia, GO (Brazil); Caldas, Linda V. E., E-mail: lcaldas@ipen.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), São Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2017-07-01

In this work, twenty five points located on the ground floor of the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Goias - IFG - Campus Goiania, were analyzed in morning periods of two Saturdays. The pressure sound levels were measured at internal and external environments during routine activities seeking to perform an environmental monitoring at this institution. The initial hypothesis was that an amusement park (Mutirama Park) was responsible for originating noise pollution in the institution, but the results showed, within the campus environment, sound pressure levels in accordance with the Municipal legislation of Goiania for all points. (author)

Pressure sound level measurements at an educational environment in Goiania, Goias, Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa, Jhonatha J.L.; Nascimento, Eriberto O. do; Oliveira, Lucas N. de; Caldas, Linda V. E.

2017-01-01

In this work, twenty five points located on the ground floor of the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Goias - IFG - Campus Goiania, were analyzed in morning periods of two Saturdays. The pressure sound levels were measured at internal and external environments during routine activities seeking to perform an environmental monitoring at this institution. The initial hypothesis was that an amusement park (Mutirama Park) was responsible for originating noise pollution in the institution, but the results showed, within the campus environment, sound pressure levels in accordance with the Municipal legislation of Goiania for all points. (author)

Using a Virtual Environment to Deliver Evidence-Based Interventions: The Facilitator's Experience

Science.gov (United States)

Villarruel, Antonia; Tschannen, Dana; Valladares, Angel; Yaksich, Joseph; Yeagley, Emily; Hawes, Armani

2015-01-01

Background Evidence-based interventions (EBIs) have the potential to maximize positive impact on communities. However, despite the quantity and quality of EBIs for prevention, the need for formalized training and associated training-related expenses, such as travel costs, program materials, and input of personnel hours, pose implementation challenges for many community-based organizations. In this study, the community of inquiry (CoI) framework was used to develop the virtual learning environment to support the adaptation of the ¡Cuídate! (Take Care of Yourself!) Training of Facilitators curriculum (an EBI) to train facilitators from community-based organizations. Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of adapting a traditional face-to-face facilitator training program for ¡Cuídate!, a sexual risk reduction EBI for Latino youth, for use in a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE). Additionally, two aims of the study were explored: the acceptability of the facilitator training and the level of the facilitators’ knowledge and self-efficacy to implement the training. Methods A total of 35 facilitators were trained in the virtual environment. We evaluated the facilitators' experience in the virtual training environment and determined if the learning environment was acceptable and supported the acquisition of learning outcomes. To this end, the facilitators were surveyed using a modified community of inquiry survey, with questions specific to the Second Life environment and an open-ended questionnaire. In addition, a comparison to face-to-face training was conducted using survey methods. Results Results of the community of inquiry survey demonstrated a subscale mean of 23.11 (SD 4.12) out of a possible 30 on social presence, a subscale mean of 8.74 (SD 1.01) out of a possible 10 on teaching presence, and a subscale mean of 16.69 (SD 1.97) out of a possible 20 on cognitive presence. The comparison to face-to-face training showed no

The influence of an online virtual situated environment on a Chinese learning community

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kuo-En Chang

2012-03-01

Full Text Available This study used an online virtual environment to create and develop a Chinese learning community. The purposes of research were (1 to enhance the Chinese learners’ oral Chinese communication skills and (2 to change the community members’ Chinese speaking and teaching behavior. This is an action research. The research tried to create a community in a virtual environment. The research results showed that (1 a virtual community can enhance learner’s Chinese competence, and (2 future Chinese teachers’ instructional and leading skills can be developed in a virtual community situation.

The Transcriptional Heat Shock Response of Salmonella Typhimurium Shows Hysteresis and Heated Cells Show Increased Resistance to Heat and Acid Stress

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pin, C.; Hansen, Trine; Munoz-Cuevas, M.

2012-01-01

We investigated if the transcriptional response of Salmonella Typhimurium to temperature and acid variations was hysteretic, i.e. whether the transcriptional regulation caused by environmental stimuli showed memory and remained after the stimuli ceased. The transcriptional activity of non......, implying that down-regulation was significantly less synchronized than upregulation. The hysteretic transcriptional response to heat shock was accompanied by higher resistance to inactivation at 50uC as well as cross-resistance to inactivation at pH 3; however, growth rates and lag times at 43uC and at p......H 4.5 were not affected. The exposure to pH 5 only caused up-regulation of 12 genes and this response was neither hysteretic nor accompanied of increased resistance to inactivation conditions. Cellular memory at the transcriptional level may represent a mechanism of adaptation to the environment...

Incorporating dominant environment into individual fitness promotes cooperation in the spatial prisoners' dilemma game

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jin, Jiahua; Shen, Chen; Chu, Chen; Shi, Lei

2017-01-01

Highlights: • In spatial games, each player incorporates its environment into fitness only when its environment is greater than or equal to its payoff. • The mechanism of incorporating dominant environment promotes evolution of cooperation. • The robustness of such a mechanism to promote cooperation is verified for the snowdrift game and the various interaction networks. - Abstract: In spatial evolutionary games, the fitness of each player is usually measured by its inheritance (i.e. the accumulated payoffs by playing the game with its all nearest neighbors), or by the linear combination of its inheritance and its environment (i.e. the average of its all nearest neighbors’ inheritance). However, a rational individual incorporates environment into its fitness to develop itself only when environment is dominant in real life. Here, we redefine the individual fitness as a linear combination of inheritance and environment when environment performs better than inheritance. Multiple Monte Carlo simulation results show that incorporating dominant environment can improve cooperation comparing with the traditional case, and furthermore increasing the proportion of prevailing environment can enhance cooperative level better. These findings indicate that our mechanism enhances the individual ability to adapt environment, and makes the spatial reciprocity more efficient. Besides, we also verify its robustness against different game models and various topology structures.

Effect of climatic change on surface environments in the typical region of Horqin Sandy Land

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2010-01-01

The town of Agura,a typical region in Horqin Sandy Land,was selected as the study area in this paper.Using 12 remote sensing images and climatic data from the past 20 years,the effects of climate change on surface environments were analyzed.The impact indices of climatic factors,along with their corresponding ranks,were used to characterize the responses of different types of surface environments to climate change.Results show that in the past 20 years,the surface environments of the study area have been deteriorating.Furthermore,there is a positive relationship between the changes in surface environments and those in climatic factors.Various climatic factors influence surface environments in different ways and at different levels.The most sensitive factor is relative humidity,followed by precipitation and evaporation.Overall,moisture is the key factor that affects the changes in surface environments of arid and semi-arid areas.

A Collaborative Extensible User Environment for Simulation and Knowledge Management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Freedman, Vicky L.; Lansing, Carina S.; Porter, Ellen A.; Schuchardt, Karen L.; Guillen, Zoe C.; Sivaramakrishnan, Chandrika; Gorton, Ian

2015-06-01

In scientific simulation, scientists use measured data to create numerical models, execute simulations and analyze results from advanced simulators executing on high performance computing platforms. This process usually requires a team of scientists collaborating on data collection, model creation and analysis, and on authorship of publications and data. This paper shows that scientific teams can benefit from a user environment called Akuna that permits subsurface scientists in disparate locations to collaborate on numerical modeling and analysis projects. The Akuna user environment is built on the Velo framework that provides both a rich client environment for conducting and analyzing simulations and a Web environment for data sharing and annotation. Akuna is an extensible toolset that integrates with Velo, and is designed to support any type of simulator. This is achieved through data-driven user interface generation, use of a customizable knowledge management platform, and an extensible framework for simulation execution, monitoring and analysis. This paper describes how the customized Velo content management system and the Akuna toolset are used to integrate and enhance an effective collaborative research and application environment. The extensible architecture of Akuna is also described and demonstrates its usage for creation and execution of a 3D subsurface simulation.

Spatial distribution of tritium in the Rawatbhata Rajasthan site environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

GilI, Rajpal; Tiwari, S.N.; Gocher, A.K.; Ravi, P.M.; Tripathi, R.M.

2014-01-01

Tritium is one of the most environmentally mobile radionuclides and hence has high potential for migration into the different compartments of environment. Tritium from nuclear facilities at RAPS site is released into the environment through 93 m and 100 m high stack mainly as tritiated water (HTO). The released tritium undergoes dilution and dispersion and then follows the ecological pathway of water molecule. Environmental Survey Laboratory of Health Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), located at Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) site is continuously monitoring the concentration of tritium in the environment to ensure the public safety. Atmospheric tritium activity during the period (2009-2013) was measured regularly around Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS). Data collected showed a large variation of H-3 concentration in air fluctuating in the range of 0.43 - 5.80 Bq.m -3 at site boundary of 1.6 km. This paper presents the result of analyses of tritium in atmospheric environment covering an area up to 20 km radius around RAPS site. Large number of air moisture samples were collected around the RAPS site, for estimating tritium in atmospheric environment to ascertain the atmospheric dispersion and computation of radiation dose to the public

Metacognitive components in smart learning environment

Science.gov (United States)

Sumadyo, M.; Santoso, H. B.; Sensuse, D. I.

2018-03-01

Metacognitive ability in digital-based learning process helps students in achieving learning goals. So that digital-based learning environment should make the metacognitive component as a facility that must be equipped. Smart Learning Environment is the concept of a learning environment that certainly has more advanced components than just a digital learning environment. This study examines the metacognitive component of the smart learning environment to support the learning process. A review of the metacognitive literature was conducted to examine the components involved in metacognitive learning strategies. Review is also conducted on the results of study smart learning environment, ranging from design to context in building smart learning. Metacognitive learning strategies certainly require the support of adaptable, responsive and personalize learning environments in accordance with the principles of smart learning. The current study proposed the role of metacognitive component in smart learning environment, which is useful as the basis of research in building environment in smart learning.

Evidence for Gender-Dependent Genotype by Environment Interaction in Adult Depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Molenaar, Dylan; Middeldorp, Christel M; Willemsen, Gonneke; Ligthart, Lannie; Nivard, Michel G; Boomsma, Dorret I

2015-10-14

Depression in adults is heritable with about 40 % of the phenotypic variance due to additive genetic effects and the remaining phenotypic variance due to unique (unshared) environmental effects. Common environmental effects shared by family members are rarely found in adults. One possible explanation for this finding is that there is an interaction between genes and the environment which may mask effects of the common environment. To test this hypothesis, we investigated genotype by environment interaction in a large sample of female and male adult twins aged 18-70 years. The anxious depression subscale of the Adult Self Report from the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (Achenbach and Rescorla in Manual for the ASEBA adult: forms and profiles, 2003) was completed by 13,022 twins who participate in longitudinal studies of the Netherlands Twin Register. In a single group analysis, we found genotype by unique environment interaction, but no genotype by common environment interaction. However, when conditioning on gender, we observed genotype by common environment interaction in men, with larger common environmental variance in men who are genetically less at risk to develop depression. Although the effect size of the interaction is characterized by large uncertainty, the results show that there is at least some variance due to the common environment in adult depression in men.

Natural Environment Suitability of China and Its Relationship with Population Distributions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaohuan Yang

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The natural environment factor is one of the main indexes for evaluating human habitats, sustained economic growth and ecological health status. Based on Geographic Information System (GIS technology and an analytic hierarchy process method, this article presents the construction of the Natural Environment Suitability Index (NESI model of China by using natural environment data including climate, hydrology, surface configuration and ecological conditions. The NESI value is calculated in grids of 1 km by 1 km through ArcGIS. The spatial regularity of NESI is analyzed according to its spatial distribution and proportional structure. The relationship of NESI with population distribution and economic growth is also discussed by analyzing NESI results with population distribution data and GDP data in 1 km by 1 km grids. The study shows that: (1 the value of NESI is higher in the East and lower in the West in China; The best natural environment area is the Yangtze River Delta region and the worst are the northwest of Tibet and southwest of Xinjiang. (2 There is a close correlation among natural environment, population distribution and economic growth; the best natural environment area, the Yangtze River Delta region, is also the region with higher population density and richer economy. The worst natural environment areas, Northwest and Tibetan Plateau, are also regions with lower population density and poorer economies.

Natural Environment Suitability of China and Its Relationship with Population Distributions

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Xiaohuan; Ma, Hanqing

2009-01-01

The natural environment factor is one of the main indexes for evaluating human habitats, sustained economic growth and ecological health status. Based on Geographic Information System (GIS) technology and an analytic hierarchy process method, this article presents the construction of the Natural Environment Suitability Index (NESI) model of China by using natural environment data including climate, hydrology, surface configuration and ecological conditions. The NESI value is calculated in grids of 1 km by 1 km through ArcGIS. The spatial regularity of NESI is analyzed according to its spatial distribution and proportional structure. The relationship of NESI with population distribution and economic growth is also discussed by analyzing NESI results with population distribution data and GDP data in 1 km by 1 km grids. The study shows that: (1) the value of NESI is higher in the East and lower in the West in China; The best natural environment area is the Yangtze River Delta region and the worst are the northwest of Tibet and southwest of Xinjiang. (2) There is a close correlation among natural environment, population distribution and economic growth; the best natural environment area, the Yangtze River Delta region, is also the region with higher population density and richer economy. The worst natural environment areas, Northwest and Tibetan Plateau, are also regions with lower population density and poorer economies. PMID:20049243

Exploring associations between perceived home and work neighborhood environments, diet behaviors, and obesity: Results from a survey of employed adults in Missouri

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel Tabak, PhD, RD

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Dietary behaviors are associated with obesity, and may be influenced by the environment. The objective of the current work was to investigate whether perceptions of built environment factors related to eating in the residential neighborhood will have different, independent associations with BMI and dietary behaviors than perceived built environment factors in the worksite neighborhood. In 2012–2013, a cross-sectional telephone-survey of Missouri adults (n = 2015 assessed perceptions of home and workplace built environment factors related to eating, dietary behaviors, and height and weight. Logistic regression models explored associations between perceived neighborhood built environment variables, diet, and obesity. The only variable associated with any of the outcomes explored in the fully adjusted models was the home neighborhood composite scale. None of the work environment variables were significantly associated with any of the health/behavior outcomes after adjustment. Few associations were found after adjustment for personal and job-related characteristics, and none were identified with the workplace neighborhood environment. While few home environment associations were found after adjustment, and none were identified with the perceived workplace neighborhood environment, the current study adds to the limited literature looking at associations between the perceived neighborhood around the workplace neighborhood and the perceived neighborhood around the home and dietary behaviors and obesity in adults. Future studies are needed to determine whether relationships between these environments and behavior exist, and if so, if they are causal and warrant intervention attempts.

Plasmonic Landau damping in active environments

Science.gov (United States)

Thakkar, Niket; Montoni, Nicholas P.; Cherqui, Charles; Masiello, David J.

2018-03-01

Optical manipulation of charge on the nanoscale is of fundamental importance to an array of proposed technologies from selective photocatalysis to nanophotonics. Open plasmonic systems where collective electron oscillations release energy and charge to their environments offer a potential means to this end as plasmons can rapidly decay into energetic electron-hole pairs; however, isolating this decay from other plasmon-environment interactions remains a challenge. Here we present an analytic theory of noble-metal nanoparticles that quantitatively models plasmon decay into electron-hole pairs, demonstrates that this decay depends significantly on the nanoparticle's dielectric environment, and disentangles this effect from competing decay pathways. Using our approach to incorporate embedding material and substrate effects on plasmon-electron interaction, we show that predictions from the model agree with four separate experiments. Finally, examination of coupled nanoparticle-emitter systems further shows that the hybridized in-phase mode more efficiently decays to photons whereas the out-of-phase mode more efficiently decays to electron-hole pairs, offering a strategy to tailor open plasmonic systems for charge manipulation.

Red Color and Risk-Taking Behavior in Online Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Gnambs, Timo; Appel, Markus; Oeberst, Aileen

2015-01-01

In many situations red is associated with hazard and danger. As a consequence, it was expected that task-irrelevant color cues in online environments would affect risk-taking behaviors. This assumption was tested in two web-based experiments. The first study (N = 383) demonstrated that in risky choice dilemmas respondents preferred the less risky option when the displayed university logo was in red (versus gray); but only when both choice alternatives were at least moderately risky. The second study (N = 144) replicated these results with a behavioral outcome: Respondents showed more cautious behavior in a web-based game when the focal stimuli were colored red (versus blue). Together, these findings demonstrate that variations in the color design of a computerized environment affect risk taking: Red color leads to more conservative choices and behaviors. PMID:26207983

Evaluation of hospital-learning environment for pediatric residency in eastern region of Saudi Arabia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Waleed H. BuAli

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Purpose: No study had been conducted to assess the hospitals’ environment for learning purposes in multicenter sites in Saudi Arabia. It aims to evaluate the environment of hospitals for learning purposes of pediatric residents. Methods: We applied Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure (PHEEM to measure the learning environment at six teaching hospitals in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia from September to December 2013. Results: The number of respondents was 104 (86.7% out of 120 residents and 37 females and 67 male residents have responded. The residents’ response scored 100 out of 160 maximum score in rating of PHEEM that showed overall learning environment is favorable for training. There were some items in the social support domain suggesting improvements. There was no significant difference between male and female residents. There was a difference among the participant teaching hospitals (p<0.05. Conclusion: The result pointed an overall positive rating. Individual item scores suggested that their social life during residency could be uninspiring. They have the low satisfactory level and they feel racism, and sexual discrimination. Therefore, there is still a room for improvement.

EDF - 2011 full-year results: Solid results and commitments upheld amid a troubled environment. Excellent industrial performance. Annual results 2011, Consolidated financial statements at December 31, 2011

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Proglio, Henri

2012-01-01

As the world's biggest electricity generator, the EDF Group covers every sector of expertise, from generation to trading and transmission grids. EDF builds on the expertise of its people, its R and D and engineering skills, its experience as a leading industry operator and the attentive support of its customers to deliver competitive solutions that successfully reconcile economic growth with climate protection. This document presents the 2011 annual results and Consolidated financial statements of the Group at 31 December 2011: Group accounting standards; comparability; significant events and transactions; regulatory events in France; changes in the scope of consolidation; segment reporting; sales; fuel and energy purchases; other external expenses; personnel expenses; taxes other than income taxes; other operating income and expenses; prolongation of the transition tariff system (TaRTAM) - laws of June 7 and December 7, 2010; impairment / reversals; other income and expenses; financial result; income taxes; basic earnings per share and diluted earnings per share; operating assets and liabilities, equity; goodwill; other intangible assets; property, plant and equipment operated under French public electricity distribution concessions; property, plant and equipment operated under concessions for other activities; property, plant and equipment used in generation and other tangible assets owned by the group; investments in associates; inventories; trade receivables; other receivables; equity; provisions; provisions related to nuclear generation - back-end nuclear cycle, plant decommissioning and last cores; provisions for decommissioning of non-nuclear facilities; provisions for employee benefits; other provisions; special French public electricity distribution concession liabilities for existing assets and assets to be replaced; trade payable; other liabilities; current and non-current financial assets; cash and cash equivalents; current and non-current financial

3D vision in a virtual reality robotics environment

Science.gov (United States)

Schutz, Christian L.; Natonek, Emerico; Baur, Charles; Hugli, Heinz

1996-12-01

Virtual reality robotics (VRR) needs sensing feedback from the real environment. To show how advanced 3D vision provides new perspectives to fulfill these needs, this paper presents an architecture and system that integrates hybrid 3D vision and VRR and reports about experiments and results. The first section discusses the advantages of virtual reality in robotics, the potential of a 3D vision system in VRR and the contribution of a knowledge database, robust control and the combination of intensity and range imaging to build such a system. Section two presents the different modules of a hybrid 3D vision architecture based on hypothesis generation and verification. Section three addresses the problem of the recognition of complex, free- form 3D objects and shows how and why the newer approaches based on geometric matching solve the problem. This free- form matching can be efficiently integrated in a VRR system as a hypothesis generation knowledge-based 3D vision system. In the fourth part, we introduce the hypothesis verification based on intensity images which checks object pose and texture. Finally, we show how this system has been implemented and operates in a practical VRR environment used for an assembly task.

Face identification with frequency domain matched filtering in mobile environments

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Dong-Su; Woo, Yong-Hyun; Yeom, Seokwon; Kim, Shin-Hwan

2012-06-01

Face identification at a distance is very challenging since captured images are often degraded by blur and noise. Furthermore, the computational resources and memory are often limited in the mobile environments. Thus, it is very challenging to develop a real-time face identification system on the mobile device. This paper discusses face identification based on frequency domain matched filtering in the mobile environments. Face identification is performed by the linear or phase-only matched filter and sequential verification stages. The candidate window regions are decided by the major peaks of the linear or phase-only matched filtering outputs. The sequential stages comprise a skin-color test and an edge mask filtering test, which verify color and shape information of the candidate regions in order to remove false alarms. All algorithms are built on the mobile device using Android platform. The preliminary results show that face identification of East Asian people can be performed successfully in the mobile environments.

Differential Effects of Home and Preschool Learning Environments on Early Language Development

Science.gov (United States)

Schmerse, Daniel; Anders, Yvonne; Flöter, Manja; Wieduwilt, Nadine; Roßbach, Hans-Günther; Tietze, Wolfgang

2018-01-01

The present study is based on longitudinal data from a German early childhood education and care (ECEC) governmental initiative assessing children's grammatical and vocabulary development between 2;6 and 4;0 years (N = 1,331), quality of the home learning environment and quality of the preschool setting. Results showed that the quality of the home…

The ventilation influence on the spatial distribution of Rn-222 and its decay products in human inhabited environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munoz, S.N.M.; Hadler, J.C.; Paulo, S.R.

1996-01-01

For the determination of the ventilation influence (directional flux of air induced by a fan) on the spatial distribution of Rn-222 and its decay products (daughters) present in human inhabited environments, a group of experimental results were obtained by means of the fission nuclear tracks left by α-particles over adequate plastic detectors CR-39). The exposure of these detectors was done in a closed environment considering the influence of ventilation for different angles, velocities and distances from fan. The results show that a relative quantity of daughters of Rn-222 are pulled out of the environment due to the effects of ventilation and plat-out

Effectiveness of a Worksite Social & Physical Environment Intervention on Need for Recovery, Physical Activity and Relaxation; Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Coffeng, Jennifer K.; Boot, Cécile R. L.; Duijts, Saskia F. A.; Twisk, Jos W. R.; van Mechelen, Willem; Hendriksen, Ingrid J. M.

2014-01-01

Objective To investigate the effectiveness of a worksite social and physical environment intervention on need for recovery (i.e., early symptoms of work-related mental and physical fatigue), physical activity and relaxation. Also, the effectiveness of the separate interventions was investigated. Methods In this 2×2 factorial design study, 412 office employees from a financial service provider participated. Participants were allocated to the combined social and physical intervention, to the social intervention only, to the physical intervention only or to the control group. The primary outcome measure was need for recovery. Secondary outcomes were work-related stress (i.e., exhaustion, detachment and relaxation), small breaks, physical activity (i.e., stair climbing, active commuting, sport activities, light/moderate/vigorous physical activity) and sedentary behavior. Outcomes were measured by questionnaires at baseline, 6 and 12 months follow-up. Multilevel analyses were performed to investigate the effects of the three interventions. Results In all intervention groups, a non-significant reduction was found in need for recovery. In the combined intervention (n = 92), exhaustion and vigorous physical activities decreased significantly, and small breaks at work and active commuting increased significantly compared to the control group. The social intervention (n = 118) showed a significant reduction in exhaustion, sedentary behavior at work and a significant increase in small breaks at work and leisure activities. In the physical intervention (n = 96), stair climbing at work and active commuting significantly increased, and sedentary behavior at work decreased significantly compared to the control group. Conclusion None of the interventions was effective in improving the need for recovery. It is recommended to implement the social and physical intervention among a population with higher baseline values of need for recovery. Furthermore, the intervention

GTDM: A DTN Routing on Noncooperative Game Theory in a City Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wenzao Li

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The performance of delay tolerant networks (DTNs can be influenced by movement model in different application environments. The existing routing algorithms of DTNs do not meet the current city environments due to the large differences in node densities, social characteristics, and limited energy. The key indicators of DTNs such as success delivery ratio, average delivery latency, network lifetime, and network overhead ratio can influence the performances of civil DTNs applications. Aiming to improve the key indicators of DTNs in city environments, this paper presents a fixed sink station based structure and a more proper routing algorithm named Game Theory Based Decision Making (GTDM. GTDM shows decision-making process for neighborhood selection and packet delivering strategy which is based on the noncooperative game theory method and city environment characteristics. GTDM performance is evaluated using numerical simulations under Working Day Movement (WDM model and the results suggested that GTDM outperforms other traditional DTNs routing approaches, such as Epidemic and Prophet algorithms.

Human response to individually controlled micro environment generated with localized chilled beam

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Uth, Simon C.; Nygaard, Linette; Bolashikov, Zhecho Dimitrov

2014-01-01

Indoor environment in a single-office room created by a localised chilled beam with individual control of the primary air flow was studied. Response of 24 human subjects when exposed to the environment generated by the chilled beam was collected via questionnaires under a 2-hour exposure including...... and local thermal sensation reported by the subjects with the two systems. Both systems were equally acceptable. At 26°C the individual control of the localised chilled beam lead to higher acceptability of the work environment. At 28°C the acceptability decreased with the two systems. It was not acceptable...... different work tasks at three locations in the room. Response of the subjects to the environment generated with a chilled ceiling combined with mixing air distribution was used for comparison. The air temperature in the room was kept at 26 or 28 °C. Results show no significant difference in the overall...

Computational Investigation of Environment-Noise Interaction in Single-Cell Organisms: The Merit of Expression Stochasticity Depends on the Quality of Environmental Fluctuations.

Science.gov (United States)

Lück, Anja; Klimmasch, Lukas; Großmann, Peter; Germerodt, Sebastian; Kaleta, Christoph

2018-01-10

Organisms need to adapt to changing environments and they do so by using a broad spectrum of strategies. These strategies include finding the right balance between expressing genes before or when they are needed, and adjusting the degree of noise inherent in gene expression. We investigated the interplay between different nutritional environments and the inhabiting organisms' metabolic and genetic adaptations by applying an evolutionary algorithm to an agent-based model of a concise bacterial metabolism. Our results show that constant environments and rapidly fluctuating environments produce similar adaptations in the organisms, making the predictability of the environment a major factor in determining optimal adaptation. We show that exploitation of expression noise occurs only in some types of fluctuating environment and is strongly dependent on the quality and availability of nutrients: stochasticity is generally detrimental in fluctuating environments and beneficial only at equal periods of nutrient availability and above a threshold environmental richness. Moreover, depending on the availability and nutritional value of nutrients, nutrient-dependent and stochastic expression are both strategies used to deal with environmental changes. Overall, we comprehensively characterize the interplay between the quality and periodicity of an environment and the resulting optimal deterministic and stochastic regulation strategies of nutrient-catabolizing pathways.

The COURAGE Built Environment Outdoor Checklist: an objective built environment instrument to investigate the impact of the environment on health and disability.

Science.gov (United States)

Quintas, Rui; Raggi, Alberto; Bucciarelli, Paola; Franco, Maria Grazia; Andreotti, Alessandra; Caballero, Francisco Félix; Olaya, Beatriz; Chatterji, Somnath; Galas, Aleksander; Meriläinen-Porras, Satu; Frisoni, Giovanni; Russo, Emanuela; Minicuci, Nadia; Power, Mick; Leonardi, Matilde

2014-01-01

A tool to assess the built environment, which takes into account issues of disability, accessibility and the need for data comparable across countries and populations, is much needed. The Collaborative Research on Ageing in Europe (COURAGE) in Europe Built Environment Outdoor Checklist (CBE-OUT) helps us to understand when features of the neighbourhood environment have either a positive or negative impact on the accessibility of neighbourhoods for healthy ageing. The CBE-OUT is composed of 128 items that can be recorded when present in the evaluated environment. Audits were performed in households randomly selected from each cluster of the sample for Finland, Poland and Spain, following precise rules defined by experts. Global scores were computed both section by section and in the overall checklist, rescaling the resulting scores from 0 (negative environment) to 100 (positive). The total number of completed CBE-OUT checklists was 2452 (Finland, 245; Poland, 972; and Spain, 1235). Mean global score for our sample is 49.3, suggesting an environment composed both of facilitating and hindering features. Significant differences were observed in the built environment features of the three countries and in particular between Finland and the other two. The assessment of features of built environment is crucial when thinking about ageing and enhanced participation. The COURAGE in Europe project developed this tool to collect information on built environment in an objective evaluation of environmental features and is a recommended methodology for future studies. The CBE-OUT checklist is an objective evaluation of the built environment and is centred on technical measurement of features present in the environment and has its foundations in the concepts of disability and accessibility operating in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) model. The CBE-OUT checklist can be analysed using both the total score and the single section score

Redundant imprinting of information in nonideal environments: Objective reality via a noisy channel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zwolak, Michael; Quan, H. T.; Zurek, Wojciech H.

2010-01-01

Quantum Darwinism provides an information-theoretic framework for the emergence of the objective, classical world from the quantum substrate. The key to this emergence is the proliferation of redundant information throughout the environment where observers can then intercept it. We study this process for a purely decohering interaction when the environment, E, is in a nonideal (e.g., mixed) initial state. In the case of good decoherence, that is, after the pointer states have been unambiguously selected, the mutual information between the system, S, and an environment fragment, F, is given solely by F's entropy increase. This demonstrates that the environment's capacity for recording the state of S is directly related to its ability to increase its entropy. Environments that remain nearly invariant under the interaction with S, either because they have a large initial entropy or a misaligned initial state, therefore have a diminished ability to acquire information. To elucidate the concept of good decoherence, we show that, when decoherence is not complete, the deviation of the mutual information from F's entropy change is quantified by the quantum discord, i.e., the excess mutual information between S and F is information regarding the initial coherence between pointer states of S. In addition to illustrating these results with a single-qubit system interacting with a multiqubit environment, we find scaling relations for the redundancy of information acquired by the environment that display a universal behavior independent of the initial state of S. Our results demonstrate that Quantum Darwinism is robust with respect to nonideal initial states of the environment: the environment almost always acquires redundant information about the system but its rate of acquisition can be reduced.

Comprehensive environment-suitability evaluation model about Carya cathayensis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Da-Sheng, W.; Li-Juan, L.; Qin-Fen, Y.

2013-01-01

On the relation between the suitable environment and the distribution areas of Carya cathayensis Sarg., the current studies are mainly committed to qualitative descriptions, but did not consider quantitative models. The objective of this study was to establish a environment-suitability evaluation model which used to predict potential suitable areas of C. cathayensis. Firstly, the 3 factor data of soil type, soil parent material and soil thickness were obtained based on 2-class forest resource survey, and other factor data, which included elevation, slope, aspect, surface curvature, humidity index, and solar radiation index, were extracted from DEM (Digital Elevation Model). Additionally, the key affecting factors were defined by PCA (Principal Component Analysis), the weights of evaluation factors were determined by AHP (Analysis Hierarchy Process) and the quantitative classification of single factor was determined by membership function with fuzzy mathematics. Finally, a comprehensive environment-suitability evaluation model was established and which was also used to predict the potential suitable areas of C. cathayensis in Daoshi Town in the study region. The results showed that 85.6% of actual distribution areas were in the most suitable and more suitable regions and 11.5% in the general suitable regions

Evolving impact of Ada on a production software environment

Science.gov (United States)

Mcgarry, F.; Esker, L.; Quimby, K.

1988-01-01

Many aspects of software development with Ada have evolved as our Ada development environment has matured and personnel have become more experienced in the use of Ada. The Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) has seen differences in the areas of cost, reliability, reuse, size, and use of Ada features. A first Ada project can be expected to cost about 30 percent more than an equivalent FORTRAN project. However, the SEL has observed significant improvements over time as a development environment progresses to second and third uses of Ada. The reliability of Ada projects is initially similar to what is expected in a mature FORTRAN environment. However, with time, one can expect to gain improvements as experience with the language increases. Reuse is one of the most promising aspects of Ada. The proportion of reusable Ada software on our Ada projects exceeds the proportion of reusable FORTRAN software on our FORTRAN projects. This result was noted fairly early in our Ada projects, and experience shows an increasing trend over time.

Effect of a virtual environment on the development of mathematical skills in children with dyscalculia.

Science.gov (United States)

de Castro, Marcus Vasconcelos; Bissaco, Márcia Aparecida Silva; Panccioni, Bruno Marques; Rodrigues, Silvia Cristina Martini; Domingues, Andreia Miranda

2014-01-01

In this study, we show the effectiveness of a virtual environment comprising 18 computer games that cover mathematics topics in a playful setting and that can be executed on the Internet with the possibility of player interaction through chat. An arithmetic pre-test contained in the Scholastic Performance Test was administered to 300 children between 7 and 10 years old, including 162 males and 138 females, in the second grade of primary school. Twenty-six children whose scores showed a low level of mathematical knowledge were chosen and randomly divided into the control (CG) and experimental (EG) groups. The EG participated to the virtual environment and the CG participated in reinforcement using traditional teaching methods. Both groups took a post-test in which the Scholastic Performance Test (SPT) was given again. A statistical analysis of the results using the Student's t-test showed a significant learning improvement for the EG and no improvement for the CG (p≤0.05). The virtual environment allows the students to integrate thought, feeling and action, thus motivating the children to learn and contributing to their intellectual development.

Annual results 2004

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-01-01

This 2004 annual evaluation of the french RTE company (electric power transport network) provides information on the 2004 results on: institutional information, financial results, customers and market, industrial resources, environment and consultation, human resources and international aspects. (A.L.B.)

Analysis of Eocene depositional environments - Preliminary TM and TIMS results, Wind River Basin, Wyoming

Science.gov (United States)

Stucky, Richard K.; Krishtalka, Leonard; Redline, Andrew D.; Lang, Harold R.

1987-01-01

Both Landsat TM and aircraft Thermal IR Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) data have been used to map the lithofacies of the Wind River Basin's Eocene physical and biological environments. Preliminary analyses of these data have furnished maps of a fault contact boundary and a complex network of fluvial ribbon channel sandstones. The synoptic view thereby emerging for Eocene fluvial facies clarifies the relationships of ribbon channel sandstones to fossil-bearing overbank/floodplain facies and certain peleosols. The utility of TM and TIMS data is thereby demonstrated.

Human thermal physiological and psychological responses under different heating environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhaojun; Ning, Haoran; Ji, Yuchen; Hou, Juan; He, Yanan

2015-08-01

Anecdotal evidence suggests that many residents of severely cold areas of China who use floor heating (FH) systems feel warmer but drier compared to those using radiant heating (RH) systems. However, this phenomenon has not been verified experimentally. In order to validate the empirical hypothesis, and research the differences of human physiological and psychological responses in these two asymmetrical heating environments, an experiment was designed to mimic FH and RH systems. The subjects participating in the experiment were volunteer college-students. During the experiment, the indoor air temperature, air speed, relative humidity, globe temperature, and inner surface temperatures were measured, and subjects' heart rate, blood pressure and skin temperatures were recorded. The subjects were required to fill in questionnaires about their thermal responses during testing. The results showed that the subjects' skin temperatures, heart rate and blood pressure were significantly affected by the type of heating environment. Ankle temperature had greatest impact on overall thermal comfort relative to other body parts, and a slightly cool FH condition was the most pleasurable environment for sedentary subjects. The overall thermal sensation, comfort and acceptability of FH were higher than that of RH. However, the subjects of FH felt drier than that of RH, although the relative humidity in FH environments was higher than that of the RH environment. In future environmental design, the thermal comfort of the ankles should be scrutinized, and a FH cool condition is recommended as the most comfortable thermal environment for office workers. Consequently, large amounts of heating energy could be saved in this area in the winter. The results of this study may lead to more efficient energy use for office or home heating systems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

International environment, enterprise environment and energy environment giving different look

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kubo, Shunsuke

1987-04-01

0he international environment, enterprise environment and energy environment surrounding Japan are changing their looks. In such situation, what Japan should do for the development of the world was discussed. Internationally, in the Western Pacific economical block including Japan and Asian NICs, Japan promotes the international exchange of materials, capital, technology, information and people, and creates various international public properties. Enterprisers should have global mind, and cope with the internationalization, technical innovation and information orientation which are in progress at present through international exchange, interindustrial exchange, industry-university-government exchange and so on. In the aspect of energy environment, Japan carries out the technical development of energy conservation, energy, creation and the exploration of energy resources, in this way, contributes to the stabilization of energy in the world. (3 figs, 1 tab)

Manipulation of colony environment modulates honey bee aggression and brain gene expression.

Science.gov (United States)

Rittschof, C C; Robinson, G E

2013-11-01

The social environment plays an essential role in shaping behavior for most animals. Social effects on behavior are often linked to changes in brain gene expression. In the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.), social modulation of individual aggression allows colonies to adjust the intensity with which they defend their hive in response to predation threat. Previous research has showed social effects on both aggression and aggression-related brain gene expression in honey bees, caused by alarm pheromone and unknown factors related to colony genotype. For example, some bees from less aggressive genetic stock reared in colonies with genetic predispositions toward increased aggression show both increased aggression and more aggressive-like brain gene expression profiles. We tested the hypothesis that exposure to a colony environment influenced by high levels of predation threat results in increased aggression and aggressive-like gene expression patterns in individual bees. We assessed gene expression using four marker genes. Experimentally induced predation threats modified behavior, but the effect was opposite of our predictions: disturbed colonies showed decreased aggression. Disturbed colonies also decreased foraging activity, suggesting that they did not habituate to threats; other explanations for this finding are discussed. Bees in disturbed colonies also showed changes in brain gene expression, some of which paralleled behavioral findings. These results show that bee aggression and associated molecular processes are subject to complex social influences. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society.

Envirhom: stakes and results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

After a recall of the evolution of the international system for the protection against ionizing radiations, this report discusses the evolution of a new societal context (evolution of risk perception, concern about accidental situations). It also discusses the emerging scientific issues and challenges regarding the knowledge about biological and health effects of ionizing radiations, which requires investigations on the ecosystems, the effects of chronic low level exposures, and the propagation of effects at different biological levels (cells, tissue, individual, population, communities, and ecosystems). Then, it presents the IRSN environment-health research program, ENVIRHOM, its objectives, and its results concerning the environment on the one side, and health on the other side. The 'environment' side and the 'health' side of this program are then more precisely presented as well as their results

Magnetic properties of different grain-sized particles of sediments from the Okinawa Trough and their relationships to sedimentary environment

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

LI Ping; LI Peiying; ZHANG Xiaolong; CAO Chengxiao; XU Xingyong; DU Jun; LIU Lejun

2005-01-01

Multiple magnetic parameters were measured for nine different grain-sized fractions separated from the sediment samples that are representatives of four different sedimentary environments of the Okinawa Trough. Based on the measured results, the contributions of different grain-sized particles to total magnetic susceptibility of bulk sediments, the magnetic mineral assemblage and magnetic domain state as well as their relationships to sedimentary environment were discussed. Our research shows that the magnetic mineral is dominated by magnetite with a small amount of hematite and is primarily in pseudo-single-domain state. That indicates that the different sedimentary environments in the Okinawa Trough have certain correlation in material provenance. The magnetic minerals enrich in different grain-sized particles in response to different sedimentary environments. The contribution of the grain sizes from coarse to fine to coarse and fine to the magnetic susceptibility from the west to the east is in accordance with terrigenous material transportation from continental shelf of the East China Sea to the Okinawa Trough. It also shows difference in magnetic properties as a result of some environmental factors.

Evaluating the Coda Phase Delay Method for Determining Temperature Ratios in Windy Environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Albert, Sarah [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Bowman, Daniel [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Rodgers, Arthur [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Seastrand, Douglas [National Security Technologies, LLC. (NSTec), Las Vegas, NV (United States)

2017-07-01

We evaluate the acoustic coda phase delay method for estimating changes in atmospheric phenomena in realistic environments. Previous studies verifying the method took place in an environment with negligible wind. The equation for effective sound speed, which the method is based upon, shows that the influence of wind is equal to the square of temperature. Under normal conditions, wind is significant and therefore cannot be ignored. Results from this study con rm the previous statement. The acoustic coda phase delay method breaks down in non-ideal environments, namely those where wind speed and direction varies across small distances. We suggest that future studies make use of gradiometry to better understand the effect of wind on the acoustic coda and subsequent phase delays.

Human locomotion through a multiple obstacle environment : Strategy changes as a result of visual field limitation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jansen, S.E.M.; Toet, A.; Werkhoven, P.J.

2011-01-01

This study investigated how human locomotion through an obstacle environment is influenced by visual field limitation. Participants were asked to walk at a comfortable pace to a target location while avoiding multiple vertical objects. During this task, they wore goggles restricting their visual

The rehabilitation team: staff perceptions of the hospital environment, the interdisciplinary team environment, and interprofessional relations.

Science.gov (United States)

Strasser, D C; Falconer, J A; Martino-Saltzmann, D

1994-02-01

Although inpatient rehabilitation is an interdisciplinary activity organized around a treatment team, there is a limited understanding of the workings of the interdisciplinary process. To elucidate staff perceptions of key aspects of the rehabilitation treatment process, we surveyed staff (n = 113) from selected inpatient teams. The staff completed social psychological instruments that measure perceptions of the hospital environment (The Ward Atmosphere Scale [WAS]), the team's environment (the Group Environment Scale [GES]), and interprofessional relations (Interprofessional Perception Scale [IPS]). Rehabilitation staff generally endorse the team approach, but express concerns over professional boundaries. Interprofessional difficulties seemed to be independent of team membership or professional training. Compared with published data from other settings, rehabilitation teams resembled task-oriented groups, but showed significant differences across teams in their perceptions of the team and hospital environments. The task-oriented character of rehabilitation teams, team-specific characteristics, and discord in interprofessional relationships may need to be considered in studies of rehabilitation teams effectiveness.

Utilization of virtual learning environments in the allied health professions.

Science.gov (United States)

Butina, Michelle; Brooks, Donna; Dominguez, Paul J; Mahon, Gwendolyn M

2013-01-01

Multiple technology based tools have been used to enhance skill development in allied health education, which now includes virtual learning environments. The purpose of this study was to explore whether, and how, this latest instructional technology is being adapted in allied health education. An online survey was circulated to all Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions (ASAHP) member institutions and focused on three broad areas of virtual learning environments: the uses of, the perceived pros and cons of, and the outcomes of utilizing them. Results show 40% (17 of 42) of the respondent use some form of the technology. The use of virtual learning technology in other healthcare professions (e.g., medicine) demonstrates the potential benefits to allied health education.

Energy, ecology, and the environment

CERN Document Server

Wilson, Richard F

1974-01-01

Energy, Ecology, and the Environment discusses how our need for energy and the different means required to obtain it affect the environment and the harnessing of different natural resources. The book also aims to show more efficient ways to use and generate energy. The book, after a brief introduction to the concept of energy, covers topics such as the different energy resources and the demands, costs, and policies regarding energy. The book also discusses the problems brought about by the production of energy such as the hazards to nature and man; environmental problems and pollution; and

Effect of Family Education and Social Environment to Student Characteristic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charina Oktaviani

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The research aims to know whether or not an influence of family education and social environment on the characteristics of students during the accounting lesson at class XI IPS SMA Negeri I Pati; to know whether or not an influence of social environment on the characteristics of students during the accounting lesson at class XI IPS SMA Negeri I Pati; and to know whether or not an influence between family education and social environment on the characteristics of students during the accounting lesson at class XI IPS SMA Negeri I Pati. The population in this research is 71 students of class XI SMA Negeri I Pati. Method of data analysis in this research consists of percentage descriptive analysis, descriptive statistic, prerequisite test covering normality test and linearity test, multiple linear regression analysis, classical assumption test covering multicollinearity test and heteroscedasticity test, hypothesis test covering simultaneous test (F, coefficient of simultaneous determination (R2, partial test (t, and partial determinant coefficient (r2. Results shows that family education and social environment both simultaneously and individually have positive impacts on the student characteristics.

Controlling quantum memory-assisted entropic uncertainty in non-Markovian environments

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yanliang; Fang, Maofa; Kang, Guodong; Zhou, Qingping

2018-03-01

Quantum memory-assisted entropic uncertainty relation (QMA EUR) addresses that the lower bound of Maassen and Uffink's entropic uncertainty relation (without quantum memory) can be broken. In this paper, we investigated the dynamical features of QMA EUR in the Markovian and non-Markovian dissipative environments. It is found that dynamical process of QMA EUR is oscillation in non-Markovian environment, and the strong interaction is favorable for suppressing the amount of entropic uncertainty. Furthermore, we presented two schemes by means of prior weak measurement and posterior weak measurement reversal to control the amount of entropic uncertainty of Pauli observables in dissipative environments. The numerical results show that the prior weak measurement can effectively reduce the wave peak values of the QMA-EUA dynamic process in non-Markovian environment for long periods of time, but it is ineffectual on the wave minima of dynamic process. However, the posterior weak measurement reversal has an opposite effects on the dynamic process. Moreover, the success probability entirely depends on the quantum measurement strength. We hope that our proposal could be verified experimentally and might possibly have future applications in quantum information processing.

Democratizing Authority in the Built Environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andersen, Michael P [UC Berkeley; Kolb, John [UC Berkeley; Chen, Kaifei [UC Berkeley; Culler, David [UC Berkeley; Katz, Randy [UC Berkeley

2017-11-08

Operating systems and applications in the built environment have relied upon central authorization and management mechanisms which restrict their scalability, especially with respect to administrative overhead. We propose a new set of primitives encompassing syndication, security, and service execution that unifies the management of applications and services across the built environment, while enabling participants to individually delegate privilege across multiple administrative domains with no loss of security or manageability. We show how to leverage a decentralized authorization syndication platform to extend the design of building operating systems beyond the single administrative domain of a building. The authorization system leveraged is based on blockchain smart contracts to permit decentralized and democratized delegation of authorization without central trust. Upon this, a publish/subscribe syndication tier and a containerized service execution environment are constructed. Combined, these mechanisms solve problems of delegation, federation, device protection and service execution that arise throughout the built environment. We leverage a high-fidelity city-scale emulation to verify the scalability of the authorization tier, and briefly describe a prototypical democratized operating system for the built environment using this foundation.

The influence of innovation environments in R&D results

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Serje Schmidt

Full Text Available Abstract In Brazil, as well as worldwide, incubators and science and technology parks (ISTPs are continually used to foster regional development. However, the incongruence between the growing number of ISTPs and the inconclusiveness of their results raised preoccupations regarding their effectiveness and doubts on how they promote innovation. In spite of the growing possibility and need for quantitative research, few studies have adopted this methodological perspective. The objective of this study is to analyze the influence of resources promoted by ISTPs on the results of their tenant's R&D projects. A quantitative cross-sectional design was used in this study. A higher specificity in the observation and analysis of ISTPs contributed to the advance of literature, so that a taxonomy of resources promoted by ISTPs was proposed and the key resources associated to R&D results could be identified.

Individual Differences in Spatial Knowledge Acquisition from a Virtual Environment: An Eye-Tracking Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ryosuke Uenaka

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Previous studies have shown that spatial knowledge acquisition differs across individuals in both real and virtual environments. For example, in a real environment, Ishikawa & Montello (2006 showed that some participants had almost perfect configural knowledge of the environment after one or two learning trials, whereas others performed at chance even after repeated learning trials. Using a virtual version of Ishikawa & Montello's layouts, we measured eye movements while participants were learning a layout of a route, as eye movements are shown to be closely linked to performance in spatial navigation tasks. We prepared three different layouts of a route depicted in a desktop virtual environment, along with the locations of four landmarks on that route. After learning each of the routes, we administered three different measures of spatial knowledge: numbering the landmark order, estimation of direction, and map sketching. Self-reported sense-of-direction (SDQ-S was also measured. Behavioral analyses showed positive correlations across the routes in the estimation of direction. However, consistent correlations were not observed between eye movements and performance of the estimation of direction in each route. Those results suggest that eye movements do not predict individual differences in spatial knowledge acquisition.

Elephant logging and environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tin-Aung-Hla

1995-01-01

The natural environment comprises non-biological elements such as air, water, light, heat and biological elements of animal and plant life; all interact with each other to create an ecosystem. Human activities like over-exploitation of forest results in deforestation and desertification. This consequently changes ecological balance. Topics on: (1) history of elephants utilization; (2) elephant logging; (3) classification of elephants; (4) dragging gear; (5) elephant power; (6) elephant logging and environment, are discussed

Nurse burnout and the working environment.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Mahony, Nuria

2011-09-01

This article examines levels of burnout experienced by emergency nurses and the characteristics of their work environment to determine if there is a relationship between the two. A literature review of recent articles on emergency nurses' burnout and contributing factors was undertaken. A quantitative study, in which nurses were asked to indicate the extent of their agreement with a series of statements on burnout and the working environment, was then undertaken, and the results were analysed to ascertain the extent to which the two topic are related. The results indicate that 52 per cent of nurses in an emergency department in Ireland experience high levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation, which are significantly related to the nature of their work environment. Improvements to the environment and to education are required to reduce the risk of nurses developing burnout in the future.

INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caescu Stefan Claudiu

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Theme The situation analysis, as a separate component of the strategic planning, involves collecting and analysing relevant types of information on the components of the marketing environment and their evolution on the one hand and also on the organization’s resources and capabilities on the other. Objectives of the Research The main purpose of the study of the analysis techniques of the internal environment is to provide insight on those aspects that are of strategic importance to the organization. Literature Review The marketing environment consists of two distinct components, the internal environment that is made from specific variables within the organization and the external environment that is made from variables external to the organization. Although analysing the external environment is essential for corporate success, it is not enough unless it is backed by a detailed analysis of the internal environment of the organization. The internal environment includes all elements that are endogenous to the organization, which are influenced to a great extent and totally controlled by it. The study of the internal environment must answer all resource related questions, solve all resource management issues and represents the first step in drawing up the marketing strategy. Research Methodology The present paper accomplished a documentary study of the main techniques used for the analysis of the internal environment. Results The special literature emphasizes that the differences in performance from one organization to another is primarily dependant not on the differences between the fields of activity, but especially on the differences between the resources and capabilities and the ways these are capitalized on. The main methods of analysing the internal environment addressed in this paper are: the analysis of the organizational resources, the performance analysis, the value chain analysis and the functional analysis. Implications Basically such

Maternal environment affects the genetic basis of seed dormancy in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Science.gov (United States)

Postma, Froukje M; Ågren, Jon

2015-02-01

The genetic basis of seed dormancy, a key life history trait important for adaptive evolution in plant populations, has yet been studied only using seeds produced under controlled conditions in greenhouse environments. However, dormancy is strongly affected by maternal environmental conditions, and interactions between seed genotype and maternal environment have been reported. Consequently, the genetic basis of dormancy of seeds produced under natural field conditions remains unclear. We examined the effect of maternal environment on the genetic architecture of seed dormancy using a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a cross between two locally adapted populations of Arabidopsis thaliana from Italy and Sweden. We mapped quantitative trait loci (QTL) for dormancy of seeds produced in the greenhouse and at the native field sites of the parental genotypes. The Italian genotype produced seeds with stronger dormancy at fruit maturation than did the Swedish genotype in all three environments, and the maternal field environments induced higher dormancy levels compared to the greenhouse environment in both genotypes. Across the three maternal environments, a total of nine dormancy QTL were detected, three of which were only detected among seeds matured in the field, and six of which showed significant QTL × maternal environment interactions. One QTL had a large effect on dormancy across all three environments and colocalized with the candidate gene DOG1. Our results demonstrate the importance of studying the genetic basis of putatively adaptive traits under relevant conditions. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Socially dominant mice in C57BL6 background show increased social motivation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kunkel, Thaddeus; Wang, Hongbing

2018-01-15

A series of behavioral tests measuring social dominance, social motivation, and non-social motivation are examined in adult male C57BL6 mice. By using the well-known tube dominance test to determine social dominance and rank, we find that, in the absence of competition for resource and mating, group-housed mouse cage-mates display stable and mostly linear and transitive social hierarchies. Mice with top and bottom social ranks are subjected to a three-chamber social interaction test to measure social motivation. The top ranked mice spend more time interacting with a stranger mouse than the bottom ranked mice, suggesting that social dominance may positively influence social motivation. When subjected to a novel environment, mice with different social ranks show similar locomotion and exploring activity in the open field test, suggesting no detectable difference in certain aspects of non-social motivation. These results demonstrate a behavioral correlation between social dominance and social motivation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A comparison between the IAEA Safety Series 6 thermal environment and a proposed alternative thermal environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wix, S.D.; Koski, J.A.

1994-01-01

The present regulations for packaging and transportation of radioactive materials, IAEA Safety Series No. 6; 1985, establish specific criteria for the thermal environment of a hypothetical accident. The regulation states: The scope of this paper is to examine the effects on modeling that result with the Fry proposed thermal boundary conditions. The examination is accomplished by comparing thermal model results using the current IAEA specified thermal environment and the Fry proposed thermal boundary conditions

Neurocognitive Treatment for a Patient with Alzheimer's Disease Using a Virtual Reality Navigational Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul J.F. White

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In this case study, a man at the onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD was enrolled in a cognitive treatment program based upon spatial navigation in a virtual reality (VR environment. We trained him to navigate to targets in a symmetric, landmark-less virtual building. Our research goals were to determine whether an individual with AD could learn to navigate in a simple VR navigation (VRN environment and whether that training could also bring real-life cognitive benefits. The results show that our participant learned to perfectly navigate to desired targets in the VRN environment over the course of the training program. Furthermore, subjective feedback from his primary caregiver (his wife indicated that his skill at navigating while driving improved noticeably and that he enjoyed cognitive improvement in his daily life at home. These results suggest that VRN treatments might benefit other people with AD.

"DREEM" comes true - Students′ perceptions of educational environment in an Indian medical school

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H S Kiran

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Background: The accomplishment and contentment of students depends upon their educational environment. Very few studies in India have looked at the impact of educational environment on students, there are few such studies in our country despite having a large number of medical schools. Objective: This study was performed to assess the undergraduate students′ perceptions of medical education in general and educational environment in our medical school in particular. Materials and Methods: The Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM, a validated inventory was distributed among undergraduate students in final Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS (2010-2011 and students who were undergoing internship (2010-2011 and various scores were calculated and the means were compared using Mann-Whitney test. Results: The mean total DREEM score was found to be 121.5/200 for final MBBS students (n = 115 and 118.4/200 (n = 109 for the internship batch students. There was no statistically significant difference between the scores of the two batches. The overall DREEM score for our Medical School during the academic year 2010-2011 (for the final MBBS and internship batch was 120/200 (n = 224, which showed that the students′ perceptions were more positive. Conclusion: The study showed that the students′ perception of the educational environment was positive. There was no statistically significant difference between the scores of the two batches (final MBBS and internship. This study helped us to introspect and identify remediable areas in the educational environment of our medical school and hence we could suggest some measures to modify them.

Magnetic studies of dusts in the urban environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xie, S.

2000-12-01

Dusts are one of the major public health concerns in the urban environment. This study investigates the application of magnetic techniques in the studies of urban dust pollution. Measurements of magnetic properties, element concentrations, and the organic matter content were carried out on Liverpool (UK) street dust and/or Bootle (UK) deposited dust. Mixed dominant ferrimagnetic phases are found in Liverpool street dust although magnetite is probably a major one. The partial susceptibility technique is able to model the contributions of main magnetic components satisfactorily in Liverpool street dust. There are similar spatial distributions for some measurements, such as χLF and Pb, whilst there are different patterns for some measurements, such as χLF and the organic matter content. There are good linear correlations between the organic matter content and some magnetic mineral concentration-related parameters for < 1mm (bulk) samples. Among them, frequency dependent susceptibility (χFD) shows the highest correlation coefficient value. χFD percentage demonstrates a significant correlation with the organic matter content for size fraction and bulk samples. This suggests that re-entrainment of soil is probably a major source of the organic material present in street dust. The ratio χARM /SIRM shows a highly significant correlation with the organic matter content for <150μm fraction samples. The study demonstrates that the simple, rapid, and non-destructive magnetic measurements may be used as proxies for the organic matter content in street dust. Associations between magnetic properties and element concentrations are investigated by using correlation analysis and factor analysis, which may be a potential approach for source identification of magnetic material in the environment. The study suggests that ferrimagnetic minerals are the dominant magnetic component in Bootle dust samples. Both studied sites show similar magnetic properties, but they can be

A Longitudinal Analysis of the Influence of the Neighborhood Environment on Recreational Walking within the Neighborhood: Results from RESIDE

OpenAIRE

Christian, Hayley; Knuiman, Matthew; Divitini, Mark; Foster, Sarah; Hooper, Paula; Boruff, Bryan; Bull, Fiona; Giles-Corti, Billie

2017-01-01

Background: There is limited longitudinal evidence confirming the role of neighborhood environment attributes in encouraging people to walk more or if active people simply choose to live in activity-friendly neighborhoods. Natural experiments of policy changes to create more walkable communities provide stronger evidence for a causal effect of neighborhood environments on residents’ walking. Objectives: We aimed to investigate longitudinal associations between objective and perceived neighbor...

Performance Implications of Environment-Strategy-Governance Misfit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lindawati Gani

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This study examines the impacts of matching competitive environment, business strategy, and corporate governance structure on firm performance. We predict that in a dynamic environment, firms pursuing a product differentiation strategy will perform better than firms pursuing a strategy of cost leadership, but the performance differential is affected by the level of board independence and managerial share ownership. In a stable environment, we predict that firms pursuing a strategy of cost leadership will perform better than firms pursuing a product differentiation strategy, and the performance differential is affected by the level of board independence and managerial share ownership. Overall, the results are consistent with the predictions of this study. Board independence and managerial ownership affect the performance differential between product differentiators and cost leaders in a dynamic environment. In a stable environment, however, the results are not statistically significant.

Radioactivity in the Norwegian Marine Environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

The national monitoring programme for radioactivity in the marine environment was established in 1999. The programme is coordinated by the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (NRPA) in cooperation with the Institute of Marine Research (IMR). The principal objective of the programme is to document levels, distributions and trends of radionuclides in the marine environment. Data regarding discharges of radionuclides from both Norwegian and other sources are collected, and assessments of the resulting radiation exposures of humans and biota will be carried out. Results from the analysis of environmental samples collected in 1999 are presented in a new NRPA report (NRPA, 2001:9 ''Radioactivity in the Marine Environment 1999''. Some results from the monitoring programme in 1999 are summarised below along with more recent data concerning concentrations of the radionuclide technetium-99. (author)

Does the Social Working Environment Predict Beginning Teachers' Self-Efficacy and Feelings of Depression?

Science.gov (United States)

Devos, Christelle; Dupriez, Vincent; Paquay, Leopold

2012-01-01

We investigate how the social working environment predicts beginning teachers' self-efficacy and feelings of depression. Two quantitative studies are presented. The results show that the goal structure of the school culture (mastery or performance orientation) predicts both outcomes. Frequent collaborative interactions with colleagues are related…

Attitude of students intending to be teachers toward nuclear power generation and the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shiomi, Tetsuro; Tada, Yasuyuki

2002-01-01

The ''Period for Integrated study'' will be added to the existing subjects in elementary schools, junior and high schools from 2002. Subjects included in the period are, for example, international understanding, information, environment, etc. To treat the issues about environment, energy and nuclear power generation in the period, it is necessary to study the attitude of the teachers and the students intending to be teachers toward environment, energy, atomic power and integrated study. The results of the present survey show that the teachers studying in under graduate schools and the students intending to be teachers have negative attitude toward nuclear power, have concern about environment and energy, value cooperation with a company in the period. When they deal with the environment, energy and nuclear power in the period, individual ideas and principles are not taught, and teachers gather information from the pros and cons, and motivate the children to judge by themselves. This reflects the basic idea of ''the Period of Integrated Study''. (author)

Towards a future robotic home environment: a survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Güttler, Jörg; Georgoulas, Christos; Linner, Thomas; Bock, Thomas

2015-01-01

cost-effective, the suggested solutions are modular. Therefore, it will be possible to straightforwardly install the proposed devices in an existing home environment in a 'plug and play' manner once the terminals can be prefabricated off-site. This article shows a variety of concepts that have been developed to support elderly people in their ADLs. The prototypes of the proposed concepts in this paper have been tested with elderly people. The results of the tests show that robots embedded in furniture, walls, ceiling, etc. offer enhanced support, properly addressing elderly as well as disabled people to individually and independently manage their ADLs. In order to make the concepts realizable in terms of cost, it will be necessary to standardize and modularize these concepts for industrial fabrication. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel

Assessment of heterogeneous geological environment using geostatistical techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toida, Masaru; Suyama, Yasuhiro; Shiogama, Yukihiro; Atsumi, Hiroyuki; Abe, Yasunori; Furuichi, Mitsuaki

2003-02-01

'Geoscientific' research at Tono are developing site investigation and assessment techniques in geological environment. One of their important themes is to establish rational methodology to reduce uncertainties associated with the understanding of geological environment, which often exhibits significant heterogeneity. Purpose of this study is to identify and evaluate uncertainties associated with the understanding of geological environment. Because it is useful to guide designing effective site investigation techniques to reduce the uncertainty. For this, a methodology of the uncertainty analysis concerning the heterogeneous geological environment has been developed. In this report the methodology has also been tested through an exercise attempted in Tono area to demonstrate its applicability. This report summarizes as follows: 1) The exercise shows that the methodology considered 'variability' and 'ignorance' can demonstrate its applicability at three-dimensional case. 2) The exercise shows that the methodology can identity and evaluate uncertainties concerning ground water flow associated with performance assessment. 3) Based on sensitivity analyses, it is possible for the methodology to support designs of the following stage investigations to reduce the uncertainties efficiently. (author)

ASSESSMENT OF PROFESSIONAL SKILLS OF STUDENTS IN IT-BASED CONTROLLED EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT OF A UNIVERSITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Evgeiy Nikolaevich Boyarov

2013-08-01

Full Text Available The article looks at the problem of estimating professional skills of students, the process of their building and assessing their level in IT-based controlled educational environment of a university. The author presents research findings of professional skills level of future educational professionals in the field of Life Safety[1] based on their academic results.Goal: to develop and show by experiments efficiency of building professional skills of students in IT-based controlled educational environment of a university.Results: increasing the level of professional skills in IT-based controlled educational environment of a university.Scope of application of results: field of higher professional education.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-7-1[1] Life Safety or Fundamentals of Health and Safety is a secondary school subject, which involves teaching basic rules of how to act in dangerous situations in everyday life (natural disasters, fires, terrorist attacks, etc., provide first aid, etc.

Fetal exposure to a diabetic intrauterine environment resulted in a failure of cord blood endothelial progenitor cell adaptation against chronic hypoxia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dincer UD

2014-12-01

Full Text Available U Deniz Dincer Department of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Bezmialem Vakif University (BAVU, Fatih/Istanbul, Turkey Abstract: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM has long-term health consequences, and fetal exposure to a diabetic intrauterine environment increases cardiovascular risk for her adult offspring. Some part of this could be related to their endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs. Understanding the vessel-forming ability of human umbilical cord blood (HUCB-derived endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs against pathological stress such as GDM response to hypoxia could generate new therapeutic strategies. This study aims to investigate the role of chronic hypoxia in EPCs functional and vessel-forming ability in GDM subjects. Each ECFC was expressed in endothelial and pro-angiogenic specific markers, namely endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS, platelet (PECAM-1 endothelial cell adhesion molecule 1, vascular endothelial-cadherin CdH5 (Ca-dependent cell adhesion molecule, vascular endothelial growth factor A, (VEGFA and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1. Chronic hypoxia did not affect CdH5, but PECAM1 MRNA expressions were increased in control and GDM subjects. Control hypoxic and GDM normoxic VEGFA MRNA expressions and hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF1α protein expressions were significantly increased in HUCB ECFCs. GDM resulted in most failure of HUCB ECFC adaptation and eNOS protein expressions against chronic hypoxia. Chronic hypoxia resulted in an overall decline in HUCB ECFCs' proliferative ability due to reduction of clonogenic capacity and diminished vessel formation. Furthermore, GDM also resulted in most failure of cord blood ECFC adaptation against chronic hypoxic environment. Keywords: endothelial progenitor cells, gestational diabetes mellitus, chronic hypoxia, human cord blood

High yielding biomass genotypes of willow (Salix spp.) show differences in below ground biomass allocation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cunniff, Jennifer; Purdy, Sarah J.; Barraclough, Tim J.P.; Castle, March; Maddison, Anne L.; Jones, Laurence E.; Shield, Ian F.; Gregory, Andrew S.; Karp, Angela

2015-01-01

Willows (Salix spp.) grown as short rotation coppice (SRC) are viewed as a sustainable source of biomass with a positive greenhouse gas (GHG) balance due to their potential to fix and accumulate carbon (C) below ground. However, exploiting this potential has been limited by the paucity of data available on below ground biomass allocation and the extent to which it varies between genotypes. Furthermore, it is likely that allocation can be altered considerably by environment. To investigate the role of genotype and environment on allocation, four willow genotypes were grown at two replicated field sites in southeast England and west Wales, UK. Above and below ground biomass was intensively measured over two two-year rotations. Significant genotypic differences in biomass allocation were identified, with below ground allocation differing by up to 10% between genotypes. Importantly, the genotype with the highest below ground biomass also had the highest above ground yield. Furthermore, leaf area was found to be a good predictor of below ground biomass. Growth environment significantly impacted allocation; the willow genotypes grown in west Wales had up to 94% more biomass below ground by the end of the second rotation. A single investigation into fine roots showed the same pattern with double the volume of fine roots present. This greater below ground allocation may be attributed primarily to higher wind speeds, plus differences in humidity and soil characteristics. These results demonstrate that the capacity exists to breed plants with both high yields and high potential for C accumulation. - Highlights: • SRC willows are a source of biomass and act as carbon (C) sinks. • Biomass allocation was measured in 4 willow genotypes grown in two UK field sites. • The greatest yielding genotype had the greatest below ground biomass at both sites. • Below ground biomass allocation differed by up to 10% between genotypes and 94% between sites. • Environment e.g. wind

Best Practices Regarding the Use of Electronic Environment for Romanian Tourism Development

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Irina Maiorescu

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Information and Communication Technology (ICT plays an important role in all sectors of activity, hence in tourism sector too. Starting from this fact, authors consider as important identifying and implementing best practices in electronic environment for sustainable development of tourism in Romania. Traditional tourism - implying at all stages specialized human support – knows profound modifications. Today, current statistics show that more and more people dive into virtual environment for visualizing new places and finding out new information, for cross border business meetings, for entertainment as well as for communication. Hence, the current paper – presenting the results of a complex quantitative research, aims to discuss about the influence of virtual environment upon tourism in what concerns informing, planning and organizing a trip. The obtained results led towards recommendations for developing ICT facilities, especially for business tourism, for an extensive use of web-GIS applications during the three phases of travel, for improving infrastructure and mobile applications, especially for young people, as well as for implementing digital systems that investigate tourists’ behaviour and personalize tourism offers. The final purpose of the paper is to contribute to the development of best practices that lead to economic growth in tourism, by quantifying the impact of electronic environment upon visiting experiences.

Correlation between Family Environment and Suicidal Ideation in University Students in China

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Hui Zhai

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background: This study investigated the association between suicidal ideation and family environment. The sample included 5183 Chinese university students. A number of studies on suicidal ideation have focused on individuals rather than families. This paper reviews the general principles of suicidal ideation and the consequences resulting from the family environment. Methods: This study used six different colleges as the dataset, which included 2645 males and 2538 females. Students were questioned with respect to social demographics and suicidal ideation factors. The data were analyzed with factor and logistic analyses to determine the association between suicidal ideation and poor family environment. Results: The prevalence of suicidal ideation was 9.2% (476/5183. Most participants with suicidal ideation had significant similarities: they had poor family structures and relationships, their parents had unstable work, and their parents used improper parenting styles. Female students were more likely to have suicidal thoughts than male students. Conclusions: This study shows that suicidal ideation is a public health issue among Chinese university students and demonstrates the importance of considering the family environment when examining university students’ suicidal ideation. Understanding family-related suicidal ideation risk factors can help to predict and prevent suicides among university students.

School Victimization: Family Environment, Self-esteem, and Life Satisfaction from a Gender Perspetive

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Amapola Povedano

2011-04-01

Full Text Available This study analyzed from a gender perspective relationships between perceived family climate, self-esteem, life satisfaction, and adolescent victimization by peers in school. The associations between variables were analyzed with a sample of 1,884 adolescents (52% boys and 48% girls, aged 11 through 17 years (M = 13.7, DT = 1.4. Results structural equation modeling analysis showed that family environment, self-esteem, and life satisfaction were significantly and negatively related to school victimization. Multigroup analyses showed that relationships between variables were not different for boys and girls. We discuss the implications of these results.

Evaluating urban eco-tourism resources and environment: a case study in Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, China

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Qi; Yin, Jie

2018-02-01

In this paper, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, China has been selected as the study area. The overall status and the development conditions of resources and environment have been analyzed for the park. The eco-tourism resources and environment of Chenshan Botanical Garden were further evaluated synthetically by using expert analysis and questionnaire. A comprehensive evaluation system including 16 indices has been initially established from three aspects of tourism resource element value, resource development condition and eco-environment condition. The characteristics of eco-tourism resources and the score of each indicator for Chenshan Botanical Garden have subsequently been generated. The results show that the comprehensive evaluation score of eco-tourism resources and environment for Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden is 72.06, which belongs to third level of excellent tourism resources and environment. Finally, five suggestions are proposed for future development of its eco-tourism resources and environment.

Radioactivity Monitoring of the Irish Environment 2006

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, V.; Dowdall, A; Fegan, M.; Hayden, E.; Kelleher, K.; Long, S.; McEvoy, I.; Somerville, S.; Wong, J.; Pollard, D.

2007-10-01

reprocessing of nuclear fuel. During 2006, levels of radionuclides in airborne radioactivity were low and consistent with measurements in previous years. External gamma dose rates were monitored continuously at fifteen stations. No abnormal levels were observed. In accordance with the RPII's drinking water monitoring protocol, a number of water supplies from Cork, Dublin, Galway and Limerick were tested and found to be within the requirements for radioactivity set out in the relevant national standards. The RPII sampled and measured levels of radioactivity in mixed diet, milk and various other foodstuffs including milk products, baby foods, beef, lamb, poultry and vegetables. These measurements show that levels of artificial radioactivity in the Irish diet continue to be low. In the region of 170 samples of fish, shellfish, seaweed, seawater and sediment were analysed for a range of radionuclides. Along the Irish coastline the highest radioactivity concentrations observed were in the north-east. The main pathway contributing to the exposure of the Irish public to artificial radioactivity from the marine environment is the consumption of seafood. Caesium-137 continues to be the dominant radionuclide, accounting for approximately 70% of the total dose. The dose to the Irish population due to caesium-137 has declined significantly over the last two decades corresponding to the reduction in discharges of this radionuclide from Sellafield. The annual doses incurred by the Irish public as a result of artificial radioactivity in the environment do not constitute a significant health risk and are small compared with the dose received as a result of natural radiation

Standardization of green building technologies for environment design

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Benuzh Andrey

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The article describes the structure and field of standardization ISO / TC 205 “Building environment design”, provides examples of green building technologies. The main purpose of the article is to show the interaction between international ISO / TC 205 “Building environment design” and created in Russia in 2016 the Technical Committee of Standardization № 366 “Green technology of the build environment and green innovative products”. Both of these technical committees promote green building technologies for environment design, thereby deal with the negative impact on the environment and the reasons of global warming. Instead of buildings that attempt to suppress and overcome nature, why not design buildings that integrate with the environment, on every possible level? The international standardization work which ISO/TC 205 “Building environment design” performs seeks, in addition to lowering trade barriers for engineering design, to promote and facilitate the design of high performance buildings: higher performing as economic assets for their owners, higher performing as buildings that provide amenable indoor environment for their occupants, and higher performing with respect to resource utilization and environmental impact.

Components of the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klinda, J.; Lieskovska, Z.

1998-01-01

This report of the Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic deals with the components of the environment. The results of monitoring of air (emission situation), ambient air quality, atmospheric precipitation, tropospheric ozone, water (surface water, groundwater resources, waste water and drinking water), geological factors (geothermal energy, fuel deposits, ore deposits, non-metallic ore deposits), soil (area statistics, soil contamination. soil reaction and active extractable aluminium, soil erosion), flora and fauna (national strategy of biodiversity protection) are presented

Understanding karst environments by thermo-hygrometric monitoring: preliminary results from the Cesi Mountain karst system (Central Italy

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Lucio Di Matteo

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The understanding of karst systems is of paramount importance for the protection and valorisation of these environments. A multidisciplinary study is presented to investigate the possible interconnection between karst features of a karst area located in the south-western part of the Martani chain (Cesi Mountain, Central Italy. This hydrogeological structure contributes to recharge a deep regional aquifer. The latter feeds the high discharge and salinity Stifone springs. In the southwestern part of Martani chain, seven caves have been mapped, five of which are hosted in the Calcare Massiccio Formation. The analysis of thermo-hygrometric data collected since Autumn 2014 into the caves and those from external meteorological stations, showed the timing of the airflow inversion occurring on late winter/early spring and summer/ early autumn. Despite the complexity of the morphology of caves and of conceptual models of airflow pattern, these data seem to indicate that the monitored small caves could be interconnected to a considerably wider cave system. Data here presented coupled with the knowledge on hydrogeological and geological-structural setting of the limestone massif are useful to drive future speleological explorations, aiming to discover new large cavities and to better understand the water recharge process.

Corrosion studies of modified organosilane coated magnesium–yttrium alloy in different environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xue Dingchuan; Tan Zongqing; Schulz, Mark J.; Vanooij, William J.; Sankar, Jagannathan; Yun Yeoheung; Dong Zhongyun

2012-01-01

Magnesium (Mg) and its alloys have numerous potential applications as biodegradable implants, but the fast degradation rate of Mg alloys at the initial implanted stage could be a problem. This paper describes the modification of the water-based bis-[triethoxysilyl] ethane (BTSE) silane applied to the surface of magnesium–yttrium (Mg–4Y) to increase its corrosion resistance. Surface characterization by SEM, FTIR, and EDX showed that the hydrolysis and condensation of the silane resulted in a covalent bonding to the Mg–4Y surface. Corrosion behavior of the uncoated and coated Mg–4Y alloy was evaluated in different environments by using a novel self-developed corrosion probe. Based on the electrochemical results of DC polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), we conclude that the epoxy-modified BTSE silane coating successfully increases the corrosion resistance at the initial stage of implantation. The corrosion rates in the flesh of dead mice environments such as body cavity and subcutaneous tissue of the mice were lower than the corrosion rates in in vitro environments. - Highlights: ► Modified silane was used on Mg–4Y for biological applications. ► Modified silane-treated Mg–4Y increased its corrosion resistance in both In Vitro and In Vivo environments. ► In Vitro testing environment is not consistent with In Vivo animal environment. ► The modified silane mixture protecting mechanisms and its biocompatibility were discussed. ► A novel three-electrode corrosion-monitoring probe was developed for realizing this work's In Vivo testing goals.

DRD4 long allele carriers show heightened attention to high-priority items relative to low-priority items.

Science.gov (United States)

Gorlick, Marissa A; Worthy, Darrell A; Knopik, Valerie S; McGeary, John E; Beevers, Christopher G; Maddox, W Todd

2015-03-01

Humans with seven or more repeats in exon III of the DRD4 gene (long DRD4 carriers) sometimes demonstrate impaired attention, as seen in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and at other times demonstrate heightened attention, as seen in addictive behavior. Although the clinical effects of DRD4 are the focus of much work, this gene may not necessarily serve as a "risk" gene for attentional deficits, but as a plasticity gene where attention is heightened for priority items in the environment and impaired for minor items. Here we examine the role of DRD4 in two tasks that benefit from selective attention to high-priority information. We examine a category learning task where performance is supported by focusing on features and updating verbal rules. Here, selective attention to the most salient features is associated with good performance. In addition, we examine the Operation Span (OSPAN) task, a working memory capacity task that relies on selective attention to update and maintain items in memory while also performing a secondary task. Long DRD4 carriers show superior performance relative to short DRD4 homozygotes (six or less tandem repeats) in both the category learning and OSPAN tasks. These results suggest that DRD4 may serve as a "plasticity" gene where individuals with the long allele show heightened selective attention to high-priority items in the environment, which can be beneficial in the appropriate context.