Climatic change in Germany. Development, consequences, risks and perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brasseur, Guy; Jacob, Daniela; Schuck-Zoeller, Susanne

2017-01-01

The book on the climatic change in Germany includes contributions to the following issues: global climate projections and regional projections in Germany and Europe: observation of the climatic change in Central Europe, regional climate modeling, limits and challenges of the regional climate modeling; climatic change in Germany - regional features and extremes: temperature and heat waves, precipitation, wind and cyclones, sea-level increase, tides, storm floods and sea state, floods, definition uncertainties, draughts, forest fires, natural risks; consequences of the climatic change in Germany: air quality, health, biodiversity, water resources, biochemical cycles, agriculture, forestry, soils, personal and commercial transport, cities and urban regions, tourism, infrastructure, energy and water supplies, cost of the climatic change and economic consequences; overall risks and uncertainties: assessment of vulnerabilities, literature review, climatic change as risk enhancement in complex systems, overall risks and uncertainties, decision making under uncertainties in complex systems; integrated strategies for the adaptation to the climatic change: the climate resilient society - transformations and system changes, adaptation to the climatic change as new political field, options for adaptation strategies.

Assessing economic consequences of radiation accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rowe, M.D.; Lee, J.C.; Grimshaw, C.A.; Kalb, P.D.

1987-01-01

A recent review of existing models and methods for assessing potential consequences of accidents in the high-level radioactive waste (HLW) disposal system identifies economic consequence assessment methods as a weak point. Existing methods have mostly been designed to assess economic consequences of reactor accidents, the possible scale of which can be several orders of magnitude greater than anything possible in the HLW disposal system. There is therefore some question about the applicability of these methods, their assumptions, and their level of detail to assessments of smaller accidents. The US Dept. of Energy funded this study to determine needs for code modifications or model development for assessing economic costs of accidents in the HLW disposal system. The objectives of the study were as follows: (1) review the literature on economic consequences of accidents to determine the availability of assessment methods and data and their applicability to the HLW disposal system before closure. (2) Determine needs for expansion, revision, or adaptation of methods and data for modeling economic consequences of accidents of the scale projected for the disposal system. (3) Gather data that might be useful for the needed revisions for modeling economic impacts on this scale

Vestibular adaption to an altered gravitational environment : Consequences for spatial orientation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nooij, S.A.E.

2008-01-01

Earth's gravity is an omnipresent factor in human life and provides a strong reference for spatial orientation. Changes in the prevailing gravity level, like the transition to weightlessness during space flight, affect spatial orientation and require adaptation of many physiological processes

The consequences of early life adversity: neurobiological, behavioural and epigenetic adaptations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Maccari, S.; Krugers, H.J.; Morley-Fletcher, S.; Szyf, M.; Brunton, P.J.

2014-01-01

During the perinatal period, the brain is particularly sensitive to remodelling by environmental factors. Adverse early life experiences, such as stress exposure or sub-optimal maternal care can have long-lasting detrimental consequences for an individual. This phenomenon is often referred to as

[Climate change - physical and mental consequences].

Science.gov (United States)

Bunz, Maxie; Mücke, Hans-Guido

2017-06-01

Climate change has already had a large influence on the human environmental system and directly or indirectly affects physical and mental health. Triggered by extreme meteorological conditions, for example, storms, floods, earth slides and heat periods, the direct consequences range from illnesses to serious accidents with injuries, or in extreme cases fatalities. Indirectly, a changed environment due to climate change affects, amongst other things, the cardiovascular system and respiratory tract, and can also cause allergies and infectious diseases. In addition, increasing confrontation with environmental impacts may cause negative psychological effects such as posttraumatic stress disorders and anxiety, but also aggression, distress and depressive symptoms. The extent and severity of the health consequences depend on individual pre-disposition, resilience, behaviour and adaptation.

Companies and adaptation to climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bourrier, Herve; Duchene, Patrice-Henry; Metcalf, Gerry; Deandreis, Celine; Hardelin, Julien; Vautard, Robert; Bailly, Boris; Gemenne, Francois; Peyrat, Olivier; Greppo, Fabien; Reysset, Bertrand; Beriot, Nicolas; Leonard, Damien; Colas, Julien; Tutenuit, Claire

2014-04-01

Whereas climate change will have significant consequences on various economic sectors (infrastructures, energy and water supply, agriculture, cities and buildings, and so on), population behaviours and uses will have to be deeply changed, and this is more particularly the case for enterprises and companies. This guide aims at presenting solutions to face the challenge of climate change for enterprises. In its first part, it outlines how our climate is already changing, gives an overview of main future climate trends in the World, indicates what will be the future climate in France, discusses the noticeable and brutal consequences for activities, resources and territories, outlines that adaptation to tomorrow's climate begins now, and discusses to which climate we'll have to adapt at the local level. In the second part, this publication explains why enterprises must adapt themselves to climate change: enterprises are in a changing environment, and must take a legal and standard framework into account, but this adaptation will have a cost. Adaptation also means uncertainty management, and enterprises are facing obstacles and brakes to adaptation. The last part describes how to implement a strategy of adaptation in an enterprise: resources for adaptation, integration of enterprise management, understanding needs to convince within the enterprise itself, assessment of vulnerability to climate change, how to define priorities for action, which options to choose to adapt the enterprise, how to implement the strategy and how to follow it up and assess it. Some sector-related sheets are provided in appendix. They indicate identified risks, potential impacts of national policies for enterprises, measures which can be freely implemented by enterprises, and identified opportunities for various sectors (health, agriculture, forest, coastal areas, fishery and aquaculture, energy and industry, transport infrastructure, town planning and built environment, tourism

The impact of the great recession on community-based mental health organizations: an analysis of top managers' perceptions of the economic downturn's effects and adaptive strategies used to manage the consequences in Ohio.

Science.gov (United States)

Sweeney, Helen Anne; Knudsen, Kraig

2014-04-01

The Great Recession of 2007-2009 adversely affected the financial stability of the community-based mental health infrastructure in Ohio. This paper presents survey results of the type of adaptive strategies used by Ohio community-based mental health organizations to manage the consequences of the economic downturn. Results were aggregated into geographical classifications of rural, mid-sized urban, and urban. Across all groups, respondents perceived, to varying degrees, that the Great Recession posed a threat to their organization's survival. Urban organizations were more likely to implement adaptive strategies to expand operations while rural and midsized urban organizations implemented strategies to enhance internal efficiencies.

Livelihood Resilience and Adaptive Capacity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thulstrup, Andreas Waaben

2015-01-01

This article analyses the implementation and outcomes of national development programs in a mountainous commune in Vietnam. The article traces the history of State intervention and the capacity of households and the community to adapt to change. The assessment reveals unintended consequences of t...

Make way for the climate. National adaptation strategy. The interdepartmental memorandum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-11-01

This memorandum describes the outline of a national strategy for adaptation to the consequences of climate change. The memorandum is the first report of the Adapting Spatial Planning to Climate Change programme (ARK). [mk] [nl

Climate change and adaptation policy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smith, Jamie [Policy Research Initiative, Ottawa, ON (Canada); Lavender, B. [Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, ON (Canada); Smit, B. [Guelph Univ., ON (Canada). Dept. of Geography; Burton, I.

2001-12-31

In this document the authors indicate that some level of adaptation will be required as climate change affects our lives. They narrowed their examination to three sectors of Canadian society: human health, agriculture, and northern communities and infrastructure. Within each sector they discussed the policy research needs and the adaptation problems to be expected. Uncertainties remain concerning the magnitude of climate change, its timing and consequences, and further research is required to reduce the uncertainties. Canada presents certain vulnerabilities, and to enhance and improve the resilience of the population toward climate change, some adaptation measures must be put in place to reduce the vulnerabilities. Confidence will come as a by-product of the leadership required to bring about the required adaptation measures, and cooperation is a must between all levels of government, the private sector and society to reach agreement.

Psychosocial adaptation: an evolutionary concept analysis exploring a common multidisciplinary language.

Science.gov (United States)

Londono, Yenly; McMillan, Diana E

2015-11-01

To provide the first known concept analysis of psychosocial adaptation, exploring its evolution from the concept adaptation. We also determine how psychosocial adaptation is conceptualized across nursing, health, sociobehavioural and education disciplines. Psychosocial adaptation is an important conceptual term that is poorly defined in nursing and other health, sociobehavioural and education disciplines. A thorough understanding of the concept's application in nursing and across disciplines can help to clarify its meaning, facilitate a more effective common language between disciplines and inform future psychosocial adaptation research. Rodger's evolutionary view guided this concept analysis. Peer-reviewed English and Spanish manuscripts published between 2011-2013 were retrieved from the following databases: CINAHL, Psych INFO, PubMed, Scopus and LILACS. Eighty-nine articles related to psychosocial adaptation were included in the analysis. Findings identify key attributes, antecedents and consequences associated with the use of the concept. Findings were compared vis-a-vis reported characteristics of adaptation. The attributes characterizing psychosocial adaptation are: change, process, continuity, interaction and influence. In psychosocial adaptation, new life conditions serve as antecedents, while consequences are good or bad outcomes. Important features of the evolution of this concept include its broad appropriation across the reviewed disciplines. The attributes of psychosocial adaptation, have some similarities to those of general adaptation. Both concepts include an aspect of change, but unlike adaptation, psychosocial adaptation has branched away from biological descriptors, such as homeostasis and tends to focus on relational characteristics, such as interaction and influences. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Frequency Adaptability and Waveform Design for OFDM Radar Space-Time Adaptive Processing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sen, Satyabrata [ORNL; Glover, Charles Wayne [ORNL

2012-01-01

We propose an adaptive waveform design technique for an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) radar signal employing a space-time adaptive processing (STAP) technique. We observe that there are inherent variabilities of the target and interference responses in the frequency domain. Therefore, the use of an OFDM signal can not only increase the frequency diversity of our system, but also improve the target detectability by adaptively modifying the OFDM coefficients in order to exploit the frequency-variabilities of the scenario. First, we formulate a realistic OFDM-STAP measurement model considering the sparse nature of the target and interference spectra in the spatio-temporal domain. Then, we show that the optimal STAP-filter weight-vector is equal to the generalized eigenvector corresponding to the minimum generalized eigenvalue of the interference and target covariance matrices. With numerical examples we demonstrate that the resultant OFDM-STAP filter-weights are adaptable to the frequency-variabilities of the target and interference responses, in addition to the spatio-temporal variabilities. Hence, by better utilizing the frequency variabilities, we propose an adaptive OFDM-waveform design technique, and consequently gain a significant amount of STAP-performance improvement.

Now, think again about adaptation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tarlock, A [Chicago-Kent College of Law (USA)

1992-01-01

The paper concentrates on three problems with adaptation to global warming that are often overlooked. First, adaptation is based on the ideology of scientific progress, a faith that is open to question. Second, the degree of friction in the proposed institutional responses is often underestimated so institutions may not perform as expected. Third, many institutions have no fair and adequate mechanism to deal with global warming. In these cases, adaptation is the adoption of a no action strategy. The philosophical basis for the first objection is discussed. Then the second and third objections are illustrated with two problems: the reallocation of western water and the use of land use controls to protect coastal and inland areas from the adverse consequences of global climate change. 63 refs.

Justice in Urban Climate Change Adaptation: Criteria and Application to Delhi

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara Hughes

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Cities around the world are increasingly developing plans to adapt to the consequences of climate change. These plans will have important consequences for urban populations because they are likely to reshape and reconfigure urban infrastructures, services, and decision making processes. It is critical that these adaptation plans are developed in a way that is just. Criteria was developed that can be used to assess justice in adaptation so that the processes, priorities, and impacts address the needs of the most vulnerable urban populations. Further, mechanisms are outlined that have been proposed as responsible for producing urban injustice. The justice criteria are applied to the case of adaptation planning in Delhi and the extent to which poor and informal populations are included and affected by this planning. The analysis shows that adaptation planning in Delhi does not meet the justice criteria in part because of a lack of capacity and the political economy of poverty in the city. The criteria for justice and mechanisms of injustice offer an important step toward developing a greater understanding of not only whether city-level adaptation planning is just, but also why it is or is not.

Consequences of evolution: is rhinosinusitis, like otitis media, a unique disease of humans?

Science.gov (United States)

Bluestone, Charles D; Pagano, Anthony S; Swarts, J Douglas; Laitman, Jeffrey T

2012-12-01

We hypothesize that if otitis media is most likely primarily a human disease due to consequences of evolution, rhinosinusitis may also be limited to humans for similar reasons. If otitis media, with its associated hearing loss, occurred in animals in the wild, they probably would have been culled out by predation. Similarly, if rhinosinusitis occurred regularly in animals, they likely would have suffered from severely decreased olfactory abilities, crucial for predator avoidance, and presumably would likewise have been selected against evolutionarily. Thus, both otitis media and rhinosinusitis-common conditions particularly in infants and young children-appear to be essentially human conditions. Their manifestation in our species is likely due to our unique evolutionary trajectory and may be a consequence of adaptations, including adaptations to bipedalism and speech, loss of prognathism, and immunologic and environmental factors.

Human evolutionary history: consequences for the pathogenesis of otitis media.

Science.gov (United States)

Bluestone, Charles D; Swarts, J Douglas

2010-12-01

The pathogenesis of otitis media is multifactorial, but the role of evolution on its development has not been addressed. We posit that the high prevalence of middle-ear disease is most likely restricted to humans, in contrast to other wild species, because the associated hearing loss would have reduced the fitness of affected individuals as a result of predation. We present here the possible consequences of two human adaptations that may have resulted in ubiquitous otitis media: the interaction of bipedalism and increased brain size, and the loss of facial prognathism resulting from speech or cooking. As a consequence of our adaptation for bipedalism, the female pelvic outlet is constricted, which, in the context of a rapidly enlarging brain, results in humans being born 12 months too soon. Significantly, immature eustachian tube structure and function, in conjunction with an immature immune system, helps to explain the high incidence of otitis media in the first year of life. But the persistence of middle-ear disease beyond this stage is not explained by "immaturity." The morphology of the palate changed with the adaptations that produced facial flattening, with concomitant effects on eustachian tube function. These changes resulted in relatively poor human physiologic tubal function in comparison to the nonhuman primate. Copyright © 2010 American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Metabotypes with properly functioning mitochondria and anti-inflammation predict extended productive life span in dairy cows

Science.gov (United States)

Huber, K.; Dänicke, S.; Rehage, J.; Sauerwein, H.; Otto, W.; Rolle-Kampczyk, U.; von Bergen, M.

2016-01-01

The failure to adapt metabolism to the homeorhetic demands of lactation is considered as a main factor in reducing the productive life span of dairy cows. The so far defined markers of production performance and metabolic health in dairy cows do not predict the length of productive life span satisfyingly. This study aimed to identify novel pathways and biomarkers related to productive life in dairy cows by means of (targeted) metabolomics. In a longitudinal study from 42 days before up to 100 days after parturition, we identified metabolites such as long-chain acylcarnitines and biogenic amines associated with extended productive life spans. These metabolites are mainly secreted by the liver and depend on the functionality of hepatic mitochondria. The concentrations of biogenic amines and some acylcarnitines differed already before the onset of lactation thus indicating their predictive potential for continuation or early ending of productive life. PMID:27089826

Graceful degradation of cooperative adaptive cruise control

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ploeg, J.; Semsar-Kazerooni, E.; Lijster, G.; Wouw, N. van de; Nijmeijer, H.

2015-01-01

Cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC) employs wireless intervehicle communication, in addition to onboard sensors, to obtain string-stable vehicle-following behavior at small intervehicle distances. As a consequence, however, CACC is vulnerable to communication impairments such as latency and

Genetic variation in adaptability and pleiotropy in budding yeast.

Science.gov (United States)

Jerison, Elizabeth R; Kryazhimskiy, Sergey; Mitchell, James Kameron; Bloom, Joshua S; Kruglyak, Leonid; Desai, Michael M

2017-08-17

Evolution can favor organisms that are more adaptable, provided that genetic variation in adaptability exists. Here, we quantify this variation among 230 offspring of a cross between diverged yeast strains. We measure the adaptability of each offspring genotype, defined as its average rate of adaptation in a specific environmental condition, and analyze the heritability, predictability, and genetic basis of this trait. We find that initial genotype strongly affects adaptability and can alter the genetic basis of future evolution. Initial genotype also affects the pleiotropic consequences of adaptation for fitness in a different environment. This genetic variation in adaptability and pleiotropy is largely determined by initial fitness, according to a rule of declining adaptability with increasing initial fitness, but several individual QTLs also have a significant idiosyncratic role. Our results demonstrate that both adaptability and pleiotropy are complex traits, with extensive heritable differences arising from naturally occurring variation.

Sparse adaptive filters for echo cancellation

CERN Document Server

Paleologu, Constantin

2011-01-01

Adaptive filters with a large number of coefficients are usually involved in both network and acoustic echo cancellation. Consequently, it is important to improve the convergence rate and tracking of the conventional algorithms used for these applications. This can be achieved by exploiting the sparseness character of the echo paths. Identification of sparse impulse responses was addressed mainly in the last decade with the development of the so-called ``proportionate''-type algorithms. The goal of this book is to present the most important sparse adaptive filters developed for echo cancellati

An Innovative Adaptive Pushover Procedure Based on Storey Shear

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shakeri, Kazem; Shayanfar, Mohsen A.

2008-01-01

Since the conventional pushover analyses are unable to consider the effect of the higher modes and progressive variation in dynamic properties, recent years have witnessed the development of some advanced adaptive pushover methods. However in these methods, using the quadratic combination rules to combine the modal forces result in a positive value in load pattern at all storeys and the reversal sign of the modes is removed; consequently these methods do not have a major advantage over their non-adaptive counterparts. Herein an innovative adaptive pushover method based on storey shear is proposed which can take into account the reversal signs in higher modes. In each storey the applied load pattern is derived from the storey shear profile; consequently, the sign of the applied loads in consecutive steps could be changed. Accuracy of the proposed procedure is examined by applying it to a 20-storey steel building. It illustrates a good estimation of the peak response in inelastic phase

Adaptive aspirations : Performance consequences of risk preferences at extremes and alternative reference groups

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hu, S.; Blettner, D.P.; Bettis, R.

2011-01-01

Goals or aspirations and their relationships to risk taking and performance are important issues in both psychology and strategic management. The concept of adaptive aspirations, as discussed in Cyert and March's Behavioral Theory of the Firm, has long been a topic of interest in both fields.

Consequences of Screening in Breast Cancer (COS-BC): development of a questionnaire

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brodersen, John; Thorsen, Hanne

2008-01-01

The aims of the study were to translate and adapt both the negative and positive items of the Psychological Consequences Questionnaire (PCQ) into Danish and to test the translated version for comprehension, suitability, and content coverage by developing new items in a setting of false...

A Theory of Secondary Teachers' Adaptations When Implementing a Reading Intervention Program

Science.gov (United States)

Leko, Melinda M.; Roberts, Carly A.; Pek, Yvonne

2015-01-01

This study examined the causes and consequences of secondary teachers' adaptations when implementing a research-based reading intervention program. Interview, observation, and artifact data were collected on five middle school intervention teachers, leading to a grounded theory composed of the core component, reconciliation through adaptation, and…

The Adaptive Capacity Wheel : a method to assess the inherent characteristics of institutions to enable the adaptive capacity of society

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gupta, Joyeeta; Termeer, Catrien; Klostermann, Judith; Meijerink, Sander; van den Brink, Margo; Jong, Pieter; Nooteboom, Sibout; Bergsma, Emmy

2010-01-01

Climate change potentially brings continuous and unpredictable changes in weather patterns. Consequently, it calls for institutions that promote the adaptive capacity of society and allow society to modify its institutions at a rate commensurate with the rate of environmental change. Institutions,

The Adaptive Capacity Wheel: a method to assess the inherent characteristics of institutions to enable the adaptive capacity of society

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gupta, J.; Termeer, C.; Klostermann, J.; Meijerink, S.; van den Brink, M.; de Jong, P.; Nootebooms, S.; Bergsma, E.J.

2010-01-01

Climate change potentially brings continuous and unpredictable changes in weather patterns. Consequently, it calls for institutions that promote the adaptive capacity of society and allow society to modify its institutions at a rate commensurate with the rate of environmental change. Institutions,

Consequences of Part-Time Work on the Academic and Psychosocial Adaptation of Adolescents

Science.gov (United States)

Dumont, Michelle; Leclerc, Danielle; McKinnon, Suzie

2009-01-01

Part-time work is becoming a common fact of life for high school students. Furthermore, its short and intermediate term impacts on the academic and psychosocial adaptation of students between the middle and end of high school are fairly unknown. To compensate for this lack of information, students in Grades 9 and 11 were consulted and asked to…

Adaptive Management of Environmental Flows

Science.gov (United States)

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

2018-03-01

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

The Influence of Negative Surprise on Hedonic Adaptation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Paula Kieling

2016-01-01

Full Text Available After some time using a product or service, the consumer tends to feel less pleasure with consumption. This reduction of pleasure is known as hedonic adaptation. One of the emotions that interfere in this process is surprise. Based on two experiments, we suggest that negative surprise – differently to positive – influences with the level of pleasure foreseen and experienced by the consumer. Study 1 analyzes the influence of negative (vs. positive surprise on the consumer’s post-purchase hedonic adaptation expectation. Results showed that negative surprise influences the intensity of adaptation, augmenting its strength. Study 2 verifies the influence of negative (vs positive surprise over hedonic adaptation. The findings suggested that negative surprise makes adaptation happen more intensively and faster as time goes by, which brings consequences to companies and consumers in the post-purchase process, such as satisfaction and loyalty.

Face adaptation does not improve performance on search or discrimination tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, Minna; Boynton, Geoffrey M; Fine, Ione

2008-01-04

The face adaptation effect, as described by M. A. Webster and O. H. MacLin (1999), is a robust perceptual shift in the appearance of faces after a brief adaptation period. For example, prolonged exposure to Asian faces causes a Eurasian face to appear distinctly Caucasian. This adaptation effect has been documented for general configural effects, as well as for the facial properties of gender, ethnicity, expression, and identity. We began by replicating the finding that adaptation to ethnicity, gender, and a combination of both features induces selective shifts in category appearance. We then investigated whether this adaptation has perceptual consequences beyond a shift in the perceived category boundary by measuring the effects of adaptation on RSVP, spatial search, and discrimination tasks. Adaptation had no discernable effect on performance for any of these tasks.

Adaptive constructive processes and memory accuracy: consequences of counterfactual simulations in young and older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerlach, Kathy D; Dornblaser, David W; Schacter, Daniel L

2014-01-01

People frequently engage in counterfactual thinking: mental simulations of alternative outcomes to past events. Like simulations of future events, counterfactual simulations serve adaptive functions. However, future simulation can also result in various kinds of distortions and has thus been characterised as an adaptive constructive process. Here we approach counterfactual thinking as such and examine whether it can distort memory for actual events. In Experiments 1a/b young and older adults imagined themselves experiencing different scenarios. Participants then imagined the same scenario again, engaged in no further simulation of a scenario, or imagined a counterfactual outcome. On a subsequent recognition test participants were more likely to make false alarms to counterfactual lures than novel scenarios. Older adults were more prone to these memory errors than younger adults. In Experiment 2 younger and older participants selected and performed different actions, then recalled performing some of those actions, imagined performing alternative actions to some of the selected actions, and did not imagine others. Participants, especially older adults, were more likely to falsely remember counterfactual actions than novel actions as previously performed. The findings suggest that counterfactual thinking can cause source confusion based on internally generated misinformation, consistent with its characterisation as an adaptive constructive process.

Adaptive constructive processes and memory accuracy: Consequences of counterfactual simulations in young and older adults

Science.gov (United States)

Gerlach, Kathy D.; Dornblaser, David W.; Schacter, Daniel L.

2013-01-01

People frequently engage in counterfactual thinking: mental simulations of alternative outcomes to past events. Like simulations of future events, counterfactual simulations serve adaptive functions. However, future simulation can also result in various kinds of distortions and has thus been characterized as an adaptive constructive process. Here we approach counterfactual thinking as such and examine whether it can distort memory for actual events. In Experiments 1a/b, young and older adults imagined themselves experiencing different scenarios. Participants then imagined the same scenario again, engaged in no further simulation of a scenario, or imagined a counterfactual outcome. On a subsequent recognition test, participants were more likely to make false alarms to counterfactual lures than novel scenarios. Older adults were more prone to these memory errors than younger adults. In Experiment 2, younger and older participants selected and performed different actions, then recalled performing some of those actions, imagined performing alternative actions to some of the selected actions, and did not imagine others. Participants, especially older adults, were more likely to falsely remember counterfactual actions than novel actions as previously performed. The findings suggest that counterfactual thinking can cause source confusion based on internally generated misinformation, consistent with its characterization as an adaptive constructive process. PMID:23560477

Intelligent Adaptation and Personalization Techniques in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning

CERN Document Server

Demetriadis, Stavros; Xhafa, Fatos

2012-01-01

Adaptation and personalization have been extensively studied in CSCL research community aiming to design intelligent systems that adaptively support eLearning processes and collaboration. Yet, with the fast development in Internet technologies, especially with the emergence of new data technologies and the mobile technologies, new opportunities and perspectives are opened for advanced adaptive and personalized systems. Adaptation and personalization are posing new research and development challenges to nowadays CSCL systems. In particular, adaptation should be focused in a multi-dimensional way (cognitive, technological, context-aware and personal). Moreover, it should address the particularities of both individual learners and group collaboration. As a consequence, the aim of this book is twofold. On the one hand, it discusses the latest advances and findings in the area of intelligent adaptive and personalized learning systems. On the other hand it analyzes the new implementation perspectives for intelligen...

Adaptive social impact management for conservation and environmental management.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaplan-Hallam, Maery; Bennett, Nathan J

2018-04-01

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

Role of X-ray-inducible genes and proteins in adaptive survival responses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyers, M.; Schea, R.A.; Petrowski, A.E.; Seabury, H.; McLaughlin, P.W.; Lee, I.; Lee, S.W.; Boothman, D.A.

1992-01-01

Certain X-ray-inducible genes and their corresponding protein products, appearing following low priming doses of ionizing radiation may subsequently give rise to an adaptive survival response, ultimately leading to increased radioresistance. Further, this adaptive radioresistance may be due to increased DNA repair (or misrepair) processes. Ultimately, the function of low-dose-induced cDNA clones within the cell is hoped to elucidate to follow the effects of specific gene turn-off on adaptive responses. Future research must determine the various functions of adaptive response gene products so that the beneficial or deleterious consequences of adaptive responses, which increases resistance to ionizing radiation, can be determined. (author). 19 refs., 1 fig

U.S. Global Climate Change Impacts Report, Adaptation

Science.gov (United States)

Pulwarty, R.

2009-12-01

Adaptation measures improve our ability to cope with or avoid harmful climate impacts and take advantage of beneficial ones, now and as climate varies and changes. Adaptation and mitigation are necessary elements of an effective response to climate change. Adaptation options also have the potential to moderate harmful impacts of current and future climate variability and change. The Global Climate Change Impacts Report identifies examples of adaptation-related actions currently being pursued in various sectors and regions to address climate change, as well as other environmental problems that could be exacerbated by climate change such as urban air pollution and heat waves. Some adaptation options that are currently being pursued in various regions and sectors to deal with climate change and/or other environmental issues are identified in this report. A range of adaptation responses can be employed to reduce risks through redesign or relocation of infrastructure, sustainability of ecosystem services, increased redundancy of critical social services, and operational improvements. Adapting to climate change is an evolutionary process and requires both analytic and deliberative decision support. Many of the climate change impacts described in the report have economic consequences. A significant part of these consequences flow through public and private insurance markets, which essentially aggregate and distribute society's risk. However, in most cases, there is currently insufficient robust information to evaluate the practicality, efficiency, effectiveness, costs, or benefits of adaptation measures, highlighting a need for research. Adaptation planning efforts such as that being conducted in New York City and the Colorado River will be described. Climate will be continually changing, moving at a relatively rapid rate, outside the range to which society has adapted in the past. The precise amounts and timing of these changes will not be known with certainty. The

Anti-hebbian spike-timing-dependent plasticity and adaptive sensory processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Patrick D; Leen, Todd K

2010-01-01

Adaptive sensory processing influences the central nervous system's interpretation of incoming sensory information. One of the functions of this adaptive sensory processing is to allow the nervous system to ignore predictable sensory information so that it may focus on important novel information needed to improve performance of specific tasks. The mechanism of spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) has proven to be intriguing in this context because of its dual role in long-term memory and ongoing adaptation to maintain optimal tuning of neural responses. Some of the clearest links between STDP and adaptive sensory processing have come from in vitro, in vivo, and modeling studies of the electrosensory systems of weakly electric fish. Plasticity in these systems is anti-Hebbian, so that presynaptic inputs that repeatedly precede, and possibly could contribute to, a postsynaptic neuron's firing are weakened. The learning dynamics of anti-Hebbian STDP learning rules are stable if the timing relations obey strict constraints. The stability of these learning rules leads to clear predictions of how functional consequences can arise from the detailed structure of the plasticity. Here we review the connection between theoretical predictions and functional consequences of anti-Hebbian STDP, focusing on adaptive processing in the electrosensory system of weakly electric fish. After introducing electrosensory adaptive processing and the dynamics of anti-Hebbian STDP learning rules, we address issues of predictive sensory cancelation and novelty detection, descending control of plasticity, synaptic scaling, and optimal sensory tuning. We conclude with examples in other systems where these principles may apply.

Anti-Hebbian Spike Timing Dependent Plasticity and Adaptive Sensory Processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrick D Roberts

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Adaptive processing influences the central nervous system's interpretation of incoming sensory information. One of the functions of this adaptative sensory processing is to allow the nervous system to ignore predictable sensory information so that it may focus on important new information needed to improve performance of specific tasks. The mechanism of spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP has proven to be intriguing in this context because of its dual role in long-term memory and ongoing adaptation to maintain optimal tuning of neural responses. Some of the clearest links between STDP and adaptive sensory processing have come from in vitro, in vivo, and modeling studies of the electrosensory systems of fish. Plasticity in such systems is anti-Hebbian, i.e. presynaptic inputs that repeatedly precede and hence could contribute to a postsynaptic neuron’s firing are weakened. The learning dynamics of anti-Hebbian STDP learning rules are stable if the timing relations obey strict constraints. The stability of these learning rules leads to clear predictions of how functional consequences can arise from the detailed structure of the plasticity. Here we review the connection between theoretical predictions and functional consequences of anti-Hebbian STDP, focusing on adaptive processing in the electrosensory system of weakly electric fish. After introducing electrosensory adaptive processing and the dynamics of anti-Hebbian STDP learning rules, we address issues of predictive sensory cancellation and novelty detection, descending control of plasticity, synaptic scaling, and optimal sensory tuning. We conclude with examples in other systems where these principles may apply.

Evolving institutional and policy frameworks to support adaptation strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Dave Cleaves

2014-01-01

Given the consequences and opportunities of the Anthropocene, what is our underlying theory or vision of successful adaptation? This essay discusses the building blocks of this theory, and how will we translate this theory into guiding principles for management and policy.

An examination of the consequences in high consequence operations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spray, S.D.; Cooper, J.A.

1996-06-01

Traditional definitions of risk partition concern into the probability of occurrence and the consequence of the event. Most safety analyses focus on probabilistic assessment of an occurrence and the amount of some measurable result of the event, but the real meaning of the ``consequence`` partition is usually afforded less attention. In particular, acceptable social consequence (consequence accepted by the public) frequently differs significantly from the metrics commonly proposed by risk analysts. This paper addresses some of the important system development issues associated with consequences, focusing on ``high consequence operations safety.``

Adaptive design methods in clinical trials – a review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chang Mark

2008-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract In recent years, the use of adaptive design methods in clinical research and development based on accrued data has become very popular due to its flexibility and efficiency. Based on adaptations applied, adaptive designs can be classified into three categories: prospective, concurrent (ad hoc, and retrospective adaptive designs. An adaptive design allows modifications made to trial and/or statistical procedures of ongoing clinical trials. However, it is a concern that the actual patient population after the adaptations could deviate from the originally target patient population and consequently the overall type I error (to erroneously claim efficacy for an infective drug rate may not be controlled. In addition, major adaptations of trial and/or statistical procedures of on-going trials may result in a totally different trial that is unable to address the scientific/medical questions the trial intends to answer. In this article, several commonly considered adaptive designs in clinical trials are reviewed. Impacts of ad hoc adaptations (protocol amendments, challenges in by design (prospective adaptations, and obstacles of retrospective adaptations are described. Strategies for the use of adaptive design in clinical development of rare diseases are discussed. Some examples concerning the development of Velcade intended for multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are given. Practical issues that are commonly encountered when implementing adaptive design methods in clinical trials are also discussed.

Adaptive designs in clinical trials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suresh Bowalekar

2011-01-01

Full Text Available In addition to the expensive and lengthy process of developing a new medicine, the attrition rate in clinical research was on the rise, resulting in stagnation in the development of new compounds. As a consequence to this, the US Food and Drug Administration released a critical path initiative document in 2004, highlighting the need for developing innovative trial designs. One of the innovations suggested the use of adaptive designs for clinical trials. Thus, post critical path initiative, there is a growing interest in using adaptive designs for the development of pharmaceutical products. Adaptive designs are expected to have great potential to reduce the number of patients and duration of trial and to have relatively less exposure to new drug. Adaptive designs are not new in the sense that the task of interim analysis (IA/review of the accumulated data used in adaptive designs existed in the past too. However, such reviews/analyses of accumulated data were not necessarily planned at the stage of planning clinical trial and the methods used were not necessarily compliant with clinical trial process. The Bayesian approach commonly used in adaptive designs was developed by Thomas Bayes in the 18th century, about hundred years prior to the development of modern statistical methods by the father of modern statistics, Sir Ronald A. Fisher, but the complexity involved in Bayesian approach prevented its use in real life practice. The advances in the field of computer and information technology over the last three to four decades has changed the scenario and the Bayesian techniques are being used in adaptive designs in addition to other sequential methods used in IA. This paper attempts to describe the various adaptive designs in clinical trial and views of stakeholders about feasibility of using them, without going into mathematical complexities.

Adaptive designs in clinical trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowalekar, Suresh

2011-01-01

In addition to the expensive and lengthy process of developing a new medicine, the attrition rate in clinical research was on the rise, resulting in stagnation in the development of new compounds. As a consequence to this, the US Food and Drug Administration released a critical path initiative document in 2004, highlighting the need for developing innovative trial designs. One of the innovations suggested the use of adaptive designs for clinical trials. Thus, post critical path initiative, there is a growing interest in using adaptive designs for the development of pharmaceutical products. Adaptive designs are expected to have great potential to reduce the number of patients and duration of trial and to have relatively less exposure to new drug. Adaptive designs are not new in the sense that the task of interim analysis (IA)/review of the accumulated data used in adaptive designs existed in the past too. However, such reviews/analyses of accumulated data were not necessarily planned at the stage of planning clinical trial and the methods used were not necessarily compliant with clinical trial process. The Bayesian approach commonly used in adaptive designs was developed by Thomas Bayes in the 18th century, about hundred years prior to the development of modern statistical methods by the father of modern statistics, Sir Ronald A. Fisher, but the complexity involved in Bayesian approach prevented its use in real life practice. The advances in the field of computer and information technology over the last three to four decades has changed the scenario and the Bayesian techniques are being used in adaptive designs in addition to other sequential methods used in IA. This paper attempts to describe the various adaptive designs in clinical trial and views of stakeholders about feasibility of using them, without going into mathematical complexities.

Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation Attenuates Neuronal Adaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kar, Kohitij; Duijnhouwer, Jacob; Krekelberg, Bart

2017-03-01

We previously showed that brief application of 2 mA (peak-to-peak) transcranial currents alternating at 10 Hz significantly reduces motion adaptation in humans. This is but one of many behavioral studies showing that weak currents applied to the scalp modulate neural processing. Transcranial stimulation has been shown to improve perception, learning, and a range of clinical symptoms. Few studies, however, have measured the neural consequences of transcranial current stimulation. We capitalized on the strong link between motion perception and neural activity in the middle temporal (MT) area of the macaque monkey to study the neural mechanisms that underlie the behavioral consequences of transcranial alternating current stimulation. First, we observed that 2 mA currents generated substantial intracranial fields, which were much stronger in the stimulated hemisphere (0.12 V/m) than on the opposite side of the brain (0.03 V/m). Second, we found that brief application of transcranial alternating current stimulation at 10 Hz reduced spike-frequency adaptation of MT neurons and led to a broadband increase in the power spectrum of local field potentials. Together, these findings provide a direct demonstration that weak electric fields applied to the scalp significantly affect neural processing in the primate brain and that this includes a hitherto unknown mechanism that attenuates sensory adaptation. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Transcranial stimulation has been claimed to improve perception, learning, and a range of clinical symptoms. Little is known, however, how transcranial current stimulation generates such effects, and the search for better stimulation protocols proceeds largely by trial and error. We investigated, for the first time, the neural consequences of stimulation in the monkey brain. We found that even brief application of alternating current stimulation reduced the effects of adaptation on single-neuron firing rates and local field potentials; this mechanistic

Climatic change in Germany. Development, consequences, risks and perspectives; Klimawandel in Deutschland. Entwicklung, Folgen, Risiken und Perspektiven

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brasseur, Guy [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Meteorologie, Hamburg (Germany); Jacob, Daniela; Schuck-Zoeller, Susanne (eds.) [Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Hamburg (Germany). Climate Service Center Germany

2017-06-01

The book on the climatic change in Germany includes contributions to the following issues: global climate projections and regional projections in Germany and Europe: observation of the climatic change in Central Europe, regional climate modeling, limits and challenges of the regional climate modeling; climatic change in Germany - regional features and extremes: temperature and heat waves, precipitation, wind and cyclones, sea-level increase, tides, storm floods and sea state, floods, definition uncertainties, draughts, forest fires, natural risks; consequences of the climatic change in Germany: air quality, health, biodiversity, water resources, biochemical cycles, agriculture, forestry, soils, personal and commercial transport, cities and urban regions, tourism, infrastructure, energy and water supplies, cost of the climatic change and economic consequences; overall risks and uncertainties: assessment of vulnerabilities, literature review, climatic change as risk enhancement in complex systems, overall risks and uncertainties, decision making under uncertainties in complex systems; integrated strategies for the adaptation to the climatic change: the climate resilient society - transformations and system changes, adaptation to the climatic change as new political field, options for adaptation strategies.

Time to adapt

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parry, M.

2008-01-01

As every month goes by it becomes increasingly clear that we will need to adapt to climate change. Of course, early action needs to be taken to mitigate it by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, but this must be complemented by investment in adaptation in the places most affected. The sooner we put resources into adaptation the less damage will be sustained. The latest assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) came to the new conclusion that the effects of climate change are occurring now. The Earth has already warmed by 0.5 degrees C due to increases in atmospheric greenhouse gases, and we can observe the effects of this on every continent - most troublingly the current drying and warming in Africa's Sahelian region, and the effects of sea-level rise on coastal flood plains and small islands. Inevitably, some adaptation is also occurring now but little of this is planned and almost no additional resources have yet been deployed toward it. Some further warming is inevitable. Even if we were to cut emissions both immediately and so enormously that greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere are stabilised at current levels - an impossible task - a temperature increase of a further 0.6 degrees C would still be inevitable due to thermal lag of the oceans and atmosphere. So 1.1 degrees C of climate change is the very least that we should plan for. The impacts from such an increase will probably include: reduced water availability - with consequent falls in agricultural productivity - in the dry tropics; increased coastal flooding; and increased morbidity and mortality from heat waves and droughts. Adaptation is the only way of avoiding or reducing these

Placental adaptations to the maternal-fetal environment: implications for fetal growth and developmental programming.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandovici, Ionel; Hoelle, Katharina; Angiolini, Emily; Constância, Miguel

2012-07-01

The placenta is a transient organ found in eutherian mammals that evolved primarily to provide nutrients for the developing fetus. The placenta exchanges a wide array of nutrients, endocrine signals, cytokines and growth factors with the mother and the fetus, thereby regulating intrauterine development. Recent studies show that the placenta is not just a passive organ mediating maternal-fetal exchange. It can adapt its capacity to supply nutrients in response to intrinsic and extrinsic variations in the maternal-fetal environment. These dynamic adaptations are thought to occur to maximize fetal growth and viability at birth in the prevailing conditions in utero. However, some of these adaptations may also affect the development of individual fetal tissues, with patho-physiological consequences long after birth. Here, this review summarizes current knowledge on the causes, possible mechanisms and consequences of placental adaptive responses, with a focus on the regulation of transporter-mediated processes for nutrients. This review also highlights the emerging roles that imprinted genes and epigenetic mechanisms of gene regulation may play in placental adaptations to the maternal-fetal environment. Copyright © 2012 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adaptation measures and pathways for flood risk in Dordrecht

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gersonius, B.; Kelder, E.; Anema, K.; van Herk, S.; Zevenbergen, C.

2014-01-01

In line with the Adaptive Delta Management approach of the Dutch Delta Programme, Dordrecht has developed a multi-layer safety strategy to meet the future tasking for flood risk management. This strategy puts greater emphasis on limiting the consequences of floods through spatial planning (layer 2)

Variance in exposed perturbations impairs retention of visuomotor adaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

Canaveral, Cesar Augusto; Danion, Frédéric; Berrigan, Félix; Bernier, Pierre-Michel

2017-11-01

Sensorimotor control requires an accurate estimate of the state of the body. The brain optimizes state estimation by combining sensory signals with predictions of the sensory consequences of motor commands using a forward model. Given that both sensory signals and predictions are uncertain (i.e., noisy), the brain optimally weights the relative reliance on each source of information during adaptation. In support, it is known that uncertainty in the sensory predictions influences the rate and generalization of visuomotor adaptation. We investigated whether uncertainty in the sensory predictions affects the retention of a new visuomotor relationship. This was done by exposing three separate groups to a visuomotor rotation whose mean was common at 15° counterclockwise but whose variance around the mean differed (i.e., SD of 0°, 3.2°, or 4.5°). Retention was assessed by measuring the persistence of the adapted behavior in a no-vision phase. Results revealed that mean reach direction late in adaptation was similar across groups, suggesting it depended mainly on the mean of exposed rotations and was robust to differences in variance. However, retention differed across groups, with higher levels of variance being associated with a more rapid reversion toward nonadapted behavior. A control experiment ruled out the possibility that differences in retention were accounted for by differences in success rates. Exposure to variable rotations may have increased the uncertainty in sensory predictions, making the adapted forward model more labile and susceptible to change or decay. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The brain predicts the sensory consequences of motor commands through a forward model. These predictions are subject to uncertainty. We use visuomotor adaptation and modulate uncertainty in the sensory predictions by manipulating the variance in exposed rotations. Results reveal that variance does not influence the final extent of adaptation but selectively impairs the retention of

Make way for the climate. National adaptation strategy. The policy paper

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-11-01

The policy paper is a background document of the interdepartmental memorandum 'Make way for climate', in which the outline is described for a national strategy for adaptation to the consequences of climate change. [mk] [nl

Autism as an adaptive common variant pathway for human brain development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark H. Johnson

2017-06-01

Full Text Available While research on focal perinatal lesions has provided evidence for recovery of function, much less is known about processes of brain adaptation resulting from mild but widespread disturbances to neural processing over the early years (such as alterations in synaptic efficiency. Rather than being viewed as a direct behavioral consequence of life-long neural dysfunction, I propose that autism is best viewed as the end result of engaging adaptive processes during a sensitive period. From this perspective, autism is not appropriately described as a disorder of neurodevelopment, but rather as an adaptive common variant pathway of human functional brain development.

Adaptive Extremum Control and Wind Turbine Control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ma, Xin

1997-01-01

This thesis is divided into two parts, i.e., adaptive extremum control and modelling and control of a wind turbine. The rst part of the thesis deals with the design of adaptive extremum controllers for some processes which have the behaviour that process should have as high e ciency as possible...... in parameters, and thus directly lends itself to parameter estimation and adaptive control. The extremum control law is derived based on static optimization of a performance function. For a process with nonlinearity at output the intermediate signal between the linear part and nonlinear part plays an important....... Firstly, it is assumed that the nonlinear processes can be divided into a dynamic linear part and static nonlinear part. Consequently the processes with input nonlinearity and output nonlinearity are treated separately. With the nonlinearity at the input it is easy to set up a model which is linear...

Measurement and Exploration of Individual Beliefs About the Consequences of Building Information Modelling Use

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Davies, Richard; Harty, Chris

2013-01-01

the consequences of BIM use were broadly favourable although there is a need for more data for comparisons. The structure of the responses showed that expectations that BIM would enhance job performance were strongly related to expectations that BIM use was compatible with preferred and existing ways of working...... of the consequences of ICT use predict subsequent usage. We describe the development of scales to measure beliefs about the consequences of building information modelling (BIM) and their use in a survey of employees of a large construction contracting organization in the United Kingdom. Scales for performance...... expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, compatibility, and attitude toward using technology were adapted from existing measures. In an analysis of responses from 762 construction employees the scales showed acceptable measurement properties. Expectations about...

Adaptive finite element method for shape optimization

KAUST Repository

Morin, Pedro; Nochetto, Ricardo H.; Pauletti, Miguel S.; Verani, Marco

2012-01-01

We examine shape optimization problems in the context of inexact sequential quadratic programming. Inexactness is a consequence of using adaptive finite element methods (AFEM) to approximate the state and adjoint equations (via the dual weighted residual method), update the boundary, and compute the geometric functional. We present a novel algorithm that equidistributes the errors due to shape optimization and discretization, thereby leading to coarse resolution in the early stages and fine resolution upon convergence, and thus optimizing the computational effort. We discuss the ability of the algorithm to detect whether or not geometric singularities such as corners are genuine to the problem or simply due to lack of resolution - a new paradigm in adaptivity. © EDP Sciences, SMAI, 2012.

Adaptive finite element method for shape optimization

KAUST Repository

Morin, Pedro

2012-01-16

We examine shape optimization problems in the context of inexact sequential quadratic programming. Inexactness is a consequence of using adaptive finite element methods (AFEM) to approximate the state and adjoint equations (via the dual weighted residual method), update the boundary, and compute the geometric functional. We present a novel algorithm that equidistributes the errors due to shape optimization and discretization, thereby leading to coarse resolution in the early stages and fine resolution upon convergence, and thus optimizing the computational effort. We discuss the ability of the algorithm to detect whether or not geometric singularities such as corners are genuine to the problem or simply due to lack of resolution - a new paradigm in adaptivity. © EDP Sciences, SMAI, 2012.

Adapt and cope : strategies for safeguarding the quality of life in a shrinking ageing region

OpenAIRE

Steinführer, Annett; Küpper, Patrick; Tautz, Alexandra

2014-01-01

"This article examines the adaptation and coping strategies that are in place to safeguard the quality of life in a shrinking ageing region. In particular, it is investigated which resources are available to local policy-makers and the older population in order to pursue this goal. Following an introduction to the debate of regional science about demographic change and its consequences, we introduce a theoretical differentiation between adaptation and coping. Adaptation strategies refer to th...

Adapting Agricultural Production Systems to Climate Change—What’s the Use of Models?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Annelie Holzkämper

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Climate change poses a challenge to agricultural production and its impacts vary depending on regional focus and on the type of production system. To avoid production losses and make use of emerging potentials, adaptations in agricultural management will inevitably be required. Adaptation responses can broadly be distinguished into (1 short-term incremental responses that farmers often choose autonomously in response to observed changes and based on local knowledge and experiences, and (2 long-term transformative responses that require strategic planning, and which are usually implemented at a larger spatial scale. Models can be used to support decision making at both response levels; thereby, different features of models prove more or less valuable depending on the type of adaptation response. This paper presents a systematic literature review on the state-of-the-art in modelling for adaptation planning in agricultural production systems, investigating the question of which model types can be distinguished and how these types differ in the way they support decision making in agricultural adaptation planning. Five types of models are distinguished: (1 empirical crop models; (2 regional suitability models; (3 biophysical models; (4 meta-models; and (5 decision models. The potential and limitations of these model types for providing decision-support to short- and long-term adaptation planning are discussed. The risk of maladaptation—adaptation that implies negative consequences either in the long term or in a wider context—is identified as a key challenge of adaptation planning that needs more attention. Maladaptation is not only a risk of decision making in the face of incomplete knowledge of future climate impacts on the agricultural production system; but it can also be a threat if the connectedness of the agroecosystem is not sufficiently acknowledged when management adaptations are implemented. Future research supporting climate change

Evaluating the potential for justice in urban climate change adaptation in the U.S.: The role of institutions

Science.gov (United States)

Global climate change requires that cities adapt to new conditions such as changing precipitation patterns, temperature extremes, and frequency of natural disasters. Adapting cities to climate change will have consequences for urban populations as it requires a reconfiguration of...

Confronting the Consequences of a Permanent Changing Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raluca Ioana Vosloban

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Businesses and governments choose how they wish to deal with change. Whether this change is organizational, technological, political, financial etc or even individual pursuing actions as usual is likely to lead to a downward path. The authors of this paper are giving a set of tools for confronting and understanding the consequences of this era of permanent changes by building strengths and seeking opportunities within organizations (private or public and within family (including friends. The work environment and the personal life of the individual have a common point which is adaptability, coping efficiently with changes, a demanded ability of the 3rd millennium human being.

Being Prepared for Climate Change: A Workbook for Developing Risk-Based Adaptation Plans

Science.gov (United States)

This workbook is a guide for environmental professionals to construct a climate change adaptation plan based on identifying risks and their consequences. It incorporates watershed management, vulnerability assessments and action planning.

Women's role in adapting to climate change and variability

Science.gov (United States)

Carvajal-Escobar, Y.; Quintero-Angel, M.; García-Vargas, M.

2008-04-01

Given that women are engaged in more climate-related change activities than what is recognized and valued in the community, this article highlights their important role in the adaptation and search for safer communities, which leads them to understand better the causes and consequences of changes in climatic conditions. It is concluded that women have important knowledge and skills for orienting the adaptation processes, a product of their roles in society (productive, reproductive and community); and the importance of gender equity in these processes is recognized. The relationship among climate change, climate variability and the accomplishment of the Millennium Development Goals is considered.

Adaptation to Swedish and further development of the “Consequences of Screening – Breast Cancer” questionnaire: a multi-method study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bolejko, Anetta; Wann-Hansson, Christine; Zackrisson, Sophia

2013-01-01

Experiencing a false-positive screening mammography can cause considerable psychosocial distress. The Consequences of Screening - Breast Cancer questionnaire (COS-BC parts 1 and 2), recently developed in Denmark, is the only condition-specific questionnaire for measuring short- and long......-term psychosocial consequences of false-positive mammographic screening. Additional studies are needed to further test the COS-BC before use across cultures. Furthermore, studies have suggested that the consequences of false-positive screening results are partly common across cancer screening settings, although...

Relationship between adaptation and self-esteem in addicted female prisoners in the south east of Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Torkaman, Mahya; Miri, Sakineh; Farokhzadian, Jamileh

2018-02-12

Background Reduction of the adaptation and self-esteem can be the consequence of opium addiction and imprisonment. Drug use causes inappropriate behaviors in women, which are quite different from those in men. Social deviations, prostitution, high-risk sexual behaviors, abortion, divorce and imprisonment followed by loss of self-esteem are the consequences of women's addiction. The present study was conducted to assess the relationship between adaptation and self-esteem in addicted female prisoners. Methods In this descriptive analytical study, 130 addicted female prisoners were selected from a prison in the south east of Iran using census sampling. The data were collected by a demographic questionnaire, the Rosenberg's self-esteem scale and the bell adjustment inventory (BAI). Results According to the results, women's adaptation fell into the 'very unsatisfactory' range. The highest mean was related to the emotional dimension, while the lowest mean was in terms of the health dimension. In total, 96.4% of the participating women had low adaptation. The mean total self-esteem fell into the low range; in fact, 84.6% of the women had a low self-esteem. The results showed no significant relationships between adaptation and self-esteem in these women; however, self-esteem was significantly and inversely related to health and emotional adaptation. Conclusion The findings showed that the majority of the women had unsatisfactory adaptation as well as poor self-esteem. No significant relationships were observed between adaptation and self-esteem in the addicted female prisoners.

The immunological consequences of injury.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Ni Choileain, N

2012-02-03

Immediate and early trauma death rates are determined by "first hits" such as hypoxia, hypotension and organ injury, while late mortality correlates closely with "second hits" such as infection. An imbalance between the early systemic inflammatory response (SIRS), and the later compensatory counter-inflammatory response (CARS), is considered to be responsible for much post-traumatic morbidity and mortality. From a clinical perspective, this remains a significant healthcare problem, which has stimulated decades of experimental and clinical research aimed at understanding the functional effects of injury on the immune system. This review describes the impact of injury on the innate and adaptive immune systems. Though it is worth noting that the features of the immune response to injury overlap in many areas with immune dysregulation in sepsis, we attempt here to elucidate the mechanism by which injury predisposes to infection rather than to describe the alterations in host immunity consequent to established sepsis.

Sweet and sour after renal transplantation: A qualitative study about the positive and negative consequences of renal transplantation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schipper, K.; Abma, T.A.; Koops, C.; de Bakker, I; Sanderman, R.; Schroevers, M.J.

2014-01-01

Objectives This qualitative study investigated the renal patients' experience of positive and negative consequences of transplantation, as well as the strategies they use to adapt to the transplantation. Design and methods A qualitative design (30 participants in total), using individual interviews

Short- and long-term adaptation to ethanol stress and its cross-protective consequences in Lactobacillus plantarum

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bokhorst-van de Veen, van H.; Abee, T.; Tempelaars, M.H.; Bron, P.A.; Kleerebezem, M.; Marco, M.L.

2011-01-01

This paper describes the molecular responses of Lactobacillus plantarum WCFS1 toward ethanol exposure. Global transcriptome profiling using DNA microarrays demonstrated adaptation of the microorganism to the presence of 8% ethanol over short (10-min and 30-min) and long (24-h) time intervals. A

Adaptative Techniques to Reduce Power in Digital Circuits

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bharadwaj Amrutur

2011-07-01

Full Text Available CMOS chips are engineered with sufficient performance margins to ensure that they meet the target performance under worst case operating conditions. Consequently, excess power is consumed for most cases when the operating conditions are more benign. This article will review a suite of dynamic power minimization techniques, which have been recently developed to reduce power consumption based on actual operating conditions. We will discuss commonly used techniques like Dynamic Power Switching (DPS, Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVS and DVFS and Adaptive Voltage Scaling (AVS. Recent efforts to extend these to cover threshold voltage adaptation via Dynamic Voltage and Threshold Scaling (DVTS will also be presented. Computation rate is also adapted to actual work load requirements via dynamically changing the hardware parallelism or by controlling the number of operations performed. These will be explained with some examples from the application domains of media and wireless signal processing.

NUTRITION AS A FACTOR OF ADAPTATION TODDLERS TO CHILDREN'S EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Светлана Альбертовна Дракина

2017-11-01

Conclusion. Thus, the rational nutrition of children ensures improvement of local immunity and as a consequence of the increasing resistance of the child's body, as evidenced by the decrease in the number of SARS that facilitates easier period of adaptation to the children's educational institution.

Autism as an adaptive common variant pathway for human brain development.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Mark H

2017-06-01

While research on focal perinatal lesions has provided evidence for recovery of function, much less is known about processes of brain adaptation resulting from mild but widespread disturbances to neural processing over the early years (such as alterations in synaptic efficiency). Rather than being viewed as a direct behavioral consequence of life-long neural dysfunction, I propose that autism is best viewed as the end result of engaging adaptive processes during a sensitive period. From this perspective, autism is not appropriately described as a disorder of neurodevelopment, but rather as an adaptive common variant pathway of human functional brain development. Copyright © 2017 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Trading up: the fitness consequences of divorce in monogamous birds.

Science.gov (United States)

Culina, Antica; Radersma, Reinder; Sheldon, Ben C

2015-11-01

Social and genetic mating systems play an important role in natural and sexual selection, as well as in the dynamics of populations. In socially monogamous species different genetic mating patterns appear when individuals mate outside the breeding pair within a breeding season (extra-pair mating) or when they change partners between two breeding seasons (widowing or divorce). Divorce can be defined as having occurred when two previously paired individuals are alive during the next breeding season and at least one of them has re-mated with a new partner. In socially monogamous birds divorce is widespread, but it is not clear whether it is a behavioural adaptation to improve the quality of a mating decision or whether, alternatively, it results as a non-selected consequence of other processes: existing studies suggest a heterogeneous set of results with respect to this central question. This heterogeneity could result from a number of factors, ranging from the methodological approaches used, to population- or species-specific characters. In this review we use phylogenetic meta-analyses to assess the evidence that divorce is adaptive (in terms of breeding success) across 64 species of socially monogamous birds. Second, we explore biological and methodological reasons for the heterogeneity in the results of previous studies. Results of our analyses supported the hypothesis that divorce is, in general, an adaptive behavioural strategy as: (1) divorce is triggered by relatively low breeding success; (2) there is a positive change in breeding success as a result of divorce. More specifically, while controlling for methodological moderators, we show that: (i) earlier stages of breeding are better predictors of divorce than later stages (r = 0.231; 95% CI: 0.061-0.391 for clutch size; similar for laying date); (ii) females benefited from divorce more than males in terms of increasing breeding success between successive breeding attempts, with different stages of the

Flexible Microgrid Power Quality Enhancement Using Adaptive Hybrid Voltage and Current Controller

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

He, Jinwei; Li, Yun Wei; Blaabjerg, Frede

2014-01-01

-pass/bandpass filters in the DG unit digital controller. Moreover, phase-locked loops are not necessary as the microgrid frequency deviation can be automatically identified by the power control loop. Consequently, the proposed control method provides opportunities to reduce DG control complexity, without affecting......To accomplish superior harmonic compensation performance using distributed generation (DG) unit power electronics interfaces, an adaptive hybrid voltage and current controlled method (HCM) is proposed in this paper. It shows that the proposed adaptive HCM can reduce the numbers of low...... the harmonic compensation performance. Comprehensive simulated and experimental results from a single-phase microgrid are provided to verify the feasibility of the proposed adaptive HCM approach....

New directions in climate change vulnerability, impacts, and adaptation assessment: summary of a workshop

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

National Research Council (U.S.). Subcommittee for a Workshop on New Directions in Vulnerability, Impacts, and Adaptation Assessment; National Academies Press (U.S.); National Research Council (U.S.). Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education; National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on the Human Dimensions of Global Change; Brewer, Jennifer F

...; adaptation is inevitable. The remaining question is to what extent humans will anticipate and reduce undesired consequences of climate change, or postpone response until after climate change impacts have altered ecological...

Epigenetic Consequences of Low Birth-Weight and Preterm Birth in Adult Twins

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tan, Qihua

2018-01-01

could be detrimental to health later in life. Current epigenetic studies using genome-wide DNA methylation profiling have discovered molecular evidence confirming that, as important early life events, both low birth-weight and premature birth can result in long-lasting epigenetic consequences...... that impact health at adult ages. Results from our epigenome-wide association studies indicate that the two moderately correlated traits of adverse pregnancy outcome could be linked to increased susceptibility to different health problems with low birth-weight more relevant to metabolic disorders, while......Adverse birth outcomes including low birth-weight and preterm birth are associated with long-term morbidity and health consequences at adult ages. Molecular mechanisms including epigenetic modification may have been involved in the adaptation to the stressful condition in peridelivery period which...

The adaptive nature of the human neurocognitive architecture: an alternative model.

Science.gov (United States)

La Cerra, P; Bingham, R

1998-09-15

The model of the human neurocognitive architecture proposed by evolutionary psychologists is based on the presumption that the demands of hunter-gatherer life generated a vast array of cognitive adaptations. Here we present an alternative model. We argue that the problems inherent in the biological markets of ancestral hominids and their mammalian predecessors would have required an adaptively flexible, on-line information-processing system, and would have driven the evolution of a functionally plastic neural substrate, the neocortex, rather than a confederation of evolutionarily prespecified social cognitive adaptations. In alignment with recent neuroscientific evidence, we suggest that human cognitive processes result from the activation of constructed cortical representational networks, which reflect probabilistic relationships between sensory inputs, behavioral responses, and adaptive outcomes. The developmental construction and experiential modification of these networks are mediated by subcortical circuitries that are responsive to the life history regulatory system. As a consequence, these networks are intrinsically adaptively constrained. The theoretical and research implications of this alternative evolutionary model are discussed.

Stepping strategies for regulating gait adaptability and stability.

Science.gov (United States)

Hak, Laura; Houdijk, Han; Steenbrink, Frans; Mert, Agali; van der Wurff, Peter; Beek, Peter J; van Dieën, Jaap H

2013-03-15

Besides a stable gait pattern, gait in daily life requires the capability to adapt this pattern in response to environmental conditions. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the anticipatory strategies used by able-bodied people to attain an adaptive gait pattern, and how these strategies interact with strategies used to maintain gait stability. Ten healthy subjects walked in a Computer Assisted Rehabilitation ENvironment (CAREN). To provoke an adaptive gait pattern, subjects had to hit virtual targets, with markers guided by their knees, while walking on a self-paced treadmill. The effects of walking with and without this task on walking speed, step length, step frequency, step width and the margins of stability (MoS) were assessed. Furthermore, these trials were performed with and without additional continuous ML platform translations. When an adaptive gait pattern was required, subjects decreased step length (padaptations resulted in the preservation of equal MoS between trials, despite the disturbing influence of the gait adaptability task. When the gait adaptability task was combined with the balance perturbation subjects further decreased step length, as evidenced by a significant interaction between both manipulations (p=0.012). In conclusion, able-bodied people reduce step length and increase step width during walking conditions requiring a high level of both stability and adaptability. Although an increase in step frequency has previously been found to enhance stability, a faster movement, which would coincide with a higher step frequency, hampers accuracy and may consequently limit gait adaptability. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Possible consequences of climate change on the Swedish energy sector - impacts, vulnerability and adaptation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gode, Jenny; Axelsson, Johan; Eriksson, Sara; Holmgren, Kristina; Hovsenius, Gunnar; Kjellstroem, Erik; Larsson, Per; Lundstroem, Love; Persson, Gunn

2007-06-01

The events of recent years clearly demonstrate the far-reaching consequences of extreme weather situations on the energy system, particularly in the case of severe damage to transmission lines in connection with violent storms. Many climate researchers predict an increase in extreme weather events. Against this background, in 2005 Elforsk initiated this project where the aim has been to examine how climate change can affect plant operation, production conditions and energy usage patterns, how undesirable consequences can be predicted and what long-term measures may be necessary. Another central objective has been to bring about a dialogue between climate researchers, energy consultants/engineers and buyers for the energy industry. The inclusion of both positive and negative consequences has been an important ambition of the project. One key aspect of the project has been to develop climate scenarios for the next 20-25 years that describe possible changes in climate variables with relevance for the energy system. Based on these and literature studies, contact with experts and internal assessments, an analysis has been made of the possible impacts on hydropower, wind power, biofuel supply, natural gas supply, the power transmission network and energy usage. The project findings, which have also been discussed at a workshop with representatives from the energy industry, did not reveal any acute need for adaptation aside from those measures already being taken, for example to make the transmission system less vulnerable to weather conditions. Furthermore, the results indicate increased production potential for both hydropower and wind power. The production potential for hydropower stations from the Dalaelven River northwards would appear to increase by 2-10%. Estimates for the southern watercourses are less certain, but the production potential may decrease. Since around 80% of the country's hydropower is produced in the northern watercourses, this indicates an

Consequence Prioritization Process for Potential High Consequence Events (HCE)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Freeman, Sarah G. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2016-10-31

This document describes the process for Consequence Prioritization, the first phase of the Consequence-Driven Cyber-Informed Engineering (CCE) framework. The primary goal of Consequence Prioritization is to identify potential disruptive events that would significantly inhibit an organization’s ability to provide the critical services and functions deemed fundamental to their business mission. These disruptive events, defined as High Consequence Events (HCE), include both events that have occurred or could be realized through an attack of critical infrastructure owner assets. While other efforts have been initiated to identify and mitigate disruptive events at the national security level, such as Presidential Policy Directive 41 (PPD-41), this process is intended to be used by individual organizations to evaluate events that fall below the threshold for a national security. Described another way, Consequence Prioritization considers threats greater than those addressable by standard cyber-hygiene and includes the consideration of events that go beyond a traditional continuity of operations (COOP) perspective. Finally, Consequence Prioritization is most successful when organizations adopt a multi-disciplinary approach, engaging both cyber security and engineering expertise, as in-depth engineering perspectives are required to recognize and characterize and mitigate HCEs. Figure 1 provides a high-level overview of the prioritization process.

Spontaneous recovery of effects of contrast adaptation without awareness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gaoxing eMei

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Prolonged exposure to a high contrast stimulus reduces the neural sensitivity to subsequent similar patterns. Recent work has disclosed that contrast adaptation is controlled by multiple mechanisms operating over differing timescales. Adaptation to high contrast for a relatively longer period can be rapidly eliminated by adaptation to a lower contrast (or meanfield in the present study. Such rapid deadaptation presumably causes a short-term mechanism to signal for a sensitivity increase, cancelling ongoing signals from long-term mechanisms. Once deadaptation ends, the short-term mechanism rapidly returns to baseline, and the slowly decaying effects in the long-term mechanisms reemerge, allowing the perceptual aftereffects to recover during continued testing. Although this spontaneous recovery effect is considered strong evidence supporting the multiple mechanisms theory, it remains controversial whether the effect is mainly driven by visual memory established during the initial longer-term adaptation period. To resolve this debate, we used a modified Continuous Flash Suppression (CFS and visual crowding paradigms to render the adapting stimuli invisible, but still observed the spontaneous recovery phenomenon. These results exclude the possibility that spontaneous recovery found in the previous work was merely the consequence of explicit visual memory. Our findings also demonstrate that contrast adaptation, even at the unconscious processing levels, is controlled by multiple mechanisms.

Adaptation of Questionnaire Measuring Working Conditions and Health Problems Among Iranian Nursing Personnel

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Narges Arsalani, RN, MSc

2011-09-01

Conclusion: The findings show that the adapted questionnaire has an acceptable conceptual structure and provides reliable information from the nursing profession. Consequently, the questionnaire is applicable to work situation studies among nurses and other health care workers.

The Consequences of Chromosome Segregation Errors in Mitosis and Meiosis

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Tamara Potapova

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Mistakes during cell division frequently generate changes in chromosome content, producing aneuploid or polyploid progeny cells. Polyploid cells may then undergo abnormal division to generate aneuploid cells. Chromosome segregation errors may also involve fragments of whole chromosomes. A major consequence of segregation defects is change in the relative dosage of products from genes located on the missegregated chromosomes. Abnormal expression of transcriptional regulators can also impact genes on the properly segregated chromosomes. The consequences of these perturbations in gene expression depend on the specific chromosomes affected and on the interplay of the aneuploid phenotype with the environment. Most often, these novel chromosome distributions are detrimental to the health and survival of the organism. However, in a changed environment, alterations in gene copy number may generate a more highly adapted phenotype. Chromosome segregation errors also have important implications in human health. They may promote drug resistance in pathogenic microorganisms. In cancer cells, they are a source for genetic and phenotypic variability that may select for populations with increased malignance and resistance to therapy. Lastly, chromosome segregation errors during gamete formation in meiosis are a primary cause of human birth defects and infertility. This review describes the consequences of mitotic and meiotic errors focusing on novel concepts and human health.

Multiplexed Spike Coding and Adaptation in the Thalamus

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Rebecca A. Mease

2017-05-01

Full Text Available High-frequency “burst” clusters of spikes are a generic output pattern of many neurons. While bursting is a ubiquitous computational feature of different nervous systems across animal species, the encoding of synaptic inputs by bursts is not well understood. We find that bursting neurons in the rodent thalamus employ “multiplexing” to differentially encode low- and high-frequency stimulus features associated with either T-type calcium “low-threshold” or fast sodium spiking events, respectively, and these events adapt differently. Thus, thalamic bursts encode disparate information in three channels: (1 burst size, (2 burst onset time, and (3 precise spike timing within bursts. Strikingly, this latter “intraburst” encoding channel shows millisecond-level feature selectivity and adapts across statistical contexts to maintain stable information encoded per spike. Consequently, calcium events both encode low-frequency stimuli and, in parallel, gate a transient window for high-frequency, adaptive stimulus encoding by sodium spike timing, allowing bursts to efficiently convey fine-scale temporal information.

Sharpening vision by adapting to flicker

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Derek H.; Williams, Jeremy D.; Phipps, Natasha E.; Goodale, Melvyn A.

2016-01-01

Human vision is surprisingly malleable. A static stimulus can seem to move after prolonged exposure to movement (the motion aftereffect), and exposure to tilted lines can make vertical lines seem oppositely tilted (the tilt aftereffect). The paradigm used to induce such distortions (adaptation) can provide powerful insights into the computations underlying human visual experience. Previously spatial form and stimulus dynamics were thought to be encoded independently, but here we show that adaptation to stimulus dynamics can sharpen form perception. We find that fast flicker adaptation (FFAd) shifts the tuning of face perception to higher spatial frequencies, enhances the acuity of spatial vision—allowing people to localize inputs with greater precision and to read finer scaled text, and it selectively reduces sensitivity to coarse-scale form signals. These findings are consistent with two interrelated influences: FFAd reduces the responsiveness of magnocellular neurons (which are important for encoding dynamics, but can have poor spatial resolution), and magnocellular responses contribute coarse spatial scale information when the visual system synthesizes form signals. Consequently, when magnocellular responses are mitigated via FFAd, human form perception is transiently sharpened because “blur” signals are mitigated. PMID:27791115

PSYCHOSOMATIC CONSEQUENCES OF TEACHERS' OCUPPATIONAL STRESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Romanowska-Tolloczko

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The need to adapt to the ever-increasing socio-professional requirements carries many risks to human health, both in somatic and psychological aspects. Strong stress associated with work leads to the occurrence of burnout syndrome. Persons performing so called aid professions, where teachers belong to a special group, are usually vulnerable to this syndrome. The aim of this paper is to present the causes, course and consequences of teacher burnout and to highlight the multidimensional nature of the phenomenon, indicating possible corrective and preventive actions. Among the that contribute to burnout important are environmental , organizational and subjective factors. Subjective factors like professional training and personality dispositions, are treated as the primary determinants of resistance or susceptibility of individuals to stress. They can intensify or protect against burning out. The lack of ability to counter stress is considered crucial in the formation and accumulation of burnout symptoms.

PSYCHOSOMATIC CONSEQUENCES OF TEACHERS’ OCUPPATIONAL STRESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Romanowska-Tołłoczko Anna

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The need to adapt to the ever-increasing socio-professional requirements carries many risks to human health, both in somatic and psychological aspects. Strong stress associated with work leads to the occurrence of burnout syndrome. Persons performing so called aid professions, where teachers belong to a special group, are usually vulnerable to this syndrome. The aim of this paper is to present the causes, course and consequences of teacher burnout and to highlight the multidimensional nature of the phenomenon, indicating possible corrective and preventive actions. Among the that contribute to burnout important are environmental , organizational and subjective factors. Subjective factors like professional training and personality dispositions, are treated as the primary determinants of resistance or susceptibility of individuals to stress. They can intensify or protect against burning out. The lack of ability to counter stress is considered crucial in the formation and accumulation of burnout symptoms.

[Psychological commitment: adaptive functions, paradoxes, modalities and components].

Science.gov (United States)

Brault-Labbé, Anne

2017-12-01

The process of psychological commitment, its adaptive functions and some of the difficulties that go along with it are specific. A description of the multimodal model of commitment provides an illustration of how motivational, affective, cognitive and behavioural mechanisms can be combined. These lead to different ways of entering into the commitment, with differing consequences on how the individual functions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Behavioral and neural Darwinism: selectionist function and mechanism in adaptive behavior dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

McDowell, J J

2010-05-01

An evolutionary theory of behavior dynamics and a theory of neuronal group selection share a common selectionist framework. The theory of behavior dynamics instantiates abstractly the idea that behavior is selected by its consequences. It implements Darwinian principles of selection, reproduction, and mutation to generate adaptive behavior in virtual organisms. The behavior generated by the theory has been shown to be quantitatively indistinguishable from that of live organisms. The theory of neuronal group selection suggests a mechanism whereby the abstract principles of the evolutionary theory may be implemented in the nervous systems of biological organisms. According to this theory, groups of neurons subserving behavior may be selected by synaptic modifications that occur when the consequences of behavior activate value systems in the brain. Together, these theories constitute a framework for a comprehensive account of adaptive behavior that extends from brain function to the behavior of whole organisms in quantitative detail. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Climate change, animal species, and habitats: Adaptation and issues (Chapter 5)

Science.gov (United States)

Deborah M. Finch; D. Max Smith; Olivia LeDee; Jean-Luc E. Cartron; Mark A. Rumble

2012-01-01

Because the rate of anthropogenic climate change exceeds the adaptive capacity of many animal and plant species, the scientific community anticipates negative consequences for ecosystems. Changes in climate have expanded, contracted, or shifted the climate niches of many species, often resulting in shifting geographic ranges. In the Great Basin, for example, projected...

Endocrine and metabolic mechanisms linking postpartum glucose with early embryonic and foetal development in dairy cows.

Science.gov (United States)

Lucy, M C; Butler, S T; Garverick, H A

2014-05-01

Milk and milk solids production per cow is increasing annually in dairy systems. Peak milk production is in early lactation when the uterus and ovary are recovering from the previous pregnancy. The competing processes of milk production and restoration of reproductive function can be at odds, particularly if unique homeorhetic mechanisms that typify early lactation become imbalanced and cows experience metabolic disease. Homeorhesis leads to an increase in the synthesis of glucose that is irreversibly lost to milk lactose. Irreversible loss of glucose during lactation can invoke an endocrine and metabolic state that impinges upon postpartum uterine health, oestrous cyclicity and subsequent establishment of pregnancy. The first 30 days postpartum may be most critical in terms of the impact that metabolites and metabolic hormones have on reproduction. Depressed immune function caused in part by the postpartum metabolic profile leads to a failure in uterine involution and uterine disease. Oestrous cyclicity (interval to first ovulation and subsequent periodicity) is affected by the same hormones and metabolites that control postpartum immune function. Slower growth of the embryo or foetus perhaps explained by the unique metabolic profile during lactation may predispose cows to pregnancy loss. Understanding homeorhetic mechanisms that involve glucose and collectively affect postpartum uterine health, oestrous cyclicity and the establishment of pregnancy should lead to methods to improve postpartum fertility in dairy cows.

Adapting to and coping with the threat and impacts of climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Reser, Joseph P; Swim, Janet K

2011-01-01

This article addresses the nature and challenge of adaptation in the context of global climate change. The complexity of "climate change" as threat, environmental stressor, risk domain, and impacting process with dramatic environmental and human consequences requires a synthesis of perspectives and models from diverse areas of psychology to adequately communicate and explain how a more psychological framing of the human dimensions of global environmental change can greatly inform and enhance effective and collaborative climate change adaptation and mitigation policies and research. An integrative framework is provided that identifies and considers important mediating and moderating parameters and processes relating to climate change adaptation, with particular emphasis given to environmental stress and stress and coping perspectives. This psychological perspective on climate change adaptation highlights crucial aspects of adaptation that have been neglected in the arena of climate change science. Of particular importance are intra-individual and social "psychological adaptation" processes that powerfully mediate public risk perceptions and understandings, effective coping responses and resilience, overt behavioral adjustment and change, and psychological and social impacts. This psychological window on climate change adaptation is arguably indispensable to genuinely multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research and policy initiatives addressing the impacts of climate change.

Evaluation of an IPCC climate report. An analysis of conclusions on the possible regional consequences of climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

This report contains the results of a study of the reliability of the regional chapters (H9-16) of the contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Climate Report of the IPCC (the sub report on consequences, adaptation and vulnerability). Moreover an assessment was made of the possible consequences of errors for the conclusions in the high level summaries of that report. The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency did not detect any errors that may undermine the main conclusions of the scientific UN Climate Panel IPCC of 2007 on the possible future consequences of climate change. However, some of the substantiations of the conclusions lack clarity. To prevent lack of clarity and inaccuracies the IPCC needs to invest more in quality checks. [nl

Light pollution: the possible consequences of excessive illumination on retina.

Science.gov (United States)

Contín, M A; Benedetto, M M; Quinteros-Quintana, M L; Guido, M E

2016-02-01

Light is the visible part of the electromagnetic radiation within a range of 380-780 nm; (400-700 on primates retina). In vertebrates, the retina is adapted to capturing light photons and transmitting this information to other structures in the central nervous system. In mammals, light acts directly on the retina to fulfill two important roles: (1) the visual function through rod and cone photoreceptor cells and (2) non-image forming tasks, such as the synchronization of circadian rhythms to a 24 h solar cycle, pineal melatonin suppression and pupil light reflexes. However, the excess of illumination may cause retinal degeneration or accelerate genetic retinal diseases. In the last century human society has increased its exposure to artificial illumination, producing changes in the Light/Dark cycle, as well as in light wavelengths and intensities. Although, the consequences of unnatural illumination or light pollution have been underestimated by modern society in its way of life, light pollution may have a strong impact on people's health. The effects of artificial light sources could have direct consequences on retinal health. Constant exposure to different wavelengths and intensities of light promoted by light pollution may produce retinal degeneration as a consequence of photoreceptor or retinal pigment epithelium cells death. In this review we summarize the different mechanisms of retinal damage related to the light exposure, which generates light pollution.

Falls in institutionalized older adults: risks, consequences and antecedents

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Antonio Herculano de Araújo Neto

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze the occurrence of falls in institutionalized elderly addressing the risks, consequences and antecedents. Method: Cross-sectional study carried out with 45 older adults in Long-Term Care Facilities for the Older adult in João Pessoa, Brazil, in June and July 2016. A socio-demographic questionnaire and the Berg Balance Scale were applied, classifying as risk of fall scores lower than 45. Descriptive statistics and tests were conducted: independent t-test, Anova (Tukey, Chi-square, Mann Whitney. Statistically significance was p <0.05. Data were processed in SPSS version 19.0. Results: A total of 66.7% (30 falls occurred, 20% (9 of them in the external area, with 66.7% (30 of the participants having hypertension as a previous disease and, as consequence, the fracture was highlighted with 11.2% (5. The Berg Scale had different scores when compared to the falls suffered by the elderly and previous diseases influenced the occurrence of falls (p <0.05. Conclusion: It is necessary to implement public financing policies or partnerships that allow environments adaptations aiming at reducing the risks of falls.

Rapidly Adaptable Instrumentation Tester (RAIT)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vargo, Timothy D.

1999-01-01

Emerging technologies in the field of ''Test ampersand Measurement'' have recently enabled the development of the Rapidly Adaptable Instrumentation Tester (RAIT). Based on software developed with LabVIEW, the RAIT design enables quick reconfiguration to test and calibrate a wide variety of telemetry systems. The consequences of inadequate testing could be devastating if a telemetry system were to fail during an expensive flight mission. Supporting both open-bench testing as well as automated test sequences, the RAIT has significantly lowered total time required to test and calibrate a system. This has resulted in an overall lower per unit testing cost than has been achievable in the past

Adaptive response of Chironomus riparius populations exposed to uranium contaminated sediments during consecutive generations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dias, V.

2010-01-01

The intensity of selection on populations caused by polluted environment often exceeds which is caused by an unpolluted environment. Therefore, micro evolution can occur in response to this anthropic-directional force over a short period. In this context, this thesis focused on studying phenotypic changes in Chironomus riparius populations exposed during several consecutive generations to uranium-contaminated sediments. In laboratory-controlled conditions experiments were conducted with same origin populations exposed to a range of uranium concentration inducing toxic effects. Over eight-generations of exposure, life-history traits measures revealed micro evolution in exposed populations, including increase of adult reproductive success. Other experiments (acute toxicity test, common garden experiment) performed in parallel enabled to link these micro evolution with a tolerance induction, as a consequence of genetic adaptation. Nonetheless this adaptation also induced cost in terms of fitness and genetic diversity for pre-exposed populations. These results lead to the hypothesis of a selection by uranium that acted sequentially on populations. They also underline the need to better-understand the adaptive mechanisms to better assess the ecological consequences of chronic exposure of populations to a pollutant. (author)

Is adaptation. Truly an adaptation? Is adaptation. Truly an adaptation?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thais Flores Nogueira Diniz

2008-04-01

Full Text Available The article begins by historicizing film adaptation from the arrival of cinema, pointing out the many theoretical approaches under which the process has been seen: from the concept of “the same story told in a different medium” to a comprehensible definition such as “the process through which works can be transformed, forming an intersection of textual surfaces, quotations, conflations and inversions of other texts”. To illustrate this new concept, the article discusses Spike Jonze’s film Adaptation. according to James Naremore’s proposal which considers the study of adaptation as part of a general theory of repetition, joined with the study of recycling, remaking, and every form of retelling. The film deals with the attempt by the scriptwriter Charles Kaufman, cast by Nicholas Cage, to adapt/translate a non-fictional book to the cinema, but ends up with a kind of film which is by no means what it intended to be: a film of action in the model of Hollywood productions. During the process of creation, Charles and his twin brother, Donald, undergo a series of adventures involving some real persons from the world of film, the author and the protagonist of the book, all of them turning into fictional characters in the film. In the film, adaptation then signifies something different from itstraditional meaning. The article begins by historicizing film adaptation from the arrival of cinema, pointing out the many theoretical approaches under which the process has been seen: from the concept of “the same story told in a different medium” to a comprehensible definition such as “the process through which works can be transformed, forming an intersection of textual surfaces, quotations, conflations and inversions of other texts”. To illustrate this new concept, the article discusses Spike Jonze’s film Adaptation. according to James Naremore’s proposal which considers the study of adaptation as part of a general theory of repetition

Online participation in climate change adaptation: A case study of agricultural adaptation measures in Northern Italy.

Science.gov (United States)

Bojovic, Dragana; Bonzanigo, Laura; Giupponi, Carlo; Maziotis, Alexandros

2015-07-01

The new EU strategy on adaptation to climate change suggests flexible and participatory approaches. Face-to-face contact, although it involves time-consuming procedures with a limited audience, has often been considered the most effective participatory approach. In recent years, however, there has been an increase in the visibility of different citizens' initiatives in the online world, which strengthens the possibility of greater citizen agency. This paper investigates whether the Internet can ensure efficient public participation with meaningful engagement in climate change adaptation. In elucidating issues regarding climate change adaptation, we developed an eParticipation framework to explore adaptation capacity of agriculture to climate change in Northern Italy. Farmers were mobilised using a pre-existing online network. First they took part in an online questionnaire for revealing their perceptions of and reactions to the impacts of ongoing changes in agriculture. We used these results to suggest a portfolio of policy measures and to set evaluation criteria. Farmers then evaluated these policy options, using a multi criteria analysis tool with a simple user-friendly interface. Our results showed that eParticipation is efficient: it supports a rapid data collection, while involving high number of participants. Moreover, we demonstrated that the digital divide is decreasingly an obstacle for using online spaces for public engagement. This research does not present eParticipation as a panacea. Rather, eParticipation was implemented with well-established participatory approaches to both validate the results and, consequently, communicate meaningful messages on local agricultural adaptation practices to regional decision-makers. Feedbacks from the regional decision-makers showed their interest in using eParticipation to improve communication with farmers in the future. We expect that, with further Internet proliferation, eParticipation may allow the inclusion of

Impact of HIV-1 infection on the feto-maternal crosstalk and consequences for pregnancy outcome and infant health.

Science.gov (United States)

Altfeld, Marcus; Bunders, Madeleine J

2016-11-01

Adaptation of the maternal immune system to establish maternal/fetal equilibrium is required for a successful pregnancy. Viral infections, including HIV-1 infection, can alter this maternal/fetal equilibrium, with significant consequences for pregnancy outcome, including miscarriages, impaired fetal growth, and premature delivery. Furthermore, maternal HIV-1 infection has been shown to have a long-term impact on the developing fetal immune system also when the infant is not infected with the virus. In this review, we discuss the consequences of maternal HIV-1 infection and antiretroviral therapy on pregnancy outcome and the health of the uninfected HIV-1-exposed infant.

Quantifying the effect of autonomous adaptation to global river flood projections: application to future flood risk assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Kinoshita, Youhei; Tanoue, Masahiro; Watanabe, Satoshi; Hirabayashi, Yukiko

2018-01-01

This study represents the first attempt to quantify the effects of autonomous adaptation on the projection of global flood hazards and to assess future flood risk by including this effect. A vulnerability scenario, which varies according to the autonomous adaptation effect for conventional disaster mitigation efforts, was developed based on historical vulnerability values derived from flood damage records and a river inundation simulation. Coupled with general circulation model outputs and future socioeconomic scenarios, potential future flood fatalities and economic loss were estimated. By including the effect of autonomous adaptation, our multimodel ensemble estimates projected a 2.0% decrease in potential flood fatalities and an 821% increase in potential economic losses by 2100 under the highest emission scenario together with a large population increase. Vulnerability changes reduced potential flood consequences by 64%-72% in terms of potential fatalities and 28%-42% in terms of potential economic losses by 2100. Although socioeconomic changes made the greatest contribution to the potential increased consequences of future floods, about a half of the increase of potential economic losses was mitigated by autonomous adaptation. There is a clear and positive relationship between the global temperature increase from the pre-industrial level and the estimated mean potential flood economic loss, while there is a negative relationship with potential fatalities due to the autonomous adaptation effect. A bootstrapping analysis suggests a significant increase in potential flood fatalities (+5.7%) without any adaptation if the temperature increases by 1.5 °C-2.0 °C, whereas the increase in potential economic loss (+0.9%) was not significant. Our method enables the effects of autonomous adaptation and additional adaptation efforts on climate-induced hazards to be distinguished, which would be essential for the accurate estimation of the cost of adaptation to

Mimicry in Heliconius and Ithomiini butterflies: The profound consequences of an adaptation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elias Marianne

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Prey populations have evolved multiple strategies to escape predation. Camouflage is a strategy resting on avoiding detection by potential predators, whereas aposematism relies on advertising chemical defences with conspicuous warning signals. While camouflaged phenotypes are subject to negative frequency-dependent selection, aposematic preys are under positive frequency-dependence, where the efficiency of a signal increases with its own local abundance. Because of his “strength-in-number” effect, multiple chemically-defended species exposed to the same suite of predators gain a selective advantage from converging on the same warning signals. Convergence in warning signals is called Müllerian mimicry. Here, we review the results of recent genetic and ecological research on two well-studied groups of neotropical Müllerian mimetic butterflies, the genus Heliconius and the tribe Ithomiini, which advertise their unpalatability through conspicuous wing colour patterns. Mimicry represents a major adaptation in these groups, where the effects of selection extend well beyond mere phenotypic resemblance. Selection acts on other traits used as mating cues, on the genetic architecture of colour pattern and even on the ecological niche of species. The origin of mimicry itself and the coexistence of multiple mimicry patterns are well understood, but the ultimate drivers of mimicry diversity remain unclear.

The effect of sexual selection on adaptation and extinction under increasing temperatures.

Science.gov (United States)

Parrett, Jonathan M; Knell, Robert J

2018-04-25

Strong sexual selection has been reported to both enhance and hinder the adaptive capacity and persistence of populations when exposed to novel environments. Consequently, how sexual selection influences population adaption and persistence under stress remains widely debated. Here, we present two empirical investigations of the fitness consequences of sexual selection on populations of the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella, exposed to stable or gradually increasing temperatures. When faced with increasing temperatures, strong sexual selection was associated with both increased fecundity and offspring survival compared with populations experiencing weak sexual selection, suggesting sexual selection acts to drive adaptive evolution by favouring beneficial alleles. Strong sexual selection did not, however, delay extinction when the temperature became excessively high. By manipulating individuals' mating opportunities during fitness assays, we were able to assess the effect of multiple mating independently from the effect of population-level sexual selection, and found that polyandry has a positive effect on both fecundity and offspring survival under increasing temperatures in those populations evolving with weak sexual selection. Within stable temperatures, there were some benefits from strong sexual selection but these were not consistent across the entire experiment, possibly reflecting changing costs and benefits of sexual selection under stabilizing and directional selection. These results indicate that sexual selection can provide a buffer against climate change and increase adaptation rates within a continuously changing environment. These positive effects of sexual selection may, however, be too small to protect populations and delay extinction when environmental changes are relatively rapid. © 2018 The Author(s).

Complexity in organizations and environment - adaptive changes and adaptive decision-making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Fabac

2010-07-01

Full Text Available The features of complexity are ever more present in modern organizations and in environments in which they operate, trying to survive and be as competitive as possible. In the processes of, the so-called emergence, the formal organizational structure, designed purposefully and with a plan, is going through a change due to complexity and the need for adaptation. As a result, there is a variety of new informal groups. At the same time, the intended structural changes and business process changes occur because of the perception that the leadership and senior organizational management have of the strategic situation. Managers in modern organizations often use business intelligence (BI systems when making important business decisions. These systems offer support to the decision-making by gathering and processing relevant data and information about the company performance, but also about the data on conditions in close and remote environment. A modern company is characterized by the complex adaptive system, but the environment in which it operates together with other business subjects (agents is also complex. Consequently, the requirements for appropriate or optimal decisions and successfully completed activities are hard to meet. Given that expected future events and circumstances often occur in nonlinear mechanisms, the decisions made by following the models of traditional predicting and planning are not satisfactory. This calls for new approaches to decision making and acting.

Entropy and Selection: Life as an Adaptation for Universe Replication

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Michael E. Price

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Natural selection is the strongest known antientropic process in the universe when operating at the biological level and may also operate at the cosmological level. Consideration of how biological natural selection creates adaptations may illuminate the consequences and significance of cosmological natural selection. An organismal trait is more likely to constitute an adaptation if characterized by more improbable complex order, and such order is the hallmark of biological selection. If the same is true of traits created by selection in general, then the more improbably ordered something is (i.e., the lower its entropy, the more likely it is to be a biological or cosmological adaptation. By this logic, intelligent life (as the least-entropic known entity is more likely than black holes or anything else to be an adaptation designed by cosmological natural selection. This view contrasts with Smolin’s suggestion that black holes are an adaptation designed by cosmological natural selection and that life is the by-product of selection for black holes. Selection may be the main or only ultimate antientropic process in the universe/multiverse; that is, much or all observed order may ultimately be the product or by-product of biological and cosmological selection.

Adaptability of competitive electricity reforms a modular analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dubois, Ute

2009-01-01

Among the competitive electricity reforms that have been implemented in Europe and the US for the last 18 years, none has 'survived' over several years without major changes. Their changing nature raises the question of their adaptability. Two characteristics of reforms play a key role on their adaptation properties. Firstly, they are 'modular' objects in the sense of [Baldwin, C., 2008. Where do transactions come from? Modularity, transactions, and the boundaries of firms. Industrial and Corporate Change 17 (1), 155-195]. Secondly, they are produced in an institutional process which leads to 'incomplete' rules and designs [Pistor, K., Xu, C., 2003. Incomplete law. International Law and Politics 35, 931-1013]. We propose a typology of adaptations based on the framework proposed by [Williamson, O.E., 1991. Comparative economic organization: the analysis of discrete structural alternatives. Administrative Science Quarterly 36 (2), 269-296] for contracts: (1) in case of small disturbances, adaptations are realized quasi-automatically, by autonomous decisions of the institutions governing the implementation of reforms; (2) in case of middle-range disturbances, adaption is made by Coasian bargaining; (3) finally, in case of strong disturbances, or when bargaining is not feasible, the adaptation of reforms is in the hands of legislative and executive institutions [North, D.C., 2005. Le processus du developpement economique. Editions d'Organisation]. These institutions can reform the reforms [Joskow, P.L., 2006. Introduction to electricity sector liberalization: lessons learned from cross-country studies. In: Sioshansi, F.P. (Ed.), Electricity Market Reform: An International Perspective. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 1-32; Hogan, W.W., 2002. Electricity market restructuring: reforms of reforms. Journal of Regulatory Economics 21, 103-132]. The role of these types of adaptations in each electricity reform is a consequence of the allocation of rights to the regulator, to

Career Adaptability, Hope, Optimism, and Life Satisfaction in Italian and Swiss Adolescents

Science.gov (United States)

Santilli, Sara; Marcionetti, Jenny; Rochat, Shékina; Rossier, Jérôme; Nota, Laura

2017-01-01

The consequences of economic crisis are different from one European context to the other. Based on life design (LD) approach, the present study focused on two variables--career adaptability and a positive orientation toward future (hope and optimism)--relevant to coping with the current work context and their role in affecting life satisfaction. A…

Anterior cingulate cortex instigates adaptive switches in choice by integrating immediate and delayed components of value in ventromedial prefrontal cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Economides, Marcos; Guitart-Masip, Marc; Kurth-Nelson, Zeb; Dolan, Raymond J

2014-02-26

Actions can lead to an immediate reward or punishment and a complex set of delayed outcomes. Adaptive choice necessitates the brain track and integrate both of these potential consequences. Here, we designed a sequential task whereby the decision to exploit or forego an available offer was contingent on comparing immediate value and a state-dependent future cost of expending a limited resource. Crucially, the dynamics of the task demanded frequent switches in policy based on an online computation of changing delayed consequences. We found that human subjects choose on the basis of a near-optimal integration of immediate reward and delayed consequences, with the latter computed in a prefrontal network. Within this network, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) was dynamically coupled to ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) when adaptive switches in choice were required. Our results suggest a choice architecture whereby interactions between ACC and vmPFC underpin an integration of immediate and delayed components of value to support flexible policy switching that accommodates the potential delayed consequences of an action.

Evidence and Consequence of a Highly Adapted Clonal Haplotype within the Australian Ascochyta rabiei Population

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Yasir Mehmood

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The Australian Ascochyta rabiei (Pass. Labr. (syn. Phoma rabiei population has low genotypic diversity with only one mating type detected to date, potentially precluding substantial evolution through recombination. However, a large diversity in aggressiveness exists. In an effort to better understand the risk from selective adaptation to currently used resistance sources and chemical control strategies, the population was examined in detail. For this, a total of 598 isolates were quasi-hierarchically sampled between 2013 and 2015 across all major Australian chickpea growing regions and commonly grown host genotypes. Although a large number of haplotypes were identified (66 through short sequence repeat (SSR genotyping, overall low gene diversity (Hexp = 0.066 and genotypic diversity (D = 0.57 was detected. Almost 70% of the isolates assessed were of a single dominant haplotype (ARH01. Disease screening on a differential host set, including three commonly deployed resistance sources, revealed distinct aggressiveness among the isolates, with 17% of all isolates identified as highly aggressive. Almost 75% of these were of the ARH01 haplotype. A similar pattern was observed at the host level, with 46% of all isolates collected from the commonly grown host genotype Genesis090 (classified as “resistant” during the term of collection identified as highly aggressive. Of these, 63% belonged to the ARH01 haplotype. In conclusion, the ARH01 haplotype represents a significant risk to the Australian chickpea industry, being not only widely adapted to the diverse agro-geographical environments of the Australian chickpea growing regions, but also containing a disproportionately large number of aggressive isolates, indicating fitness to survive and replicate on the best resistance sources in the Australian germplasm.

Assessing the state-level consequences of global warming: Socio-economic and energy demand impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rubin, B.M. Gailmard, S.; Marsh, D.; Septoff, A.

1996-01-01

The large body of research on climate change has begun to recognize a significant deficiency: the lack of analysis of the impact of climate change at a spatial level consistent with the anticipated occurrence of climate change. Climate change is likely to vary by region, while impact analysis has focused on much larger political units. Clearly, adaptation/mitigation strategies must be developed at a level consistent with political and policy-making processes. This paper specifically addresses this deficiency by identifying the potential socio-economic and energy demand consequences of climate change for subnational regions. This is accomplished via the development and application of a regional simultaneous equation, econometric simulation model that focuses on five states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin) in the Great Lakes region of the US. This paper presents a process for obtaining state-specific assessments of the consequences of climate change for the socio-economic system. As such, it provides an indication of which economic sectors are most sensitive to climate change for a specific state (Indiana), a set of initial mitigation/adaptation strategies for this state, and the results of testing these strategies in the policy analysis framework enabled by the model. In addition, the research demonstrates an effective methodology for assessing impacts and policy implications of climate change at a level consistent with policy making authority

Fitness consequences of northward dispersal as possible adaptation to climate change, using experimental translocation of a migratory passerine.

Science.gov (United States)

Burger, Claudia; Nord, Andreas; Nilsson, Jan-Åke; Gilot-Fromont, Emmanuelle; Both, Christiaan

2013-01-01

Climate change leads to rapid, differential changes in phenology across trophic levels, often resulting in temporal mismatches between predators and their prey. If a species cannot easily adjust its timing, it can adapt by choosing a new breeding location with a later phenology of its prey. In this study, we experimentally investigated whether long-distance dispersal to northern breeding grounds with a later phenology could be a feasible process to restore the match between timing of breeding and peak food abundance and thus improve reproductive success. Here, we report the successful translocation of pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) to natural breeding sites 560 km to the Northeast. We expected translocated birds to have a fitness advantage with respect to environmental phenology, but to potentially pay costs through the lack of other locally adapted traits. Translocated individuals started egg laying 11 days earlier than northern control birds, which were translocated only within the northern site. The number of fledglings produced was somewhat lower in translocated birds, compared to northern controls, and fledglings were in lower body condition. Translocated individuals were performing not significantly different to control birds that remained at the original southern site. The lack of advantage of the translocated individuals most likely resulted from the exceptionally cold spring in which the experiment was carried out. Our results, however, suggest that pied flycatchers can successfully introduce their early breeding phenotype after dispersing to more northern areas, and thus that adaptation through dispersal is a viable option for populations that get locally maladapted through climate change.

Using engineering control principles to inform the design of adaptive interventions: a conceptual introduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Rivera, Daniel E; Pew, Michael D; Collins, Linda M

2007-05-01

The goal of this paper is to describe the role that control engineering principles can play in developing and improving the efficacy of adaptive, time-varying interventions. It is demonstrated that adaptive interventions constitute a form of feedback control system in the context of behavioral health. Consequently, drawing from ideas in control engineering has the potential to significantly inform the analysis, design, and implementation of adaptive interventions, leading to improved adherence, better management of limited resources, a reduction of negative effects, and overall more effective interventions. This article illustrates how to express an adaptive intervention in control engineering terms, and how to use this framework in a computer simulation to investigate the anticipated impact of intervention design choices on efficacy. The potential benefits of operationalizing decision rules based on control engineering principles are particularly significant for adaptive interventions that involve multiple components or address co-morbidities, situations that pose significant challenges to conventional clinical practice.

Solution adaptive grids applied to low Reynolds number flow

Science.gov (United States)

de With, G.; Holdø, A. E.; Huld, T. A.

2003-08-01

A numerical study has been undertaken to investigate the use of a solution adaptive grid for flow around a cylinder in the laminar flow regime. The main purpose of this work is twofold. The first aim is to investigate the suitability of a grid adaptation algorithm and the reduction in mesh size that can be obtained. Secondly, the uniform asymmetric flow structures are ideal to validate the mesh structures due to mesh refinement and consequently the selected refinement criteria. The refinement variable used in this work is a product of the rate of strain and the mesh cell size, and contains two variables Cm and Cstr which determine the order of each term. By altering the order of either one of these terms the refinement behaviour can be modified.

Effect of range of motion in heavy load squatting on muscle and tendon adaptations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bloomquist, K; Langberg, Henning; Karlsen, Stine

2013-01-01

Manipulating joint range of motion during squat training may have differential effects on adaptations to strength training with implications for sports and rehabilitation. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to compare the effects of squat training with a short vs. a long range of motion...

Coping with drought risk: empirical analysis of farmers' drought adaption in the south-west Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Duinen, Rianne; Filatova, Tatiana; Geurts, Petrus A.T.M.; van der Veen, A.

2014-01-01

Climate change projections show that periods of droughts are likely to increase, causing decreasing water availability, salinization, and consequently farm income loss in the south-west Netherlands. Adaptation is the key to decrease a farmer's drought vulnerability and to secure the agricultural

Using Web GIS "Climate" for Adaptation to Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Gordova, Yulia; Martynova, Yulia; Shulgina, Tamara

2015-04-01

A work is devoted to the application of an information-computational Web GIS "Climate" developed by joint team of the Institute of Monitoring of Climatic and Ecological Systems SB RAS and Tomsk State University to raise awareness about current and future climate change as a basis for further adaptation. Web-GIS "Climate» (http://climate.scert.ru/) based on modern concepts of Web 2.0 provides opportunities to study regional climate change and its consequences by providing access to climate and weather models, a large set of geophysical data and means of processing and visualization. Also, the system is used for the joint development of software applications by distributed research teams, research based on these applications and undergraduate and graduate students training. In addition, the system capabilities allow creating information resources to raise public awareness about climate change, its causes and consequences, which is a necessary step for the subsequent adaptation to these changes. Basic information course on climate change is placed in the public domain and is aimed at local population. Basic concepts and problems of modern climate change and its possible consequences are set out and illustrated in accessible language. Particular attention is paid to regional climate changes. In addition to the information part, the course also includes a selection of links to popular science network resources on current issues in Earth Sciences and a number of practical tasks to consolidate the material. These tasks are performed for a particular territory. Within the tasks users need to analyze the prepared within the "Climate" map layers and answer questions of direct interest to the public: "How did the minimum value of winter temperatures change in your area?", "What are the dynamics of maximum summer temperatures?", etc. Carrying out the analysis of the dynamics of climate change contributes to a better understanding of climate processes and further adaptation

Monochromatic Pupillometry in Unilateral Glaucoma Discloses no Adaptive Changes Subserved by the ipRGCs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nissen, Claus; Sander, Birgit Agnes; Milea, Dan

2014-01-01

PURPOSE: To detect signs of a possible adaptive mechanism of the intrinsically photosensitive ganglion cells in unilateral glaucoma. METHOD: Eleven patients with unilateral glaucoma, classified by automated perimetry (glaucoma: mean deviation ... in the glaucomatous eyes of unilateral glaucoma. No difference was detected between the pupillary light response of the unafflicted fellow eyes and that of a healthy, age-matched control group. Thus no sign of an adaptive mechanism was detected, neither in the glaucomatous nor in the unafflicted fellow eyes......, and consequently glaucoma appears to differ from non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy....

Advances in risk assessment for climate change adaptation policy

Science.gov (United States)

Adger, W. Neil; Brown, Iain; Surminski, Swenja

2018-01-01

Climate change risk assessment involves formal analysis of the consequences, likelihoods and responses to the impacts of climate change and the options for addressing these under societal constraints. Conventional approaches to risk assessment are challenged by the significant temporal and spatial dynamics of climate change; by the amplification of risks through societal preferences and values; and through the interaction of multiple risk factors. This paper introduces the theme issue by reviewing the current practice and frontiers of climate change risk assessment, with specific emphasis on the development of adaptation policy that aims to manage those risks. These frontiers include integrated assessments, dealing with climate risks across borders and scales, addressing systemic risks, and innovative co-production methods to prioritize solutions to climate challenges with decision-makers. By reviewing recent developments in the use of large-scale risk assessment for adaptation policy-making, we suggest a forward-looking research agenda to meet ongoing strategic policy requirements in local, national and international contexts. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Advances in risk assessment for climate change adaptation policy’. PMID:29712800

Advances in risk assessment for climate change adaptation policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Adger, W Neil; Brown, Iain; Surminski, Swenja

2018-06-13

Climate change risk assessment involves formal analysis of the consequences, likelihoods and responses to the impacts of climate change and the options for addressing these under societal constraints. Conventional approaches to risk assessment are challenged by the significant temporal and spatial dynamics of climate change; by the amplification of risks through societal preferences and values; and through the interaction of multiple risk factors. This paper introduces the theme issue by reviewing the current practice and frontiers of climate change risk assessment, with specific emphasis on the development of adaptation policy that aims to manage those risks. These frontiers include integrated assessments, dealing with climate risks across borders and scales, addressing systemic risks, and innovative co-production methods to prioritize solutions to climate challenges with decision-makers. By reviewing recent developments in the use of large-scale risk assessment for adaptation policy-making, we suggest a forward-looking research agenda to meet ongoing strategic policy requirements in local, national and international contexts.This article is part of the theme issue 'Advances in risk assessment for climate change adaptation policy'. © 2018 The Author(s).

Advances in risk assessment for climate change adaptation policy

Science.gov (United States)

Adger, W. Neil; Brown, Iain; Surminski, Swenja

2018-06-01

Climate change risk assessment involves formal analysis of the consequences, likelihoods and responses to the impacts of climate change and the options for addressing these under societal constraints. Conventional approaches to risk assessment are challenged by the significant temporal and spatial dynamics of climate change; by the amplification of risks through societal preferences and values; and through the interaction of multiple risk factors. This paper introduces the theme issue by reviewing the current practice and frontiers of climate change risk assessment, with specific emphasis on the development of adaptation policy that aims to manage those risks. These frontiers include integrated assessments, dealing with climate risks across borders and scales, addressing systemic risks, and innovative co-production methods to prioritize solutions to climate challenges with decision-makers. By reviewing recent developments in the use of large-scale risk assessment for adaptation policy-making, we suggest a forward-looking research agenda to meet ongoing strategic policy requirements in local, national and international contexts. This article is part of the theme issue `Advances in risk assessment for climate change adaptation policy'.

Adaptive optics without altering visual perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Koenig, D E; Hart, N W; Hofer, H J

2014-04-01

Adaptive optics combined with visual psychophysics creates the potential to study the relationship between visual function and the retina at the cellular scale. This potential is hampered, however, by visual interference from the wavefront-sensing beacon used during correction. For example, we have previously shown that even a dim, visible beacon can alter stimulus perception (Hofer et al., 2012). Here we describe a simple strategy employing a longer wavelength (980nm) beacon that, in conjunction with appropriate restriction on timing and placement, allowed us to perform psychophysics when dark adapted without altering visual perception. The method was verified by comparing detection and color appearance of foveally presented small spot stimuli with and without the wavefront beacon present in 5 subjects. As an important caution, we found that significant perceptual interference can occur even with a subliminal beacon when additional measures are not taken to limit exposure. Consequently, the lack of perceptual interference should be verified for a given system, and not assumed based on invisibility of the beacon. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Research Progress of Space-Time Adaptive Detection for Airborne Radar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang Yong-liang

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Compared with Space-Time Adaptive Processing (STAP, Space-Time Adaptive Detection (STAD employs the data in the cell under test and those in the training to form reasonable detection statistics and consequently decides whether the target exists or not. The STAD has concise processing procedure and flexible design. Furthermore, the detection statistics usually possess the Constant False Alarm Rate (CFAR property, and hence it needs no additional CFAR processing. More importantly, the STAD usually exhibits improved detection performance than that of the conventional processing, which first suppresses the clutter then adopts other detection strategy. In this paper, we first summarize the key strongpoint of the STAD, then make a classification for the STAD, and finally give some future research tracks.

Driver's behavioral adaptation to adaptive cruise control (ACC): the case of speed and time headway.

Science.gov (United States)

Bianchi Piccinini, Giulio Francesco; Rodrigues, Carlos Manuel; Leitão, Miguel; Simões, Anabela

2014-06-01

The Adaptive Cruise Control is an Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) that allows maintaining given headway and speed, according to settings pre-defined by the users. Despite the potential benefits associated to the utilization of ACC, previous studies warned against negative behavioral adaptations that might occur while driving with the system activated. Unfortunately, up to now, there are no unanimous results about the effects induced by the usage of ACC on speed and time headway to the vehicle in front. Also, few studies were performed including actual users of ACC among the subjects. This research aimed to investigate the effect of the experience gained with ACC on speed and time headway for a group of users of the system. In addition, it explored the impact of ACC usage on speed and time headway for ACC users and regular drivers. A matched sample driving simulator study was planned as a two-way (2×2) repeated measures mixed design, with the experience with ACC as between-subjects factor and the driving condition (with ACC and manually) as within-subjects factor. The results show that the usage of ACC brought a small but not significant reduction of speed and, especially, the maintenance of safer time headways, being the latter result greater for ACC users, probably as a consequence of their experience in using the system. The usage of ACC did not cause any negative behavioral adaptations to the system regarding speed and time headway. Based on this research work, the Adaptive Cruise Control showed the potential to improve road safety for what concerns the speed and the time headway maintained by the drivers. The speed of the surrounding traffic and the minimum time headway settable through the ACC seem to have an important effect on the road safety improvement achievable with the system. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Host plant adaptation in Drosophila mettleri populations.

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Sergio Castrezana

Full Text Available The process of local adaptation creates diversity among allopatric populations, and may eventually lead to speciation. Plant-feeding insect populations that specialize on different host species provide an excellent opportunity to evaluate the causes of ecological specialization and the subsequent consequences for diversity. In this study, we used geographically separated Drosophila mettleri populations that specialize on different host cacti to examine oviposition preference for and larval performance on an array of natural and non-natural hosts (eight total. We found evidence of local adaptation in performance on saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea for populations that are typically associated with this host, and to chemically divergent prickly pear species (Opuntia spp. in a genetically isolated population on Santa Catalina Island. Moreover, each population exhibited reduced performance on the alternative host. This finding is consistent with trade-offs associated with adaptation to these chemically divergent hosts, although we also discuss alternative explanations for this pattern. For oviposition preference, Santa Catalina Island flies were more likely to oviposit on some prickly pear species, but all populations readily laid eggs on saguaro. Experiments with non-natural hosts suggest that factors such as ecological opportunity may play a more important role than host plant chemistry in explaining the lack of natural associations with some hosts.

Born to adapt, but not in your dreams.

Science.gov (United States)

Mulder, Theo; Hochstenbach, Jacqueline; Dijkstra, Pieter U; Geertzen, Jan H B

2008-12-01

The brain adapts to changes that take place in the body. Deprivation of input results in size reduction of cortical representations, whereas an increase in input results in an increase of representational space. Amputation forms one of the most dramatic disturbances of the integrity of the body. The brain adapts in many ways to this breakdown of the afferent-efferent equilibrium. However, almost all studies focus on the sensorimotor consequences. It is not known whether adaptation takes place also at other "levels" in the system. The present study addresses the question whether amputees dream about their intact body, as before the amputation, or about the body after the amputation and whether the dream content was a function of time since the amputation and type of amputation. The results show that the majority of the dreamers reported dreams about their intact body although the mean time that elapsed since the amputation was twelve years. There is no clear relation with the type of amputation. The results give modest evidence for the existence of a basic neural representation of the body that is, at least, partly genetically determined and by this relatively insensitive for changes in the sensory input.

Fitness consequences of northward dispersal as possible adaptation to climate change, using experimental translocation of a migratory passerine

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Burger, Claudia; Nord, Andreas; Nilsson, Jan-Åke; Gilot-Fromont, Emmanuelle; Both, Christiaan

2013-01-01

Climate change leads to rapid, differential changes in phenology across trophic levels, often resulting in temporal mismatches between predators and their prey. If a species cannot easily adjust its timing, it can adapt by choosing a new breeding location with a later phenology of its prey. In this

Direct aperture optimization for online adaptive radiation therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mestrovic, Ante; Milette, Marie-Pierre; Nichol, Alan; Clark, Brenda G.; Otto, Karl

2007-01-01

increase the overall time the patient has to spend on the treatment couch. As a consequence, the effective time allotted for plan adaptation is drastically reduced. For the 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75 cm anatomical deformations, the treatment time was increased by only 2, 4, and 6 s, respectively, as compared to no plan adaptation. For the anatomical deformation of 1.0 cm the time increase was substantially larger. The anatomical deformation of 1.0 cm represents an extreme case, which is rarely observed for the prostate, and again demonstrates the limit of this approach. ARD shows great potential for an online adaptive method with minimal extension of treatment time

Near optimal power allocation algorithm for OFDM-based cognitive using adaptive relaying strategy

KAUST Repository

Soury, Hamza; Bader, Faouzi; Shaat, Musbah M R; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2012-01-01

Relayed transmission increases the coverage and achievable capacity of communication systems. Adaptive relaying scheme is a relaying technique by which the benefits of the amplifying or decode and forward techniques can be achieved by switching the forwarding technique according to the quality of the signal. A cognitive Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) based adaptive relaying protocol is considered in this paper. The objective is to maximize the capacity of the cognitive radio system while ensuring that the interference introduced to the primary user is below the tolerated limit. A Near optimal power allocation in the source and the relay is presented for two pairing techniques such that the matching and random pairing. The simulation results confirm the efficiency of the proposed adaptive relaying protocol, and the consequence of choice of pairing technique. © 2012 ICST.

Ecological adaptation of diverse honey bee (Apis mellifera) populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Robert; Melathopoulos, Andony P; White, Rick; Pernal, Stephen F; Guarna, M Marta; Foster, Leonard J

2010-06-15

Honey bees are complex eusocial insects that provide a critical contribution to human agricultural food production. Their natural migration has selected for traits that increase fitness within geographical areas, but in parallel their domestication has selected for traits that enhance productivity and survival under local conditions. Elucidating the biochemical mechanisms of these local adaptive processes is a key goal of evolutionary biology. Proteomics provides tools unique among the major 'omics disciplines for identifying the mechanisms employed by an organism in adapting to environmental challenges. Through proteome profiling of adult honey bee midgut from geographically dispersed, domesticated populations combined with multiple parallel statistical treatments, the data presented here suggest some of the major cellular processes involved in adapting to different climates. These findings provide insight into the molecular underpinnings that may confer an advantage to honey bee populations. Significantly, the major energy-producing pathways of the mitochondria, the organelle most closely involved in heat production, were consistently higher in bees that had adapted to colder climates. In opposition, up-regulation of protein metabolism capacity, from biosynthesis to degradation, had been selected for in bees from warmer climates. Overall, our results present a proteomic interpretation of expression polymorphisms between honey bee ecotypes and provide insight into molecular aspects of local adaptation or selection with consequences for honey bee management and breeding. The implications of our findings extend beyond apiculture as they underscore the need to consider the interdependence of animal populations and their agro-ecological context.

Hybrid Adaptive Flight Control with Model Inversion Adaptation

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Nhan

2011-01-01

This study investigates a hybrid adaptive flight control method as a design possibility for a flight control system that can enable an effective adaptation strategy to deal with off-nominal flight conditions. The hybrid adaptive control blends both direct and indirect adaptive control in a model inversion flight control architecture. The blending of both direct and indirect adaptive control provides a much more flexible and effective adaptive flight control architecture than that with either direct or indirect adaptive control alone. The indirect adaptive control is used to update the model inversion controller by an on-line parameter estimation of uncertain plant dynamics based on two methods. The first parameter estimation method is an indirect adaptive law based on the Lyapunov theory, and the second method is a recursive least-squares indirect adaptive law. The model inversion controller is therefore made to adapt to changes in the plant dynamics due to uncertainty. As a result, the modeling error is reduced that directly leads to a decrease in the tracking error. In conjunction with the indirect adaptive control that updates the model inversion controller, a direct adaptive control is implemented as an augmented command to further reduce any residual tracking error that is not entirely eliminated by the indirect adaptive control.

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

Science.gov (United States)

2009-05-01

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

Trust, Contracting, and Adaptation in Agri-Food Hybrid Structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gaetano Martino

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The paper considers the relationship between trust and governance structure from a Transaction Cost Economics perspective. The role of trust in the coordinating decisions is variously conceptualized according to the theoretical view adopted by the scholars. The present study adopt the three-level schema introduced by Williamson (1996 and suggest that determinants of trust may operate both at institutional and governance structure level. The analytical framework depicted maintains that trust may determine a reduction of ex post transaction cost in the adaptation of hybrid structure. As a consequence trust appears to be able to extend the range of existence of the hybrids. The empirical part of the study is dedicated to a case study which illustrates the emerging of conditional trust (Fritz et al., 2008 and the role of trust in the adaptation process.

Adaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

Broom, Donald M

2006-01-01

The term adaptation is used in biology in three different ways. It may refer to changes which occur at the cell and organ level, or at the individual level, or at the level of gene action and evolutionary processes. Adaptation by cells, especially nerve cells helps in: communication within the body, the distinguishing of stimuli, the avoidance of overload and the conservation of energy. The time course and complexity of these mechanisms varies. Adaptive characters of organisms, including adaptive behaviours, increase fitness so this adaptation is evolutionary. The major part of this paper concerns adaptation by individuals and its relationships to welfare. In complex animals, feed forward control is widely used. Individuals predict problems and adapt by acting before the environmental effect is substantial. Much of adaptation involves brain control and animals have a set of needs, located in the brain and acting largely via motivational mechanisms, to regulate life. Needs may be for resources but are also for actions and stimuli which are part of the mechanism which has evolved to obtain the resources. Hence pigs do not just need food but need to be able to carry out actions like rooting in earth or manipulating materials which are part of foraging behaviour. The welfare of an individual is its state as regards its attempts to cope with its environment. This state includes various adaptive mechanisms including feelings and those which cope with disease. The part of welfare which is concerned with coping with pathology is health. Disease, which implies some significant effect of pathology, always results in poor welfare. Welfare varies over a range from very good, when adaptation is effective and there are feelings of pleasure or contentment, to very poor. A key point concerning the concept of individual adaptation in relation to welfare is that welfare may be good or poor while adaptation is occurring. Some adaptation is very easy and energetically cheap and

Female burying beetles benefit from male desertion: sexual conflict and counter-adaptation over parental investment.

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Giuseppe Boncoraglio

Full Text Available Sexual conflict drives the coevolution of sexually antagonistic traits, such that an adaptation in one sex selects an opposing coevolutionary response from the other. Although many adaptations and counteradaptations have been identified in sexual conflict over mating interactions, few are known for sexual conflict over parental investment. Here we investigate a possible coevolutionary sequence triggered by mate desertion in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides, where males commonly leave before their offspring reach independence. Rather than suffer fitness costs as a consequence, our data suggest that females rely on the male's absence to recoup some of the costs of larval care, presumably because they are then free to feed themselves on the carcass employed for breeding. Consequently, forcing males to stay until the larvae disperse reduces components of female fitness to a greater extent than caring for young singlehandedly. Therefore we suggest that females may have co-evolved to anticipate desertion by their partners so that they now benefit from the male's absence.

Female Burying Beetles Benefit from Male Desertion: Sexual Conflict and Counter-Adaptation over Parental Investment

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Boncoraglio, Giuseppe; Kilner, Rebecca M.

2012-01-01

Sexual conflict drives the coevolution of sexually antagonistic traits, such that an adaptation in one sex selects an opposing coevolutionary response from the other. Although many adaptations and counteradaptations have been identified in sexual conflict over mating interactions, few are known for sexual conflict over parental investment. Here we investigate a possible coevolutionary sequence triggered by mate desertion in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides, where males commonly leave before their offspring reach independence. Rather than suffer fitness costs as a consequence, our data suggest that females rely on the male's absence to recoup some of the costs of larval care, presumably because they are then free to feed themselves on the carcass employed for breeding. Consequently, forcing males to stay until the larvae disperse reduces components of female fitness to a greater extent than caring for young singlehandedly. Therefore we suggest that females may have co-evolved to anticipate desertion by their partners so that they now benefit from the male's absence. PMID:22355390

The impact of natural transformation on adaptation in spatially structured bacterial populations.

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Moradigaravand, Danesh; Engelstädter, Jan

2014-06-20

Recent studies have demonstrated that natural transformation and the formation of highly structured populations in bacteria are interconnected. In spite of growing evidence about this connection, little is known about the dynamics of natural transformation in spatially structured bacterial populations. In this work, we model the interdependency between the dynamics of the bacterial gene pool and those of environmental DNA in space to dissect the effect of transformation on adaptation. Our model reveals that even with only a single locus under consideration, transformation with a free DNA fragment pool results in complex adaptation dynamics that do not emerge in previous models focusing only on the gene shuffling effect of transformation at multiple loci. We demonstrate how spatial restriction on population growth and DNA diffusion in the environment affect the impact of transformation on adaptation. We found that in structured bacterial populations intermediate DNA diffusion rates predominantly cause transformation to impede adaptation by spreading deleterious alleles in the population. Overall, our model highlights distinctive evolutionary consequences of bacterial transformation in spatially restricted compared to planktonic bacterial populations.

Plasticity and genetic adaptation mediate amphibian and reptile responses to climate change

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Urban, Mark C; Richardson, Jonathan L; Freidenfelds, Nicole A

2014-01-01

Phenotypic plasticity and genetic adaptation are predicted to mitigate some of the negative biotic consequences of climate change. Here, we evaluate evidence for plastic and evolutionary responses to climate variation in amphibians and reptiles via a literature review and meta-analysis. We included studies that either document phenotypic changes through time or space. Plasticity had a clear and ubiquitous role in promoting phenotypic changes in response to climate variation. For adaptive evolution, we found no direct evidence for evolution of amphibians or reptiles in response to climate change over time. However, we found many studies that documented adaptive responses to climate along spatial gradients. Plasticity provided a mixture of adaptive and maladaptive responses to climate change, highlighting that plasticity frequently, but not always, could ameliorate climate change. Based on our review, we advocate for more experiments that survey genetic changes through time in response to climate change. Overall, plastic and genetic variation in amphibians and reptiles could buffer some of the formidable threats from climate change, but large uncertainties remain owing to limited data. PMID:24454550

INITIATORS AND TRIGGERING CONDITIONS FOR ADAPTIVE AUTOMATION IN ADVANCED SMALL MODULAR REACTORS

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Katya L Le Blanc; Johanna h Oxstrand

2014-04-01

It is anticipated that Advanced Small Modular Reactors (AdvSMRs) will employ high degrees of automation. High levels of automation can enhance system performance, but often at the cost of reduced human performance. Automation can lead to human out-of the loop issues, unbalanced workload, complacency, and other problems if it is not designed properly. Researchers have proposed adaptive automation (defined as dynamic or flexible allocation of functions) as a way to get the benefits of higher levels of automation without the human performance costs. Adaptive automation has the potential to balance operator workload and enhance operator situation awareness by allocating functions to the operators in a way that is sensitive to overall workload and capabilities at the time of operation. However, there still a number of questions regarding how to effectively design adaptive automation to achieve that potential. One of those questions is related to how to initiate (or trigger) a shift in automation in order to provide maximal sensitivity to operator needs without introducing undesirable consequences (such as unpredictable mode changes). Several triggering mechanisms for shifts in adaptive automation have been proposed including: operator initiated, critical events, performance-based, physiological measurement, model-based, and hybrid methods. As part of a larger project to develop design guidance for human-automation collaboration in AdvSMRs, researchers at Idaho National Laboratory have investigated the effectiveness and applicability of each of these triggering mechanisms in the context of AdvSMR. Researchers reviewed the empirical literature on adaptive automation and assessed each triggering mechanism based on the human-system performance consequences of employing that mechanism. Researchers also assessed the practicality and feasibility of using the mechanism in the context of an AdvSMR control room. Results indicate that there are tradeoffs associated with each

Right Ventricular Adaptation in Congenital Heart Diseases

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Beatrijs Bartelds

2014-05-01

Full Text Available In the last four decades, enormous progress has been made in the treatment of congenital heart diseases (CHD; most patients now survive into adulthood, albeit with residual lesions. As a consequence, the focus has shifted from initial treatment to long-term morbidity and mortality. An important predictor for long-term outcome is right ventricular (RV dysfunction, but knowledge on the mechanisms of RV adaptation and dysfunction is still scarce. This review will summarize the main features of RV adaptation to CHD, focusing on recent knowledge obtained in experimental models of the most prevalent abnormal loading conditions, i.e., pressure load and volume load. Models of increased pressure load for the RV have shown a similar pattern of responses, i.e., increased contractility, RV dilatation and hypertrophy. Evidence is accumulating that RV failure in response to increased pressure load is marked by progressive diastolic dysfunction. The mechanisms of this progressive dysfunction are insufficiently known. The RV response to pressure load shares similarities with that of the LV, but also has specific features, e.g., capillary rarefaction, oxidative stress and inflammation. The contribution of these pathways to the development of failure needs further exploration. The RV adaptation to increased volume load is an understudied area, but becomes increasingly important in the growing groups of survivors of CHD, especially with tetralogy of Fallot. Recently developed animal models may add to the investigation of the mechanisms of RV adaptation and failure, leading to the development of new RV-specific therapies.

Gender Differences in the Consequences of Divorce: A Study of Multiple Outcomes.

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Leopold, Thomas

2018-06-01

In this study, I examined gender differences in the consequences of divorce by tracing annual change in 20 outcome measures covering four domains: economic, housing and domestic, health and well-being, and social. I used data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) and fixed-effects panel regression models on a sample of N = 18,030 individuals initially observed in a marital union, N = 1,220 of whom divorced across the observation period (1984-2015). Three main findings emerged from the analysis. First, men were more vulnerable to short-term consequences of divorce for subjective measures of well-being, but postdivorce adaptation alleviated gender differences in these outcomes. Second, a medium-term view on multiple outcomes showed more similarity than differences between women and men. The medium-term consequences of divorce were similar in terms of subjective economic well-being; mental health, physical health, and psychological well-being; residential moves, homeownership, and satisfaction with housework; and chances of repartnering, social integration with friends and relatives, and feelings of loneliness. Third, the key domain in which large and persistent gender differences emerged were women's disproportionate losses in household income and associated increases in their risk of poverty and single parenting. Taken together, these findings suggest that men's disproportionate strain of divorce is transient, whereas women's is chronic.

[The role of a tool in measuring negative consequences of workaholism].

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Chodkiewicz, Jan; Hauk, Mateusz

Analyzes of negative consequences of workaholism are ambiguous, and various studies have been conducted with different measurement tools. Thus, the objective of the current research was to find the answer to the question about relationships between workaholism measured with varied tools and mental health, stress experienced in life and at work, negative affect, and work-family conflicts. The study was conducted in a group of 178 subjects (71 men, 107 women, aged 23-66), with a minimum work experience of 4 years. To measure workaholism 4 different research tools, based on different conceptualization of this construct, were used: Workaholism Battery (Work-Bat) by Spence and Robbins, Work Addiction Risk Test (WART) by Robinson, Scale of Workaholism as Behavioral Tendencies (SWBT) by Mudrack and Naughton, and The Scale of Being Absorbed by Work (SZAP) by Golińska. To measure possible consequences of workaholism the following tools were employed: General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) by Goldberg, Scale of Work-Family/Family-Work Conflict (WFC/FWC) by Netemeyer et al., Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) by Cohen et al., Brief Scale of Vocational Stress (BSVS) by Stanton et al. and Mood Scale by Wojciszke and Baryła. The strongest relationships between workaholism and its negative consequences for the functioning of the unit can be observed using 2 diagnostic methods, respectively: WART and SZAP adapted by Golińska. Other diagnostic tools (Work-Bat and SWBT) have insignificant relationships with possible negative consequences of workaholism. The applied method of measuring workaholism seems to be of great importance in predicting possible consequences-different conceptualizations of phenomena leading to different results, which is important for researchers and practitioners involved in the issue of workaholism. There is a need for further work on the conceptualization and operationalization of the workaholism phenomenon. Med Pr 2016;67(4):467-476. This work is available

The role of a tool in measuring negative consequences of workaholism

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Jan Chodkiewicz

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Analyzes of negative consequences of workaholism are ambiguous, and various studies have been conducted with different measurement tools. Thus, the objective of the current research was to find the answer to the question about relationships between workaholism measured with varied tools and mental health, stress experienced in life and at work, negative affect, and work–family conflicts. Material and Methods: The study was conducted in a group of 178 subjects (71 men, 107 women, aged 23–66, with a minimum work experience of 4 years. To measure workaholism 4 different research tools, based on different conceptualization of this construct, were used: Workaholism Battery (Work-Bat by Spence and Robbins, Work Addiction Risk Test (WART by Robinson, Scale of Workaholism as Behavioral Tendencies (SWBT by Mudrack and Naughton, and The Scale of Being Absorbed by Work (SZAP by Golińska. To measure possible consequences of workaholism the following tools were employed: General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28 by Goldberg, Scale of Work–Family/Family–Work Conflict (WFC/FWC by Netemeyer et al., Perceived Stress Scale (PSS by Cohen et al., Brief Scale of Vocational Stress (BSVS by Stanton et al. and Mood Scale by Wojciszke and Baryła. Results: The strongest relationships between workaholism and its negative consequences for the functioning of the unit can be observed using 2 diagnostic methods, respectively: WART and SZAP adapted by Golińska. Other diagnostic tools (Work-Bat and SWBT have insignificant relationships with possible negative consequences of workaholism. Conclusions: The applied method of measuring workaholism seems to be of great importance in predicting possible consequences-different conceptualizations of phenomena leading to different results, which is important for researchers and practitioners involved in the issue of workaholism. There is a need for further work on the conceptualization and operationalization of the

Adaptive value of sex in microbial pathogens.

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Michod, Richard E; Bernstein, Harris; Nedelcu, Aurora M

2008-05-01

Explaining the adaptive value of sex is one of the great outstanding problems in biology. The challenge comes from the difficulty in identifying the benefits provided by sex, which must outweigh the substantial costs of sex. Here, we consider the adaptive value of sex in viruses, bacteria and fungi, and particularly the information available on the adaptive role of sex in pathogenic microorganisms. Our general theme is that the varied aspects of sex in pathogens illustrate the varied issues surrounding the evolution of sex generally. These include, the benefits of sex (in the short- and long-term), as well as the costs of sex (both to the host and to the pathogen). For the benefits of sex (that is, its adaptive value), we consider three hypotheses: (i) sex provides for effective and efficient recombinational repair of DNA damages, (ii) sex provides DNA for food, and (iii) sex produces variation and reduces genetic associations among alleles under selection. Although the evolution of sex in microbial pathogens illustrates these general issues, our paper is not a general review of theories for the evolution of sex in all organisms. Rather, we focus on the adaptive value of sex in microbial pathogens and conclude that in terms of short-term benefits, the DNA repair hypothesis has the most support and is the most generally applicable hypothesis in this group. In particular, recombinational repair of DNA damages may substantially benefit pathogens when challenged by the oxidative defenses of the host. However, in the long-term, sex may help get rid of mutations, increase the rate of adaptation of the population, and, in pathogens, may infrequently create new infective strains. An additional general issue about sex illustrated by pathogens is that some of the most interesting consequences of sex are not necessarily the reasons for which sex evolved. For example, antibiotic resistance may be transferred by bacterial sex, but this transfer is probably not the reason sex

Enduring consequences of early experiences: 40 year effects on survival and success among African elephants (Loxodonta africana).

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Lee, Phyllis C; Bussière, Luc F; Webber, C Elizabeth; Poole, Joyce H; Moss, Cynthia J

2013-04-23

Growth from conception to reproductive onset in African elephants (Loxodonta africana) provides insights into phenotypic plasticity, individual adaptive plastic responses and facultative maternal investment. Using growth for 867 and life histories for 2652 elephants over 40 years, we demonstrate that maternal inexperience plus drought in early life result in reduced growth rates for sons and higher mortality for both sexes. Slow growth during early lactation was associated with smaller adult size, later age at first reproduction, reduced lifetime survival and consequently limited reproductive output. These enduring effects of trading slow early growth against immediate survival were apparent over the very long term; delayed downstream consequences were unexpected for a species with a maximum longevity of 70+ years and unpredictable environmental experiences.

Climatic change in Germany. Adaptation is necessary. 4. ed.; Deutschland im Klimawandel. Anpassung ist notwendig

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Schuchardt, Bastian; Wittig, Stefan [BioConsult Schuchardt und Scholle, Bremen (Germany); Mahrenholz, Petra; Kartschall, Karin; Maeder, Claudia; Hasse, Clemens; Daschkeit, Achim [Umweltbundesamt, Dessau (Germany)

2008-11-15

The report discusses the global climatic change and the regional consequences for Germany. The risk analysis covers selected examples concerning health hazards, agriculture, forestry, water management, environmental protection and biodiversity, traffic, tourism, flood control and prevention and settlement development. Possible German adaptation strategies for these selected sections are summarized.

Adaptation responses to increasing drought frequency

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Loch, A. J.; Adamson, D. C.; Schwabe, K.

2016-12-01

Using state contingent analysis we discuss how and why irrigators adapt to alternative water supply signals. This analysis approach helps to illustrate how and why producers currently use state-general and state-allocable inputs to adapt and respond to known and possible future climatic alternative natures. Focusing on the timing of water allocations, we explore inherent differences in the demand for water by two key irrigation sectors: annual and perennial producers which in Australia have allowed a significant degree of risk-minimisation during droughts. In the absence of land constraints, producers also had a capacity to respond to positive state outcomes and achieve super-normal profits. In the future, however, the probability of positive state outcomes is uncertain; production systems may need to adapt to minimise losses and/or achieve positive returns under altered water supply conditions that may arise as a consequence of more frequent drought states. As such, producers must assess whether altering current input/output choice sets in response to possible future climate states will enhance their long-run competitive advantage for both expected new normal and extreme water supply outcomes. Further, policy supporting agricultural sector climate change resilience must avoid poorly-designed strategies that increase producer vulnerability in the face of drought. Our analysis explores the reliability of alternative water property right bundles and how reduced allocations across time influence alternative responses by producers. We then extend our analysis to explore how management strategies could adapt to two possible future drier state types: i) where an average reduction in water supply is experienced; and ii) where the frequency of droughts increase. The combination of these findings are subsequently used to discuss the role water reform policy has to deal with current and future climate scenarios. We argue current policy strategies could drive producers to

Adaptive Motion Estimation Processor for Autonomous Video Devices

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Dias T

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Motion estimation is the most demanding operation of a video encoder, corresponding to at least 80% of the overall computational cost. As a consequence, with the proliferation of autonomous and portable handheld devices that support digital video coding, data-adaptive motion estimation algorithms have been required to dynamically configure the search pattern not only to avoid unnecessary computations and memory accesses but also to save energy. This paper proposes an application-specific instruction set processor (ASIP to implement data-adaptive motion estimation algorithms that is characterized by a specialized datapath and a minimum and optimized instruction set. Due to its low-power nature, this architecture is highly suitable to develop motion estimators for portable, mobile, and battery-supplied devices. Based on the proposed architecture and the considered adaptive algorithms, several motion estimators were synthesized both for a Virtex-II Pro XC2VP30 FPGA from Xilinx, integrated within an ML310 development platform, and using a StdCell library based on a 0.18 μm CMOS process. Experimental results show that the proposed architecture is able to estimate motion vectors in real time for QCIF and CIF video sequences with a very low-power consumption. Moreover, it is also able to adapt the operation to the available energy level in runtime. By adjusting the search pattern and setting up a more convenient operating frequency, it can change the power consumption in the interval between 1.6 mW and 15 mW.

Trans gene regulation in adaptive evolution: a genetic algorithm model.

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Behera, N; Nanjundiah, V

1997-09-21

This is a continuation of earlier studies on the evolution of infinite populations of haploid genotypes within a genetic algorithm framework. We had previously explored the evolutionary consequences of the existence of indeterminate-"plastic"-loci, where a plastic locus had a finite probability in each generation of functioning (being switched "on") or not functioning (being switched "off"). The relative probabilities of the two outcomes were assigned on a stochastic basis. The present paper examines what happens when the transition probabilities are biased by the presence of regulatory genes. We find that under certain conditions regulatory genes can improve the adaptation of the population and speed up the rate of evolution (on occasion at the cost of lowering the degree of adaptation). Also, the existence of regulatory loci potentiates selection in favour of plasticity. There is a synergistic effect of regulatory genes on plastic alleles: the frequency of such alleles increases when regulatory loci are present. Thus, phenotypic selection alone can be a potentiating factor in a favour of better adaptation. Copyright 1997 Academic Press Limited.

Farm Level Adaptation to Climate Change: The Case of Farmer's in the Ethiopian Highlands

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Gebrehiwot, Tagel; van der Veen, Anne

2013-07-01

In Ethiopia, climate change and associated risks are expected to have serious consequences for agriculture and food security. This in turn will seriously impact on the welfare of the people, particularly the rural farmers whose main livelihood depends on rain-fed agriculture. The level of impacts will mainly depend on the awareness and the level of adaptation in response to the changing climate. It is thus important to understand the role of the different factors that influence farmers' adaptation to ensure the development of appropriate policy measures and the design of successful development projects. This study examines farmers' perception of change in climatic attributes and the factors that influence farmers' choice of adaptation measures to climate change and variability. The estimated results from the climate change adaptation models indicate that level of education, age and wealth of the head of the household; access to credit and agricultural services; information on climate, and temperature all influence farmers' choices of adaptation. Moreover, lack of information on adaptation measures and lack of finance are seen as the main factors inhibiting adaptation to climate change. These conclusions were obtained with a Multinomial logit model, employing the results from a survey of 400 smallholder farmers in three districts in Tigray, northern Ethiopian.

The value of adaptive regret management in retirement.

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Farquhar, Jamie C; Wrosch, Carsten; Pushkar, Dolores; Li, Karen Z H

2013-01-01

This 3-year longitudinal study examined the associations between regret management, everyday activities, and retirement satisfaction among recent retirees. We hypothesized that the regulation of a severe life regret can facilitate activity engagement and retirement satisfaction, but only if retirees manage their regrets adaptively by either increasing effort and commitment when possessing favorable opportunities or disengaging when opportunity is unfavorable. Cross-sectional analyses demonstrated that the highest baseline levels of activity (e.g., volunteering, traveling) and retirement satisfaction were observed among participants who perceived favorable opportunities for addressing their life regrets and had high levels of engagement. Longitudinal analyses showed that this pattern was also associated with increases in activity engagement. In contrast, disengagement protected individuals with unfavorable opportunity from 3-year declines in retirement satisfaction. These findings indicate that adaptive regulation of regrets can both contribute to gains and prevent losses in the early stages of retirement, which may have lasting consequences on retirees' quality of life.

Adaptive Rationality, Adaptive Behavior and Institutions

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Volchik Vyacheslav, V.

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The economic literature focused on understanding decision-making and choice processes reveals a vast collection of approaches to human rationality. Theorists’ attention has moved from absolutely rational, utility-maximizing individuals to boundedly rational and adaptive ones. A number of economists have criticized the concepts of adaptive rationality and adaptive behavior. One of the recent trends in the economic literature is to consider humans irrational. This paper offers an approach which examines adaptive behavior in the context of existing institutions and constantly changing institutional environment. It is assumed that adaptive behavior is a process of evolutionary adjustment to fundamental uncertainty. We emphasize the importance of actors’ engagement in trial and error learning, since if they are involved in this process, they obtain experience and are able to adapt to existing and new institutions. The paper aims at identifying relevant institutions, adaptive mechanisms, informal working rules and practices that influence actors’ behavior in the field of Higher Education in Russia (Rostov Region education services market has been taken as an example. The paper emphasizes the application of qualitative interpretative methods (interviews and discourse analysis in examining actors’ behavior.

Expansionary Adaptive Transformations of Socio-Hydrological Systems (SHSs): The Case of Drought in Messara Plain, Crete, Greece.

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Sapountzaki, Kalliopi; Daskalakis, Ioannis

2018-05-01

The paper attempts to document the ontology of socio-hydrological systems (SHSs), propose approaches of delimitation of SHSs' (territorial) boundaries, and investigate operational aspects of their adaptation to drought including repercussions on sustainability. To this end, a series of hypotheses are tested: (a) SHSs contain social subsystems with different expectations regarding water resources, different adaptive capacities, adaptation limits and prospects of sustainability, (b) SHSs do not adapt homogenously; some of their subsystems manage optimum adaptation, others fail to adapt and (c) territorial transformation of SHSs (e.g., through expansion of SHSs) may be the result of differential adaptation and sustainability potential within the SHS owing to power relations. After testing above hypotheses in the SHS of Messara Plain, Crete, the authors found out that powerful and dynamic sub-SHSs expand or break the boundaries of the initial SHS by establishing new relationships with other SHSs for the sake of resilience resources. Conversely, powerless sub-SHSs incapable to adapt descend and disappear. Therefore, territorial transformation of SHSs comes about from a combination of successful and failed adaptations, or in other words from different adaptation limits within SHSs. Consequently, water management and local development planning to guarantee adaptability to drought for all should be based on SHSs' analysis and management, not on jurisdictional areas or hydrological basins.

Environmental Contamination Genetic Consequences Monitoring on the Former Semipalatinsk Test Site: General Approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seisebaev, A.T.; Bakhtin, M.M.; Zhapbasov, R.Zh.

1998-01-01

For an objective assessment of nuclear test consequences for the environment it is necessary, together with the investigation of radiation situation, to study live biological systems, particularly the genetic effects of chronic ionizing radiation. The long staying of plants and animals on the territories with the elevated radiation background level can lead to the change of organism genetic system. In this connection the monitoring of chronically exposed natural populations is of particular interest and can serve as the objective indicator of the scale of natural biota genetic damage. Basing on the results obtained during plant and animal studies one can indirectly assess the hazard of people genetic damage. Besides, studying the mutational process on natural populations exposed to the chronic ionizing radiation one can reveal new regularities, which are impossible to be detected in the laboratory conditions, and new aspects of radiation genetics. The issue of radiation adaptation of organisms affected by the various doses of ionizing radiation is very acute. The prerequisite of organism adaptation to the certain radiation background is genetic heterogeneity of individuals comprising the population and selection of radiation-induced individuals, which are the carriers of the mutation of high radioresistance. The uniqueness of the Semipalatinsk Test site and the necessity of long-term investigations of the nuclear test consequences for the environment demand the elaboration of principles for organization and utilization of natural population genetic monitoring. Radiation-genetic monitoring is the long-term observation of palpitation gene pool conditions, assessment and forecast of their spatial and time alteration, determination of limits of changes admitted under the condition of environmental radioactive contamination. It includes a series of the main research directions and has quite certain methodological peculiarities. In this paper we discuss the tasks of

Robust Optimal Adaptive Control Method with Large Adaptive Gain

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Nguyen, Nhan T.

2009-01-01

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

Multi-metal contamination with uranium trend impact on aquatic environment and consequences for fish immune system and adaptive responses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Le Guernic, A.; Gagnaire, B. [IRSN/PRP-ENV/SERIS/LECO (France); Sanchez, W. [Institut national de l' environnement industriel et des risques - INERIS (France); Betoulle, S. [Champagne Ardenne University (France)

2014-07-01

Human activities have conducted to an increase of concentrations of various metals in aquatic ecosystems, including uranium. Its extraction and use have been rapidly magnified because of its role in the nuclear fuel cycle. These activities have led to high concentrations of uranium in the aquatic environment and thus a potential risk to exposed organisms, including fish. Consequences can be observed through metabolic and physiological responses, called biomarkers. Some biomarkers are interesting in order to evaluate the effects of metal contamination, among other immunotoxicity markers, antioxidant defenses and genotoxicity. The aims of this study are: i) to investigate the effects of a multi-metal contamination on a fish, the three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, and ii) to observe the adaptive capacity of fish due to a combination of stress (chemical stress and biological stress). To meet the first objective, six water bodies (ponds and lakes) located in two departments (Cantal and Haute-Vienne, France) were chosen according to their proximity to old uranium mines and to their levels of metal contamination related to chemical processes appeared during extraction. 240 three-spined sticklebacks were caged for 28 days in the six selected sites. A battery of biomarkers was measured in fish sampled after 14 and 28 of caging. The results for the Haute-Vienne department showed that caged fish in the pond with the highest uranium concentration (20 μg.L{sup -1}) presented the most DNA damage after 14 days of caging. Leukocyte phagocytosis (marker of immunotoxicity) of caged fish in this pond was lower at 14 days and greater at 28 days compared to other ponds without uranium. The multi-metal contamination negatively affected other parameters such as the condition index, oxidative activity, viability of lysosomal membrane and leukocytes distribution. In order to study the response of fish to a combined stress (chemical + biological) (objective ii), a second

Parental effects alter the adaptive value of an adult behavioural trait.

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Kilner, Rebecca M; Boncoraglio, Giuseppe; Henshaw, Jonathan M; Jarrett, Benjamin J M; De Gasperin, Ornela; Attisano, Alfredo; Kokko, Hanna

2015-09-22

The parents' phenotype, or the environment they create for their young, can have long-lasting effects on their offspring, with profound evolutionary consequences. Yet, virtually no work has considered how such parental effects might change the adaptive value of behavioural traits expressed by offspring upon reaching adulthood. To address this problem, we combined experiments on burying beetles (Nicrophorus vespilloides) with theoretical modelling and focussed on one adult behavioural trait in particular: the supply of parental care. We manipulated the early-life environment and measured the fitness payoffs associated with the supply of parental care when larvae reached maturity. We found that (1) adults that received low levels of care as larvae were less successful at raising larger broods and suffered greater mortality as a result: they were low-quality parents. Furthermore, (2) high-quality males that raised offspring with low-quality females subsequently suffered greater mortality than brothers of equivalent quality, which reared larvae with higher quality females. Our analyses identify three general ways in which parental effects can change the adaptive value of an adult behavioural trait: by influencing the associated fitness benefits and costs; by consequently changing the evolutionary outcome of social interactions; and by modifying the evolutionarily stable expression of behavioural traits that are themselves parental effects.

Illness perception in eating disorders and psychosocial adaptation.

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Quiles Marcos, Yolanda; Terol Cantero, Ma Carmen; Romero Escobar, Cristina; Pagán Acosta, Gonzalo

2007-09-01

The current study is based on the framework of the Self-Regulatory Model of Illness (SRM). The aim of this work was to examine perception of illness in eating disorder (ED) patients and investigate whether illness perception is related to psychosocial adaptation in these patients. A total of 98 female ED patients completed the specific eating disorders Spanish version of the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) and a range of adjustment variables including the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale (PAIS) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD). ED patients reported a moderate number of physical symptoms, and perceived their illness as controllable, treatable, highly distressing, as a chronic condition and with serious consequences. Emotional representation was the most significant dimension related to emotional adjustment. Illness identity and cure dimensions were the most significant dimensions associated with psychosocial adaptation. This study shows that patients' illness perceptions are related to illness adaptation. Illness identity was associated with emotional and psychosocial adjustment, and having faith that treatment may control the illness was related to positive benefits for ED. These results suggest that a psychological intervention, which addresses patients' illness representations, may assist in their adjustment to ED. 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association

Ecological adaptation of diverse honey bee (Apis mellifera populations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Parker

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Honey bees are complex eusocial insects that provide a critical contribution to human agricultural food production. Their natural migration has selected for traits that increase fitness within geographical areas, but in parallel their domestication has selected for traits that enhance productivity and survival under local conditions. Elucidating the biochemical mechanisms of these local adaptive processes is a key goal of evolutionary biology. Proteomics provides tools unique among the major 'omics disciplines for identifying the mechanisms employed by an organism in adapting to environmental challenges. RESULTS: Through proteome profiling of adult honey bee midgut from geographically dispersed, domesticated populations combined with multiple parallel statistical treatments, the data presented here suggest some of the major cellular processes involved in adapting to different climates. These findings provide insight into the molecular underpinnings that may confer an advantage to honey bee populations. Significantly, the major energy-producing pathways of the mitochondria, the organelle most closely involved in heat production, were consistently higher in bees that had adapted to colder climates. In opposition, up-regulation of protein metabolism capacity, from biosynthesis to degradation, had been selected for in bees from warmer climates. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our results present a proteomic interpretation of expression polymorphisms between honey bee ecotypes and provide insight into molecular aspects of local adaptation or selection with consequences for honey bee management and breeding. The implications of our findings extend beyond apiculture as they underscore the need to consider the interdependence of animal populations and their agro-ecological context.

Synaptic plasticity in a recurrent neural network for versatile and adaptive behaviors of a walking robot.

Science.gov (United States)

Grinke, Eduard; Tetzlaff, Christian; Wörgötter, Florentin; Manoonpong, Poramate

2015-01-01

Walking animals, like insects, with little neural computing can effectively perform complex behaviors. For example, they can walk around their environment, escape from corners/deadlocks, and avoid or climb over obstacles. While performing all these behaviors, they can also adapt their movements to deal with an unknown situation. As a consequence, they successfully navigate through their complex environment. The versatile and adaptive abilities are the result of an integration of several ingredients embedded in their sensorimotor loop. Biological studies reveal that the ingredients include neural dynamics, plasticity, sensory feedback, and biomechanics. Generating such versatile and adaptive behaviors for a many degrees-of-freedom (DOFs) walking robot is a challenging task. Thus, in this study, we present a bio-inspired approach to solve this task. Specifically, the approach combines neural mechanisms with plasticity, exteroceptive sensory feedback, and biomechanics. The neural mechanisms consist of adaptive neural sensory processing and modular neural locomotion control. The sensory processing is based on a small recurrent neural network consisting of two fully connected neurons. Online correlation-based learning with synaptic scaling is applied to adequately change the connections of the network. By doing so, we can effectively exploit neural dynamics (i.e., hysteresis effects and single attractors) in the network to generate different turning angles with short-term memory for a walking robot. The turning information is transmitted as descending steering signals to the neural locomotion control which translates the signals into motor actions. As a result, the robot can walk around and adapt its turning angle for avoiding obstacles in different situations. The adaptation also enables the robot to effectively escape from sharp corners or deadlocks. Using backbone joint control embedded in the the locomotion control allows the robot to climb over small obstacles

Learning to Adapt. Organisational Adaptation to Climate Change Impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berkhout, F.; Hertin, J.; Gann, D.M.

2006-01-01

Analysis of human adaptation to climate change should be based on realistic models of adaptive behaviour at the level of organisations and individuals. The paper sets out a framework for analysing adaptation to the direct and indirect impacts of climate change in business organisations with new evidence presented from empirical research into adaptation in nine case-study companies. It argues that adaptation to climate change has many similarities with processes of organisational learning. The paper suggests that business organisations face a number of obstacles in learning how to adapt to climate change impacts, especially in relation to the weakness and ambiguity of signals about climate change and the uncertainty about benefits flowing from adaptation measures. Organisations rarely adapt 'autonomously', since their adaptive behaviour is influenced by policy and market conditions, and draws on resources external to the organisation. The paper identifies four adaptation strategies that pattern organisational adaptive behaviour

[Treatment of removable partial dentures. 2. Causes and consequences of a reduced occlusal system].

Science.gov (United States)

Witter, D J; Barèl, J C; de Baat, C; Keltjens, H M A M; Creugers, N H J

2011-01-01

The occlusal system is part of the orofacial system and consists of the maxillary and mandibular alveolar ridge and teeth which are occluding or not or the removable denture teeth. The most prevalent causes of loss of teeth are insufficient oral self care or inadequate professional oral healthcare service. A reduced dentition can be described in terms of diastemas in the anterior region and number of occluding pairs of (pre)molars, differentiated as interrupted or shortened dental arches. Characteristic of a healthy functional occlusal system are the absence of pathology and the possibility to practice all oral functions without inconvenience. The consequences of a reduced occlusal system may be overload and/or migration of teeth, mandibular instability, and impaired esthetics and chewing function. Morphological and functional alterations can be considered to be adaptations to changed situations or to be pathological. The distinction between adaptation and pathology cannot be sharply defined. If prosthetic replacement of teeth is needed, the trend is to avoid removable partial dentures.

ADART: an adaptive algebraic reconstruction algorithm for discrete tomography.

Science.gov (United States)

Maestre-Deusto, F Javier; Scavello, Giovanni; Pizarro, Joaquín; Galindo, Pedro L

2011-08-01

In this paper we suggest an algorithm based on the Discrete Algebraic Reconstruction Technique (DART) which is capable of computing high quality reconstructions from substantially fewer projections than required for conventional continuous tomography. Adaptive DART (ADART) goes a step further than DART on the reduction of the number of unknowns of the associated linear system achieving a significant reduction in the pixel error rate of reconstructed objects. The proposed methodology automatically adapts the border definition criterion at each iteration, resulting in a reduction of the number of pixels belonging to the border, and consequently of the number of unknowns in the general algebraic reconstruction linear system to be solved, being this reduction specially important at the final stage of the iterative process. Experimental results show that reconstruction errors are considerably reduced using ADART when compared to original DART, both in clean and noisy environments.

Ecological consequences of invasion across the freshwater-marine transition in a warming world.

Science.gov (United States)

Crespo, Daniel; Solan, Martin; Leston, Sara; Pardal, Miguel A; Dolbeth, Marina

2018-02-01

The freshwater-marine transition that characterizes an estuarine system can provide multiple entry options for invading species, yet the relative importance of this gradient in determining the functional contribution of invading species has received little attention. The ecological consequences of species invasion are routinely evaluated within a freshwater versus marine context, even though many invasive species can inhabit a wide range of salinities. We investigate the functional consequences of different sizes of Corbicula fluminea -an invasive species able to adapt to a wide range of temperatures and salinity-across the freshwater-marine transition in the presence versus absence of warming. Specifically, we characterize how C. fluminea affect fluid and particle transport, important processes in mediating nutrient cycling (NH 4 -N, NO 3 -N, PO 4 -P). Results showed that sediment particle reworking (bioturbation) tends to be influenced by size and to a lesser extent, temperature and salinity; nutrient concentrations are influenced by different interactions between all variables (salinity, temperature, and size class). Our findings demonstrate the highly context-dependent nature of the ecosystem consequences of invasion and highlight the potential for species to simultaneously occupy multiple components of an ecosystem. Recognizing of this aspect of invasibility is fundamental to management and conservation efforts, particularly as freshwater and marine systems tend to be compartmentalized rather than be treated as a contiguous unit. We conclude that more comprehensive appreciation of the distribution of invasive species across adjacent habitats and different seasons is urgently needed to allow the true extent of biological introductions, and their ecological consequences, to be fully realized.

Food seeking in spite of harmful consequences is under prefrontal cortical noradrenergic control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrono Enrico

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Eating disorders are multifactorial psychiatric disorders. Chronic stressful experiences and caloric restriction are the most powerful triggers of eating disorders in human and animals. Although compulsive behavior is considered to characterize pathological excessive food intake, to our knowledge, no evidence has been reported of continued food seeking/intake despite its possible harmful consequences, an index of compulsive behavior. Brain monoamine transmission is considered to have a key role in vulnerability to eating disorders, and norepinephrine in medial prefrontal cortex has been shown to be critical for food-related motivated behavior. Here, using a new paradigm of conditioned suppression, we investigated whether the ability of a foot-shock-paired conditioned stimulus to suppress chocolate-seeking behavior was reversed by previous exposure to a food restriction experience, thus modeling food seeking in spite of harmful consequences in mice. Moreover, we assessed the effects of selective norepinephrine inactivation in medial prefrontal cortex on conditioned suppression test in stressed and caloric restricted mice. Results While Control (non food deprived animals showed a profound conditioned suppression of chocolate seeking during presentation of conditioned stimulus, previously food restricted animals showed food seeking/intake despite its possible harmful consequences. Moreover, food seeking in spite of harmful consequences was prevented by selective norepinephrine inactivation, thus showing that prefrontal cortical norepinephrine is critical also for maladaptive food-related behavior. Conclusions These findings indicate that adaptive food seeking/intake can be transformed into maladaptive behaviors and point to "top-down" influence on eating disturbances and to new targets for therapy of aberrant eating behaviors.

Adaptable Iterative and Recursive Kalman Filter Schemes

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Zanetti, Renato

2014-01-01

Nonlinear filters are often very computationally expensive and usually not suitable for real-time applications. Real-time navigation algorithms are typically based on linear estimators, such as the extended Kalman filter (EKF) and, to a much lesser extent, the unscented Kalman filter. The Iterated Kalman filter (IKF) and the Recursive Update Filter (RUF) are two algorithms that reduce the consequences of the linearization assumption of the EKF by performing N updates for each new measurement, where N is the number of recursions, a tuning parameter. This paper introduces an adaptable RUF algorithm to calculate N on the go, a similar technique can be used for the IKF as well.

Childhood Obesity Causes & Consequences

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... and Local Programs Related Topics Diabetes Nutrition Childhood Obesity Causes & Consequences Recommend on Facebook Tweet Share Compartir ... determine how a community is designed. Consequences of Obesity More Immediate Health Risks Obesity during childhood can ...

Climate Change Adaptation Decision Making for Glacial Lake Outburst Floods From Palcacocha Lake in Peru

Science.gov (United States)

Cuellar, A. D.; McKinney, D. C.

2014-12-01

Climate change has accelerated glacial retreat in high altitude glaciated regions of Peru leading to the growth and formation of glacier lakes. Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) are sudden events triggered by an earthquake, avalanche into the lake or other shock that causes a sudden outflow of water. These floods are catastrophic because of their sudden onset, the difficulty predicting them, and enormous quantity of water and debris rapidly flooding downstream areas. Palcacocha Lake in the Peruvian Andes has experienced accelerated growth since it burst in 1941 and threatens the major city of Huaraz and surrounding communities. Since the 1941 flood stakeholders have advocated for projects to adapt to the increasing threat posed by Palcacocha Lake. Nonetheless, discussions surrounding projects for Palcacocha have not included a rigorous analysis of the potential consequences of a flood, probability of an event, or costs of mitigation projects. This work presents the first step to rationally analyze the risks posed by Palcacocha Lake and the various adaptation projects proposed. In this work the authors use decision analysis to asses proposed adaptation measures that would mitigate damage in downstream communities from a GLOF. We use an existing hydrodynamic model of the at-risk area to determine how adaptation projects will affect downstream flooding. Flood characteristics are used in the HEC-FIA software to estimate fatalities and injuries from an outburst flood, which we convert to monetary units using the value of a statistical life. We combine the monetary consequences of a GLOF with the cost of the proposed projects and a diffuse probability distribution for the likelihood of an event to estimate the expected cost of the adaptation plans. From this analysis we found that lowering the lake level by 15 meters has the least expected cost of any proposal despite uncertainty in the effect of lake lowering on flooding downstream.

Heatwave Early Warning Systems and Adaptation Advice to Reduce Human Health Consequences of Heatwaves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bertil Forsberg

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction: With climate change, there has been an increase in the frequency, intensity and duration of heatwave events. In response to the devastating mortality and morbidity of recent heatwave events, many countries have introduced heatwave early warning systems (HEWS. HEWS are designed to reduce the avoidable human health consequences of heatwaves through timely notification of prevention measures to vulnerable populations. Objective: To identify the key characteristics of HEWS in European countries to help inform modification of current, and development of, new systems and plans. Methods: We searched the internet to identify HEWS policy or government documents for 33 European countries and requested information from relevant organizations. We translated the HEWS documents and extracted details on the trigger indicators, thresholds for action, notification strategies, message intermediaries, communication and dissemination strategies, prevention strategies recommended and specified target audiences. Findings and Conclusions: Twelve European countries have HEWS. Although there are many similarities among the HEWS, there also are differences in key characteristics that could inform improvements in heatwave early warning plans.

Shifts in ecosystem services in deprived urban areas: understanding people's responses and consequences for well-being

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marthe L. Derkzen

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Urban commons are under pressure. City development has led to the encroachment and ecological degradation of urban open space. Although there is growing insight that urban ecosystems need to be protected, there is hardly any attention for the consequences (of both pressures and protection efforts for vulnerable human population groups. We aim to understand how urban development affects the well-being of the urban poor, through shifts in ecosystem services (ES and people's responses to these shifts. We performed household interviews and group mapping sessions in seven urban lake communities in Bangalore, India. Changes at Bangalore's lakes can be summarized by three trends: privatization followed by conversion, pollution followed by degradation, and restoration followed by gentrification. Over time, this resulted in a shift in the types of ES supplied and demanded, the nature of use, and de facto governance: from provisioning, communal and public; to cultural, individual, and private. Lake dwellers responded by finding (other sources of income, accepting lower quality or less accessible ES, and/or completely stopping the use of certain ES. The consequences of ecosystem change for people's well-being differ depending on a household's ability to adapt and on individual circumstances, land tenure and financial capital in particular. To guarantee a future for Bangalore's lakes, restoration seems the only viable option. Although beautiful lake parks may be a solution for the well-off and not-too-poor, leaving the very poor without options to adapt to the new circumstances puts them at risk of becoming even more marginalized. We show that ecosystem degradation and restoration alike can impact the well-being of the urban poor. People's experiences allowed us to couple ecosystem change to well-being through ES and adaptation strategies. Hence, we revealed multiple cause-effect relations. Understanding these relations contributes to sustainable urban

The High Costs of Low-Grade Inflammation: Persistent Fatigue as a Consequence of Reduced Cellular-Energy Availability and Non-adaptive Energy Expenditure.

Science.gov (United States)

Lacourt, Tamara E; Vichaya, Elisabeth G; Chiu, Gabriel S; Dantzer, Robert; Heijnen, Cobi J

2018-01-01

Chronic or persistent fatigue is a common, debilitating symptom of several diseases. Persistent fatigue has been associated with low-grade inflammation in several models of fatigue, including cancer-related fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome. However, it is unclear how low-grade inflammation leads to the experience of fatigue. We here propose a model of an imbalance in energy availability and energy expenditure as a consequence of low-grade inflammation. In this narrative review, we discuss how chronic low-grade inflammation can lead to reduced cellular-energy availability. Low-grade inflammation induces a metabolic switch from energy-efficient oxidative phosphorylation to fast-acting, but less efficient, aerobic glycolytic energy production; increases reactive oxygen species; and reduces insulin sensitivity. These effects result in reduced glucose availability and, thereby, reduced cellular energy. In addition, emerging evidence suggests that chronic low-grade inflammation is associated with increased willingness to exert effort under specific circumstances. Circadian-rhythm changes and sleep disturbances might mediate the effects of inflammation on cellular-energy availability and non-adaptive energy expenditure. In the second part of the review, we present evidence for these metabolic pathways in models of persistent fatigue, focusing on chronic fatigue syndrome and cancer-related fatigue. Most evidence for reduced cellular-energy availability in relation to fatigue comes from studies on chronic fatigue syndrome. While the mechanistic evidence from the cancer-related fatigue literature is still limited, the sparse results point to reduced cellular-energy availability as well. There is also mounting evidence that behavioral-energy expenditure exceeds the reduced cellular-energy availability in patients with persistent fatigue. This suggests that an inability to adjust energy expenditure to available resources might be one mechanism underlying persistent fatigue.

The use of scenarios as the basis for combined assessment of climate change mitigation and adaptation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Vuuren, D.P.; Isaac, M.; Kundzewicz, Z.W.; Arnell, N.; Barker, T.; Criqui, P.; Berkhout, F.; Hilderink, H.; Hinkel, J.; Hof, Andries; Kitous, A.; Kram, T.; Mechler, R.; Scrieciu, S.

2011-01-01

Scenarios are used to explore the consequences of different adaptation and mitigation strategies under uncertainty. In this paper, two scenarios are used to explore developments with (1) no mitigation leading to an increase of global mean temperature of 4 °C by 2100 and (2) an ambitious mitigation

Driving Meaningful Adaptation Action through an Adaptation Market Mechanism

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Butzengeiger-Geyer, Sonja; Koehler, Michel; Michaelowa, Axel

2011-07-01

Approaches and criteria for allocating adaptation funds vary significantly among current sources - UN-backed funds and bilateral cooperation - and to some extent lack transparency and consistency. Such funding risks being spent in a haphazard way that repeats many of the mistakes made in development assistance over the past decades. An Adaptation Market Mechanism (AMM) could contribute to efficient allocation of adaptation funds, promote adaptation activities by private and public actors through additional financial incentives, and raise additional and reliable adaptation money. This would help to avoid future public criticism of the effectiveness and efficiency of spending adaptation funding.The proposed AMM would specify mandatory adaptation targets, on international, regional or domestic level. Participants who achieve their targets either by generating adaptation units or by buying them in the market would incentivize private, commercial and institutional actors to develop adaptation projects that create verified adaptation units. A universally accepted and verifiable trading unit applicable to all types of adaptation activities would help to maximize the cost reduction potential for the AMM. We suggest applying net present value (NPV) for property saved; Disability Adjusted Life Years Saved (DALYS) for health benefits; and potentially a separate unit to consider the environmental benefits of an adaptation activity.(Author)

CAPACITY BUILDING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: MODULES FOR AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B.O. Ogunbameru

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Basically, climate change refers to any change in climate overtime, generally caused by natural variability and/or human activities. It has great devastating impact, particularly on agriculture and by extrapolation on farmers and the national economy. The frontline agricultural extension workers are expected to be among the principal stakeholders to teach farmers how to cope with climate change. Consequently, there is a need to develop appropriate teaching package for the training of the frontline agricultural extension workers, based on the myriad of adaptation strategies and practices available in the literature. This paper synthesizes the rationale for capacity building in climate change and the adaptation or coping strategies. The modules (train-the-trainer for teaching agricultural extension workers and farmers are documented in the paper.

Adaptation, allometry, and hypertension.

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Weder, A B; Schork, N J

1994-08-01

Essential hypertension is a "disease of civilization" but has a clear genetic component. From an evolutionary perspective, persistence in the human genome of elements capable of raising blood pressure presupposes their adaptive significance. Recently, two hypotheses that explicitly appeal to selectionist arguments, the "slavery" and "thrifty gene" theories, have been forwarded. We find neither completely successful, and we advance an alternative explanation of the adaptive importance of genes responsible for hypertension. We propose that blood pressure rises during childhood and adolescence to subserve homeostatic needs of the organism. Specifically, we contend that blood pressure is a flexible element in the repertoire of renal homeostatic mechanisms serving to match renal function to growth. The effect of modern diet and lifestyle on human growth stimulates earlier and more vigorous development, straining biologically necessary relationships between renal and general somatic growth and requiring compensation via homeostatic mechanisms preserved during evolution. Prime among such mechanisms is blood pressure, which rises as a compensation to maintain renal function in the face of greater growth. Since virtually all members of acculturated societies share in the modern lifestyle, the demands imposed by accelerated growth and development result in a populational shift to higher blood pressures, with a consequent increase in the prevalence of hypertension. We propose that hypertension is the product of maladaptation of highly genetically conserved mechanisms subserving important biological homeostatic needs. Elucidation of the mechanisms underlying hypertension will require approaches that examine the developmental processes linking growth to blood pressure.

Coupling internal cerebellar models enhances online adaptation and supports offline consolidation in sensorimotor tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Passot, Jean-Baptiste; Luque, Niceto R; Arleo, Angelo

2013-01-01

The cerebellum is thought to mediate sensorimotor adaptation through the acquisition of internal models of the body-environment interaction. These representations can be of two types, identified as forward and inverse models. The first predicts the sensory consequences of actions, while the second provides the correct commands to achieve desired state transitions. In this paper, we propose a composite architecture consisting of multiple cerebellar internal models to account for the adaptation performance of humans during sensorimotor learning. The proposed model takes inspiration from the cerebellar microcomplex circuit, and employs spiking neurons to process information. We investigate the intrinsic properties of the cerebellar circuitry subserving efficient adaptation properties, and we assess the complementary contributions of internal representations by simulating our model in a procedural adaptation task. Our simulation results suggest that the coupling of internal models enhances learning performance significantly (compared with independent forward and inverse models), and it allows for the reproduction of human adaptation capabilities. Furthermore, we provide a computational explanation for the performance improvement observed after one night of sleep in a wide range of sensorimotor tasks. We predict that internal model coupling is a necessary condition for the offline consolidation of procedural memories.

Coupling internal cerebellar models enhances online adaptation and supports offline consolidation in sensorimotor tasks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean-Baptiste ePassot

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The cerebellum is thought to mediate sensorimotor adaptation through the acquisition of internal models of the body–environment interaction. These representations can be of two types, identified as forward and inverse models. The first predicts the sensory consequences of actions, while the second provides the correct commands to achieve desired state transitions. In this paper, we propose a composite architecture consisting of multiple cerebellar internal models to account for the adaptation performance of humans during sensorimotor learning. The proposed model takes inspiration from the cerebellar microcomplex circuit, and employs spiking neurons to process information. We investigate the intrinsic properties of the cerebellar circuitry subserving efficient adaptation properties, and we assess the complementary contributions of internal representations by simulating our model in a procedural adaptation task. Our simulation results suggest that the coupling of internal models enhances learning performance significantly (compared with independent forward and inverse models, and it allows for the reproduction of human adaptation capabilities. Furthermore, we provide a computational explanation for the performance improvement observed after one night of sleep in a wide range of sensorimotor tasks. We predict that internal model coupling is a necessary condition for the offline consolidation of procedural memories.

Stochastic adaptation and fold-change detection: from single-cell to population behavior

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Leier André

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In cell signaling terminology, adaptation refers to a system's capability of returning to its equilibrium upon a transient response. To achieve this, a network has to be both sensitive and precise. Namely, the system must display a significant output response upon stimulation, and later on return to pre-stimulation levels. If the system settles at the exact same equilibrium, adaptation is said to be 'perfect'. Examples of adaptation mechanisms include temperature regulation, calcium regulation and bacterial chemotaxis. Results We present models of the simplest adaptation architecture, a two-state protein system, in a stochastic setting. Furthermore, we consider differences between individual and collective adaptive behavior, and show how our system displays fold-change detection properties. Our analysis and simulations highlight why adaptation needs to be understood in terms of probability, and not in strict numbers of molecules. Most importantly, selection of appropriate parameters in this simple linear setting may yield populations of cells displaying adaptation, while single cells do not. Conclusions Single cell behavior cannot be inferred from population measurements and, sometimes, collective behavior cannot be determined from the individuals. By consequence, adaptation can many times be considered a purely emergent property of the collective system. This is a clear example where biological ergodicity cannot be assumed, just as is also the case when cell replication rates are not homogeneous, or depend on the cell state. Our analysis shows, for the first time, how ergodicity cannot be taken for granted in simple linear examples either. The latter holds even when cells are considered isolated and devoid of replication capabilities (cell-cycle arrested. We also show how a simple linear adaptation scheme displays fold-change detection properties, and how rupture of ergodicity prevails in scenarios where transitions between

Adapting Activity and Participation (The ADAPT intervention program)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

von Bülow, Cecilie

Præsentation af et ergoterapeutisk gruppebaseret program, ADAPT programmet. ADAPT programmet er designet på baggrund af evidens samt understøttet af ergoterapeutiske teorier og modeller......Præsentation af et ergoterapeutisk gruppebaseret program, ADAPT programmet. ADAPT programmet er designet på baggrund af evidens samt understøttet af ergoterapeutiske teorier og modeller...

Vascular Adaptation to Exercise in Humans: Role of Hemodynamic Stimuli

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Daniel J.; Hopman, Maria T. E.; Padilla, Jaume; Laughlin, M. Harold; Thijssen, Dick H. J.

2017-01-01

On the 400th anniversary of Harvey's Lumleian lectures, this review focuses on “hemodynamic” forces associated with the movement of blood through arteries in humans and the functional and structural adaptations that result from repeated episodic exposure to such stimuli. The late 20th century discovery that endothelial cells modify arterial tone via paracrine transduction provoked studies exploring the direct mechanical effects of blood flow and pressure on vascular function and adaptation in vivo. In this review, we address the impact of distinct hemodynamic signals that occur in response to exercise, the interrelationships between these signals, the nature of the adaptive responses that manifest under different physiological conditions, and the implications for human health. Exercise modifies blood flow, luminal shear stress, arterial pressure, and tangential wall stress, all of which can transduce changes in arterial function, diameter, and wall thickness. There are important clinical implications of the adaptation that occurs as a consequence of repeated hemodynamic stimulation associated with exercise training in humans, including impacts on atherosclerotic risk in conduit arteries, the control of blood pressure in resistance vessels, oxygen delivery and diffusion, and microvascular health. Exercise training studies have demonstrated that direct hemodynamic impacts on the health of the artery wall contribute to the well-established decrease in cardiovascular risk attributed to physical activity. PMID:28151424

Synaptic plasticity in a recurrent neural network for versatile and adaptive behaviors of a walking robot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduard eGrinke

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Walking animals, like insects, with little neural computing can effectively perform complex behaviors. They can walk around their environment, escape from corners/deadlocks, and avoid or climb over obstacles. While performing all these behaviors, they can also adapt their movements to deal with an unknown situation. As a consequence, they successfully navigate through their complex environment. The versatile and adaptive abilities are the result of an integration of several ingredients embedded in their sensorimotor loop. Biological studies reveal that the ingredients include neural dynamics, plasticity, sensory feedback, and biomechanics. Generating such versatile and adaptive behaviors for a walking robot is a challenging task. In this study, we present a bio-inspired approach to solve this task. Specifically, the approach combines neural mechanisms with plasticity, sensory feedback, and biomechanics. The neural mechanisms consist of adaptive neural sensory processing and modular neural locomotion control. The sensory processing is based on a small recurrent network consisting of two fully connected neurons. Online correlation-based learning with synaptic scaling is applied to adequately change the connections of the network. By doing so, we can effectively exploit neural dynamics (i.e., hysteresis effects and single attractors in the network to generate different turning angles with short-term memory for a biomechanical walking robot. The turning information is transmitted as descending steering signals to the locomotion control which translates the signals into motor actions. As a result, the robot can walk around and adapt its turning angle for avoiding obstacles in different situations as well as escaping from sharp corners or deadlocks. Using backbone joint control embedded in the locomotion control allows the robot to climb over small obstacles. Consequently, it can successfully explore and navigate in complex environments.

High-intensity interval exercise and cerebrovascular health: curiosity, cause, and consequence.

Science.gov (United States)

Lucas, Samuel J E; Cotter, James D; Brassard, Patrice; Bailey, Damian M

2015-06-01

Exercise is a uniquely effective and pluripotent medicine against several noncommunicable diseases of westernised lifestyles, including protection against neurodegenerative disorders. High-intensity interval exercise training (HIT) is emerging as an effective alternative to current health-related exercise guidelines. Compared with traditional moderate-intensity continuous exercise training, HIT confers equivalent if not indeed superior metabolic, cardiac, and systemic vascular adaptation. Consequently, HIT is being promoted as a more time-efficient and practical approach to optimize health thereby reducing the burden of disease associated with physical inactivity. However, no studies to date have examined the impact of HIT on the cerebrovasculature and corresponding implications for cognitive function. This review critiques the implications of HIT for cerebrovascular function, with a focus on the mechanisms and translational impact for patient health and well-being. It also introduces similarly novel interventions currently under investigation as alternative means of accelerating exercise-induced cerebrovascular adaptation. We highlight a need for studies of the mechanisms and thereby also the optimal dose-response strategies to guide exercise prescription, and for studies to explore alternative approaches to optimize exercise outcomes in brain-related health and disease prevention. From a clinical perspective, interventions that selectively target the aging brain have the potential to prevent stroke and associated neurovascular diseases.

Supporting Adaptive and Adaptable Hypermedia Presentation Semantics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

D.C.A. Bulterman (Dick); L. Rutledge (Lloyd); L. Hardman (Lynda); J.R. van Ossenbruggen (Jacco)

1999-01-01

textabstractHaving the content of a presentation adapt to the needs, resources and prior activities of a user can be an important benefit of electronic documents. While part of this adaptation is related to the encodings of individual data streams, much of the adaptation can/should be guided by the

Nuclear toxicology file: ecological consequences of a chronic exposure to uranium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adam, Ch.; Alonzo, F.; Bonzom, J.M.; Gilbin, R.; Garnier-Laplace, J.; Simon, O.

2008-01-01

This article presents the thought process and the current developments, based on the experimental acquisition of the answers of the alive organisms to the chronic low dose exposures of natural uranium in fresh water, to identify the consequences of this exposure on the populations composing the ecosystems. The results acquired on the zebra fish (Danio rerio) show an impact on the first steps of development. We note a delay of hatching upon 40 % from 20 μg/l of uranium. This delay comes along with a decrease of the size and with a reduction of the growth of larvas as well as with an increase of their mortality for higher uranium concentration. For adults exposed to uranium a decrease of reproduction success is observed from a concentration of 20μg/l. The consequences in term of fertility (total number of laid roes) are drastic, with a reduction of a factor 2 and 60, for the organisms exposed respectively to 20 and 250 μg/l of uranium. A study was also made on several generations (populations of benthic invertebrates), it suggests an adaptation (genetic selection) but created a bigger fragility to a new environment even identical to their environment of origin with notably a decrease of the reproduction. (N.C.)

Consequence Management - Ready or Not?

Science.gov (United States)

2003-04-07

Defense will have sufficient capability and be ready to respond to a Weapons of Mass Destruction/ Effects attack. An effective consequence management...Defense adopts the National Military Strategy and its consequence management approach, it must identify Weapons of Mass Destruction/ Effects threats...that the Department of Defense: develop Weapons of Mass Destruction/ Effects performance standards for response assets; implement a consequence

Theoretical foundations of intercultural business communication and their practical consequences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pikhart Marcel

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Intercultural business communication is well researched regarding theoretical foundations; however, we still lack practical consequences of this theoretical enquiry. The aim of the paper is to bring crucial practical implications which could be efficiently used in everyday business activity (such as negotiations, advertising and meetings in the current global business environment. The current reality of business communication is based purely on interaction with people from other cultures, backgrounds, nations and continents. To communicate successfully we make surface adaptation so that we are able to cross cultural boundaries and transcendent culture, and not only survive in today multicultural society but we manage to prosper, and even economically. When being aware of the differences in rhetoric style and conversational style in various cultures, we can become better communicators and negotiators and therefore be more successful in the global market.

Weekly changes of power supplier - consequences for the network owner

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graabak, Ingeborg

1997-01-01

In Norway, it is expected that owners of electric distribution networks will be required to make it possible for the customers to change supplier each week. This report examines what consequences such a requirement will have for the network owners. An inquiry among nine network owners shows that at present changing supplier implies a great deal of manual work on the part of the network owner since many do not have computer based tools adapted to handle the situation. If the number of weekly changes of suppliers does not increase beyond a few percent of the network owner's total number of customers over 1 to 3 years, the network owner can cope with the situation. However, if for some reason the increase becomes larger, many network owners will have great problems because they lack the necessary computer tools. 1 table

Evolution of plasticity and adaptive responses to climate change along climate gradients.

Science.gov (United States)

Kingsolver, Joel G; Buckley, Lauren B

2017-08-16

The relative contributions of phenotypic plasticity and adaptive evolution to the responses of species to recent and future climate change are poorly understood. We combine recent (1960-2010) climate and phenotypic data with microclimate, heat balance, demographic and evolutionary models to address this issue for a montane butterfly, Colias eriphyle , along an elevational gradient. Our focal phenotype, wing solar absorptivity, responds plastically to developmental (pupal) temperatures and plays a central role in thermoregulatory adaptation in adults. Here, we show that both the phenotypic and adaptive consequences of plasticity vary with elevation. Seasonal changes in weather generate seasonal variation in phenotypic selection on mean and plasticity of absorptivity, especially at lower elevations. In response to climate change in the past 60 years, our models predict evolutionary declines in mean absorptivity (but little change in plasticity) at high elevations, and evolutionary increases in plasticity (but little change in mean) at low elevation. The importance of plasticity depends on the magnitude of seasonal variation in climate relative to interannual variation. Our results suggest that selection and evolution of both trait means and plasticity can contribute to adaptive response to climate change in this system. They also illustrate how plasticity can facilitate rather than retard adaptive evolutionary responses to directional climate change in seasonal environments. © 2017 The Author(s).

Adapting the Freiburg monosyllabic word test for Slovenian

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatjana Marvin

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Speech audiometry is one of the standard methods used to diagnose the type of hearing loss and to assess the communication function of the patient by determining the level of the patient’s ability to understand and repeat words presented to him or her in a hearing test. For this purpose, the Slovenian adaptation of the German tests developed by Hahlbrock (1953, 1960 – the Freiburg Monosyllabic Word Test and the Freiburg Number Test – are used in Slovenia (adapted in 1968 by Pompe. In this paper we focus on the Freiburg Monosyllabic Word Test for Slovenian, which has been criticized by patients as well as in the literature for the unequal difficulty and frequency of the words, with many of these being extremely rare or even obsolete. As part of the patient’s communication function is retrieving the meaning of individual words by guessing, the less frequent and consequently less familiar words do not contribute to reliable testing results. We therefore adapt the test by identifying and removing such words and supplement them with phonetically similar words to preserve the phonetic balance of the list. The words used for replacement are extracted from the written corpus of Slovenian Gigafida and the spoken corpus of Slovenian GOS, while the optimal combinations of words are established by using computational algorithms.

Climate change and livestock: Impacts, adaptation, and mitigation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Melissa Rojas-Downing

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Global demand for livestock products is expected to double by 2050, mainly due to improvement in the worldwide standard of living. Meanwhile, climate change is a threat to livestock production because of the impact on quality of feed crop and forage, water availability, animal and milk production, livestock diseases, animal reproduction, and biodiversity. This study reviews the global impacts of climate change on livestock production, the contribution of livestock production to climate change, and specific climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies in the livestock sector. Livestock production will be limited by climate variability as animal water consumption is expected to increase by a factor of three, demand for agricultural lands increase due to need for 70% growth in production, and food security concern since about one-third of the global cereal harvest is used for livestock feed. Meanwhile, the livestock sector contributes 14.5% of global greenhouse gas (GHG emissions, driving further climate change. Consequently, the livestock sector will be a key player in the mitigation of GHG emissions and improving global food security. Therefore, in the transition to sustainable livestock production, there is a need for: a assessments related to the use of adaptation and mitigation measures tailored to the location and livestock production system in use, and b policies that support and facilitate the implementation of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures.

Mathematical toy model inspired by the problem of the adaptive origins of the sexual orientation continuum

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Skinner, Brian

2016-09-01

Same-sex sexual behaviour is ubiquitous in the animal kingdom, but its adaptive origins remain a prominent puzzle. Here, I suggest the possibility that same-sex sexual behaviour arises as a consequence of the competition between an evolutionary drive for a wide diversity in traits, which improves the adaptability of a population, and a drive for sexual dichotomization of traits, which promotes opposite-sex attraction and increases the rate of reproduction. This trade-off is explored via a simple mathematical `toy model'. The model exhibits a number of interesting features and suggests a simple mathematical form for describing the sexual orientation continuum.

The effect of interpersonal psychotherapy on marriage adaptive and postpartum depression in isfahan.

Science.gov (United States)

Hajiheidari, Mahnaz; Sharifi, Marzieh; Khorvash, Fariborz

2013-05-01

Regarding high prevalence and injurious consequences of postpartum depression, the aim of the present work is the study of the effect rate of interpersonal psychotherapy on marriage adaptive and postpartum in women. The present study is semi-empiric, and included control group and pre- and post-test groups. Thirty-two women suffering from postpartum depression were selected from among female referents to counseling centers and clinics in Esfahan city by purposive sampling and were placed in two groups (control and test) randomly case group participated in a 10-weeks marriage interpersonal psychotherapy meetings. Beck II depression questionnaire and marriage adaptive scale were completed by two groups at pre-test and post-test steps. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS software and multivariable covariance analysis. The scores of average of depression and marriage adaptive post-test in test group was significantly less than that in the control group (P marriage interpersonal psychotherapy on the depression recovery and the increasing marriage satisfaction of women suffering from postpartum depression.

Adaptive Selection of Primal Constraints for Isogeometric BDDC Deluxe Preconditioners

KAUST Repository

Beirã o Da Veiga, L.; Pavarino, L. F.; Scacchi, S.; Widlund, O. B.; Zampini, Stefano

2017-01-01

Isogeometric analysis has been introduced as an alternative to finite element methods in order to simplify the integration of computer-aided design (CAD) software and the discretization of variational problems of continuum mechanics. In contrast with the finite element case, the basis functions of isogeometric analysis are often not nodal. As a consequence, there are fat interfaces which can easily lead to an increase in the number of interface variables after a decomposition of the parameter space into subdomains. Building on earlier work on the deluxe version of the BDDC (balancing domain decomposition by constraints) family of domain decomposition algorithms, several adaptive algorithms are developed in this paper for scalar elliptic problems in an effort to decrease the dimension of the global, coarse component of these preconditioners. Numerical experiments provide evidence that this work can be successful, yielding scalable and quasi-optimal adaptive BDDC algorithms for isogeometric discretizations.

Adaptive Selection of Primal Constraints for Isogeometric BDDC Deluxe Preconditioners

KAUST Repository

Beirão Da Veiga, L.

2017-02-23

Isogeometric analysis has been introduced as an alternative to finite element methods in order to simplify the integration of computer-aided design (CAD) software and the discretization of variational problems of continuum mechanics. In contrast with the finite element case, the basis functions of isogeometric analysis are often not nodal. As a consequence, there are fat interfaces which can easily lead to an increase in the number of interface variables after a decomposition of the parameter space into subdomains. Building on earlier work on the deluxe version of the BDDC (balancing domain decomposition by constraints) family of domain decomposition algorithms, several adaptive algorithms are developed in this paper for scalar elliptic problems in an effort to decrease the dimension of the global, coarse component of these preconditioners. Numerical experiments provide evidence that this work can be successful, yielding scalable and quasi-optimal adaptive BDDC algorithms for isogeometric discretizations.

Electromagnetic compatibility of WLAN adapters with life-supporting medical devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Calcagnini, G; Mattei, E; Censi, F; Triventi, M; Lo Sterzo, R; Marchetta, E; Bartolini, P

2011-05-01

This paper investigates the electromagnetic compatibility of 45 critical care medical devices (infusion pumps, defibrillators, monitors, lung ventilators, anesthesia machines and external pacemakers) with various types of wireless local area network (WLAN, IEEE 802.11 b/g, 2.45 GHz, 100 mW) adapters. Interference is evaluated by performing ad-hoc tests according to the ANSI C63.18 recommended practice. The behavior of the devices during the tests was monitored using patient simulators/device testers specific for each device class. Electromagnetic interference cases were observed in three of 45 devices at a maximum distance of 5 cm. In two cases the interference caused malfunctions that may have clinical consequences for the patient. The authors' findings show that the use of these wireless local area network adapters can be considered reasonably safe, although interference may occur if they are operated at very close distance (<10 cm) to the medical devices.

75 FR 57859 - Specially Adapted Housing and Special Home Adaptation

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-23

... Home Adaptation AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: The Department of... specially adapted housing and special home adaptation grants. This final rule incorporates certain... regulations pertaining to eligibility for specially adapted housing (SAH) grants and special home adaptation...

Evolution of adaptation mechanisms: Adaptation energy, stress, and oscillating death.

Science.gov (United States)

Gorban, Alexander N; Tyukina, Tatiana A; Smirnova, Elena V; Pokidysheva, Lyudmila I

2016-09-21

In 1938, Selye proposed the notion of adaptation energy and published 'Experimental evidence supporting the conception of adaptation energy.' Adaptation of an animal to different factors appears as the spending of one resource. Adaptation energy is a hypothetical extensive quantity spent for adaptation. This term causes much debate when one takes it literally, as a physical quantity, i.e. a sort of energy. The controversial points of view impede the systematic use of the notion of adaptation energy despite experimental evidence. Nevertheless, the response to many harmful factors often has general non-specific form and we suggest that the mechanisms of physiological adaptation admit a very general and nonspecific description. We aim to demonstrate that Selye׳s adaptation energy is the cornerstone of the top-down approach to modelling of non-specific adaptation processes. We analyze Selye׳s axioms of adaptation energy together with Goldstone׳s modifications and propose a series of models for interpretation of these axioms. Adaptation energy is considered as an internal coordinate on the 'dominant path' in the model of adaptation. The phenomena of 'oscillating death' and 'oscillating remission' are predicted on the base of the dynamical models of adaptation. Natural selection plays a key role in the evolution of mechanisms of physiological adaptation. We use the fitness optimization approach to study of the distribution of resources for neutralization of harmful factors, during adaptation to a multifactor environment, and analyze the optimal strategies for different systems of factors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The process of organisational adaptation through innovations, and organisational adaptability

OpenAIRE

Tikka, Tommi

2010-01-01

This study is about the process of organisational adaptation and organisational adaptability. The study generates a theoretical framework about organisational adaptation behaviour and conditions that have influence on success of organisational adaptation. The research questions of the study are: How does an organisation adapt through innovations, and which conditions enhance or impede organisational adaptation through innovations? The data were gathered from five case organisations withi...

Chikungunya virus adapts to tiger mosquito via evolutionary convergence: a sign of things to come?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Higgs Stephen

2008-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Since 2004, several million indigenous cases of Chikungunya virus disease occurred in Africa, the Indian Ocean, India, Asia and, recently, Europe. The virus, usually transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, has now repeatedly been associated with a new vector, Ae. Albopictus. Analysis of full-length viral sequences reveals three independent events of virus exposure to Ae. Albopictus, each followed by the acquisition of a single adaptive mutation providing selective advantage for transmission by this mosquito. This disconcerting and current unique example of "evolutionary convergence" occurring in nature illustrates rapid pathogen adaptation to ecological perturbation, driven directly as a consequence of human activities.

From “Crash!” to Crash: Adapting the Adaptation

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Ljubica Matek

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The paper focuses on J.G. Ballard’s various adaptations of his own material related to the issue of the sexual and sensual nature of an automobile crash, and suggests that adaptation is one of the key methods in art and literature which can be used as a means of contemplating and developing various aesthetic and political ideas. Ballard’s short story “Crash!” was first published in the ICA’s (Institute of Contemporary Arts Eventsheet in February 1969, and later became a chapter of his experimental novel The Atrocity Exhibition (1970. At the same time, Ballard adapts the idea into the “Crashed Cars” exhibition (1970 in London. The short story was then adapted into a short film, Crash!, directed by Harley Cokeliss (1971 and starring Ballard himself, to be finally adapted into the novel Crash (1973. Ballard’s adaptation of his initial ideas across literary forms and media testifies to the importance of adaptation as a process and method of creating art. Thus, rather than suggesting that adaptations merely “breathe life” into the written word, the paper points to the conclusion that the form and content are mutually influential and that, in this case, the novel itself is an adaptation, rather than a hypotext (which it becomes in 1996 to David Cronenberg as he adapts it to film. The complexity of the relationship between the source text and its many adaptations has already contributed to the deconstruction, in Derrida’s terms, of the hierarchy (opposition between the original and the copy. Rather, Ballard’s crossmedial and transmedial adaptations of his own ideas show how, as Ray would suggest, an adaptation cites the source and grafts it into a new context, giving it a new function, both aesthetic and political.

A Hybrid Adaptive Routing Algorithm for Event-Driven Wireless Sensor Networks

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Figueiredo, Carlos M. S.; Nakamura, Eduardo F.; Loureiro, Antonio A. F.

2009-01-01

Routing is a basic function in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). For these networks, routing algorithms depend on the characteristics of the applications and, consequently, there is no self-contained algorithm suitable for every case. In some scenarios, the network behavior (traffic load) may vary a lot, such as an event-driven application, favoring different algorithms at different instants. This work presents a hybrid and adaptive algorithm for routing in WSNs, called Multi-MAF, that adapts its behavior autonomously in response to the variation of network conditions. In particular, the proposed algorithm applies both reactive and proactive strategies for routing infrastructure creation, and uses an event-detection estimation model to change between the strategies and save energy. To show the advantages of the proposed approach, it is evaluated through simulations. Comparisons with independent reactive and proactive algorithms show improvements on energy consumption. PMID:22423207

Detection of Human Impacts by an Adaptive Energy-Based Anisotropic Algorithm

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Manuel Prado-Velasco

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Boosted by health consequences and the cost of falls in the elderly, this work develops and tests a novel algorithm and methodology to detect human impacts that will act as triggers of a two-layer fall monitor. The two main requirements demanded by socio-healthcare providers—unobtrusiveness and reliability—defined the objectives of the research. We have demonstrated that a very agile, adaptive, and energy-based anisotropic algorithm can provide 100% sensitivity and 78% specificity, in the task of detecting impacts under demanding laboratory conditions. The algorithm works together with an unsupervised real-time learning technique that addresses the adaptive capability, and this is also presented. The work demonstrates the robustness and reliability of our new algorithm, which will be the basis of a smart falling monitor. This is shown in this work to underline the relevance of the results.

Predictive and Reactive Locomotor Adaptability in Healthy Elderly: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Bohm, Sebastian; Mademli, Lida; Mersmann, Falk; Arampatzis, Adamantios

2015-12-01

Locomotor adaptability is based on the implementation of error-feedback information from previous perturbations to predictively adapt to expected perturbations (feedforward) and to facilitate reactive responses in recurring unexpected perturbations ('savings'). The effect of aging on predictive and reactive adaptability is yet unclear. However, such understanding is fundamental for the design and application of effective interventions targeting fall prevention. We systematically searched the Web of Science, MEDLINE, Embase and Science Direct databases as well as the reference lists of the eligible articles. A study was included if it addressed an investigation of the locomotor adaptability in response to repeated mechanical movement perturbations of healthy older adults (≥60 years). The weighted average effect size (WAES) of the general adaptability (adaptive motor responses to repeated perturbations) as well as predictive (after-effects) and reactive adaptation (feedback responses to a recurring unexpected perturbation) was calculated and tested for an overall effect. A subgroup analysis was performed regarding the factor age group [i.e., young (≤35 years) vs. older adults]. Furthermore, the methodological study quality was assessed. The review process yielded 18 studies [1009 participants, 613 older adults (70 ± 4 years)], which used various kinds of locomotor tasks and perturbations. The WAES for the general locomotor adaptability was 1.21 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.68-1.74, n = 11] for the older and 1.39 (95% CI 0.90-1.89, n = 10) for the young adults with a significant (p locomotor adaptability in general and predictive and reactive adaptation in particular remain highly effective in the elderly, showing only minor, not statistically significant age-related deficits. Consequently, interventions which use adaptation and learning paradigms including the application of the mechanisms responsible for an effective predictive and reactive dynamic stability

Vulnerability Assessment, Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Measures in Slovenia

Science.gov (United States)

Cegnar, T.

2010-09-01

In relation to the priority tasks of the climate change measures, the Republic of Slovenia estimates that special attention needs to be devoted to the following sectors in general: - sectors that currently indicate a strong vulnerability for the current climate variability (for instance, agriculture), - sectors where the vulnerability for climate change is increased by current trends (for instance, urban development, use of space), - sectors where the adaptation time is the longest and the subsequent development changes are connected with the highest costs (for instance, use of space, infrastructural objects, forestry, urban development, building stock). Considering the views of Slovenia to the climate change problem in Europe and Slovenia, priority measures and emphasis on future adaptation to climate change, the Republic of Slovenia has especially exposed the following action areas: - sustainable and integrated management of water sources for water power production, prevention of floods, provision of water for the enrichment of low flow rates, and preservation of environmental function as well as provision of water for other needs; - sustainable management of forest ecosystems, adjusted to changes, for the provision of their environmental function as well as being a source of biomass, wood for products for the conservation of carbon, and carbon sinks; - spatial planning as one of the important preventive instruments for the adaptation to climate change through the processes of integral planning of spatial and urban development; - sustainable use and preservation of natural wealth and the preservation of biodiversity as well as ecosystem services with measures and policies that enable an enhanced resistance of ecosystems to climate change, and the role of biological diversity in integral adaptation measures; - informing and awareness on the consequences of climate change and adaptation possibilities. For years, the most endangered sectors have been agriculture and

On Adaptive vs. Non-adaptive Security of Multiparty Protocols

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Canetti, Ran; Damgård, Ivan Bjerre; Dziembowski, Stefan

2001-01-01

highlights of our results are: – - According to the definition of Dodis-Micali-Rogaway (which is set in the information-theoretic model), adaptive and non-adaptive security are equivalent. This holds for both honest-but-curious and Byzantine adversaries, and for any number of parties. – - According......Security analysis of multiparty cryptographic protocols distinguishes between two types of adversarialsettings: In the non-adaptive setting, the set of corrupted parties is chosen in advance, before the interaction begins. In the adaptive setting, the adversary chooses who to corrupt during...... the course of the computation. We study the relations between adaptive security (i.e., security in the adaptive setting) and non-adaptive security, according to two definitions and in several models of computation. While affirming some prevailing beliefs, we also obtain some unexpected results. Some...

The adaptive reuse of historic city centres. Bologna and Lisbon: solutions for urban regeneration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Boeri

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The European historic city centres are currently experiencing innovative approaches for rehabilitation of urban spaces afflicted by social and physical decay. The revitalization challenges are a consequence of the integration of contemporary technologies and solutions to achieve new requirements and of the impacts of socio-economic dynamics. Understanding and boosting the drivers connected to the cultural potential of the historic city centres can play an important role in adaptive re-use. This paper focuses on the synergy between cultural heritage and urban development, cultural heritage preservation and local economic growth, proposing adaptive reuse design practices applied in historic city centre, through the adoption of a multi-criteria methodology for heritage-led regeneration.

Consequences of Dating for Post-Divorce Maternal Well-Being

Science.gov (United States)

Langlais, Michael R.; Anderson, Edward R.; Greene, Shannon M.

2016-01-01

Repartnering has been linked to health benefits for mothers, yet few studies have examined relationship quality in this context. According to the divorce-stress-adaptation perspective, relationship quality may influence the relationship between maternal well-being and dating after divorce. The current study examines the consequences of dating, relationship quality, and dating transitions (breaking up and dating new partners) on maternal well-being (negative affect and life satisfaction). Using monthly surveys completed by mothers over a two-year period after filing for divorce, we examined changes in intercepts and slopes of dating status and transitions for maternal well-being while also testing the effects of relationship quality. Mothers entering high-quality relationships were likely to report boosts in well-being at relationship initiation compared to single mothers and mothers entering low-quality relationships. Mothers entering lower-quality relationships were likely to report lower levels of well-being than single mothers. Dating transitions were associated with increases in well-being. Implications for maternal adjustment are discussed. PMID:27746511

Is adaptation. Truly an adaptation?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thais Flores Nogueira Diniz

2006-04-01

Full Text Available The article begins by historicizing film adaptation from the arrival of cinema, pointing out the many theoretical approaches under which the process has been seen: from the concept of “the same story told in a different medium” to a comprehensible definition such as “the process through which works can be transformed, forming an intersection of textual surfaces, quotations, conflations and inversions of other texts”. To illustrate this new concept, the article discusses Spike Jonze’s film Adaptation. according to James Naremore’s proposal which considers the study of adaptation as part of a general theory of repetition, joined with the study of recycling, remaking, and every form of retelling. The film deals with the attempt by the scriptwriter Charles Kaufman, cast by Nicholas Cage, to adapt/translate a non-fictional book to the cinema, but ends up with a kind of film which is by no means what it intended to be: a film of action in the model of Hollywood productions. During the process of creation, Charles and his twin brother, Donald, undergo a series of adventures involving some real persons from the world of film, the author and the protagonist of the book, all of them turning into fictional characters in the film. In the film, adaptation then signifies something different from itstraditional meaning.

Subjective Evaluations of Alcohol-Related Consequences among College Students: Experience with Consequences Matters

Science.gov (United States)

Leavens, Eleanor L.; Leffingwell, Thad R.; Miller, Mary Beth; Brett, Emma I.; Lombardi, Nathaniel

2017-01-01

Objective: Research suggests college students rate some alcohol-related consequences less negatively than others, yet it is unclear how or when these differences in perception develop. The current study compared college students' subjective evaluations of alcohol-related consequences that they had and had not experienced in order to test the…

Adaptive Lighting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Kjell Yngve; Søndergaard, Karin; Kongshaug, Jesper

2015-01-01

Adaptive Lighting Adaptive lighting is based on a partial automation of the possibilities to adjust the colour tone and brightness levels of light in order to adapt to people’s needs and desires. IT support is key to the technical developments that afford adaptive control systems. The possibilities...... offered by adaptive lighting control are created by the ways that the system components, the network and data flow can be coordinated through software so that the dynamic variations are controlled in ways that meaningfully adapt according to people’s situations and design intentions. This book discusses...... differently into an architectural body. We also examine what might occur when light is dynamic and able to change colour, intensity and direction, and when it is adaptive and can be brought into interaction with its surroundings. In short, what happens to an architectural space when artificial lighting ceases...

Designing Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways using Many-Objective Robust Decision Making

Science.gov (United States)

Kwakkel, Jan; Haasnoot, Marjolijn

2017-04-01

Dealing with climate risks in water management requires confronting a wide variety of deeply uncertain factors, while navigating a many dimensional space of trade-offs amongst objectives. There is an emerging body of literature on supporting this type of decision problem, under the label of decision making under deep uncertainty. Two approaches within this literature are Many-Objective Robust Decision Making, and Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways. In recent work, these approaches have been compared. One of the main conclusions of this comparison was that they are highly complementary. Many-Objective Robust Decision Making is a model based decision support approach, while Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways is primarily a conceptual framework for the design of flexible strategies that can be adapted over time in response to how the future is actually unfolding. In this research we explore this complementarity in more detail. Specifically, we demonstrate how Many-Objective Robust Decision Making can be used to design adaptation pathways. We demonstrate this combined approach using a water management problem, in the Netherlands. The water level of Lake IJselmeer, the main fresh water resource of the Netherlands, is currently managed through discharge by gravity. Due to climate change, this won't be possible in the future, unless water levels are changed. Changing the water level has undesirable flood risk and spatial planning consequences. The challenge is to find promising adaptation pathways that balance objectives related to fresh water supply, flood risk, and spatial issues, while accounting for uncertain climatic and land use change. We conclude that the combination of Many-Objective Robust Decision Making and Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways is particularly suited for dealing with deeply uncertain climate risks.

The evolution of sex is favoured during adaptation to new environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Becks, Lutz; Agrawal, Aneil F

2012-01-01

Both theory and experiments have demonstrated that sex can facilitate adaptation, potentially yielding a group-level advantage to sex. However, it is unclear whether this process can help solve the more difficult problem of the maintenance of sex within populations. Using experimental populations of the facultatively sexual rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus, we show that rates of sex evolve to higher levels during adaptation but then decline as fitness plateaus. To assess the fitness consequences of genetic mixing, we directly compare the fitnesses of sexually and asexually derived genotypes that naturally occur in our experimental populations. Sexually derived genotypes are more fit than asexually derived genotypes when adaptive pressures are strong, but this pattern reverses as the pace of adaptation slows, matching the pattern of evolutionary change in the rate of sex. These fitness assays test the net effect of sex but cannot be used to disentangle whether selection on sex arises because highly sexual lineages become associated with different allele combinations or with different allele frequencies than less sexual lineages (i.e., "short-" or "long-term" effects, respectively). We infer which of these mechanisms provides an advantage to sex by performing additional manipulations to obtain fitness distributions of sexual and asexual progeny arrays from unbiased parents (rather than from naturally occurring, and thereby evolutionarily biased, parents). We find evidence that sex breaks down adaptive gene combinations, resulting in lower average fitness of sexual progeny (i.e., a short-term disadvantage to sex). As predicted by theory, the advantage to sex arises because sexually derived progeny are more variable in fitness, allowing for faster adaptation. This "long-term advantage" builds over multiple generations, eventually resulting in higher fitness of sexual types.

Reservoir adaptive operating rules based on both of historical streamflow and future projections

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Wei; Liu, Pan; Wang, Hao; Chen, Jie; Lei, Xiaohui; Feng, Maoyuan

2017-10-01

Climate change is affecting hydrological variables and consequently is impacting water resources management. Historical strategies are no longer applicable under climate change. Therefore, adaptive management, especially adaptive operating rules for reservoirs, has been developed to mitigate the possible adverse effects of climate change. However, to date, adaptive operating rules are generally based on future projections involving uncertainties under climate change, yet ignoring historical information. To address this, we propose an approach for deriving adaptive operating rules considering both historical information and future projections, namely historical and future operating rules (HAFOR). A robustness index was developed by comparing benefits from HAFOR with benefits from conventional operating rules (COR). For both historical and future streamflow series, maximizations of both average benefits and the robustness index were employed as objectives, and four trade-offs were implemented to solve the multi-objective problem. Based on the integrated objective, the simulation-based optimization method was used to optimize the parameters of HAFOR. Using the Dongwushi Reservoir in China as a case study, HAFOR was demonstrated to be an effective and robust method for developing adaptive operating rules under the uncertain changing environment. Compared with historical or projected future operating rules (HOR or FPOR), HAFOR can reduce the uncertainty and increase the robustness for future projections, especially regarding results of reservoir releases and volumes. HAFOR, therefore, facilitates adaptive management in the context that climate change is difficult to predict accurately.

Adaptive Counterterrorism Tools over Silver Bullets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Rasmus Rosenqvist; Wiil, Uffe Kock

Forging information network structures to understand spider webs of fixers, go-betweens and jihadists related to acts of terrorism is a complex task. Adapting models to represent the expected structure of networks for future pattern and missing link detection is even more challenging. In this paper...... in order to coordinate or reach consensus. Terrorism information structures are by nature emergent and evolving and as a consequence the retrievable knowledge keeps shifting patterns. We implement spatial and navigational hypertext techniques to support this nature. Working with knowledge, it is a common...... error to believe that the proliferation of terrorist violence is due to the wider availability of information through the Internet. This misconception, that all you need is knowledge, also applies to counterterrorism strategies. Actually experience, skill and resources of the individuals involved...

Adapt to more wildfire in western North American forests as climate changes.

Science.gov (United States)

Schoennagel, Tania; Balch, Jennifer K; Brenkert-Smith, Hannah; Dennison, Philip E; Harvey, Brian J; Krawchuk, Meg A; Mietkiewicz, Nathan; Morgan, Penelope; Moritz, Max A; Rasker, Ray; Turner, Monica G; Whitlock, Cathy

2017-05-02

Wildfires across western North America have increased in number and size over the past three decades, and this trend will continue in response to further warming. As a consequence, the wildland-urban interface is projected to experience substantially higher risk of climate-driven fires in the coming decades. Although many plants, animals, and ecosystem services benefit from fire, it is unknown how ecosystems will respond to increased burning and warming. Policy and management have focused primarily on specified resilience approaches aimed at resistance to wildfire and restoration of areas burned by wildfire through fire suppression and fuels management. These strategies are inadequate to address a new era of western wildfires. In contrast, policies that promote adaptive resilience to wildfire, by which people and ecosystems adjust and reorganize in response to changing fire regimes to reduce future vulnerability, are needed. Key aspects of an adaptive resilience approach are ( i ) recognizing that fuels reduction cannot alter regional wildfire trends; ( ii ) targeting fuels reduction to increase adaptation by some ecosystems and residential communities to more frequent fire; ( iii ) actively managing more wild and prescribed fires with a range of severities; and ( iv ) incentivizing and planning residential development to withstand inevitable wildfire. These strategies represent a shift in policy and management from restoring ecosystems based on historical baselines to adapting to changing fire regimes and from unsustainable defense of the wildland-urban interface to developing fire-adapted communities. We propose an approach that accepts wildfire as an inevitable catalyst of change and that promotes adaptive responses by ecosystems and residential communities to more warming and wildfire.

Adaptive pathways of zoonotic influenza viruses: from exposure to establishment in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Reperant, Leslie A; Kuiken, Thijs; Osterhaus, Albert D M E

2012-06-22

Human influenza viruses have their ultimate origin in avian reservoirs and may adapt, either directly or after passage through another mammalian species, to circulate independently in the human population. Three sets of barriers must be crossed by a zoonotic influenza virus before it can become a human virus: animal-to-human transmission barriers; virus-cell interaction barriers; and human-to-human transmission barriers. Adaptive changes allowing zoonotic influenza viruses to cross these barriers have been studied extensively, generating key knowledge for improved pandemic preparedness. Most of these adaptive changes link acquired genetic alterations of the virus to specific adaptation mechanisms that can be screened for, both genetically and phenotypically, as part of zoonotic influenza virus surveillance programs. Human-to-human transmission barriers are only sporadically crossed by zoonotic influenza viruses, eventually triggering a worldwide influenza outbreak or pandemic. This is the most devastating consequence of influenza virus cross-species transmission. Progress has been made in identifying some of the determinants of influenza virus transmissibility. However, interdisciplinary research is needed to further characterize these ultimate barriers to the development of influenza pandemics, at both the level of the individual host and that of the population. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Distinguishing Byproducts from Non-Adaptive Effects of Algorithmic Adaptations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Justin H. Park

2007-01-01

Full Text Available I evaluate the use of the byproduct concept in psychology, particularly the adaptation-byproduct distinction that is commonly invoked in discussions of psychological phenomena. This distinction can be problematic when investigating algorithmic mechanisms and their effects, because although all byproducts may be functionless concomitants of adaptations, not all incidental effects of algorithmic adaptations are byproducts (although they have sometimes been labeled as such. I call attention to Sperber's (1994 distinction between proper domains and actual domains of algorithmic mechanisms. Extending Sperber's distinction, I propose the terms adaptive effects and non-adaptive effects, which more accurately capture the phenomena of interest to psychologists and prevent fruitless adaptation-versus-byproduct debates.

Climate adaptation

Science.gov (United States)

Kinzig, Ann P.

2015-03-01

This paper is intended as a brief introduction to climate adaptation in a conference devoted otherwise to the physics of sustainable energy. Whereas mitigation involves measures to reduce the probability of a potential event, such as climate change, adaptation refers to actions that lessen the impact of climate change. Mitigation and adaptation differ in other ways as well. Adaptation does not necessarily have to be implemented immediately to be effective; it only needs to be in place before the threat arrives. Also, adaptation does not necessarily require global, coordinated action; many effective adaptation actions can be local. Some urban communities, because of land-use change and the urban heat-island effect, currently face changes similar to some expected under climate change, such as changes in water availability, heat-related morbidity, or changes in disease patterns. Concern over those impacts might motivate the implementation of measures that would also help in climate adaptation, despite skepticism among some policy makers about anthropogenic global warming. Studies of ancient civilizations in the southwestern US lends some insight into factors that may or may not be important to successful adaptation.

Becoming an Officer of Consequence

Science.gov (United States)

2007-01-01

ndupress .ndu.edu   issue 44, 1st quarter 2007  /  JFQ        6 Becoming an officer of Consequence m uch of the literature about military history...commander become officers of consequence because their commanders value their judgment and seek their counsel when making difficult choices...COVERED 00-00-2007 to 00-00-2007 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Becoming an Officer of Consequence 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM

Understanding climate change adaptation and adaptive capacity: synthesis report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Patino, L. [Policy Research Initiative, Government of Canada, Ottawa, ON (Canada)

2010-09-15

In 2007, the Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Division (CCIAD) offered its support to research projects that were involved in understanding and improving adaptation and adaptive capacity and contributed to climate change decision-making and policy development in Canada. 20 research projects were commissioned by the CCIAD. With the collaboration of NRCan, the principal findings raised by the commissioned projects were synthesized by the Policy Research Initiative (PRI). Common themes and main messages are introduced in this synthesis report, and policy and program aspects that promote adaptive capacity to climate change in Canada are identified. Common themes and important messages emerging from the research projects, as well as the processes and barriers to adaptation and adaptive capacity identified in the commissioned projects, were discussed during a workshop held in Ottawa in 2009. Five main themes and four common barriers to adaptation were found. 25 refs.

A structure-based approach to evaluation product adaptability in adaptable design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, Qiang; Liu, Zhifeng; Cai, Ligang; Zhang, Guojun; Gu, Peihua

2011-01-01

Adaptable design, as a new design paradigm, involves creating designs and products that can be easily changed to satisfy different requirements. In this paper, two types of product adaptability are proposed as essential adaptability and behavioral adaptability, and through measuring which respectively a model for product adaptability evaluation is developed. The essential adaptability evaluation proceeds with analyzing the independencies of function requirements and function modules firstly based on axiomatic design, and measuring the adaptability of interfaces secondly with three indices. The behavioral adaptability reflected by the performance of adaptable requirements after adaptation is measured based on Kano model. At last, the effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by an illustrative example of the motherboard of a personal computer. The results show that the method can evaluate and reveal the adaptability of a product in essence, and is of directive significance to improving design and innovative design

Job Restrictions for Healthcare Workers with Musculoskeletal Disorders: Consequences from the Superior's Viewpoint.

Science.gov (United States)

Grataloup, M; Massardier-Pilonchéry, A; Bergeret, A; Fassier, Jean-Baptiste

2016-09-01

Objective Many workers suffer from musculoskeletal disorders. In France, occupational physicians are able to set job aptitude restrictions obliging employers to adapt the worker's job. The present study explored the impact of job restriction from the point of view of the employees' supervisors. Methods A qualitative study was conducted in 3 public hospitals. 12 focus groups were organized, involving 61 charge nurses and head nurses supervising 1 or more workers restricted for heavy lifting or repetitive movements. Discussions were recorded for qualitative thematic analysis. Results Charge and head nurses complained that aptitude restrictions were insufficiently precise, could not be respected and failed to mention residual capability. A context of personnel cuts, absenteeism and productivity demands entailed a need for polyvalence and reorganization threatening the permanence of adapted jobs. Job restrictions had several negative consequences for the charge and head nurses, including overwork, increased conflict, and feelings of isolation and organizational injustice. Conclusion Protecting the individual interests of workers with health issues may infringe on the interests of their supervisors and colleagues, whose perception of organizational justice may go some way to explaining the support or rejection they show toward restricted workers. This paradox should be explicitly explored and discussed.

An incoherent feedforward loop facilitates adaptive tuning of gene expression.

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Jungeui; Brandt, Nathan; Abdul-Rahman, Farah; Yang, Ally; Hughes, Tim; Gresham, David

2018-04-05

We studied adaptive evolution of gene expression using long-term experimental evolution of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in ammonium-limited chemostats. We found repeated selection for non-synonymous variation in the DNA binding domain of the transcriptional activator, GAT1, which functions with the repressor, DAL80 in an incoherent type-1 feedforward loop (I1-FFL) to control expression of the high affinity ammonium transporter gene, MEP2. Missense mutations in the DNA binding domain of GAT1 reduce its binding to the GATAA consensus sequence. However, we show experimentally, and using mathematical modeling, that decreases in GAT1 binding result in increased expression of MEP2 as a consequence of properties of I1-FFLs. Our results show that I1-FFLs, one of the most commonly occurring network motifs in transcriptional networks, can facilitate adaptive tuning of gene expression through modulation of transcription factor binding affinities. Our findings highlight the importance of gene regulatory architectures in the evolution of gene expression. © 2018, Hong et al.

Let's Tie the Knot: Marriage of Complement and Adaptive Immunity in Pathogen Evasion, for Better or Worse.

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Kaila M; Rooijakkers, Suzan H M; Gorham, Ronald D

2017-01-01

The complement system is typically regarded as an effector arm of innate immunity, leading to recognition and killing of microbial invaders in body fluids. Consequently, pathogens have engaged in an arms race, evolving molecules that can interfere with proper complement responses. However, complement is no longer viewed as an isolated system, and links with other immune mechanisms are continually being discovered. Complement forms an important bridge between innate and adaptive immunity. While its roles in innate immunity are well-documented, its function in adaptive immunity is less characterized. Therefore, it is no surprise that the field of pathogenic complement evasion has focused on blockade of innate effector functions, while potential inhibition of adaptive immune responses (via complement) has been overlooked to a certain extent. In this review, we highlight past and recent developments on the involvement of complement in the adaptive immune response. We discuss the mechanisms by which complement aids in lymphocyte stimulation and regulation, as well as in antigen presentation. In addition, we discuss microbial complement evasion strategies, and highlight specific examples in the context of adaptive immune responses. These emerging ties between complement and adaptive immunity provide a catalyst for future discovery in not only the field of adaptive immune evasion but in elucidating new roles of complement.

Adaptation to the climate change: Interest of a prospective approach / Adaptation au changement climatique : l'intérêt d'une démarche prospective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aigrain Patrick

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The current challenges of the agronomic research and in particular the adaptation of agriculture to climate change, require a very broad disciplinary mobilization. To meet these challenges, which go beyond its disciplinary and territorial organization, the INRA initiated a new system of interdisciplinary piloting of research. Thus, the métaprogramme ACCAF is trying to understand the joint effects of the various modifications caused by climate change on terrestrial farming and natural environments, and to define adaptation strategies of adaptation as well as their environmental and socio-economic consequences. Within this framework, twenty-three research laboratories have been collaborating in the project LACCAVE and united their efforts in the project LACCAVE in order to examine the effects of climate change on the vine and wine sector. In addition to six disciplinary working groups, this project is made up of an interdisciplinary group including researchers and experts of public institution working with the sector, which has carried out a foresight exercise. By directing the reflection towards a medium-long term future (2030–2050, this prospective exercise authorizes us to leave the temporal horizon of the negotiation and the dictatorship of emergency. As the long-term future is neither known nor recognizable, the evolutions are considered as combinations of assumptions expressed in one potential form and its opposite. For the prospective in the LACCAVE program, four strategies of adaptation of viticulture for 2030–2050 were predefined and a collective and pluridisciplinary work made possible the writing of a plausible way of events leading to each strategy. These results will then be used to debate with the actors of the wine sector at various geographical levels, in order to contribute to the development and the consolidation of choices of strategies of adaptation of the vineyards to climate change. The presentation will focus on this

Consequences of dispersal for the quantitative study of adaptation in small-scale plots: a case study of an avian island population

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lambrechts, M.M.; Visser, M.E.; Verboven, N.

2000-01-01

Lifetime recruitment of breeding offspring estimated in small- scale study plots (i.e local recruitment) is considered to be the best available ecological measure of contributions to following generations, and sufficient for the quantitative study of adaptation in natural populations. Recent

Considerations about expected a posteriori estimation in adaptive testing: adaptive a priori, adaptive correction for bias, and adaptive integration interval.

Science.gov (United States)

Raiche, Gilles; Blais, Jean-Guy

2009-01-01

In a computerized adaptive test, we would like to obtain an acceptable precision of the proficiency level estimate using an optimal number of items. Unfortunately, decreasing the number of items is accompanied by a certain degree of bias when the true proficiency level differs significantly from the a priori estimate. The authors suggest that it is possible to reduced the bias, and even the standard error of the estimate, by applying to each provisional estimation one or a combination of the following strategies: adaptive correction for bias proposed by Bock and Mislevy (1982), adaptive a priori estimate, and adaptive integration interval.

Possible consequences of nuclear war

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1986-01-01

Speeches of Soviet and foreign scientists at the Second Section of 2d All-UNION conference of scientists on problems of peace and prevention of nuclear war related to possible consequences of nuclear war have been considered. It is noted that production of a large amount of aerosol particles, dust, smoke and combustion products due to forest-fires, fires in cities, which change considerably atmosphere properties, will be the greatest effect of nuclear strike from the point of view of global consequencies. ''Nuclear winter'', photosynthesis suppression, plant bioproductivity weakening, long-term climate changes, ozone layer disturbance, mass and irreversible degeneration of all biosphere on the whole are great consequencies of nuclear conflict. Attention is paid to medical service, industrial accidents, radioactive fallouts consequence of radiation and other harmful factors for people in nuclear war

TU-AB-BRA-11: Indications for Online Adaptive Radiotherapy Based On Dosimetric Consequences of Interfractional Pancreas-To-Duodenum Motion in MRI-Guided Pancreatic Radiotherapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mittauer, K; Rosenberg, S; Geurts, M; Bassetti, M; Wojcieszynski, A; Harari, P; Labby, Z; Hill, P; Paliwal, B; Bayouth, J [University of Wisconsin, School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI (United States); Chen, I; Henke, L; Kashani, R; Parikh, P [Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO (United States); Olsen, J [University of Colorado- Denver, Aurora, CO (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: Dose limiting structures, such as the duodenum, render the treatment of pancreatic cancer challenging. In this multi-institutional study, we assess dosimetric differences caused by interfraction pancreas-to-duodenum motion using MR-IGRT to determine the potential impact of adaptive replanning. Methods: Ten patients from two institutions undergoing MRI-guided radiotherapy with conventional fractionation (n=5) or SBRT (n=5) for pancreatic cancer were included. Initial plans were limited by duodenal dose constraints of 50 Gy (0.5 cc)/31 Gy (0.1 cc) for conventional/SBRT with prescriptions of 30 Gy/5 fractions (SBRT) and 40–50 Gy/25 fractions (conventional). Daily volumetric MR images were acquired under treatment conditions on a clinical MR-IGRT system. The correlation was assessed between interfractional GTV-to-duodenum positional variation and daily recalculations of duodenal dose metrics. Positional variation was quantified as the interfraction difference in Hausdorff distance from simulation baseline (ΔHD) between the GTV and proximal duodenal surface, or volume overlap between GTV and duodenum for cases with HD{sub 0}=0 (GTV abutting duodenum). Adaptation was considered indicated when daily positional variations enabled dose escalation to the target while maintaining duodenal constraints. Results: For fractions with ΔHD>0 (n=14, SBRT only), the mean interfraction duodenum dose decrease from simulation to treatment was 44±53 cGy (maximum 136 cGy). A correlation was found between ΔHD and dosimetric difference (R{sup 2}=0.82). No correlation was found between volume of overlap and dosimetric difference (R{sup 2}=0.31). For 89% of fractions, the duodenum remained overlapped with the target and the duodenal dose difference was negligible. The maximum observed indication for adaptation was for interfraction ΔHD=11.6 mm with potential for adaptive dose escalation of 136 cGy. Conclusion: This assessment showed that Hausdorff distance was a reasonable

TU-AB-BRA-11: Indications for Online Adaptive Radiotherapy Based On Dosimetric Consequences of Interfractional Pancreas-To-Duodenum Motion in MRI-Guided Pancreatic Radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mittauer, K; Rosenberg, S; Geurts, M; Bassetti, M; Wojcieszynski, A; Harari, P; Labby, Z; Hill, P; Paliwal, B; Bayouth, J; Chen, I; Henke, L; Kashani, R; Parikh, P; Olsen, J

2016-01-01

Purpose: Dose limiting structures, such as the duodenum, render the treatment of pancreatic cancer challenging. In this multi-institutional study, we assess dosimetric differences caused by interfraction pancreas-to-duodenum motion using MR-IGRT to determine the potential impact of adaptive replanning. Methods: Ten patients from two institutions undergoing MRI-guided radiotherapy with conventional fractionation (n=5) or SBRT (n=5) for pancreatic cancer were included. Initial plans were limited by duodenal dose constraints of 50 Gy (0.5 cc)/31 Gy (0.1 cc) for conventional/SBRT with prescriptions of 30 Gy/5 fractions (SBRT) and 40–50 Gy/25 fractions (conventional). Daily volumetric MR images were acquired under treatment conditions on a clinical MR-IGRT system. The correlation was assessed between interfractional GTV-to-duodenum positional variation and daily recalculations of duodenal dose metrics. Positional variation was quantified as the interfraction difference in Hausdorff distance from simulation baseline (ΔHD) between the GTV and proximal duodenal surface, or volume overlap between GTV and duodenum for cases with HD_0=0 (GTV abutting duodenum). Adaptation was considered indicated when daily positional variations enabled dose escalation to the target while maintaining duodenal constraints. Results: For fractions with ΔHD>0 (n=14, SBRT only), the mean interfraction duodenum dose decrease from simulation to treatment was 44±53 cGy (maximum 136 cGy). A correlation was found between ΔHD and dosimetric difference (R"2=0.82). No correlation was found between volume of overlap and dosimetric difference (R"2=0.31). For 89% of fractions, the duodenum remained overlapped with the target and the duodenal dose difference was negligible. The maximum observed indication for adaptation was for interfraction ΔHD=11.6 mm with potential for adaptive dose escalation of 136 cGy. Conclusion: This assessment showed that Hausdorff distance was a reasonable metric to use to

Understanding extreme sea levels for coastal impact and adaptation analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Wahl, T.; Haigh, I. D.; Nicholls, R. J.; Arns, A.; Hinkel, J.; Dangendorf, S.; Slangen, A.

2016-12-01

Coastal impact and adaptation assessments require detailed knowledge on extreme sea levels, because increasing damage due to extreme events, such as storm surges and tropical cyclones, is one of the major consequences of sea level rise and climate change. In fact, the IPCC has highlighted in its AR4 report that "societal impacts of sea level change primarily occur via the extreme levels rather than as a direct consequence of mean sea level changes". Over the last few decades, substantial research efforts have been directed towards improved understanding of past and future mean sea level; different scenarios were developed with process-based or semi-empirical models and used for coastal impact assessments at various spatial scales to guide coastal management and adaptation efforts. The uncertainties in future sea level rise are typically accounted for by analyzing the impacts associated with a range of scenarios leading to a vertical displacement of the distribution of extreme sea-levels. And indeed most regional and global studies find little or no evidence for changes in storminess with climate change, although there is still low confidence in the results. However, and much more importantly, there is still a limited understanding of present-day extreme sea-levels which is largely ignored in most impact and adaptation analyses. The two key uncertainties stem from: (1) numerical models that are used to generate long time series of extreme sea-levels. The bias of these models varies spatially and can reach values much larger than the expected sea level rise; but it can be accounted for in most regions making use of in-situ measurements; (2) Statistical models used for determining present-day extreme sea-level exceedance probabilities. There is no universally accepted approach to obtain such values for flood risk assessments and while substantial research has explored inter-model uncertainties for mean sea level, we explore here, for the first time, inter

Evidence against a critical role of CB1 receptors in adaptation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and other consequences of daily repeated stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Rabasa, Cristina; Pastor-Ciurana, Jordi; Delgado-Morales, Raúl; Gómez-Román, Almudena; Carrasco, Javier; Gagliano, Humberto; García-Gutiérrez, María S; Manzanares, Jorge; Armario, Antonio

2015-08-01

There is evidence that endogenous cannabinoids (eCBs) play a role in the control of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, although they appear to have dual, stimulatory and inhibitory, effects. Recent data in rats suggest that eCBs, acting through CB1 receptors (CB1R), may be involved in adaptation of the HPA axis to daily repeated stress. In the present study we analyze this issue in male mice and rats. Using a knock-out mice for the CB1 receptor (CB1-/-) we showed that mutant mice presented similar adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) response to the first IMO as wild-type mice. Daily repeated exposure to 1h of immobilization reduced the ACTH response to the stressor, regardless of the genotype, demonstrating that adaptation occurred to the same extent in absence of CB1R. Prototypical changes observed after repeated stress such as enhanced corticotropin releasing factor (CRH) gene expression in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, impaired body weight gain and reduced thymus weight were similarly observed in both genotypes. The lack of effect of CB1R in the expression of HPA adaptation to another similar stressor (restraint) was confirmed in wild-type CD1 mice by the lack of effect of the CB1R antagonist AM251 just before the last exposure to stress. Finally, the latter drug did not blunt the HPA, glucose and behavioral adaptation to daily repeated forced swim in rats. Thus, the present results indicate that CB1R is not critical for overall effects of daily repeated stress or proper adaptation of the HPA axis in mice and rats. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved.

Experimental evidence for adaptive personalities in a wild passerine bird

Science.gov (United States)

Nicolaus, Marion; Tinbergen, Joost M.; Bouwman, Karen M.; Michler, Stephanie P. M.; Ubels, Richard; Both, Christiaan; Kempenaers, Bart; Dingemanse, Niels J.

2012-01-01

Individuals of the same species differ consistently in risky actions. Such ‘animal personality’ variation is intriguing because behavioural flexibility is often assumed to be the norm. Recent theory predicts that between-individual differences in propensity to take risks should evolve if individuals differ in future fitness expectations: individuals with high long-term fitness expectations (i.e. that have much to lose) should behave consistently more cautious than individuals with lower expectations. Consequently, any manipulation of future fitness expectations should result in within-individual changes in risky behaviour in the direction predicted by this adaptive theory. We tested this prediction and confirmed experimentally that individuals indeed adjust their ‘exploration behaviour’, a proxy for risk-taking behaviour, to their future fitness expectations. We show for wild great tits (Parus major) that individuals with experimentally decreased survival probability become faster explorers (i.e. increase risk-taking behaviour) compared to individuals with increased survival probability. We also show, using quantitative genetics approaches, that non-genetic effects (i.e. permanent environment effects) underpin adaptive personality variation in this species. This study thereby confirms a key prediction of adaptive personality theory based on life-history trade-offs, and implies that selection may indeed favour the evolution of personalities in situations where individuals differ in future fitness expectations. PMID:23097506

Adaptation, saturation, and physiological masking in single auditory-nerve fibers.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, R L

1979-01-01

Results are reviewed concerning some effects, at a units's characteristic frequency, of a short-term conditioning stimulus on the responses to perstimulatory and poststimulatory test tones. A phenomenological equation is developed from the poststimulatory results and shown to be consistent with the perstimulatory results. According to the results and equation, the response to a test tone equals the unconditioned or unadapted response minus the decrement produced by adaptation to the conditioning tone. Furthermore, the decrement is proportional to the driven response to the conditioning tone and does not depend on sound intensity per se. The equation has a simple interpretation in terms of two processes in cascade--a static saturating nonlinearity followed by additive adaptation. Results are presented to show that this functional model is sufficient to account for the "physiological masking" produced by wide-band backgrounds. According to this interpretation, a sufficiently intense background produces saturation. Consequently, a superimposed test tone cause no change in response. In addition, when the onset of the background precedes the onset of the test tone, the total firing rate is reduced by adaptation. Evidence is reviewed concerning the possible correspondence between the variables in the model and intracellular events in the auditory periphery.

Host adaptation and transmission of influenza A viruses in mammals

Science.gov (United States)

Schrauwen, Eefje JA; Fouchier, Ron AM

2014-01-01

A wide range of influenza A viruses of pigs and birds have infected humans in the last decade, sometimes with severe clinical consequences. Each of these so-called zoonotic infections provides an opportunity for virus adaptation to the new host. Fortunately, most of these human infections do not yield viruses with the ability of sustained human-to-human transmission. However, animal influenza viruses have acquired the ability of sustained transmission between humans to cause pandemics on rare occasions in the past, and therefore, influenza virus zoonoses continue to represent threats to public health. Numerous recent studies have shed new light on the mechanisms of adaptation and transmission of avian and swine influenza A viruses in mammals. In particular, several studies provided insights into the genetic and phenotypic traits of influenza A viruses that may determine airborne transmission. Here, we summarize recent studies on molecular determinants of virulence and adaptation of animal influenza A virus and discuss the phenotypic traits associated with airborne transmission of newly emerging influenza A viruses. Increased understanding of the determinants and mechanisms of virulence and transmission may aid in assessing the risks posed by animal influenza viruses to human health, and preparedness for such risks. PMID:26038511

Coupling internal cerebellar models enhances online adaptation and supports offline consolidation in sensorimotor tasks

OpenAIRE

Passot , Jean-Baptiste; Luque , Niceto R.; Arleo , Angelo

2013-01-01

International audience; The cerebellum is thought to mediate sensorimotor adaptation through the acquisition of internal models of the body-environment interaction. These representations can be of two types, identified as forward and inverse models. The first predicts the sensory consequences of actions, while the second provides the correct commands to achieve desired state transitions. In this paper, we propose a composite architecture consisting of multiple cerebellar internal models to ac...

Animal health aspects of adaptation to climate change: beating the heat and parasites in a warming Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Skuce, P J; Morgan, E R; van Dijk, J; Mitchell, M

2013-06-01

Weather patterns in northern European regions have changed noticeably over the past several decades, featuring warmer, wetter weather with more extreme events. The climate is projected to continue on this trajectory for the foreseeable future, even under the most modest warming scenarios. Such changes will have a significant impact on livestock farming, both directly through effects on the animals themselves, and indirectly through changing exposure to pests and pathogens. Adaptation options aimed at taking advantage of new opportunities and/or minimising the risks of negative impacts will, in themselves, have implications for animal health and welfare. In this review, we consider the potential consequences of future intensification of animal production, challenges associated with indoor and outdoor rearing of animals and aspects of animal transportation as key examples. We investigate the direct and indirect effects of climate change on the epidemiology of important livestock pathogens, with a particular focus on parasitic infections, and the likely animal health consequences associated with selected adaptation options. Finally, we attempt to identify key gaps in our knowledge and suggest future research priorities.

Family adaptation 18 months after traumatic brain injury in early childhood.

Science.gov (United States)

Stancin, Terry; Wade, Shari L; Walz, Nicolay C; Yeates, Keith Owen; Taylor, H Gerry

2010-05-01

The purpose of this study was to examine family adaptation to a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in young children during the first 18-month postinjury, when compared with children who had an orthopedic injury. A concurrent cohort/prospective research design was used with repeated assessments of children aged 3 to 6 years with TBI or orthopedic injury requiring hospitalization and their families. Shortly after injury and at 6-, 12-, and 18-month postinjury, parents of 99 children with TBI (20 severe, 64 moderate, 15 mild) and 117 with orthopedic injury completed standardized assessments of family functioning, parental distress and coping, injury-related burden, and noninjury-related parent stressors and resources. Mixed models analyses examined group differences in parental burden and distress adjusted for race and social demographic factors. Both moderate and severe TBI were associated with higher levels of injury-related stress than orthopedic injury, with stress levels diminishing over time in all groups. Severe TBI was also associated with greater psychological distress on the Brief Symptom Inventory but not with more depressive symptoms. Family functioning and social resources moderated the relationship of TBI severity to injury-related burden and caregiver distress, respectively. Lower child adaptive skills were associated with poorer family outcome but group differences remained even when controlling for this effect. Severe TBI in young children has adverse consequences for parents and families during the first 18-month postinjury. The consequences lessen over time for many families and vary as a function of social resources.

Cardiovascular adaptation to extrauterine life after intrauterine growth restriction.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez-Guerineau, Luciana; Perez-Cruz, Miriam; Gomez Roig, María D; Cambra, Francisco J; Carretero, Juan; Prada, Fredy; Gómez, Olga; Crispi, Fátima; Bartrons, Joaquim

2018-02-01

Introduction The adaptive changes of the foetal heart in intrauterine growth restriction can persist postnatally. Data regarding its consequences for early circulatory adaptation to extrauterine life are scarce. The aim of this study was to assess cardiac morphometry and function in newborns with late-onset intrauterine growth restriction to test the hypothesis that intrauterine growth restriction causes cardiac shape and functional changes at birth. A comprehensive echocardiographic study was performed in 25 neonates with intrauterine growth restriction and 25 adequate-for-gestational-age neonates. Compared with controls, neonates with intrauterine growth restriction had more globular ventricles, lower longitudinal tricuspid annular motion, and higher left stroke volume without differences in the heart rate. Neonates with intrauterine growth restriction also showed subclinical signs of diastolic dysfunction in the tissue Doppler imaging with lower values of early (e') diastolic annular peak velocities in the septal annulus. Finally, the Tei index in the tricuspid annulus was higher in the intrauterine growth restriction group. Neonates with history of intrauterine growth restriction showed cardiac remodelling and signs of systolic and diastolic dysfunction. Overall, there was a significant tendency to worse cardiac function results in the right heart. The adaptation to extrauterine life occurred with more globular hearts, higher stroke volumes but a similar heart rate compared to adequate-for-gestational-age neonates.

A Meta-Analysis of Local Climate Change Adaptation Actions ...

Science.gov (United States)

Local governments are beginning to take steps to address the consequences of climate change, such as sea level rise and heat events. However, we do not have a clear understanding of what local governments are doing -- the extent to which they expect climate change to affect their community, the types of actions they have in place to address climate change, and the resources at their disposal for implementation. Several studies have been conducted by academics, non-governmental organizations, and public agencies to assess the status of local climate change adaptation. This project collates the findings from dozens of such studies to conduct a meta-analysis of local climate change adaptation actions. The studies will be characterized along several dimensions, including (a) methods used, (b) timing and geographic scope, (c) topics covered, (d) types of adaptation actions identified, (e) implementation status, and (f) public engagement and environmental justice dimensions considered. The poster presents the project's rationale and approach and some illustrative findings from early analyses. [Note: The document being reviewed is an abstract in which a poster is being proposed. The poster will enter clearance if the abstract is accepted] The purpose of this poster is to present the research framework and approaches I am developing for my ORISE postdoctoral project, and to get feedback on early analyses.

Assessment of Insert Sizes and Adapter Content in Fastq Data from NexteraXT Libraries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frances Susan Turner

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The Illumina NexteraXT transposon protocol is a cost effective way to generate paired end libraries. However the resulting insert size is highly sensitive to the concentration of DNA used, and the variation of insert sizes is often large. One consequence of this is some fragments may have an insert shorter than the length of a single read, particularly where the library is designed to produce overlapping paired end reads in order to produce longer continuous sequences. Such small insert sizes mean fewer longer reads, and also result in the presence of adapter at the end of the read. Here is presented a protocol to use publicly available tools to identify read pairs with small insert sizes and so likely to contain adapter, to check the sequence of the adapter, and remove adapter sequence from the reads. This protocol does not require a reference genome or prior knowledge of the sequence to be trimmed. Whilst the presence of fragments with small insert sizes may be a particular problem for NexteraXT libraries, the principle can be applied to any Illumina dataset in which the presence of such small inserts is suspected.

NAD+/NADH and skeletal muscle mitochondrial adaptations to exercise

Science.gov (United States)

White, Amanda T.

2012-01-01

The pyridine nucleotides, NAD+ and NADH, are coenzymes that provide oxidoreductive power for the generation of ATP by mitochondria. In skeletal muscle, exercise perturbs the levels of NAD+, NADH, and consequently, the NAD+/NADH ratio, and initial research in this area focused on the contribution of redox control to ATP production. More recently, numerous signaling pathways that are sensitive to perturbations in NAD+(H) have come to the fore, as has an appreciation for the potential importance of compartmentation of NAD+(H) metabolism and its subsequent effects on various signaling pathways. These pathways, which include the sirtuin (SIRT) proteins SIRT1 and SIRT3, the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) proteins PARP1 and PARP2, and COOH-terminal binding protein (CtBP), are of particular interest because they potentially link changes in cellular redox state to both immediate, metabolic-related changes and transcriptional adaptations to exercise. In this review, we discuss what is known, and not known, about the contribution of NAD+(H) metabolism and these aforementioned proteins to mitochondrial adaptations to acute and chronic endurance exercise. PMID:22436696

Consequence analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woodard, K.

1985-01-01

The objectives of this paper are to: Provide a realistic assessment of consequences; Account for plant and site-specific characteristics; Adjust accident release characteristics to account for results of plant-containment analysis; Produce conditional risk curves for each of five health effects; and Estimate uncertainties

Plant's adaptive response under UV-B-radiation influence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Danil'chenko, O.A.; Grodzinskij, D.M.

2002-01-01

Reduction of ozone layer, owing to anthropogenic contamination of an atmosphere results in increase of intensity of UV-radiation and shift of its spectrum in the short-wave side that causes strengthening of various biological effects of irradiation. Consequences of these processes may include increase of injuring of plants and decrease of productivity of agricultural crops to increased UV levels. The important significance in the plant's adaptation to different unfavorable factors has the plant's radioadaptive answer. It has been shown that radioadaptation of plants occurred not only after irradiation with g-radiation in low doses but after UV-rays action . Reaction of radioadaptation it seems to be nonspecific phenomenon in relation to type radiations

Adaptation research meets adaptation decision-making. Second Nordic international conference on climate change adaption. Programme and abstracts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-07-01

Nearly two years have passed since a small team of researchers began a new chapter in Nordic co-operation on climate change by organising a conference in Stockholm, Sweden. The conference, entitled Climate Adaptation in the Nordic Countries - Science, Practice, Policy, co-ordinated by the Stockholm Environment Institute and hosted by Stockholm University in November 2010, was the first of its kind in the Nordic region. Since the European Commission adopted its White Paper on adaptation to climate change in 2009, many of that document's 33 actions have been implemented, a climate change adaptation platform, Climate-ADAPT, was launched at the European Environment Agency in March this year, and just a week before this conference the Commission concluded a public consultation of stakeholders and experts in member states designed to feed into the preparation of a European Union adaptation strategy. The 2012 conference therefore presents an ideal opportunity to take stock of ongoing efforts and to consider how adaptation research efforts are keeping pace with policy demands as well as the needs of public and private decision-makers operating at a range of scales. It brings together researchers, public and private decision- makers, as well as those who plan and realize adaptation plans. Session themes include, among others: national and local adaptation plans, climate portals and climate services, adaptation in developing countries, legal aspects of adaptation, economic appraisal of adaptation, analysing and handling risk and uncertainty, urban planning and scenarios. The contributors have very diverse backgrounds, ranging from biosciences to social sciences, economics to geo-sciences, and engineering to architecture. Interest in climate change adaptation in the Nordic region is clearly high, with over 70% of our participants drawn from the five Nordic countries, but the conference has also managed to attract participation from further afield, with registrations

Neurospora discreta as a model to assess adaptation of soil fungi to warming.

Science.gov (United States)

Romero-Olivares, Adriana L; Taylor, John W; Treseder, Kathleen K

2015-09-16

Short-term experiments have indicated that warmer temperatures can alter fungal biomass production and CO2 respiration, with potential consequences for soil C storage. However, we know little about the capacity of fungi to adapt to warming in ways that may alter C dynamics. Thus, we exposed Neurospora discreta to moderately warm (16 °C) and warm (28 °C) selective temperatures for 1500 mitotic generations, and then examined changes in mycelial growth rate, biomass, spore production, and CO2 respiration. We tested the hypothesis that strains will adapt to its selective temperature. Specifically, we expected that adapted strains would grow faster, and produce more spores per unit biomass (i.e., relative spore production). In contrast, they should generate less CO2 per unit biomass due to higher efficiency in carbon use metabolism (i.e., lower mass specific respiration, MSR). Indeed, N. discreta adapted to warm temperatures, based on patterns of relative spore production. Adapted strains produced more spores per unit biomass than parental strains in the selective temperature. Contrary to our expectations, this increase in relative spore production was accompanied by an increase in MSR and a reduction in mycelial growth rate and biomass, compared to parental strains. Adaptation of N. discreta to warm temperatures may have elicited a tradeoff between biomass production and relative spore production, possibly because relative spore production required higher MSR rates. Therefore, our results do not support the idea that adaptation to warm temperatures will lead to a more efficient carbon use metabolism. Our data might help improve climate change model simulations and provide more concise predictions of decomposition processes and carbon feedbacks to the atmosphere.

Adaptive steganography

Science.gov (United States)

Chandramouli, Rajarathnam; Li, Grace; Memon, Nasir D.

2002-04-01

Steganalysis techniques attempt to differentiate between stego-objects and cover-objects. In recent work we developed an explicit analytic upper bound for the steganographic capacity of LSB based steganographic techniques for a given false probability of detection. In this paper we look at adaptive steganographic techniques. Adaptive steganographic techniques take explicit steps to escape detection. We explore different techniques that can be used to adapt message embedding to the image content or to a known steganalysis technique. We investigate the advantages of adaptive steganography within an analytical framework. We also give experimental results with a state-of-the-art steganalysis technique demonstrating that adaptive embedding results in a significant number of bits embedded without detection.

Adaptive versus Non-Adaptive Security of Multi-Party Protocols

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Canetti, Ran; Damgård, Ivan Bjerre; Dziembowski, Stefan

2004-01-01

Security analysis of multi-party cryptographic protocols distinguishes between two types of adversarial settings: In the non-adaptive setting the set of corrupted parties is chosen in advance, before the interaction begins. In the adaptive setting the adversary chooses who to corrupt during...... the course of the computation. We study the relations between adaptive security (i.e., security in the adaptive setting) and nonadaptive security, according to two definitions and in several models of computation....

Adapt

Science.gov (United States)

Bargatze, L. F.

2015-12-01

Active Data Archive Product Tracking (ADAPT) is a collection of software routines that permits one to generate XML metadata files to describe and register data products in support of the NASA Heliophysics Virtual Observatory VxO effort. ADAPT is also a philosophy. The ADAPT concept is to use any and all available metadata associated with scientific data to produce XML metadata descriptions in a consistent, uniform, and organized fashion to provide blanket access to the full complement of data stored on a targeted data server. In this poster, we present an application of ADAPT to describe all of the data products that are stored by using the Common Data File (CDF) format served out by the CDAWEB and SPDF data servers hosted at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. These data servers are the primary repositories for NASA Heliophysics data. For this purpose, the ADAPT routines have been used to generate data resource descriptions by using an XML schema named Space Physics Archive, Search, and Extract (SPASE). SPASE is the designated standard for documenting Heliophysics data products, as adopted by the Heliophysics Data and Model Consortium. The set of SPASE XML resource descriptions produced by ADAPT includes high-level descriptions of numerical data products, display data products, or catalogs and also includes low-level "Granule" descriptions. A SPASE Granule is effectively a universal access metadata resource; a Granule associates an individual data file (e.g. a CDF file) with a "parent" high-level data resource description, assigns a resource identifier to the file, and lists the corresponding assess URL(s). The CDAWEB and SPDF file systems were queried to provide the input required by the ADAPT software to create an initial set of SPASE metadata resource descriptions. Then, the CDAWEB and SPDF data repositories were queried subsequently on a nightly basis and the CDF file lists were checked for any changes such as the occurrence of new, modified, or deleted

Resilience through adaptation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guus A Ten Broeke

Full Text Available Adaptation of agents through learning or evolution is an important component of the resilience of Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS. Without adaptation, the flexibility of such systems to cope with outside pressures would be much lower. To study the capabilities of CAS to adapt, social simulations with agent-based models (ABMs provide a helpful tool. However, the value of ABMs for studying adaptation depends on the availability of methodologies for sensitivity analysis that can quantify resilience and adaptation in ABMs. In this paper we propose a sensitivity analysis methodology that is based on comparing time-dependent probability density functions of output of ABMs with and without agent adaptation. The differences between the probability density functions are quantified by the so-called earth-mover's distance. We use this sensitivity analysis methodology to quantify the probability of occurrence of critical transitions and other long-term effects of agent adaptation. To test the potential of this new approach, it is used to analyse the resilience of an ABM of adaptive agents competing for a common-pool resource. Adaptation is shown to contribute positively to the resilience of this ABM. If adaptation proceeds sufficiently fast, it may delay or avert the collapse of this system.

Resilience through adaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ten Broeke, Guus A; van Voorn, George A K; Ligtenberg, Arend; Molenaar, Jaap

2017-01-01

Adaptation of agents through learning or evolution is an important component of the resilience of Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS). Without adaptation, the flexibility of such systems to cope with outside pressures would be much lower. To study the capabilities of CAS to adapt, social simulations with agent-based models (ABMs) provide a helpful tool. However, the value of ABMs for studying adaptation depends on the availability of methodologies for sensitivity analysis that can quantify resilience and adaptation in ABMs. In this paper we propose a sensitivity analysis methodology that is based on comparing time-dependent probability density functions of output of ABMs with and without agent adaptation. The differences between the probability density functions are quantified by the so-called earth-mover's distance. We use this sensitivity analysis methodology to quantify the probability of occurrence of critical transitions and other long-term effects of agent adaptation. To test the potential of this new approach, it is used to analyse the resilience of an ABM of adaptive agents competing for a common-pool resource. Adaptation is shown to contribute positively to the resilience of this ABM. If adaptation proceeds sufficiently fast, it may delay or avert the collapse of this system.

Science of adaptation to climate change and science for adaptation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rob eSwart

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Adaptation to climate change has gained a prominent place next to mitigation on global, national and local policy agendas. However, while an abundance of adaptation strategies, plans and programmes have been developed, progress in turning these into action has been slow. The development of a sound knowledge basis to support adaptation globally is suggested to accelerate progress, but has lagged behind. The emphasis in both current and newly proposed programmes is very much on practice-oriented research with strong stakeholder participation. This paper supports such practice-oriented research, but argues that this is insufficient to support adaptation policy and practice in a productive manner. We argue that there is not only a need for science for adaptation, but also a science of adaptation. The paper argues that participatory, practice-oriented research is indeed essential, but has to be complemented by and connected to more fundamental inquiry and concept development, which takes into account knowledge that has been developed in disciplinary sciences and on issues other than climate change adaptation. At the same time, the level and method of participation in science for adaptation should be determined on the basis of the specific project context and goals. More emphasis on science of adaptation can lead to improved understanding of the conditions for successful science for adaptation.

Promoting health, preserving culture: adapting RARE in the Maasai context of Northern Tanzania.

Science.gov (United States)

Birks, L K; Powell, C D; Thomas, A D; Medard, E; Roggeveen, Y; Hatfield, J M

2011-05-01

HIV/AIDS prevention strategies often neglect traditions and cultural practices relevant to the spread of HIV. The role of women in the HIV/AIDS context has typically been relegated to high-risk female groups such as sex workers, or those engaged in transactional sex for survival. Consequently, these perceptions are born out in the escalation of HIV/AIDS among communities, and female populations in particular where prevention frameworks remain culturally intolerant. We have attempted to address these issues by using an adapted Rapid Assessment Response and Evaluation (RARE) model to examine the impact of HIV/AIDS in the Maasai community of Ngorongoro. Our adapted RARE model used community engagement venues such as stockholder workshops, key informant interviews, and focus groups. Direct observations and geomapping were also done. Throughout our analysis, a gender and a pastoralist-centered approach provided methodological guidance, and served as value added contributions to out adaptation. Based in the unique context of a rural pastoralist community, we made recommendations appropriate to the cultural setting and the RARE considerations.

Expressing Adaptation Strategies Using Adaptation Patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Zemirline, N.; Bourda, Y.; Reynaud, C.

2012-01-01

Today, there is a real challenge to enable personalized access to information. Several systems have been proposed to address this challenge including Adaptive Hypermedia Systems (AHSs). However, the specification of adaptation strategies remains a difficult task for creators of such systems. In this paper, we consider the problem of the definition…

Generic adaptation framework for unifying adaptive web-based systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Knutov, E.

2012-01-01

The Generic Adaptation Framework (GAF) research project first and foremost creates a common formal framework for describing current and future adaptive hypermedia (AHS) and adaptive webbased systems in general. It provides a commonly agreed upon taxonomy and a reference model that encompasses the

Plasma membrane disruption: repair, prevention, adaptation

Science.gov (United States)

McNeil, Paul L.; Steinhardt, Richard A.

2003-01-01

Many metazoan cells inhabit mechanically stressful environments and, consequently, their plasma membranes are frequently disrupted. Survival requires that the cell rapidly repair or reseal the disruption. Rapid resealing is an active and complex structural modification that employs endomembrane as its primary building block, and cytoskeletal and membrane fusion proteins as its catalysts. Endomembrane is delivered to the damaged plasma membrane through exocytosis, a ubiquitous Ca2+-triggered response to disruption. Tissue and cell level architecture prevent disruptions from occurring, either by shielding cells from damaging levels of force, or, when this is not possible, by promoting safe force transmission through the plasma membrane via protein-based cables and linkages. Prevention of disruption also can be a dynamic cell or tissue level adaptation triggered when a damaging level of mechanical stress is imposed. Disease results from failure of either the preventive or resealing mechanisms.

Adaptation to nursing home: The role of leisure activities in light of motivation and relatedness.

Science.gov (United States)

Altintas, Emin; De Benedetto, Giorgio; Gallouj, Karim

Based on the motivational sequence described in Self-Determination Theory, this study explored the relationship between relatedness, motivation, adaptation and leisure in nursing homes. We formulated the hypothesis that the variables of the study would be found in an integrative mediational sequence: Participation in leisure activities→Relatedness→Self-determined motivation→Adaptation to nursing homes. Participants (N=112, mean age=84.17) were invited to complete questionnaires assessing these variables. Results of the path analysis found an unsatisfactory fit for this model but revealed another model (Model 2) with a good fit index: Relatedness→Participation in leisure activities→Self-determined motivation→Adaptation to nursing homes→Relatedness. Model 2 fitted better than model 1: the Chi-square values were not significant, Chi 2 (df=2)=5.1, p=0.078 and other indices were satisfactory (CFI=0.930, RMSEA=0.049 and NFI=0.918). These results suggest that feeling connected and secure in the relationships with others, and integrated as an individual to the group contribute to enhance leisure practice, self-determined motivation, and finally adaptation to life environment. Consequently, the relatedness promotes leisure activities practice which represents a central adaptive behavior in nursing homes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Let’s Tie the Knot: Marriage of Complement and Adaptive Immunity in Pathogen Evasion, for Better or Worse

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Kaila M.; Rooijakkers, Suzan H. M.; Gorham, Ronald D.

2017-01-01

The complement system is typically regarded as an effector arm of innate immunity, leading to recognition and killing of microbial invaders in body fluids. Consequently, pathogens have engaged in an arms race, evolving molecules that can interfere with proper complement responses. However, complement is no longer viewed as an isolated system, and links with other immune mechanisms are continually being discovered. Complement forms an important bridge between innate and adaptive immunity. While its roles in innate immunity are well-documented, its function in adaptive immunity is less characterized. Therefore, it is no surprise that the field of pathogenic complement evasion has focused on blockade of innate effector functions, while potential inhibition of adaptive immune responses (via complement) has been overlooked to a certain extent. In this review, we highlight past and recent developments on the involvement of complement in the adaptive immune response. We discuss the mechanisms by which complement aids in lymphocyte stimulation and regulation, as well as in antigen presentation. In addition, we discuss microbial complement evasion strategies, and highlight specific examples in the context of adaptive immune responses. These emerging ties between complement and adaptive immunity provide a catalyst for future discovery in not only the field of adaptive immune evasion but in elucidating new roles of complement. PMID:28197139

A Personalized Predictive Framework for Multivariate Clinical Time Series via Adaptive Model Selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Zitao; Hauskrecht, Milos

2017-11-01

Building of an accurate predictive model of clinical time series for a patient is critical for understanding of the patient condition, its dynamics, and optimal patient management. Unfortunately, this process is not straightforward. First, patient-specific variations are typically large and population-based models derived or learned from many different patients are often unable to support accurate predictions for each individual patient. Moreover, time series observed for one patient at any point in time may be too short and insufficient to learn a high-quality patient-specific model just from the patient's own data. To address these problems we propose, develop and experiment with a new adaptive forecasting framework for building multivariate clinical time series models for a patient and for supporting patient-specific predictions. The framework relies on the adaptive model switching approach that at any point in time selects the most promising time series model out of the pool of many possible models, and consequently, combines advantages of the population, patient-specific and short-term individualized predictive models. We demonstrate that the adaptive model switching framework is very promising approach to support personalized time series prediction, and that it is able to outperform predictions based on pure population and patient-specific models, as well as, other patient-specific model adaptation strategies.

Measures to overcome consequences of agricultural land fragmentation: European experience and Ukrainian realities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andriy Popov

2016-03-01

Full Text Available One of the land reform implementation results in Ukraine is the distribution of the state-owned agricultural land to the rural population in the form of physical land parcels. As a consequence, however, the land was subdivided into many small units. This land fragmentation has led to fundamental changes in the formation of the new agricultural enterprises and brought some negative consequences in their functioning. The problem of the land fragmentation in Ukraine is quite new and uninvestigated. The aim of the article is to analyze the existing measures (instruments in European countries for reducing the effects of agricultural land fragmentation and to determine the possibility of «transplantability» of Western experience to Ukraine. The principal measures to decrease the agricultural land fragmentation in European countries are: voluntary parcel exchange, land banking and land consolidation. The article presents the characteristics and comparative analysis of these measures. One of the four types of land fragmentation is a main problem of Ukraine, namely the discrepancy between the landownership and the land use. The Western European countries have been used the three instruments for reducing only two types of land fragmentation: the land use fragmentation and the internal fragmentation. Consequently, the using of Western European measures to decrease agricultural land fragmentation is impossible without their adaptation to the Ukrainian realities. Therefore, the actual problem in Ukraine today is to find the own measures to overcome the problem of agricultural land fragmentation based on the Western European experience.

Criminological problems of studying crime consequences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sabitov R.A.

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The phenomenon of crime consequences is studied as a total social and not social, direct and indirect damage caused by crime. The quantitative and qualitative indicators of these consequences are shown. It is determined that concept of crime does not embrace its consequences and victims. The qualitative indicators of crime consequences imply the consequences’ character and structure; the quantitative indicators imply cumulative consequences of certain kinds of crime, the dynamics of certain kinds of consequences and coefficient of certain crime consequences. It is proved that not only physical and juridical persons, but also the public, authorities and associations (groups of people having no indication of juridical person must be recognized as crime sufferers. It is argued that crimes can cause property and moral damage (goodwill damage, ecological damage, considerable damage of interests protected by the law, information, managerial damage and other kinds of damage. Theoretically according to criminal law a crime sufferer is a physical, juridical person, an authority, the public, group of people who suffered from physical, property, moral or other kind of damage caused by a completed or uncompleted crime. The author proves the necessity to fix the concept of crime sufferer in criminal law. The concept of victim should include Russian criminal actualities, foreign experience and embrace not only physical but also juridical persons and groups of people suffered from crimes.

Consequences of Diffusion of Innovations.

Science.gov (United States)

Goss, Kevin F.

1979-01-01

The article traces evolution of diffusion theory; illustrates undesirable consequences in a cross-cultural setting, reviews criticisms of several scholars; considers distributional effects and unanticipated consequences for potential ameliorative impact on diffusion theory; and codifies these factors into a framework for research into consequences…

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

Science.gov (United States)

Conallin, John; Wilson, Emma; Campbell, Josh

2018-03-01

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

A dutch adaptation of the child-rearing styles inventory and a validation of krohne's two-process model.

Science.gov (United States)

Depreeuw, E; Lens, W; Horebeek, W

1995-01-01

Abstract A Questionnaire for the Parent-Child Interaction (VOKI) has been developed by adapting Krohne's German ESI for the Flemish high school population. The psychometric characteristics of the adaptation are satisfying. The ESI factor structure has been replicated and the VOKI scales are perfectly comparable to the original German scales. Further research on the VOKI and two questionnaires assessing achievement related concepts such as test anxiety, procrastination and achievement motivation yielded correlational patterns partly predicted from Krohne's Two-Process Model. The relations between parental child-rearing styles and competence and consequence expectancies are in line with this model, whereas test anxiety and procrastination seem more complexly determined.

Learning to adapt: Organisational adaptation to climate change impacts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berkhout, F.G.H.; Hertin, J.; Gann, D.M.

2006-01-01

Analysis of human adaptation to climate change should be based on realistic models of adaptive behaviour at the level of organisations and individuals. The paper sets out a framework for analysing adaptation to the direct and indirect impacts of climate change in business organisations with new

An assessment of the impact of climate adaptation measures to reduce flood risk on ecosystem services.

Science.gov (United States)

Verburg, Peter H; Koomen, Eric; Hilferink, Maarten; Pérez-Soba, Marta; Lesschen, Jan Peter

Measures of climate change adaptation often involve modification of land use and land use planning practices. Such changes in land use affect the provision of various ecosystem goods and services. Therefore, it is likely that adaptation measures may result in synergies and trade-offs between a range of ecosystems goods and services. An integrative land use modelling approach is presented to assess such impacts for the European Union. A reference scenario accounts for current trends in global drivers and includes a number of important policy developments that correspond to on-going changes in European policies. The reference scenario is compared to a policy scenario in which a range of measures is implemented to regulate flood risk and protect soils under conditions of climate change. The impacts of the simulated land use dynamics are assessed for four key indicators of ecosystem service provision: flood risk, carbon sequestration, habitat connectivity and biodiversity. The results indicate a large spatial variation in the consequences of the adaptation measures on the provisioning of ecosystem services. Synergies are frequently observed at the location of the measures itself, whereas trade-offs are found at other locations. Reducing land use intensity in specific parts of the catchment may lead to increased pressure in other regions, resulting in trade-offs. Consequently, when aggregating the results to larger spatial scales the positive and negative impacts may be off-set, indicating the need for detailed spatial assessments. The modelled results indicate that for a careful planning and evaluation of adaptation measures it is needed to consider the trade-offs accounting for the negative effects of a measure at locations distant from the actual measure. Integrated land use modelling can help land use planning in such complex trade-off evaluation by providing evidence on synergies and trade-offs between ecosystem services, different policy fields and societal

Integrating scientific and local knowledge to inform risk-based management approaches for climate adaptation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nathan P. Kettle

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Risk-based management approaches to climate adaptation depend on the assessment of potential threats, and their causes, vulnerabilities, and impacts. The refinement of these approaches relies heavily on detailed local knowledge of places and priorities, such as infrastructure, governance structures, and socio-economic conditions, as well as scientific understanding of climate projections and trends. Developing processes that integrate local and scientific knowledge will enhance the value of risk-based management approaches, facilitate group learning and planning processes, and support the capacity of communities to prepare for change. This study uses the Vulnerability, Consequences, and Adaptation Planning Scenarios (VCAPS process, a form of analytic-deliberative dialogue, and the conceptual frameworks of hazard management and climate vulnerability, to integrate scientific and local knowledge. We worked with local government staff in an urbanized barrier island community (Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina to consider climate risks, impacts, and adaptation challenges associated with sea level rise and wastewater and stormwater management. The findings discuss how the process increases understanding of town officials’ views of risks and climate change impacts to barrier islands, the management actions being considered to address of the multiple impacts of concern, and the local tradeoffs and challenges in adaptation planning. We also comment on group learning and specific adaptation tasks, strategies, and needs identified.

Adaptive Modular Playware

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund, Henrik Hautop; Þorsteinsson, Arnar Tumi

2011-01-01

In this paper, we describe the concept of adaptive modular playware, where the playware adapts to the interaction of the individual user. We hypothesize that there are individual differences in user interaction capabilities and styles, and that adaptive playware may adapt to the individual user...

Adaptation of microalgae to a gradient of continuous petroleum contamination

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carrera-Martinez, Daniel; Mateos-Sanz, Aranzazu [AlgasGen Biotecnologia, EBT-UCM, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Puerta de Hierro s/n, E-28040 Madrid (Spain); Lopez-Rodas, Victoria [AlgasGen Biotecnologia, EBT-UCM, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Puerta de Hierro s/n, E-28040 Madrid (Spain); Genetica, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Puerta de Hierro s/n, E-28040 Madrid (Spain); Costas, Eduardo, E-mail: ecostas@vet.ucm.es [AlgasGen Biotecnologia, EBT-UCM, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Puerta de Hierro s/n, E-28040 Madrid (Spain); Genetica, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Puerta de Hierro s/n, E-28040 Madrid (Spain)

2011-01-25

In order to study adaptation of microalgae to petroleum contamination, we have examined an environmental stress gradient by crude oil contamination in the Arroyo Minero River (AMR), Argentina. Underground crude oil has constantly leaked out since 1915 as a consequence of test drilling for possible petroleum exploitation. Numerous microalgae species proliferated in AMR upstream of the crude oil spill. In contrast, only four microalgal species were detected in the crude oil spill area. Species richness increases again downstream. Microalgae biomass in the crude oil spill area is dominated by a mesophile species, Scenedesmus sp. Effects of oil samples from AMR spill on photosynthetic performance and growth were studied using laboratory cultures of two Scenedesmus sp. strains. One strain (Se-co) was isolated from the crude oil spill area. The other strain (Se-pr) was isolated from a pristine area without petroleum contamination. Crude oil has undetectable effects on Se-co strain. In contrast crude oil rapidly destroys Se-pr strain. However, Se-pr strain can adapt to low doses of petroleum ({<=}3% v/v total hydrocarbons/water) by means of physiological acclimatization. In contrast, only rare crude oil-resistant mutants are able to grow under high levels of crude oil ({>=}10% v/v total hydrocarbons/water). These crude oil-resistant mutants have arisen through rare spontaneous mutations that occur prior to crude oil exposure. Species richness in different areas of AMR is closely connected to the kind of mechanism (genetic adaptation vs. physiological acclimatization) that allows adaptation. Resistant-mutants are enough to assure the survival of microalgal species under catastrophic crude oil spill.

Adaptation

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

building skills, knowledge or networks on adaptation, ... the African partners leading the AfricaAdapt network, together with the UK-based Institute of Development Studies; and ... UNCCD Secretariat, Regional Coordination Unit for Africa, Tunis, Tunisia .... 26 Rural–urban Cooperation on Water Management in the Context of.

Illuminant-adaptive color reproduction for mobile display

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jong-Man; Park, Kee-Hyon; Kwon, Oh-Seol; Cho, Yang-Ho; Ha, Yeong-Ho

2006-01-01

This paper proposes an illuminant-adaptive reproduction method using light adaptation and flare conditions for a mobile display. Mobile displays, such as PDAs and cellular phones, are viewed under various lighting conditions. In particular, images displayed in daylight are perceived as quite dark due to the light adaptation of the human visual system, as the luminance of a mobile display is considerably lower than that of an outdoor environment. In addition, flare phenomena decrease the color gamut of a mobile display by increasing the luminance of dark areas and de-saturating the chroma. Therefore, this paper presents an enhancement method composed of lightness enhancement and chroma compensation. First, the ambient light intensity is measured using a lux-sensor, then the flare is calculated based on the reflection ratio of the display device and the ambient light intensity. The relative cone response is nonlinear to the input luminance. This is also changed by the ambient light intensity. Thus, to improve the perceived image, the displayed luminance is enhanced by lightness linearization. In this paper, the image's luminance is transformed by linearization of the response to the input luminance according to the ambient light intensity. Next, the displayed image is compensated according to the physically reduced chroma, resulting from flare phenomena. The reduced chroma value is calculated according to the flare for each intensity. The chroma compensation method to maintain the original image's chroma is applied differently for each hue plane, as the flare affects each hue plane differently. At this time, the enhanced chroma also considers the gamut boundary. Based on experimental observations, the outer luminance-intensity generally ranges from 1,000 lux to 30,000 lux. Thus, in the case of an outdoor environment, i.e. greater than 1,000 lux, this study presents a color reproduction method based on an inverse cone response curve and flare condition. Consequently

Active Recovery After High-Intensity Interval-Training Does Not Attenuate Training Adaptation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thimo Wiewelhove

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Objective: High-intensity interval training (HIIT can be extremely demanding and can consequently produce high blood lactate levels. Previous studies have shown that lactate is a potent metabolic stimulus, which is important for adaptation. Active recovery (ACT after intensive exercise, however, enhances blood lactate removal in comparison with passive recovery (PAS and, consequently, may attenuate endurance performance improvements. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the influence of regular ACT on training adaptations during a HIIT mesocycle.Methods: Twenty-six well-trained male intermittent sport athletes (age: 23.5 ± 2.5 years; O2max: 55.36 ± 3.69 ml min kg-1 participated in a randomized controlled trial consisting of 4 weeks of a running-based HIIT mesocycle with a total of 12 HIIT sessions. After each training session, participants completed 15 min of either moderate jogging (ACT or PAS. Subjects were matched to the ACT or PAS groups according to age and performance. Before the HIIT program and 1 week after the last training session, the athletes performed a progressive incremental exercise test on a motor-driven treadmill to determine O2max, maximum running velocity (vmax, the running velocity at which O2max occurs (vO2max, and anaerobic lactate threshold (AT. Furthermore, repeated sprint ability (RSA were determined.Results: In the whole group the HIIT mesocycle induced significant or small to moderate changes in vmax (p < 0.001, effect size [ES] = 0.65,, vO2max (p < 0.001, ES = 0.62, and AT (p < 0.001, ES = 0.56 compared with the values before the intervention. O2max and RSA remained unchanged throughout the study. In addition, no significant differences in the changes were noted in any of the parameters between ACT and PAS except for AT (p < 0.05, ES = 0.57.Conclusion: Regular use of individualized ACT did not attenuate training adaptations during a HIIT mesocycle compared to PAS. Interestingly, we found that the ACT

Resilience through adaptation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Broeke, ten Guus; Voorn, van George A.K.; Ligtenberg, Arend; Molenaar, Jaap

2017-01-01

Adaptation of agents through learning or evolution is an important component of the resilience of Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS). Without adaptation, the flexibility of such systems to cope with outside pressures would be much lower. To study the capabilities of CAS to adapt, social simulations

The Consequences of School Desegregation.

Science.gov (United States)

Rossell, Christine H., Ed.; Hawley, Willis D., Ed.

Materials on a variety of subjects related to school desegregation are collected in this book. Chapter 1 discusses assumptions about the overall consequences of desegregation. Chapters 2 to 5 synthesize the findings of existing research on the consequences of school desegregation for children and communities. Finally, Chapter 6 describes…

Associations with rhizosphere bacteria can confer an adaptive advantage to plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Haney, Cara H; Samuel, Buck S; Bush, Jenifer; Ausubel, Frederick M

Host-associated microbiomes influence host health. However, it is unclear whether genotypic variations in host organisms influence the microbiome in ways that have adaptive consequences for the host. Here, we show that wild accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana differ in their ability to associate with the root-associated bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens , with consequences for plant fitness. In a screen of 196 naturally occurring Arabidopsis accessions we identified lines that actively suppress Pseudomonas growth under gnotobiotic conditions. We planted accessions that support disparate levels of fluorescent Pseudomonads in natural soils; 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing revealed that accession-specific differences in the microbial communities were largely limited to a subset of Pseudomonadaceae species. These accession-specific differences in Pseudomonas growth resulted in enhanced or impaired fitness that depended on the host's ability to support Pseudomonas growth, the specific Pseudomonas strains present in the soil and the nature of the stress. We suggest that small host-mediated changes in a microbiome can have large effects on host health.

Creative ideation and adaptive reuse: a solution to sustainable urban heritage conservation

Science.gov (United States)

Hasnain, H.; Mohseni, F.

2018-03-01

The rapid phenomenon of urbanization in the last century has resulted in abandonment of historic urban centers and still today attracting people to suburbs and newly developed districts. This urban expansion poses a serious threat to historic properties when people opt to move away leaving behind their heritage. The adaptive reuse of heritage is considered to be a dominant strategy for handling this issue bypassing demolition of heritage properties. However, the adaptive reuse cannot only consider the preservation of the heritage as the structural retrofit or functional revitalization but rather it needs to enunciate the image and the creative ideation that reflect upon the future of heritage. Consequently, this paper aims to examine the role of branding as an innovative source of ideation in the implication of adaptive reuse on heritage. In this regards, the case study of Zalando outlet store in Berlin is selected, which is an old building situated in the commercial district of the city in a wide range of styles and heritage buildings from the middle ages. This research uses semi-structured interviews to examine the significance of Brand making in a successful adaptive reuse process. The findings indicate that the importance of the outlet building lies not only in its physical fabric or commercial aspects, but the spirit of the place that lies in the magical essence of big labels as emblems. This underlying essence of place stimulated the adaptation of building in a way that it surpasses the physical and functional aspect of a building and makes it merge in new times and new sustainable development.

Two key concepts of the society-climate change interface: vulnerability and adaptation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Magnan, Alexandre

2010-06-01

Vulnerability and adaptation are two inseparable concepts, each being dependent on the other. Although they are extremely sensitive to the contextual specificities of particular areas, vulnerability reduction and adaptation strategies can only be developed at the interface between different spatial and temporal scales. This leads us to assert that faced with a common threat - climate change -, different types of vulnerability and adaptation exist. The aim of this text is to provide an overview of two concepts that can no longer be ignored in discussions on climate change: vulnerability and adaptation. These are two pillars for analysing both the potential impact of climate change on societies and regions, and also their ability to live with these consequences. We will begin by describing how the interdependence of these two concepts explains the position(s) of present and future societies in the face of climate change impacts. We will then show that they share certain determinants that may themselves provide an appropriate framework for analysis. Finally, we will insist on the fact that these two concepts nevertheless remain extremely difficult to grasp, as they require a multi-scalar and multi-temporal approach to regions, which also explains why they are a relevant response to the challenges posed by climate change. The conclusion will call for wider discussion, reiterating that since their nature is fundamentally linked to the diversity and specificities of regions and societies, we must accept the idea that faced with the same threat - climate change - there are different types of vulnerability and adaptation. (author)

Uncertainty in adaptive capacity; Incertitudes dans la capacite d'adaptation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neil Adger, W.; Vincent, K. [East Anglia Univ., Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, School of Environmental Sciences, Norwich (United Kingdom)

2005-03-01

The capacity to adapt is a critical element of the process of adaptation: it is the vector of resources that represent the asset base from which adaptation actions can be made. Adaptive capacity can in theory be identified and measured at various scales, from the individual to the nation. The assessment of uncertainty within such measures comes from the contested knowledge domain and theories surrounding the nature of the determinants of adaptive capacity and the human action of adaptation. While generic adaptive capacity at the national level, for example, is often postulated as being dependent on health, governance and political rights, and literacy, and economic well-being, the determinants of these variables at national levels are not widely understood. We outline the nature of this uncertainty for the major elements of adaptive capacity and illustrate these issues with the example of a social vulnerability index for countries in Africa. (authors)

Volumetric image-guidance: Does routine usage prompt adaptive re-planning? An institutional review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanyi, James A.; Fuss, Martin H.

2008-01-01

Purpose. To investigate how the use of volumetric image-guidance using an on-board cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) system impacts on the frequency of adaptive re-planning. Material and methods. Treatment courses of 146 patients who have undergone a course of external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) using volumetric CBCT image-guidance were analyzed. Target locations included the brain, head and neck, chest, abdomen, as well as prostate and non-prostate pelvis. The majority of patients (57.5%) were treated with hypo-fractionated treatment regimens (three to 15 fraction courses). The frequency of image-guidance ranged from daily (87.7%) to weekly or twice weekly. The underlying medical necessity for adaptive re-planning as well as frequency and consequences of plan adaptation to dose-volume parameters was assessed. Results. Radiation plans of 34 patients (23.3%) were adapted at least once (up to six time) during their course of EBRT as a result of image-guidance CBCT review. Most common causes for adaptive planning were: tumor change (mostly shrinkage: 10 patients; four patients more than one re-plan), change in abdominal girth (systematic change in hollow organ filling; n=7, two patients more than one re-plan), weight loss (n=5), and systematic target setup deviation from simulation (n=5). Adaptive re-plan was required mostly for conventionally fractionated courses; only 5 patient plans undergoing hypo-fractionated treatment were adjusted. In over 91% of adapted plans, the dose-volume parameters did deviate from the prescribed plan parameters by more than 5% for at least 10% of the target volume, or organs-at-risk in close proximity to the target volume. Discussion. Routine use of volumetric image-guidance has in our practice increased the demand for adaptive re-planning. Volumetric CBCT image-guidance provides sufficient imaging information to reliably predict the need for dose adjustment. In the vast majority of cases evaluated, the initial and adapted dose

An Optimal Control Modification to Model-Reference Adaptive Control for Fast Adaptation

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Nhan T.; Krishnakumar, Kalmanje; Boskovic, Jovan

2008-01-01

This paper presents a method that can achieve fast adaptation for a class of model-reference adaptive control. It is well-known that standard model-reference adaptive control exhibits high-gain control behaviors when a large adaptive gain is used to achieve fast adaptation in order to reduce tracking error rapidly. High gain control creates high-frequency oscillations that can excite unmodeled dynamics and can lead to instability. The fast adaptation approach is based on the minimization of the squares of the tracking error, which is formulated as an optimal control problem. The necessary condition of optimality is used to derive an adaptive law using the gradient method. This adaptive law is shown to result in uniform boundedness of the tracking error by means of the Lyapunov s direct method. Furthermore, this adaptive law allows a large adaptive gain to be used without causing undesired high-gain control effects. The method is shown to be more robust than standard model-reference adaptive control. Simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

A Methodology for Investigating Adaptive Postural Control

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, P. V.; Riccio, G. E.

1999-01-01

Our research on postural control and human-environment interactions provides an appropriate scientific foundation for understanding the skill of mass handling by astronauts in weightless conditions (e.g., extravehicular activity or EVA). We conducted an investigation of such skills in NASA's principal mass-handling simulator, the Precision Air-Bearing Floor, at the Johnson Space Center. We have studied skilled movement-body within a multidisciplinary context that draws on concepts and methods from biological and behavioral sciences (e.g., psychology, kinesiology and neurophysiology) as well as bioengineering. Our multidisciplinary research has led to the development of measures, for manual interactions between individuals and the substantial environment, that plausibly are observable by human sensory systems. We consider these methods to be the most important general contribution of our EVA investigation. We describe our perspective as control theoretic because it draws more on fundamental concepts about control systems in engineering than it does on working constructs from the subdisciplines of biomechanics and motor control in the bio-behavioral sciences. At the same time, we have attempted to identify the theoretical underpinnings of control-systems engineering that are most relevant to control by human beings. We believe that these underpinnings are implicit in the assumptions that cut across diverse methods in control-systems engineering, especially the various methods associated with "nonlinear control", "fuzzy control," and "adaptive control" in engineering. Our methods are based on these theoretical foundations rather than on the mathematical formalisms that are associated with particular methods in control-systems engineering. The most important aspects of the human-environment interaction in our investigation of mass handling are the functional consequences that body configuration and stability have for the pick up of information or the achievement of

Institutional Consequences of Quality Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Joao Rosa, Maria; Tavares, Diana; Amaral, Alberto

2006-01-01

This paper analyses the opinions of Portuguese university rectors and academics on the quality assessment system and its consequences at the institutional level. The results obtained show that university staff (rectors and academics, with more of the former than the latter) held optimistic views of the positive consequences of quality assessment…

Catholic Education in France in the Interwar Period: Religious Life, Religious Orders, Adaptations. Research perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara Teinturier

Full Text Available Abstract The history of French teaching congregations during the twentieth century is quite unknown. Nevertheless, their experiences are of very high interest for historians who want to focus on social and religious transformations in contemporary societies. This research outlines two important events through some congregational archives: first, from World War I onwards, the return of the people who were forced into exile due to the Republican laws (1880s-1905; second, the way a Catholic group of women teachers, who decided to stay in France in spite of the Republican laws, adapted to this new context. Eventually, this article shows both internal and external adaptations of religious actors and institutions in modern societies, and its consequences on their legal, canonical and sociological situation.

Adaptive Lighting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Kjell Yngve; Søndergaard, Karin; Kongshaug, Jesper

2015-01-01

the investigations of lighting scenarios carried out in two test installations: White Cube and White Box. The test installations are discussed as large-scale experiential instruments. In these test installations we examine what could potentially occur when light using LED technology is integrated and distributed......Adaptive Lighting Adaptive lighting is based on a partial automation of the possibilities to adjust the colour tone and brightness levels of light in order to adapt to people’s needs and desires. IT support is key to the technical developments that afford adaptive control systems. The possibilities...... differently into an architectural body. We also examine what might occur when light is dynamic and able to change colour, intensity and direction, and when it is adaptive and can be brought into interaction with its surroundings. In short, what happens to an architectural space when artificial lighting ceases...

Employee stress management: An examination of adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies on employee health.

Science.gov (United States)

Holton, M Kim; Barry, Adam E; Chaney, J Don

2015-01-01

Employees commonly report feeling stressed at work. Examine how employees cope with work and personal stress, whether their coping strategies are adaptive (protective to health) or maladaptive (detrimental to health), and if the manner in which employees cope with stress influences perceived stress management. In this cross-sectional study, a random sample of 2,500 full-time university non-student employees (i.e. faculty, salaried professionals, and hourly non-professionals) were surveyed on health related behaviors including stress and coping. Approximately 1,277 completed the survey (51% ). Hierarchical logistic regression was used to assess the ability of adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies to predict self-reported stress management, while controlling for multiple demographic variables. Over half of employees surveyed reported effective stress management. Most frequently used adaptive coping strategies were communication with friend/family member and exercise, while most frequently used maladaptive coping strategies were drinking alcohol and eating more than usual. Both adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies made significant (p stress management. Only adaptive coping strategies (B = 0.265) predicted whether someone would self-identify as effectively managing stress. Use of maladaptive coping strategies decreased likelihood of self-reporting effective stress management. Actual coping strategies employed may influence employees' perceived stress management. Adaptive coping strategies may be more influential than maladaptive coping strategies on perceived stress management. Results illustrate themes for effective workplace stress management programs. Stress management programs focused on increasing use of adaptive coping may have a greater impact on employee stress management than those focused on decreasing use of maladaptive coping. Coping is not only a reaction to stressful experiences but also a consequence of coping resources. Thereby increasing the

The potential for adaptive maintenance of diversity in insect antimicrobial peptides.

Science.gov (United States)

Unckless, Robert L; Lazzaro, Brian P

2016-05-26

Genes involved in immune defence are among the fastest evolving in the genomes of many species. Interestingly, however, genes encoding antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have shown little evidence for adaptive divergence in arthropods, despite the centrality of these peptides in direct killing of microbial pathogens. This observation, coupled with a failure to detect phenotypic consequence of genetic variation in AMPs, has led to the hypothesis that individual AMPs make minor contributions to overall immune defence and that AMPs instead act as a collective cocktail. Recent data, however, have suggested an alternative explanation for the apparent lack of adaptive divergence in AMP genes. Molecular evolutionary and phenotypic data have begun to suggest that variant AMP alleles may be maintained through balancing selection in invertebrates, a pattern similar to that observed in several vertebrate AMPs. Signatures of balancing selection include high rates of non-synonymous polymorphism, trans-species amino acid polymorphisms, and convergence of amino acid states across the phylogeny. In this review, we revisit published literature on insect AMP genes and analyse newly available population genomic datasets in Drosophila, finding enrichment for patterns consistent with adaptive maintenance of polymorphism.This article is part of the themed issue 'Evolutionary ecology of arthropod antimicrobial peptides'. © 2016 The Authors.

The consequences of "Culture's consequences"

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knudsen, Fabienne; Froholdt, Lisa Loloma

2009-01-01

  In this article, it is claimed that research on cross-cultural crews is dominated by one specific understanding of the concept of culture, which is static, evenly distributed and context-independent. Such a conception of culture may bring some basic order while facing an unknown culture...... review of the theory of Geert Hofstede, the most renowned representative of this theoretical approach. The practical consequences of using such a concept of culture is then analysed by means of a critical review of an article applying Hofstede to cross-cultural crews in seafaring. Finally, alternative...... views on culture are presented. The aim of the article is, rather than to promote any specific theory, to reflect about diverse perspectives of cultural sense-making in cross-cultural encounters. Udgivelsesdato: Oktober...

Adaptive response to high LET radiations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dam, Annamaria; Bogdandi, E. Noemi; Polonyi, Istvan; Sardy, M. Marta; Balashazy, Imre; Palfalvy, Jozsef

2001-01-01

The biological consequences of exposure to ionizing radiation include gene mutation, chromosome aberrations, cellular transformation and cell death. These effects are attributed to the DNA damaging effects of the irradiation resulting in irreversible changes during DNA replication or during the processing of the DNA damage by enzymatic repair processes. These repair processes could initiate some adaptive mechanisms in the cell, which could lead to radioadaptive response (RAR). Adaptive responses have typically been detected by exposing cells to a low radiation dose (1-50 mGy) and then challenging the cells with a higher dose of radiation (2-4 Gy) and comparing the outcome to that seen with the challenge dose only. For adaptive response to be seen the challenge dose must be delivered within 24 hour of the inducing dose. Radio-adaptation is extensively studied for low LET radiation. Nevertheless, few data are available for high LET radiation at very low doses and dose rate. Our study was aimed to investigate the radioadaptive response to low-dose neutron irradiation by detection of the genotoxic damage i.e.: hprt-mutant colonies induced. Altered protein synthesis was also studied to identify stress proteins may responsible for radio-adaptation. New alpha particle irradiator system was also built up to study the biological effects of low dose alpha irradiation. The experiments were carried out on monolayers of human melanoma and CHO (Chines Hamster Ovary) cells irradiated by neutrons produced in the biological irradiation channel of the Research Reactor of Budapest Neutron Center. Cells were exposed to 0.5-50 mGy neutron doses with dose rates of 1.59-10 mGy/min. The challenge doses of 2-4 Gy gamma rays were administrated within 1-48 hours after priming treatment. The induced mutants at hprt locus were selected by adding 6-thioguanine and allow to grow for 10 days for expression of the phenotype. The protein synthesis was studied by PAGE, the molecular mass of specific

Linear feedback control, adaptive feedback control and their combination for chaos (lag) synchronization of LC chaotic systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yan Zhenya; Yu Pei

2007-01-01

In this paper, we study chaos (lag) synchronization of a new LC chaotic system, which can exhibit not only a two-scroll attractor but also two double-scroll attractors for different parameter values, via three types of state feedback controls: (i) linear feedback control; (ii) adaptive feedback control; and (iii) a combination of linear feedback and adaptive feedback controls. As a consequence, ten families of new feedback control laws are designed to obtain global chaos lag synchronization for τ < 0 and global chaos synchronization for τ = 0 of the LC system. Numerical simulations are used to illustrate these theoretical results. Each family of these obtained feedback control laws, including two linear (adaptive) functions or one linear function and one adaptive function, is added to two equations of the LC system. This is simpler than the known synchronization controllers, which apply controllers to all equations of the LC system. Moreover, based on the obtained results of the LC system, we also derive the control laws for chaos (lag) synchronization of another new type of chaotic system

Helsinki Metropolitan Area Climate Change Adaptation Strategy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-07-01

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

A preliminary examination of adaption to climate change in Finland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carter, T.R.; Kankaanpaeae, S.

2003-01-01

The global mean surface air temperature has increased by 0.6 ± 0.2 deg C during the 20th century and by about 0.7 deg C in Finland over the same period. Most of the observed warming over the last 50 years is thought to be attributable to increases in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. There is also widespread evidence (including some from Finland) that this warming has already had discernible impacts on many physical and biological systems. Projected future climate changes are expected to have significant adverse effects on natural ecosystems, biodiversity, human health, and flood risk in Finland, while beneficial effects include increased crop yields and timber production and reduced winter energy demand. Worldwide, adverse impacts are expected to fall disproportionately on poorer countries and populations. Regardless of any foreseeable reductions in emissions, some future climate change appears to be unavoidable, so society must be prepared to adapt to the inevitable consequences of climate change. Adaptation is thus a necessary complement to mitigation as a policy response to climate change, and has the potential to reduce many of the adverse impacts of climate change and to enhance beneficial impacts. However, understanding of adaptive capacity is relatively poor across all sectors in Finland, and lags behind comparable work in some other countries. In this report a number of research recommendations are suggested to redress this imbalance. (orig.)

Integrating adaptive governance and participatory multicriteria methods: a framework for climate adaptation governance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefania Munaretto

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Climate adaptation is a dynamic social and institutional process where the governance dimension is receiving growing attention. Adaptive governance is an approach that promises to reduce uncertainty by improving the knowledge base for decision making. As uncertainty is an inherent feature of climate adaptation, adaptive governance seems to be a promising approach for improving climate adaptation governance. However, the adaptive governance literature has so far paid little attention to decision-making tools and methods, and the literature on the governance of adaptation is in its infancy in this regard. We argue that climate adaptation governance would benefit from systematic and yet flexible decision-making tools and methods such as participatory multicriteria methods for the evaluation of adaptation options, and that these methods can be linked to key adaptive governance principles. Moving from these premises, we propose a framework that integrates key adaptive governance features into participatory multicriteria methods for the governance of climate adaptation.

Family Adaptation 18 Months After Traumatic Brain Injury in Early Childhood

Science.gov (United States)

Stancin, Terry; Wade, Shari L.; Walz, Nicolay C.; Yeates, Keith Owen; Taylor, H. Gerry

2014-01-01

Objective The purpose of this study was to examine family adaptation to a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in young children during the first 18-month postinjury, when compared with children who had an orthopedic injury. Methods A concurrent cohort/prospective research design was used with repeated assessments of children aged 3 to 6 years with TBI or orthopedic injury requiring hospitalization and their families. Shortly after injury and at 6-, 12-, and 18-month postinjury, parents of 99 children with TBI (20 severe, 64 moderate, 15 mild) and 117 with orthopedic injury completed standardized assessments of family functioning, parental distress and coping, injury-related burden, and noninjury-related parent stressors and resources. Mixed models analyses examined group differences in parental burden and distress adjusted for race and social demographic factors. Results Both moderate and severe TBI were associated with higher levels of injury-related stress than orthopedic injury, with stress levels diminishing over time in all groups. Severe TBI was also associated with greater psychological distress on the Brief Symptom Inventory but not with more depressive symptoms. Family functioning and social resources moderated the relationship of TBI severity to injury-related burden and caregiver distress, respectively. Lower child adaptive skills were associated with poorer family outcome but group differences remained even when controlling for this effect. Conclusions Severe TBI in young children has adverse consequences for parents and families during the first 18-month postinjury. The consequences lessen over time for many families and vary as a function of social resources. PMID:20431399

Unintended outcomes of farmers' adaptation to climate variability: deforestation and conservation in Calakmul and Maya biosphere reserves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia Rodriguez-Solorzano

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Minimizing the impact of climate change on farmer livelihoods is crucial, but adaptation efforts may have unintended consequences for ecosystems, with potential impacts on farmers' welfare. Unintended outcomes of climate adaptation strategies have been widely discussed, however, empirical exploration has been neglected. Grounded in scholarship on climate adaptation, environmental governance, social-ecological systems, and land-use change, this paper studies whether farmers' climate adaptation contributes to deforestation or forest conservation. The paper draws on interviews with 353 farmers from 46 communities in Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in Mexico and Maya Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala. Farmers in the area of study have implemented adaptation strategies that people around the world have used for centuries, including migration, diversification, savings, and pooling. The findings show that climate adaptation can increase deforestation or support forest conservation depending on the type of adaptation strategy farmers implement. Saving, based on cattle ranching, is a deforestation-driving strategy. The choice of this strategy is influenced by distance to the commercial and administrative center and cash benefits from the forest. Deforestation can have a negative impact on farmers' welfare, as well as harm biodiversity and contribute to increased climate change. Thus, deforestation-driving adaptation strategies may be ineffective. However, diversification, based on off-farm jobs and operating provision shops, is a conservation-driving strategy influenced by distance as well as by family size. Farmers who choose diversification to adapt may contribute to a virtuous circle in which livelihood improvement in the short term leads to enhanced social-ecological resilience in the longer term. The need for farmers to implement adaptation strategies thus represents great risk but also opportunities.

Transformation of Flaubert’s Free Indirect Speech in Film Adaptation Madame Bovary by Claude Chabrol

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Florence Gacoin Marks

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with the transformation of Flaubert’s free indirect speech in the film Madame Bovary by Claude Chabrol. Conversion of free indirect speech into direct speech or into narration by an external narrator (voice-over cannot be avoided, it does, however, pose many problems because of the potential ambiguousness (polyphony of free indirect speech. In such cases, Chabrol often finds effective solutions which bring the film closer to Flaubert’s style. Nevertheless, it remains clear that film adaptations of literary masterpieces entail serious losses. Therefore teachers must convince students that film adaptations of high-quality literature can never replace literary works themselves. Literature and film are two different media, based on distinct types of artistic expression, and should be presented as such to students. As a consequence, film adaptations of literary masterpieces should not uncritically be considered as the most suitable material in all teaching contexts. Key words: Gustave Flaubert, Claude Chabrol, Madame Bovary, free indirect speech, literature and film

Mechanics and applications of pressure adaptive honeycomb

Science.gov (United States)

Vos, Roelof

A novel adaptive aerostructure is presented that relies on certified aerospace materials and can therefore be applied in conventional passenger aircraft. This structure consists of a honeycomb material which' cells extend over a significant length perpendicular to the plane of the cells. Each of the cells contains an inelastic pouch (or bladder) that forms a circular tube when the cell forms a perfect hexagon. By changing the cell differential pressure (CDP) the stiffness of the honeycomb can be altered. Using an external force or the elastic force within the honeycomb material, the honeycomb can be deformed such that the cells deviate from their perfect-hexagonal shape. It can be shown that by increasing the CDP, the structure eventually returns to a perfect hexagon. By doing so, a fully embedded pneumatic actuator is created that can perform work and substitute conventional low-bandwidth flight control actuators. It is shown that two approaches can be taken to regulate the stiffness of this embedded actuator: (1) The first approach relies on the pouches having a fixed amount of air in them and stiffness is altered by a change in ambient pressure. Coupled to the ambient pressure-altitude cycle that aircraft encounter during each flight, this approach yields a true adaptive aerostructure that operates independently of pilot input and is controlled solely by the altitude the aircraft is flying at. (2) The second approach relies on a controlled constant CDP. This CDP could be supplied from one of the compressor stages of the engine as a form of bleed air. Because of the air-tight pouches there would essentially be no mass flow, meaning engine efficiency would not be significantly affected due to this application. By means of a valve system the pilot could have direct control over the pressure and, consequently, the stiffness of the structure. This allows for much higher CDPs (on the order of 1MPa) than could physically be achieved by relying on the ambient pressure

Adaptive Multimedia Retrieval: Semantics, Context, and Adaptation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-conference proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Adaptive Multimedia Retrieval, AMR 2012, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in October 2012. The 17 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissi......This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-conference proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Adaptive Multimedia Retrieval, AMR 2012, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in October 2012. The 17 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous...... submissions. The papers cover topics of state of the art contributions, features and classification, location context, language and semantics, music retrieval, and adaption and HCI....

Consequences of normalizing transcriptomic and genomic libraries of plant genomes using a duplex-specific nuclease and tetramethylammonium chloride.

Science.gov (United States)

Matvienko, Marta; Kozik, Alexander; Froenicke, Lutz; Lavelle, Dean; Martineau, Belinda; Perroud, Bertrand; Michelmore, Richard

2013-01-01

Several applications of high throughput genome and transcriptome sequencing would benefit from a reduction of the high-copy-number sequences in the libraries being sequenced and analyzed, particularly when applied to species with large genomes. We adapted and analyzed the consequences of a method that utilizes a thermostable duplex-specific nuclease for reducing the high-copy components in transcriptomic and genomic libraries prior to sequencing. This reduces the time, cost, and computational effort of obtaining informative transcriptomic and genomic sequence data for both fully sequenced and non-sequenced genomes. It also reduces contamination from organellar DNA in preparations of nuclear DNA. Hybridization in the presence of 3 M tetramethylammonium chloride (TMAC), which equalizes the rates of hybridization of GC and AT nucleotide pairs, reduced the bias against sequences with high GC content. Consequences of this method on the reduction of high-copy and enrichment of low-copy sequences are reported for Arabidopsis and lettuce.

Consequences of normalizing transcriptomic and genomic libraries of plant genomes using a duplex-specific nuclease and tetramethylammonium chloride.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marta Matvienko

Full Text Available Several applications of high throughput genome and transcriptome sequencing would benefit from a reduction of the high-copy-number sequences in the libraries being sequenced and analyzed, particularly when applied to species with large genomes. We adapted and analyzed the consequences of a method that utilizes a thermostable duplex-specific nuclease for reducing the high-copy components in transcriptomic and genomic libraries prior to sequencing. This reduces the time, cost, and computational effort of obtaining informative transcriptomic and genomic sequence data for both fully sequenced and non-sequenced genomes. It also reduces contamination from organellar DNA in preparations of nuclear DNA. Hybridization in the presence of 3 M tetramethylammonium chloride (TMAC, which equalizes the rates of hybridization of GC and AT nucleotide pairs, reduced the bias against sequences with high GC content. Consequences of this method on the reduction of high-copy and enrichment of low-copy sequences are reported for Arabidopsis and lettuce.

ADAPTING OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE FOR ENTERPRISE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bogdan MICU GHILIC

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Low developed companies do not use ERP solutions for resource management, they don't have CRM systems for tracking customers, online presence is low and consequently they are selling low volumes. Their work does not generate enough capital to buy specialized software and the local community is too small to create open-source software for them.When adapting an open-source enterprise solution, from a certain level of integration, it is necessary to align to the Romanian legislation. For this you need more than a simple translation. For example, in accounting, the Romanian chart of accounts should be used, the local fiscal calendar, the rules of the Romanian legislation and the specific identifiers for Romanian companies. The solution: Open source applications can be localized. A small community cannot create complex system starting from nothing, but they can adapt existing ones already created and used all over the world. Given the individual characteristics of the Romanian market, open source ERP, CM and e-commerce will be integrated by specialized consultancy agency in Romania just as is done in France (Compiere, Spain (Openbravo, Belgium (OpenERP or the United States (Apache oFBiz. This will not generate license costs for the companies, only the expenses for hardware and implementation consultancy. If we can create a common infrastructure, hardware cost will be waived for cloud SaaS offering, in opposition with the on-premise option.

Branched Adaptive Testing with a Rasch-Model-Calibrated Test: Analysing Item Presentation's Sequence Effects Using the Rasch-Model-Based LLTM

Science.gov (United States)

Kubinger, Klaus D.; Reif, Manuel; Yanagida, Takuya

2011-01-01

Item position effects provoke serious problems within adaptive testing. This is because different testees are necessarily presented with the same item at different presentation positions, as a consequence of which comparing their ability parameter estimations in the case of such effects would not at all be fair. In this article, a specific…

Experiments on the role of deleterious mutations as stepping stones in adaptive evolution

Science.gov (United States)

Covert, Arthur W.; Lenski, Richard E.; Wilke, Claus O.; Ofria, Charles

2013-01-01

Many evolutionary studies assume that deleterious mutations necessarily impede adaptive evolution. However, a later mutation that is conditionally beneficial may interact with a deleterious predecessor before it is eliminated, thereby providing access to adaptations that might otherwise be inaccessible. It is unknown whether such sign-epistatic recoveries are inconsequential events or an important factor in evolution, owing to the difficulty of monitoring the effects and fates of all mutations during experiments with biological organisms. Here, we used digital organisms to compare the extent of adaptive evolution in populations when deleterious mutations were disallowed with control populations in which such mutations were allowed. Significantly higher fitness levels were achieved over the long term in the control populations because some of the deleterious mutations served as stepping stones across otherwise impassable fitness valleys. As a consequence, initially deleterious mutations facilitated the evolution of complex, beneficial functions. We also examined the effects of disallowing neutral mutations, of varying the mutation rate, and of sexual recombination. Populations evolving without neutral mutations were able to leverage deleterious and compensatory mutation pairs to overcome, at least partially, the absence of neutral mutations. Substantially raising or lowering the mutation rate reduced or eliminated the long-term benefit of deleterious mutations, but introducing recombination did not. Our work demonstrates that deleterious mutations can play an important role in adaptive evolution under at least some conditions. PMID:23918358

Adaptivity in GRAPPLE: Adaptation in any way you like (Poster)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Bra, P.M.E.; Smits, D.; Pechenizkiy, M.; Vasilyeva, E.; Bonk, C.J.; et al., xx

2008-01-01

GRAPPLE is an EU funded IST FP7 project that brings together a group of researchers into adaptive learning technology and environments and developers of learning management systems (LMSs), in order to offer adaptive learning as a standard feature of future LMSs. This paper presents the adaptation

Accident consequence assessment code development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Homma, T.; Togawa, O.

1991-01-01

This paper describes the new computer code system, OSCAAR developed for off-site consequence assessment of a potential nuclear accident. OSCAAR consists of several modules which have modeling capabilities in atmospheric transport, foodchain transport, dosimetry, emergency response and radiological health effects. The major modules of the consequence assessment code are described, highlighting the validation and verification of the models. (author)

Phenomenological consequences of supersymmetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hinchliffe, I.; Littenberg, L.

1982-01-01

This report deals with the phenomenological consequences of supersymmetric theories, and with the implications of such theories for future high energy machines. It is concerned only with high energy predictions of supersymmetry; low energy consequences (for example in the K/sub o/anti K/sub o/ system) are discussed in the context of future experiments by another group, and will be mentioned briefly only in the context of constraining existing models. However a brief section is included on the implication for proton decay, although detailed experimental questions are not discussed. The report is organized as follows. Section I consists of a brief review of supersymmetry and the salient features of existing supersymmetric models; this section can be ignored by those familiar with such models since it contains nothing new. Section 2 deals with the consequences for nucleon decay of SUSY. The remaining sections then discuss the physics possibilities of various machines; e anti e in Section 3, ep in Section 4, pp (or anti pp) colliders in Section 5 and fixed target hadron machines in Section 6

Health impacts of climate change in Vanuatu: an assessment and adaptation action plan.

Science.gov (United States)

Spickett, Jeffery T; Katscherian, Dianne; McIver, Lachlan

2013-01-30

Climate change is one of the greatest global challenges and Pacific island countries are particularly vulnerable due to, among other factors, their geography, demography and level of economic development. A Health Impact Assessment (HIA) framework was used as a basis for the consideration of the potential health impacts of changes in the climate on the population of Vanuatu, to assess the risks and propose a range of potential adaptive responses appropriate for Vanuatu. The HIA process involved the participation of a broad range of stakeholders including expert sector representatives in the areas of bio-physical, socio-economic, infrastructure, environmental diseases and food, who provided informed comment and input into the understanding of the potential health impacts and development of adaptation strategies. The risk associated with each of these impacts was assessed with the application of a qualitative process that considered both the consequences and the likelihood of each of the potential health impacts occurring. Potential adaptation strategies and actions were developed which could be used to mitigate the identified health impacts and provide responses which could be used by the various sectors in Vanuatu to contribute to future decision making processes associated with the health impacts of climate change.

Adaptation of microalgae to a gradient of continuous petroleum contamination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carrera-Martinez, Daniel; Mateos-Sanz, Aranzazu; Lopez-Rodas, Victoria; Costas, Eduardo

2011-01-01

In order to study adaptation of microalgae to petroleum contamination, we have examined an environmental stress gradient by crude oil contamination in the Arroyo Minero River (AMR), Argentina. Underground crude oil has constantly leaked out since 1915 as a consequence of test drilling for possible petroleum exploitation. Numerous microalgae species proliferated in AMR upstream of the crude oil spill. In contrast, only four microalgal species were detected in the crude oil spill area. Species richness increases again downstream. Microalgae biomass in the crude oil spill area is dominated by a mesophile species, Scenedesmus sp. Effects of oil samples from AMR spill on photosynthetic performance and growth were studied using laboratory cultures of two Scenedesmus sp. strains. One strain (Se-co) was isolated from the crude oil spill area. The other strain (Se-pr) was isolated from a pristine area without petroleum contamination. Crude oil has undetectable effects on Se-co strain. In contrast crude oil rapidly destroys Se-pr strain. However, Se-pr strain can adapt to low doses of petroleum (≤3% v/v total hydrocarbons/water) by means of physiological acclimatization. In contrast, only rare crude oil-resistant mutants are able to grow under high levels of crude oil (≥10% v/v total hydrocarbons/water). These crude oil-resistant mutants have arisen through rare spontaneous mutations that occur prior to crude oil exposure. Species richness in different areas of AMR is closely connected to the kind of mechanism (genetic adaptation vs. physiological acclimatization) that allows adaptation. Resistant-mutants are enough to assure the survival of microalgal species under catastrophic crude oil spill.

Film Adaptation as Translation: An Analysis of Adaptation Shifts in Silver Linings Playbook

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katerina Perdikaki

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to approach film adaptation as a modality of translation and to provide a systematic analysis of the changes occurring in the adaptation of a novel for the big screen. These changes, i.e. adaptation shifts, are examined by means of a model that consists of a descriptive/comparative component and an interpretive component. The model is derived from combining insights from adaptation and translation studies and thus builds on the interdisciplinary nature of adaptation studies so as to offer a comprehensive methodological tool for the analysis of adaptations. As processes and products, adaptation and translation involve an act of communication between a source and a target text within a new sociocultural context. In this light, adaptation can be examined as a case of intersemiotic translation in that it involves the transfer of meaning between two different media; in the case of film adaptation, more specifically, meaning is transferred from book to film and the dynamics between the source novel and adaptation is juxtaposed with that between a source text and its translation. The adaptation model is applied to the film adaptation Silver Linings Playbook with an aim to understand the aspects in which the adaptation differs from the source novel and the rationale behind the adaptation shifts. Finally, it is argued that such an analysis from a descriptive as well as an interpretive perspective can lead to a more holistic understanding of adaptation as a cultural phenomenon in the contemporary creative industries.

Supraclassical consequence relations: Tolerating rare counterexamples

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Labuschagne, W

2013-12-01

Full Text Available We explore a family of supraclassical consequence relations obtained by varying the criteria according to which counterexamples to classical entailment may be deemed tolerable. This provides a different perspective on the rational consequence...

Shift work in nurses: contribution of phenotypes and genotypes to adaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gamble, Karen L; Motsinger-Reif, Alison A; Hida, Akiko; Borsetti, Hugo M; Servick, Stein V; Ciarleglio, Christopher M; Robbins, Sam; Hicks, Jennifer; Carver, Krista; Hamilton, Nalo; Wells, Nancy; Summar, Marshall L; McMahon, Douglas G; Johnson, Carl Hirschie

2011-04-13

Daily cycles of sleep/wake, hormones, and physiological processes are often misaligned with behavioral patterns during shift work, leading to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular/metabolic/gastrointestinal disorders, some types of cancer, and mental disorders including depression and anxiety. It is unclear how sleep timing, chronotype, and circadian clock gene variation contribute to adaptation to shift work. Newly defined sleep strategies, chronotype, and genotype for polymorphisms in circadian clock genes were assessed in 388 hospital day- and night-shift nurses. Night-shift nurses who used sleep deprivation as a means to switch to and from diurnal sleep on work days (∼25%) were the most poorly adapted to their work schedule. Chronotype also influenced efficacy of adaptation. In addition, polymorphisms in CLOCK, NPAS2, PER2, and PER3 were significantly associated with outcomes such as alcohol/caffeine consumption and sleepiness, as well as sleep phase, inertia and duration in both single- and multi-locus models. Many of these results were specific to shift type suggesting an interaction between genotype and environment (in this case, shift work). Sleep strategy, chronotype, and genotype contribute to the adaptation of the circadian system to an environment that switches frequently and/or irregularly between different schedules of the light-dark cycle and social/workplace time. This study of shift work nurses illustrates how an environmental "stress" to the temporal organization of physiology and metabolism can have behavioral and health-related consequences. Because nurses are a key component of health care, these findings could have important implications for health-care policy.

Shift work in nurses: contribution of phenotypes and genotypes to adaptation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karen L Gamble

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Daily cycles of sleep/wake, hormones, and physiological processes are often misaligned with behavioral patterns during shift work, leading to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular/metabolic/gastrointestinal disorders, some types of cancer, and mental disorders including depression and anxiety. It is unclear how sleep timing, chronotype, and circadian clock gene variation contribute to adaptation to shift work.Newly defined sleep strategies, chronotype, and genotype for polymorphisms in circadian clock genes were assessed in 388 hospital day- and night-shift nurses.Night-shift nurses who used sleep deprivation as a means to switch to and from diurnal sleep on work days (∼25% were the most poorly adapted to their work schedule. Chronotype also influenced efficacy of adaptation. In addition, polymorphisms in CLOCK, NPAS2, PER2, and PER3 were significantly associated with outcomes such as alcohol/caffeine consumption and sleepiness, as well as sleep phase, inertia and duration in both single- and multi-locus models. Many of these results were specific to shift type suggesting an interaction between genotype and environment (in this case, shift work.Sleep strategy, chronotype, and genotype contribute to the adaptation of the circadian system to an environment that switches frequently and/or irregularly between different schedules of the light-dark cycle and social/workplace time. This study of shift work nurses illustrates how an environmental "stress" to the temporal organization of physiology and metabolism can have behavioral and health-related consequences. Because nurses are a key component of health care, these findings could have important implications for health-care policy.

Adolescent childbearing: consequences and interventions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruedinger, Emily; Cox, Joanne E

2012-08-01

Adolescent childbearing in the United States continues to occur at high rates compared with other industrialized nations, despite a recent decline. Adolescent mothers and their offspring are at risk for negative outcomes. Recent literature exploring the consequences of teenage childbearing and interventions to ameliorate these consequences are presented. Negative consequences of adolescent childbearing can impact mothers and their offspring throughout the lifespan. These consequences are likely attributable to social and environmental factors rather than solely to maternal age. Increasing educational attainment, preventing repeat pregnancy and improving mother-child interactions can improve outcomes for mothers and their children. Home, community, school and clinic-based programs are all viable models of service delivery to this population. Connecting teen mothers with comprehensive services to meet their social, economic, health and educational needs can potentially improve long-term outcomes for both mothers and their offspring. Programs that deliver care to this population in culturally sensitive, developmentally appropriate ways have demonstrated success. Future investigation of parenting interventions with larger sample sizes and that assess multiple outcomes will allow comparison among programs. Explorations of the role of the father and coparenting are also directions for future research.

Powerless Spectators, Coping Actors, and Adaptive Co-managers: a Synthesis of the Role of Communities in Ecosystem Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christo Fabricius

2007-06-01

Full Text Available We provide a synthesis of the papers in the Special Issue, the Communities Ecosystems and Livelihoods component of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA, and other recent publications on the adaptive capacity of communities and their role in ecosystem management. Communities adapt because they face enormous challenges due to policies, conflicts, demographic factors, ecological change, and changes in their livelihood options, but the appropriateness of their responses varies. Based on our synthesis, three broad categories of adaptive communities are identified. "Powerless spectator" communities have a low adaptive capacity and weak capacity to govern, do not have financial or technological options, and lack natural resources, skills, institutions, and networks. "Coping actor" communities have the capacity to adapt, but are not managing social-ecological systems. They lack the capacity for governance because of lack of leadership, of vision, and of motivation, and their responses are typically short term. "Adaptive manager" communities have both adaptive capacity and governance capacity to sustain and internalize this adaptation. They invest in the long-term management of ecosystem services. Such communities are not only aware of the threats, but also take appropriate action for long-term sustainability. Adaptive co-management becomes possible through leadership and vision, the formation of knowledge networks, the existence or development of polycentric institutions, the establishment and maintenance of links between culture and management, the existence of enabling policies, and high levels of motivation in all role players. Adaptive co-managers are empowered, but empowerment is a consequence of the capacity for governance and the capacity to adapt, rather than a starting point. Communities that are able to enhance their adaptive capacity can deal with challenges such as conflicts, make difficult trade-offs between their short- and long

Not My Problem: Vicarious Conflict Adaptation with Human and Virtual Co-Actors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michiel M. Spapé

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The Simon effect refers to an incompatibility between stimulus and response locations resulting in a conflict situation and, consequently, slower responses. Like other conflict effects, it is commonly reduced after repetitions, suggesting an executive control ability, which flexibly rewires cognitive processing and adapts to conflict. Interestingly, conflict is not necessarily individually defined: the Social Simon effect refers to a scenario where two people who share a task show a conflict effect where a single person does not. Recent studies showed these observations might converge into what could be called vicarious conflict adaptation, with evidence indicating that observing someone else’s conflict may subsequently reduce one’s own. While plausible, there is reason for doubt: both the social aspect of the Simon Effect, and the degree to which executive control accounts for the conflict adaptation effect, have become foci of debate in recent studies. Here, we present two experiments that were designed to test the social dimension of the effect by varying the social relationship between the actor and the co-actor. In Experiment 1, participants performed a conflict task with a virtual co-actor, while the actor-observer relationship was manipulated as a function of the similarity between response modalities. In Experiment 2, the same task was performed both with a virtual and with a human co-actor, while heart-rate measurements were taken to measure the impact of observed conflict on autonomous activity. While both experiments replicated the interpersonal conflict adaptation effects, neither showed evidence of the critical social dimension. We consider the findings as demonstrating that vicarious conflict adaptation does not rely on the social relationship between the actor and co-actor.

Fully anisotropic goal-oriented mesh adaptation for 3D steady Euler equations

Science.gov (United States)

Loseille, A.; Dervieux, A.; Alauzet, F.

2010-04-01

This paper studies the coupling between anisotropic mesh adaptation and goal-oriented error estimate. The former is very well suited to the control of the interpolation error. It is generally interpreted as a local geometric error estimate. On the contrary, the latter is preferred when studying approximation errors for PDEs. It generally involves non local error contributions. Consequently, a full and strong coupling between both is hard to achieve due to this apparent incompatibility. This paper shows how to achieve this coupling in three steps. First, a new a priori error estimate is proved in a formal framework adapted to goal-oriented mesh adaptation for output functionals. This estimate is based on a careful analysis of the contributions of the implicit error and of the interpolation error. Second, the error estimate is applied to the set of steady compressible Euler equations which are solved by a stabilized Galerkin finite element discretization. A goal-oriented error estimation is derived. It involves the interpolation error of the Euler fluxes weighted by the gradient of the adjoint state associated with the observed functional. Third, rewritten in the continuous mesh framework, the previous estimate is minimized on the set of continuous meshes thanks to a calculus of variations. The optimal continuous mesh is then derived analytically. Thus, it can be used as a metric tensor field to drive the mesh adaptation. From a numerical point of view, this method is completely automatic, intrinsically anisotropic, and does not depend on any a priori choice of variables to perform the adaptation. 3D examples of steady flows around supersonic and transsonic jets are presented to validate the current approach and to demonstrate its efficiency.

Research of Smart Grid Cyber Architecture and Standards Deployment with High Adaptability for Security Monitoring

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hu, Rui; Hu, Weihao; Chen, Zhe

2015-01-01

Security Monitoring is a critical function for smart grid. As a consequence of strongly relying on communication, cyber security must be guaranteed by the specific system. Otherwise, the DR signals and bidding information can be easily forged or intercepted. Customers’ privacy and safety may suffer...... huge losses. Although OpenADR specificationsprovide continuous, secure and reliable two-way communications in application level defined in ISO model, which is also an open architecture for security is adopted by it and no specific or proprietary technologies is restricted to OpenADR itself....... It is significant to develop a security monitoring system. This paper discussed the cyber architecture of smart grid with high adaptability for security monitoring. An adaptable structure with Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is proposed. Focusing on this network structure, the rational utilization of standards...

Phenomenological consequences of supersymmetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hinchliffe, I.; Littenberg, L.

1982-01-01

This paper deals with the phenomenological consequences of supersymmetric theories, and with the implications of such theories for future high energy machines. The paper represents the work of a subgroup at the meeting. The authors are concerned only with high energy predictions of supersymmetry; low energy consequences (for example in the K/sub o/K-bar/sub o/ system) are discussed in the context of future experiments by another group, and will be mentioned briefly only in the context of constraining existing models. However a brief section is included on the implication for proton decay, although detailed experimental questions are not discussed

Consequence Reasoning in Multilevel Flow Modelling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Xinxin; Lind, Morten; Ravn, Ole

2013-01-01

Consequence reasoning is a major element for operation support system to assess the plant situations. The purpose of this paper is to elaborate how Multilevel Flow Models can be used to reason about consequences of disturbances in complex engineering systems. MFM is a modelling methodology...... for representing process knowledge for complex systems. It represents the system by using means-end and part-whole decompositions, and describes not only the purposes and functions of the system but also the causal relations between them. Thus MFM is a tool for causal reasoning. The paper introduces MFM modelling...... syntax and gives detailed reasoning formulas for consequence reasoning. The reasoning formulas offers basis for developing rule-based system to perform consequence reasoning based on MFM, which can be used for alarm design, risk monitoring, and supervision and operation support system design....

Drinking Water Consequences Tools. A Literature Review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pasqualini, Donatella [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2016-05-12

In support of the goals of Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) National Protection and Programs Directorate and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the DHS Office of Science and Technology is seeking to develop and/or modify consequence assessment tools to enable drinking water systems owner/operators to estimate the societal and economic consequences of drinking water disruption due to the threats and hazards. This work will expand the breadth of consequence estimation methods and tools using the best-available data describing water distribution infrastructure, owner/assetlevel economic losses, regional-scale economic activity, and health. In addition, this project will deploy the consequence methodology and capability within a Web-based platform. This report is intended to support DHS effort providing a review literature review of existing assessment tools of water and wastewater systems consequences to disruptions. The review includes tools that assess water systems resilience, vulnerability, and risk. This will help to understand gaps and limitations of these tools in order to plan for the development of the next-generation consequences tool for water and waste water systems disruption.

Calibration model maintenance in melamine resin production: Integrating drift detection, smart sample selection and model adaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

Nikzad-Langerodi, Ramin; Lughofer, Edwin; Cernuda, Carlos; Reischer, Thomas; Kantner, Wolfgang; Pawliczek, Marcin; Brandstetter, Markus

2018-07-12

The physico-chemical properties of Melamine Formaldehyde (MF) based thermosets are largely influenced by the degree of polymerization (DP) in the underlying resin. On-line supervision of the turbidity point by means of vibrational spectroscopy has recently emerged as a promising technique to monitor the DP of MF resins. However, spectroscopic determination of the DP relies on chemometric models, which are usually sensitive to drifts caused by instrumental and/or sample-associated changes occurring over time. In order to detect the time point when drifts start causing prediction bias, we here explore a universal drift detector based on a faded version of the Page-Hinkley (PH) statistic, which we test in three data streams from an industrial MF resin production process. We employ committee disagreement (CD), computed as the variance of model predictions from an ensemble of partial least squares (PLS) models, as a measure for sample-wise prediction uncertainty and use the PH statistic to detect changes in this quantity. We further explore supervised and unsupervised strategies for (semi-)automatic model adaptation upon detection of a drift. For the former, manual reference measurements are requested whenever statistical thresholds on Hotelling's T 2 and/or Q-Residuals are violated. Models are subsequently re-calibrated using weighted partial least squares in order to increase the influence of newer samples, which increases the flexibility when adapting to new (drifted) states. Unsupervised model adaptation is carried out exploiting the dual antecedent-consequent structure of a recently developed fuzzy systems variant of PLS termed FLEXFIS-PLS. In particular, antecedent parts are updated while maintaining the internal structure of the local linear predictors (i.e. the consequents). We found improved drift detection capability of the CD compared to Hotelling's T 2 and Q-Residuals when used in combination with the proposed PH test. Furthermore, we found that active

Convergent adaptive evolution in marginal environments: unloading transposable elements as a common strategy among mangrove genomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lyu, Haomin; He, Ziwen; Wu, Chung-I; Shi, Suhua

2018-01-01

Several clades of mangrove trees independently invade the interface between land and sea at the margin of woody plant distribution. As phenotypic convergence among mangroves is common, the possibility of convergent adaptation in their genomes is quite intriguing. To study this molecular convergence, we sequenced multiple mangrove genomes. In this study, we focused on the evolution of transposable elements (TEs) in relation to the genome size evolution. TEs, generally considered genomic parasites, are the most common components of woody plant genomes. Analyzing the long terminal repeat-retrotransposon (LTR-RT) type of TE, we estimated their death rates by counting solo-LTRs and truncated elements. We found that all lineages of mangroves massively and convergently reduce TE loads in comparison to their nonmangrove relatives; as a consequence, genome size reduction happens independently in all six mangrove lineages; TE load reduction in mangroves can be attributed to the paucity of young elements; the rarity of young LTR-RTs is a consequence of fewer births rather than access death. In conclusion, mangrove genomes employ a convergent strategy of TE load reduction by suppressing element origination in their independent adaptation to a new environment. © 2017 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

Propagation of classical swine fever virus in vitro circumventing heparan sulfate-adaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

Eymann-Häni, Rita; Leifer, Immanuel; McCullough, Kenneth C; Summerfield, Artur; Ruggli, Nicolas

2011-09-01

Amplification of natural virus isolates in permanent cell lines can result in adaptation, in particular enhanced binding to heparan sulfate (HS)-containing glycosaminoglycans present on most vertebrate cells. This has been reported for several viruses, including the pestivirus classical swine fever virus (CSFV), the causative agent of a highly contagious hemorrhagic disease in pigs. Propagation of CSFV in cell culture is essential in virus diagnostics and research. Adaptation of CSFV to HS-binding has been related to amino acid changes in the viral E(rns) glycoprotein, resulting in viruses with altered replication characteristics in vitro and in vivo. Consequently, a compound blocking the HS-containing structures on cell surfaces was employed to monitor conversion from HS-independency to HS-dependency. It was shown that the porcine PEDSV.15 cell line permitted propagation of CSFV within a limited number of passages without adaptation to HS-binding. The selection of HS-dependent CSFV mutants was also prevented by propagation of the virus in the presence of DSTP 27. The importance of these findings can be seen from the altered ratio of cell-associated to secreted virus upon acquisition of enhanced HS-binding affinity, a phenotype proposed previously to be related to virulence in the natural host. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Chernobyl catastrophe consequences in the Republic of Belarus. National report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konoplya, E.F.

1996-03-01

The estimation of radioecological, medico-biological, economic and social consequences of the Chernobyl catastrophe has shown that unimaginable damage was incurred on Belarus and its territory became the zone of ecological calamity. The Chernobyl NPP catastrophe has led to the contamination of almost the fourth part of the territory of Belarus where there lived 2,2 million people. The damage caused to the republic by the catastrophe makes up 32 annual budgets of the republic of the pre-accident period in account for the 30-years period for its overcoming. Radioecological situation in Belarus is characterized by complexity and heterogeneous contamination of the territory by different radionuclides and their presence on all the components of the environment. It stipulates the plurality of ways of external and internal irradiation of the population and jeopardizes its health. There is registered the worsening of the population's health, of evacuated and inhabiting the contaminated areas as well, with increase of a number of somatic diseases, including oncological diseases, there are disorders in the metabolic processes and functions of the main systems of the organism. The demographic indices are decreasing. Particular concern causes the children's morbidity growth and genetic consequences of the accident. The contamination of agricultural lands has stipulated in the neighboring the Chernobyl NPP zone the impossibility of their use for food production. On the other lands it has been required to re-profile the farms and create new technologies of the agricultural production. There have been revealed the destructive tendencies in all spheres of the life activity of people who experienced radiation effects. The processes of social adaptation and socio-psychological support of the population require considerable optimization. In spite of that for ten years passed after the catastrophe the discrepancy of its estimations has not been overcome completely. At the same time

Active materials for adaptive architectural envelopes based on plant adaptation principles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marlen Lopez

2015-06-01

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

Transposition of the Scientific Elements in Hiroshi Teshigahara’s Adaptation of Kobo Abe’s the Face of Another

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anton Sutandio

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This article focuses on Hiroshi Teshigahara’s film adaptation of the famous Kobo Abe’s The Face of Another with special attention on the transposition of the scientific elements of the novel in the film. This article observes how Teshigahara, through cinematic techniques, transposes Abe’s scientific language into visual forms. Abe himself involved in the film adaptation by writing the screenplay, in which he prioritized the literary aspects over the filmic aspect. This makes the adaptation become more interesting because Teshigahara is known as a stylish filmmaker. Another noteworthy aspect is the internal dialogues domination within the novel narration. It is written in an epistolary-like narration, placing the protagonist as a single narrator which consequently raises subjectivity. The way Teshigahara externalizes the stream-of-consciousness narration-like into the medium of film is another significant topic of this essay.

Adaptive protection scheme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Sitharthan

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This paper aims at modelling an electronically coupled distributed energy resource with an adaptive protection scheme. The electronically coupled distributed energy resource is a microgrid framework formed by coupling the renewable energy source electronically. Further, the proposed adaptive protection scheme provides a suitable protection to the microgrid for various fault conditions irrespective of the operating mode of the microgrid: namely, grid connected mode and islanded mode. The outstanding aspect of the developed adaptive protection scheme is that it monitors the microgrid and instantly updates relay fault current according to the variations that occur in the system. The proposed adaptive protection scheme also employs auto reclosures, through which the proposed adaptive protection scheme recovers faster from the fault and thereby increases the consistency of the microgrid. The effectiveness of the proposed adaptive protection is studied through the time domain simulations carried out in the PSCAD⧹EMTDC software environment.

Urban drainage design and climate change adaptation decision making

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qianqian Zhou

2012-10-15

The emphasis of this PhD thesis is flood protection in the context of pluvial flooding by investigating new principles and approaches for assessment of urban drainage adaptation measures under climate change impacts. The thesis describes a new framework for design and analysis of urban drainage that accurately assesses hazards and vulnerabilities of urban areas and quantifies the present and future risks based on projections of climate change and city development. Furthermore, this framework can be utilized to identify cost-effective measures that can reduce the overall flood risk to an acceptable level considering both costs and benefits of adaptation. The framework is mainly based on a utilitarian approach that studies urban drainage adaptation solutions from a socio-economic point of view. The methodologies involve the state-of-the-art flood inundation modelling, risk assessment tools, socio-economic analysis tools, city planning, and uncertainty analysis. The thesis has explored several limitations of the current design practice of urban drainage. To further supplement and develop the common practice, a systemic and integrated framework is proposed by incorporating three research areas: (i) risk-based economic approaches for assessment of climate adaptation design, (ii) uncertainty analysis of climate adaptation assessment and (iii) reframing the assessment approaches by incorporating additional benefits and costs of adaptation alternatives. To strategically provide a functional performance of urban drainage systems, a risk-based economic approach is developed to take into account the impacts of all probable floods in terms of their probabilities and consequences (e.g. extents of floods, costing of damage). It is found that this approach contributes to a better understanding of the contributions of different return periods/flood events to the overall risk under both current and future climatic conditions and therefore can be used as guidance for further

Inhabiting Adaptive Architecture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Holger Schnädelbach

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Adaptive Architecture concerns buildings that are specifically designed to adapt to their inhabitants and to their environments. Work in this space has a very long history, with a number of adaptive buildings emerging during the modernist period, such as Rietveld’s Schröder house, Gaudi’s Casa Batlló and Chareau's Maison de Verre. Such early work included manual adaptivity, even if that was motor-assisted. Today, buildings have started to combine this with varying degrees of automation and designed-for adaptivity is commonplace in office buildings and eco homes, where lighting, air conditioning, access and energy generation respond to and influence the behaviour of people, and the internal and external climate.

Appraising Adaptive Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kai N. Lee

1999-12-01

Full Text Available Adaptive management is appraised as a policy implementation approach by examining its conceptual, technical, equity, and practical strengths and limitations. Three conclusions are drawn: (1 Adaptive management has been more influential, so far, as an idea than as a practical means of gaining insight into the behavior of ecosystems utilized and inhabited by humans. (2 Adaptive management should be used only after disputing parties have agreed to an agenda of questions to be answered using the adaptive approach; this is not how the approach has been used. (3 Efficient, effective social learning, of the kind facilitated by adaptive management, is likely to be of strategic importance in governing ecosystems as humanity searches for a sustainable economy.

The Dynamics of Vulnerability and Implications for Climate Change Adaptation: Lessons from Urban Water Management

Science.gov (United States)

Dilling, L.; Daly, M.; Travis, W.; Wilhelmi, O.; Klein, R.; Kenney, D.; Ray, A. J.; Miller, K.

2013-12-01

Recent reports and scholarship have suggested that adapting to current climate variability may represent a "no regrets" strategy for adapting to climate change. Filling "adaptation deficits" and other approaches that rely on addressing current vulnerabilities are of course helpful for responding to current climate variability, but we find here that they are not sufficient for adapting to climate change. First, following a comprehensive review and unique synthesis of the natural hazards and climate adaptation literatures, we advance six reasons why adapting to climate variability is not sufficient for adapting to climate change: 1) Vulnerability is different at different levels of exposure; 2) Coping with climate variability is not equivalent to adaptation to longer term change; 3) The socioeconomic context for vulnerability is constantly changing; 4) The perception of risk associated with climate variability does not necessarily promote adaptive behavior in the face of climate change; 5) Adaptations made to short term climate variability may reduce the flexibility of the system in the long term; and 6) Adaptive actions may shift vulnerabilities to other parts of the system or to other people. Instead we suggest that decision makers faced with choices to adapt to climate change must consider the dynamics of vulnerability in a connected system-- how choices made in one part of the system might impact other valued outcomes or even create new vulnerabilities. Furthermore we suggest that rather than expressing climate change adaptation as an extension of adaptation to climate variability, the research and practice communities would do well to articulate adaptation as an imperfect policy, with tradeoffs and consequences and that decisions be prioritized to preserve flexibility be revisited often as climate change unfolds. We then present the results of a number of empirical studies of decision making for drought in urban water systems in the United States to understand

Adaptive user interfaces

CERN Document Server

1990-01-01

This book describes techniques for designing and building adaptive user interfaces developed in the large AID project undertaken by the contributors.Key Features* Describes one of the few large-scale adaptive interface projects in the world* Outlines the principles of adaptivity in human-computer interaction

Adaptive Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Lorin W.

1979-01-01

Schools have devised several ways to adapt instruction to a wide variety of student abilities and needs. Judged by criteria for what adaptive education should be, most learning for mastery programs look good. (Author/JM)

Global Squeeze: Assessing Climate-Critical Resource Constraints for Coastal Climate Adaptation

Science.gov (United States)

Chase, N. T.; Becker, A.; Schwegler, B.; Fischer, M.

2014-12-01

The projected impacts of climate change in the coastal zone will require local planning and local resources to adapt to increasing risks of social, environmental, and economic consequences from extreme events. This means that, for the first time in human history, aggregated local demands could outpace global supply of certain "climate-critical resources." For example, construction materials such as sand and gravel, steel, and cement may be needed to fortify many coastal locations at roughly the same point in time if decision makers begin to construct new storm barriers or elevate coastal lands. Where might adaptation bottlenecks occur? Can the world produce enough cement to armour the world's seaports as flood risks increase due to sea-level rise and more intense storms? Just how many coastal engineers would multiple such projects require? Understanding such global implications of adaptation requires global datasets—such as bathymetry, coastal topography, local sea-level rise and storm surge projections, and construction resource production capacity—that are currently unavailable at a resolution appropriate for a global-scale analysis. Our research group has identified numerous gaps in available data necessary to make such estimates on both the supply and demand sides of this equation. This presentation examines the emerging need and current availability of these types of datasets and argues for new coordinated efforts to develop and share such data.

Regional Interdependence in Adaptation to Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flooding

Science.gov (United States)

Stacey, M. T.; Lubell, M.; Hummel, M.; Wang, R. Q.; Barnard, P.; Erikson, L. H.; Herdman, L.; Pozdnukhov, A.; Sheehan, M.

2017-12-01

Projections of sea level rise may differ in the pace of change, but there is clear consensus that coastal communities will be facing more frequent and severe flooding events in the coming century. As communities adapt to future conditions, infrastructure systems will be developed, modified and abandoned, with important consequences for services and resilience. Whether action or inaction is pursued, the decisions made by an individual community regarding a single infrastructure system have implications that extend spatially and temporally due to geographic and infrastructure system interactions. At the same time, there are a number of barriers to collective or coordinated action that inhibit regional solutions. This interplay between local actions and regional responses is one of the great challenges facing decision-makers grappling with both local and regional climate-change adaptation. In this talk, I present case studies of the San Francisco Bay Area that examine how shoreline infrastructure, transporation sytems and decision-making networks interact to define the regional response to local actions and the local response to regional actions. I will characterize the barriers that exist to regional solutions, and characterize three types of interdependence that may motivate decision-makers to overcome those barriers. Using these examples, I will discuss the importance of interdisciplinary analyses that integrate the natural sciences, engineering and the social science to climate change adaptation more generally.

OFDM Radar Space-Time Adaptive Processing by Exploiting Spatio-Temporal Sparsity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sen, Satyabrata [ORNL

2013-01-01

We propose a sparsity-based space-time adaptive processing (STAP) algorithm to detect a slowly-moving target using an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) radar. We observe that the target and interference spectra are inherently sparse in the spatio-temporal domain. Hence, we exploit that sparsity to develop an efficient STAP technique that utilizes considerably lesser number of secondary data and produces an equivalent performance as the other existing STAP techniques. In addition, the use of an OFDM signal increases the frequency diversity of our system, as different scattering centers of a target resonate at different frequencies, and thus improves the target detectability. First, we formulate a realistic sparse-measurement model for an OFDM radar considering both the clutter and jammer as the interfering sources. Then, we apply a residual sparse-recovery technique based on the LASSO estimator to estimate the target and interference covariance matrices, and subsequently compute the optimal STAP-filter weights. Our numerical results demonstrate a comparative performance analysis of the proposed sparse-STAP algorithm with four other existing STAP methods. Furthermore, we discover that the OFDM-STAP filter-weights are adaptable to the frequency-variabilities of the target and interference responses, in addition to the spatio-temporal variabilities. Hence, by better utilizing the frequency variabilities, we propose an adaptive OFDM-waveform design technique, and consequently gain a significant amount of STAP-performance improvement.

Global and regional ramifications of climate change. Consequences for Norway; Globale og regionale foelger av klimaendringer. Konsekvenser for Norge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Buan, Inga Fritzen; Inderberg, Tor Haakon; Rottem, Svein Vigeland

2010-10-22

There is a need for more knowledge on how climate change will affect the international society and what consequences this in turn will have for Norway. This report seeks to answer the questions of, first, how global and regional climate changes can come to affect the Norwegian society, and second, what the relevant arenas for meeting these challenges are. The report is part of a larger body of scientific analyses aimed at assessing the vulnerability of the Norwegian society to the adverse effects of climate change and the consequent needs for adaptive measures. Topics covered include increased activity in the Arctic; climate change as non-traditional security threat; migration and refugees; foreign aid and development cooperation; implications for food and water supply; the roles of international agencies and non-governmental actors, and more. It also covers internal challenges in terms of critical infrastructure (in transport, power supply, and telecommunications) and in regard to health concerns. The report also differentiates between ethical obligations and instrumental challenges. (Author)

Anticipating ocean acidification's economic consequences for commercial fisheries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cooley, Sarah R; Doney, Scott C

2009-01-01

Ocean acidification, a consequence of rising anthropogenic CO 2 emissions, is poised to change marine ecosystems profoundly by increasing dissolved CO 2 and decreasing ocean pH, carbonate ion concentration, and calcium carbonate mineral saturation state worldwide. These conditions hinder growth of calcium carbonate shells and skeletons by many marine plants and animals. The first direct impact on humans may be through declining harvests and fishery revenues from shellfish, their predators, and coral reef habitats. In a case study of US commercial fishery revenues, we begin to constrain the economic effects of ocean acidification over the next 50 years using atmospheric CO 2 trajectories and laboratory studies of its effects, focusing especially on mollusks. In 2007, the $3.8 billion US annual domestic ex-vessel commercial harvest ultimately contributed $34 billion to the US gross national product. Mollusks contributed 19%, or $748 million, of the ex-vessel revenues that year. Substantial revenue declines, job losses, and indirect economic costs may occur if ocean acidification broadly damages marine habitats, alters marine resource availability, and disrupts other ecosystem services. We review the implications for marine resource management and propose possible adaptation strategies designed to support fisheries and marine-resource-dependent communities, many of which already possess little economic resilience.

Choices and Consequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Thorp, Carmany

1995-01-01

Describes student use of Hyperstudio computer software to create history adventure games. History came alive while students learned efficient writing skills; learned to understand and manipulate cause, effect choice and consequence; and learned to incorporate succinct locational, climatic, and historical detail. (ET)

GENOMIC APPROACHES FOR IMPROVEMENT OF DROUGHT ADAPTATION IN WHEAT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dénes Dudits

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Breeding for yield stability under water limited conditions plays an essential role in the reduction of economic and social consequences of global climate changes. We show that two exotic drought resistant genotypes (Kobomughi and Plainsmann differ in root growth rate, root/shoot ratio, and adaptation to low soil water content. These genotypes exhibit characteristic transcript profiles as shown by barley macroarray studies using 10500 unigenes. Reprogramming of gene expression primarily occurred during the 1-2 weeks of water stress, and 6,1% of tested genes were up-regulated in roots of the more adaptive Plainsmann plants. The time course for expression of gene clusters from Kobomughi genotype revealed a prompt and transient gene activation that can help the survival of plants through function of various defense mechanisms. The aldo-keto reductases (AKRs can detoxify lipid peroxidation products (4-hydroxynon-2-enal and glycolysis-derived reactive aldehydes (metylglyoxal that contribute significantly to cellular damages caused by variety of environmental stresses such as drought, high light intensity, UV-B irradiation, cold. Overproduction of AKRs in transgenic tobacco or wheat plants provides considerable stress tolerance and resistance to methylglyoxal. Several transgenic wheat genotypes have been produced with production of elevated level of AKR enzyme. The drought tolerance of these materials was tested by a complex stress diagnostic system, that integrates imaging of plants and monitoring the leaf temperature and fluorescence induction. Based on these parameters, we can conclude that this transgenic strategy that is based on detoxification of lipid aldehyde can result in improved stress adaptation and reduced yield loss.

Molecular adaptation during adaptive radiation in the Hawaiian endemic genus Schiedea.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maxim V Kapralov

2006-12-01

Full Text Available "Explosive" adaptive radiations on islands remain one of the most puzzling evolutionary phenomena. The rate of phenotypic and ecological adaptations is extremely fast during such events, suggesting that many genes may be under fairly strong selection. However, no evidence for adaptation at the level of protein coding genes was found, so it has been suggested that selection may work mainly on regulatory elements. Here we report the first evidence that positive selection does operate at the level of protein coding genes during rapid adaptive radiations. We studied molecular adaptation in Hawaiian endemic plant genus Schiedea (Caryophyllaceae, which includes closely related species with a striking range of morphological and ecological forms, varying from rainforest vines to woody shrubs growing in desert-like conditions on cliffs. Given the remarkable difference in photosynthetic performance between Schiedea species from different habitats, we focused on the "photosynthetic" Rubisco enzyme, the efficiency of which is known to be a limiting step in plant photosynthesis.We demonstrate that the chloroplast rbcL gene, encoding the large subunit of Rubisco enzyme, evolved under strong positive selection in Schiedea. Adaptive amino acid changes occurred in functionally important regions of Rubisco that interact with Rubisco activase, a chaperone which promotes and maintains the catalytic activity of Rubisco. Interestingly, positive selection acting on the rbcL might have caused favorable cytotypes to spread across several Schiedea species.We report the first evidence for adaptive changes at the DNA and protein sequence level that may have been associated with the evolution of photosynthetic performance and colonization of new habitats during a recent adaptive radiation in an island plant genus. This illustrates how small changes at the molecular level may change ecological species performance and helps us to understand the molecular bases of extremely

An adaptive signal-processing approach to online adaptive tutoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergeron, Bryan; Cline, Andrew

2011-01-01

Conventional intelligent or adaptive tutoring online systems rely on domain-specific models of learner behavior based on rules, deep domain knowledge, and other resource-intensive methods. We have developed and studied a domain-independent methodology of adaptive tutoring based on domain-independent signal-processing approaches that obviate the need for the construction of explicit expert and student models. A key advantage of our method over conventional approaches is a lower barrier to entry for educators who want to develop adaptive online learning materials.

Demographic Consequences of Defeating Aging

OpenAIRE

Gavrilov, Leonid A.; Gavrilova, Natalia S.

2010-01-01

A common objection against starting a large-scale biomedical war on aging is the fear of catastrophic population consequences (overpopulation). This fear is only exacerbated by the fact that no detailed demographic projections for radical life extension scenario have been conducted so far. This study explores different demographic scenarios and population projections, in order to clarify what could be the demographic consequences of a successful biomedical war on aging. A general conclusion o...

Robust adaptive control for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Kahveci, Nazli E.

The objective of meeting higher endurance requirements remains a challenging task for any type and size of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). According to recent research studies significant energy savings can be realized through utilization of thermal currents. The navigation strategies followed across thermal regions, however, are based on rather intuitive assessments of remote pilots and lack any systematic path planning approaches. Various methods to enhance the autonomy of UAVs in soaring applications are investigated while seeking guarantees for flight performance improvements. The dynamics of the aircraft, small UAVs in particular, are affected by the environmental conditions, whereas unmodeled dynamics possibly become significant during aggressive flight maneuvers. Besides, the demanded control inputs might have a magnitude range beyond the limits dictated by the control surface actuators. The consequences of ignoring these issues can be catastrophic. Supporting this claim NASA Dryden Flight Research Center reports considerable performance degradation and even loss of stability in autonomous soaring flight tests with the subsequent risk of an aircraft crash. The existing control schemes are concluded to suffer from limited performance. Considering the aircraft dynamics and the thermal characteristics we define a vehicle-specific trajectory optimization problem to achieve increased cross-country speed and extended range of flight. In an environment with geographically dispersed set of thermals of possibly limited lifespan, we identify the similarities to the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) and provide both exact and approximate guidance algorithms for the navigation of automated UAVs. An additional stochastic approach is used to quantify the performance losses due to incorrect thermal data while dealing with random gust disturbances and onboard sensor measurement inaccuracies. One of the main contributions of this research is a novel adaptive control design with

Uncertainty in adaptive capacity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neil Adger, W.; Vincent, K.

2005-01-01

The capacity to adapt is a critical element of the process of adaptation: it is the vector of resources that represent the asset base from which adaptation actions can be made. Adaptive capacity can in theory be identified and measured at various scales, from the individual to the nation. The assessment of uncertainty within such measures comes from the contested knowledge domain and theories surrounding the nature of the determinants of adaptive capacity and the human action of adaptation. While generic adaptive capacity at the national level, for example, is often postulated as being dependent on health, governance and political rights, and literacy, and economic well-being, the determinants of these variables at national levels are not widely understood. We outline the nature of this uncertainty for the major elements of adaptive capacity and illustrate these issues with the example of a social vulnerability index for countries in Africa. (authors)

Adaptive capacity and human cognition: the process of individual adaptation to climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grothmann, T. [Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Potsdam (Germany). Department of Global Change and Social Systems; Patt, A. [Boston University (United States). Department of Geography

2005-10-01

Adaptation has emerged as an important area of research and assessment among climate change scientists. Most scholarly work has identified resource constraints as being the most significant determinants of adaptation. However, empirical research on adaptation has so far mostly not addressed the importance of measurable and alterable psychological factors in determining adaptation. Drawing from the literature in psychology and behavioural economics, we develop a socio-cognitive Model of Private Proactive Adaptation to Climate Change (MPPACC). MPPACC separates out the psychological steps to taking action in response to perception, and allows one to see where the most important bottlenecks occur - including risk perception and perceived adaptive capacity, a factor largely neglected in previous climate change research. We then examine two case studies - one from urban Germany and one from rural Zimbabwe - to explore the validity of MPPACC to explaining adaptation. In the German study, we find that MPPACC provides better statistical power than traditional socio-economic models. In the Zimbabwean case study, we find a qualitative match between MPPACC and adaptive behaviour. Finally, we discuss the important implications of our findings both on vulnerability and adaptation assessments, and on efforts to promote adaptation through outside intervention. (author)

Introduction: contexts and concepts of adaptability and plasticity in 20th-century plant science.

Science.gov (United States)

Baranski, Marci; Peirson, B R Erick

2015-04-01

Nowhere is the problem of understanding the complex linkages between organisms and their environments more apparent than in the science of plants. Today, efforts by scientists to predict and manage the biological consequences of shifting global and regional climates depend on understanding how organisms respond morphologically, physiologically, and behaviorally to changes in their environments. Investigating organismal "adaptability" (or "plasticity") is rarely straightforward, prompting controversy and discourse among and between ecologists and agricultural scientists. Concepts like agro-climatic adaptation, phenotypic plasticity, and genotype-environment interaction (GxE) are key to those debates, and their complex histories have imbued them with assumptions and meanings that are consequential but often opaque. This special section explores the diverse ways in which organismal adaptability has been conceptualized and investigated in the second half of the 20th century, and the multifarious political, economic, environmental, and intellectual contexts in which those conceptions have emerged and evolved. The papers in this section bring together perspectives from the histories of agriculture, population ecology, evolutionary theory, and plant physiology, cutting across Asian, North American, and British contexts. As a whole, this section highlights not only the diversity of meanings of "adaptability" and "plasticity," but also the complex linkages between those meanings, the scientific practices and technologies in which they are embedded, and the ends toward which those practices and technologies are employed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mechanical Adaptability of the MMP-Responsive Film Improves the Functionality of Endothelial Cell Monolayer.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Mi; Chang, Hao; Zhang, He; Wang, Jing; Lei, Wen-Xi; Li, Bo-Chao; Ren, Ke-Feng; Ji, Jian

2017-07-01

Extracellular matrix and cells are inherent in coordinating and adapting to each other during all physiological and pathological processes. Synthetic materials, however, show rarely reciprocal and spatiotemporal responses to cells, and lacking self-adapting properties as well. Here, a mechanical adaptability based on the matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs) sensitive polyelectrolyte film is reported. Poly-lysine (PLL) and methacrylated hyaluronic acid (HA-MA) nanolayers are employed to build the thin film through the layer-by-layer assembly, and it is further crosslinked using MMP sensitive peptides, which endows the films with changeable mechanical properties in response to MMPs. It is demonstrated that stiffness of the (PLL/HA-MA) films increases with the crosslinking, and then decreases in response to a treatment of enzyme. Consequently, the crosslinked (PLL/HA-MA) films reveal effective growth of endothelial cells (ECs), leading to fast formation of EC monolayer. Importantly, significantly improved endothelial function of the EC monolayer, which is characterized by integrity, biomolecules release, expression of function related gene, and antithrombotic properties, is achieved along with the decrosslinking of the film because of EC-secreted MMPs. These results suggest that mechanical adaptability of substrate in Young's modulus plays a significant role in endothelial progression, which shows great application potential in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and organ-on-a-chip. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A widespread chromosomal inversion polymorphism contributes to a major life-history transition, local adaptation, and reproductive isolation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David B Lowry

2010-09-01

Full Text Available The role of chromosomal inversions in adaptation and speciation is controversial. Historically, inversions were thought to contribute to these processes either by directly causing hybrid sterility or by facilitating the maintenance of co-adapted gene complexes. Because inversions suppress recombination when heterozygous, a recently proposed local adaptation mechanism predicts that they will spread if they capture alleles at multiple loci involved in divergent adaptation to contrasting environments. Many empirical studies have found inversion polymorphisms linked to putatively adaptive phenotypes or distributed along environmental clines. However, direct involvement of an inversion in local adaptation and consequent ecological reproductive isolation has not to our knowledge been demonstrated in nature. In this study, we discovered that a chromosomal inversion polymorphism is geographically widespread, and we test the extent to which it contributes to adaptation and reproductive isolation under natural field conditions. Replicated crosses between the prezygotically reproductively isolated annual and perennial ecotypes of the yellow monkeyflower, Mimulus guttatus, revealed that alternative chromosomal inversion arrangements are associated with life-history divergence over thousands of kilometers across North America. The inversion polymorphism affected adaptive flowering time divergence and other morphological traits in all replicated crosses between four pairs of annual and perennial populations. To determine if the inversion contributes to adaptation and reproductive isolation in natural populations, we conducted a novel reciprocal transplant experiment involving outbred lines, where alternative arrangements of the inversion were reciprocally introgressed into the genetic backgrounds of each ecotype. Our results demonstrate for the first time in nature the contribution of an inversion to adaptation, an annual/perennial life-history shift, and

Humming along or buzzing off? The elusive consequences of plant-pollinator mismatches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jason Ryan Straka

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Temporal mismatches among plants and pollinators, driven by climate change, are considered a potential cause of population declines of these mutualists. However, field studies demonstrating population declines as a result of climate-driven phenological mismatches are uncommon, and the extent to which mismatches will be a problem in the future remains unclear. We revisit predicted consequences of climate-driven phenological mismatch in plant-pollinator systems by identifying nine previously-applied assumptions that are violated or insufficiently understood in real systems. Briefly, the assumptions are: (1 Dates of first-flowering (DFF or dates of first activity (DFA correctly describe phenology, and disparities between DFF and DFA represent the magnitude of mismatch. (2 “Optimal” matches are measured correctly. (3 Advancement of DFF or DFA will be the primary phenological change in the future. (4 Future phenological shifts will be independent for each species. (5 All plant-pollinator interactions are equally effective. (6 Populations of plants and pollinators are limited by mutualistic interactions. Some previous models have also assumed that the effects of future mismatches will not be influenced by (7 emergence of novel interactions, (8 competition or facilitation from altered co-flowering and co-flight, and (9 phenotypic plasticity and rapid adaptive evolution of phenology. Those assumptions affect the direction, extent, and accuracy of predicted consequences of future phenological mismatch. In discussing them, we identify important topics for future research in pollination ecology.

Paranoia as an Antecedent and Consequence of Getting Ahead in Organizations: Time-Lagged Effects Between Paranoid Cognitions, Self-Monitoring, and Changes in Span of Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niels Van Quaquebeke

2016-09-01

Full Text Available A six-month, time-lagged online survey among 441 employees in diverse industries was conducted to investigate the role paranoia plays as an antecedent and as a consequence of advancement in organizations. The background of the study is the argument that it requires active social sense-making and behavioral adaptability to advance in organizations. The present paper thus explores the extent to which employees’ paranoid cognitions—representative of a heightened albeit suspicious sense-making and behavioral adaptability—link with their advancement in organizations (operationalized as changes in afforded span of control, both as an antecedent and an outcome. Following the strategy to illuminate the process by interaction analysis, both conditions (antecedent and outcome are examined in interaction with employees’ self-monitoring, which is considered representative of a heightened but healthy sense-making and behavioral adaptability. Results support the expected interference interaction between paranoid cognitions and self-monitoring in that each can to some degree compensate for the other in explaining employees’ organizational advancement. Reversely, changes in span of control also affected paranoid cognitions. In particular, low self-monitors, i.e. those low in adaptive sense-making, reacted with heightened paranoid cognitions when demoted. In effect, the present study is thus the first to empirically support that paranoid cognitions can be a consequence but also a prerequisite for getting ahead in organizations. Practical advice should, however, be suspended until it is better understood whether and under what circumstances paranoia may relate not only to personally getting ahead but also to an increased effectiveness for the benefit of the organization.

Selection towards different adaptive optima drove the early diversification of locomotor phenotypes in the radiation of Neotropical geophagine cichlids.

Science.gov (United States)

Astudillo-Clavijo, Viviana; Arbour, Jessica H; López-Fernández, Hernán

2015-05-01

Simpson envisaged a conceptual model of adaptive radiation in which lineages diversify into "adaptive zones" within a macroevolutionary adaptive landscape. However, only a handful of studies have empirically investigated this adaptive landscape and its consequences for our interpretation of the underlying mechanisms of phenotypic evolution. In fish radiations the evolution of locomotor phenotypes may represent an important dimension of ecomorphological diversification given the implications of locomotion for feeding and habitat use. Neotropical geophagine cichlids represent a newly identified adaptive radiation and provide a useful system for studying patterns of locomotor diversification and the implications of selective constraints on phenotypic divergence in general. We use multivariate ordination, models of phenotypic evolution and posterior predictive approaches to investigate the macroevolutionary adaptive landscape and test for evidence of early divergence of locomotor phenotypes in Geophagini. The evolution of locomotor phenotypes was characterized by selection towards at least two distinct adaptive peaks and the early divergence of modern morphological disparity. One adaptive peak included the benthic and epibenthic invertivores and was characterized by fishes with deep, laterally compressed bodies that optimize precise, slow-swimming manoeuvres. The second adaptive peak resulted from a shift in adaptive optima in the species-rich ram-feeding/rheophilic Crenicichla-Teleocichla clade and was characterized by species with streamlined bodies that optimize fast starts and rapid manoeuvres. Evolutionary models and posterior predictive approaches favoured an early shift to a new adaptive peak over decreasing rates of evolution as the underlying process driving the early divergence of locomotor phenotypes. The influence of multiple adaptive peaks on the divergence of locomotor phenotypes in Geophagini is compatible with the expectations of an ecologically driven

Continuous spatial modelling to analyse planning and economic consequences of offshore wind energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moeller, Bernd

2011-01-01

Offshore wind resources appear abundant, but technological, economic and planning issues significantly reduce the theoretical potential. While massive investments are anticipated and planners and developers are scouting for viable locations and consider risk and impact, few studies simultaneously address potentials and costs together with the consequences of proposed planning in an analytical and continuous manner and for larger areas at once. Consequences may be investments short of efficiency and equity, and failed planning routines. A spatial resource economic model for the Danish offshore waters is presented, used to analyse area constraints, technological risks, priorities for development and opportunity costs of maintaining competing area uses. The SCREAM-offshore wind model (Spatially Continuous Resource Economic Analysis Model) uses raster-based geographical information systems (GIS) and considers numerous geographical factors, technology and cost data as well as planning information. Novel elements are weighted visibility analysis and geographically recorded shipping movements as variable constraints. A number of scenarios have been described, which include restrictions of using offshore areas, as well as alternative uses such as conservation and tourism. The results comprise maps, tables and cost-supply curves for further resource economic assessment and policy analysis. A discussion of parameter variations exposes uncertainties of technology development, environmental protection as well as competing area uses and illustrates how such models might assist in ameliorating public planning, while procuring decision bases for the political process. The method can be adapted to different research questions, and is largely applicable in other parts of the world. - Research Highlights: → A model for the spatially continuous evaluation of offshore wind resources. → Assessment of spatial constraints, costs and resources for each location. → Planning tool for

The selective adaptation of the alcoholics anonymous program by Gamblers Anonymous.

Science.gov (United States)

Browne, B R

1991-09-01

This paper is largely based on a year long observation study of Gamblers Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in northern California. The paper argues, contrary to popular assumption, that Gamblers Anonymous is significantly different from Alcoholics Anonymous. Differences, in members' consciousness for example, are discussed. The paper contends that although there is some12 step consciousness in G.A., the dominant consciousness ispage 17 consciousness. The significant differences are attributed to the selective adaptation of the Alcoholics Anonymous program. Several consequences of these differences, such as the central role of a language of the self in A.A. and not in G.A., are highlighted.

Teacher Effectiveness in Adapting Instruction to the Needs of Pupils With Learning Difficulties in Regular Primary Schools in Ghana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdul-Razak Kuyini Alhassan

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Ghana education system has failed to effectively address the needs of pupils with learning difficulties (LDs in regular classrooms. Underachievement, school dropout, streetism, and antisocial behaviors are the consequences. Teachers’ lack of adequate competence in adaptive instruction is one of the fundamental reasons responsible for this anomaly. This study aims to examine teachers’ competence in adapting instructions to teach pupils with LDs in the regular classroom in Ghana. The data were gathered from 387 sampled teachers in a cross-sectional survey using questionnaires and structured observation methods. We analyzed the data using descriptive statistic, chi-square test, correlation, t test, and ANOVA. The results show that (a teachers have limited to moderate competence in adaptive instruction, (b adaptive teaching is strongly associated with teachers’ competence in teaching pupils with LDs in the regular classroom, and (c apart from gender and class size, teachers’ background variables such as school location and teaching experience differ significantly. The study has serious implications for Ghana’s inclusive education policy and teaching practice.

Biodiversity and global change. Adaptative responses to global change: results and prospective. IFB-GICC restitution colloquium; Biodiversite et changement global. Reponses adaptatives au changement global: resultats et prospective. Colloque de restitution IFB-GICC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Despres, L; Hossaert-Mckey, M; Martin, J F; Pont, D; Valero, M; Chave, J; Benizri, E; Amiaud, B; Boury-Esnault, N; Fritz, H; Lavelle, P; Martin, F; Poulet, S; Blanchard, F; Cheddadi, R; Dupouey, J L; Hulle, M; Michaux, J; Souissi, S; Bridault, A; Dambrine, E; Gomez, B; Thevenard, F; Legendre, S; Suc, J P; Zeitoun, V; Bezancon, G; Frascaria-Lacoste, N; Ponsard, S; Bourguet, D; Vigne, J D; Doyen, L; Joly, P; Gourlet-Fleury, S; Garnier, E; Lebaron, Ph; Boulinier, Th; Chuine, I; Jiguet, F; Couvet, D; Soussana, J F; Weimerskirsch, H; Grosbois, V; Bretagnolle, V

2006-07-01

Global change is the consequence of the worldwide human print on ecology. The uncontrolled use of fossil fuels, the urbanization, the intensifying of agriculture, the homogenization of life styles and cultures, the homogenization of fauna and vegetation, the commercial trades, the bio-invasions, the over-exploitation of resources and the emergence of new economic powers (China, India, Brazil..) represent an adaptative dynamics of interactions which affects the overall biosphere and the adaptative capacities and the future of all species. Biodiversity is an ecological and societal insurance against the risks and uncertainties linked with global change. The French institute of biodiversity (IFB) has created a working group in charge of a study on global change and biodiversity, in particular in terms of: speed and acceleration of processes, interaction between the different organization levels of the world of living, scale changes, and adaptative capacities. 38 projects with an interdisciplinary approach have been retained by the IFB and the Ministry of ecology and sustainable development. The conclusion of these projects were presented at this restitution colloquium and are summarized in this document. The presentations are organized in 7 sessions dealing with: global changes and adaptation mechanisms; functional responses to global changes; spatial responses to global changes; temporal responses to global changes; selective answers to global changes; available tools and ecological services; scenarios and projections. (J.S.)

L’adaptation phonologique des emprunts : le cas des gallicismes gastronomiques en tchèque

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Duběda Tomáš

2015-09-01

Full Text Available We analyse the phonological processes underlying the adaptation of French gastronomic terms into Czech. After setting out a paradigm of adaptation processes, we describe an empirical survey in which a group of 28 informants from four different social groups were asked to read sentences containing 30 orthographically non-adapted gastronomic terms. The conclusions are as follows: (1 The studied items exhibit a very high phonological variability, which represents a consequence of their peripheral status in the lexical system. (2 The conceptual knowledge of a term increases the chance that its phonological realisation will be closer to the reference form. (3 For unknown items, speakers tend to rely on spelling, using Czech grapheme-to-phoneme conversion rules. (4 Although the informants had no knowledge of French, they sometimes used elements of French phonology in their pronunciation. (5 The group of informants working in the restaurant industry did not achieve significantly better results than other speakers living in Prague. The lowest score was recorded in the group of speakers living in rural areas. (6 Pronunciation variants elicited from informants who knew other languages were closer to the reference forms.

Accident consequence analysis models applied to licensing process of nuclear installations, radioactive and conventional industries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Senne Junior, Murillo; Vasconcelos, Vanderley de; Jordao, Elizabete

2002-01-01

The industrial accidents happened in the last years, particularly in the eighty's decade, had contributed in a significant way to call the attention to government authorities, industry and society as a whole, demanding mechanisms for preventing episodes that could affect people's safety and environment quality. Techniques and methods already thoroughly used in the nuclear, aeronautic and war industries were then adapted for performing analysis and evaluation of the risks associated to other industrial activities, especially in the petroleum, chemistry and petrochemical areas. Some models for analyzing the consequences of accidents involving fire and explosion, used in the licensing processes of nuclear and radioactive facilities, are presented in this paper. These models have also application in the licensing of conventional industrial facilities. (author)

Optimal inverse magnetorheological damper modeling using shuffled frog-leaping algorithm–based adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiufang Lin

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Magnetorheological dampers have become prominent semi-active control devices for vibration mitigation of structures which are subjected to severe loads. However, the damping force cannot be controlled directly due to the inherent nonlinear characteristics of the magnetorheological dampers. Therefore, for fully exploiting the capabilities of the magnetorheological dampers, one of the challenging aspects is to develop an accurate inverse model which can appropriately predict the input voltage to control the damping force. In this article, a hybrid modeling strategy combining shuffled frog-leaping algorithm and adaptive-network-based fuzzy inference system is proposed to model the inverse dynamic characteristics of the magnetorheological dampers for improving the modeling accuracy. The shuffled frog-leaping algorithm is employed to optimize the premise parameters of the adaptive-network-based fuzzy inference system while the consequent parameters are tuned by a least square estimation method, here known as shuffled frog-leaping algorithm-based adaptive-network-based fuzzy inference system approach. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, the inverse modeling results based on the shuffled frog-leaping algorithm-based adaptive-network-based fuzzy inference system approach are compared with those based on the adaptive-network-based fuzzy inference system and genetic algorithm–based adaptive-network-based fuzzy inference system approaches. Analysis of variance test is carried out to statistically compare the performance of the proposed methods and the results demonstrate that the shuffled frog-leaping algorithm-based adaptive-network-based fuzzy inference system strategy outperforms the other two methods in terms of modeling (training accuracy and checking accuracy.

Behavioural strategy: Adaptability context

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Piórkowska Katarzyna

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The paper is embedded in the following fields: strategic management in terms of behavioural strategy concept, adaptability construct, and micro-foundations realm as well as organizational theory and psychology. Moreover, the paper concerns to some extent a multi-level approach in strategic management involving individual, team, and organizational level. The aim of the paper is to contribute to extend, on one hand, the ascertainment set in the field of behavioural strategy as behavioural strategy encompasses a mindboggling diversity of topics and methods and its conceptual unity has been hard to achieve (Powell, Lovallo, Fox 2011, p. 1371, and on the other hand, to order mixed approaches to adaptability especially to gain insights on micro-level adapting processes (individual adaptability and adaptive performance in terms of the multi-level approach. The method that has been used is literature studies and the interference is mostly deductive. The structure of the manuscript is four-fold. The first part involves the considerations in the field of adaptability and adaptive performance at the individual level. The issues of adaptability and adaptive performance at the team level have been presented in the second part. The third part encompasses the organizational adaptability assertions. Finally, the conclusion, limitations of the considerations highlighted as well as the future research directions have been emphasized. The overarching key finding is that the behavioural strategy concept may constitute the boundary spanner in exploring and explaining adaptability phenomenon at different levels of analysis.

Complementing DIGE proteomics and DNA subarray analyses to shed light on Oenococcus oeni adaptation to ethanol in wine-simulated conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Costantini, Antonella; Rantsiou, Kalliopi; Majumder, Avishek

2015-01-01

response involves not only biosynthesis of stress proteins but also envelope-linked mechanisms. From a practical point of view this research underlines the importance of starters acclimation to induce responses that would allow better adaptation to the wine. As a consequence, a well adapted starter can......Direct addition of Oenococcus oeni starters into wine can cause viability problems. In the present study, the influence of ethanol in wine-simulated conditions on O. oeni has been evaluated by complementing microarray techniques and DIGE proteomics. Two different ethanol concentrations were studied......The use of malolactic starter cultures has become widespread to control the MLF process and to prevent off-flavors. There is significant interest in understanding the molecular mechanisms that O. oeni uses to adapt to harsh wine conditions. The overall results highlight that the alcohol-induced stress...

A new strategy for online adaptive prostate radiotherapy based on cone-beam CT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boggula, Ramesh; Lorenz, Friedlieb; Lohr, Frank; Wolff, Dirk; Boda-Heggemann, Judit; Hesser, Juergen; Wenz, Frederik; Wertz, Hansjoerg

2009-01-01

Interfractional organ motion and patient positioning errors during prostate radiotherapy can have deleterious clinical consequences. It has become clinical practice to re-position the patient with image-guided translational position correction before each treatment to compensate for those errors. However, tilt errors can only be corrected with table corrections in six degrees of freedom or ''full'' adaptive treatment planning strategies. Organ shape deformations can only be corrected by ''full'' plan adaptation. This study evaluates the potential of instant treatment plan adaptation (fast isodose line adaptation with real-time dose manipulating tools) based on cone-beam CT (CBCT) to further improve treatment quality. Using in-house software, CBCTs were modified to approximate a correct density calibration. To evaluate the dosimetric accuracy, dose distributions based on CBCTs were compared with dose distributions calculated on conventional planning CTs (PCT) for four datasets (one inhomogeneous phantom, three patient datasets). To determine the potential dosimetric benefit of a ''full'' plan adaptation over translational position correction, dose distributions were re-optimized using graphical ''online'' dose modification tools for three additional patients' CT-datasets with a substantially distended rectum while the original plans have been created with an empty rectum (single treatment fraction estimates). Absolute dose deviations of up to 51% in comparison to the PCT were observed when uncorrected CBCTs were used for replanning. After density calibration of the CBCTs, 97% of the dose deviations were ≤3% (gamma index: 3%/3 mm). Translational position correction restored the PTV dose (D 95 ) to 73% of the corresponding dose of the reference plan. After plan adaptation, larger improvements of dose restoration to 95% were observed. Additionally, the rectal dose (D 30 ) was further decreased by 42 percentage points (mean of three patient datasets). An accurate dose

Metabolic syndrome X as a clinical outcome of hormonal changes on the liquidators of the Chernobyl accident consequences (the problem analysis)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kovalenko, A.N.

1999-01-01

An analysis of hormonal changes in the liquidators of the Chernobyl accident consequences, which promote the metabolic syndrome X development, was carried out on the base of clinical and experimental data. The system insulin-glucose, the mechanisms of insulinresistance and gyperinslinemia forming, the pathogenetical role of hyperinsulinemia interaction with others hormomes, some aspects of hormone - receptor interaction, an interconnection of hyperinsulinemia and vascular pathology, peculiarities of radiobiological stress as a non-classic adaptive reaction, which frequently resulting with a pathology, were discussed in the article

Adaptive noise cancellation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akram, N.

1999-01-01

In this report we describe the concept of adaptive noise canceling, an alternative method of estimating signals corrupted by additive noise of interference. The method uses 'primary' input containing the corrupted signal and a 'reference' input containing noise correlated in some unknown way with the primary noise, the reference input is adaptively filtered and subtracted from the primary input to obtain the signal estimate. Adaptive filtering before subtraction allows the treatment of inputs that are deterministic or stochastic, stationary or time variable. When the reference input is free of signal and certain other conditions are met then noise in the primary input can be essentially eliminated without signal distortion. It is further shown that the adaptive filter also acts as notch filter. Simulated results illustrate the usefulness of the adaptive noise canceling technique. (author)

Adaptive signal processor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walz, H.V.

1980-07-01

An experimental, general purpose adaptive signal processor system has been developed, utilizing a quantized (clipped) version of the Widrow-Hoff least-mean-square adaptive algorithm developed by Moschner. The system accommodates 64 adaptive weight channels with 8-bit resolution for each weight. Internal weight update arithmetic is performed with 16-bit resolution, and the system error signal is measured with 12-bit resolution. An adapt cycle of adjusting all 64 weight channels is accomplished in 8 ..mu..sec. Hardware of the signal processor utilizes primarily Schottky-TTL type integrated circuits. A prototype system with 24 weight channels has been constructed and tested. This report presents details of the system design and describes basic experiments performed with the prototype signal processor. Finally some system configurations and applications for this adaptive signal processor are discussed.

Adaptive signal processor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walz, H.V.

1980-07-01

An experimental, general purpose adaptive signal processor system has been developed, utilizing a quantized (clipped) version of the Widrow-Hoff least-mean-square adaptive algorithm developed by Moschner. The system accommodates 64 adaptive weight channels with 8-bit resolution for each weight. Internal weight update arithmetic is performed with 16-bit resolution, and the system error signal is measured with 12-bit resolution. An adapt cycle of adjusting all 64 weight channels is accomplished in 8 μsec. Hardware of the signal processor utilizes primarily Schottky-TTL type integrated circuits. A prototype system with 24 weight channels has been constructed and tested. This report presents details of the system design and describes basic experiments performed with the prototype signal processor. Finally some system configurations and applications for this adaptive signal processor are discussed

Human adaptation responses to a rapidly changing Arctic: A research context for building system resilience

Science.gov (United States)

Chapin, T.; Brinkman, T. J.

2016-12-01

Although human behavior accounts for more uncertainty in future trajectories in climate change than do biophysical processes, most climate-change research fails to include human actions in research design and implementation. This is well-illustrated in the Arctic. At the global scale, arctic processes strongly influence the strength of biophysical feedbacks between global human emissions and the rate of climate warming. However, most human actions in the arctic have little effect on these feedbacks, so research can contribute most effectively to reduction in arctic warming through improved understanding of the strength of arctic-global biophysical feedbacks, as in NASA's ABoVE program, and its effective communication to policy makers and the public. In contrast, at the local to regional scale within the arctic, human actions may influence the ecological and societal consequences of arctic warming, so research benefits from active stakeholder engagement in research design and implementation. Human communities and other stakeholders (government and NGOs) respond heterogeneously to socioeconomic and environmental change, so research that documents the range of historical and current adaptive responses to change provides insights on the resilience (flexibility of future options) of social-ecological processes in the arctic. Alaskan communities have attempted a range of adaptive responses to coastal erosion (e.g., seasonal migration, protection in place, relocation), wildfire (fire suppression to use of fire to manage wildlife habitat or landscape heterogeneity), declining sea ice (e.g., new hunting technology, sea ice observations and predictions), and changes in wildlife and fish availability (e.g., switch to harvest of alternative species, harvest times, or harvest locations). Research that draws on both traditional and western knowledge facilitates adaptation and predictions of the likely societal consequences of climate change in the Arctic. Effective inclusion of

Differences in context and feedback result in different trajectories and adaptation strategies in reaching.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fritzie Arce

Full Text Available Computational models of motor control have often explained the straightness of horizontal planar reaching movements as a consequence of optimal control. Departure from rectilinearity is thus regarded as sub-optimal. Here we examine if subjects may instead select to make curved trajectories following adaptation to force fields and visuomotor rotations. Separate subjects adapted to force fields with or without visual feedback of their hand trajectory and were retested after 24 hours. Following adaptation, comparable accuracies were achieved in two ways: with visual feedback, adapted trajectories in force fields were straight whereas without it, they remained curved. The results suggest that trajectory shape is not always straight, but is also influenced by the calibration of available feedback signals for the state estimation required by the task. In a follow-up experiment, where additional subjects learned a visuomotor rotation immediately after force field, the trajectories learned in force fields (straight or curved were transferred when directions of the perturbations were similar but not when directions were opposing. This demonstrates a strong bias by prior experience to keep using a recently acquired control policy that continues to produce successful performance inspite of differences in tasks and feedback conditions. On relearning of force fields on the second day, facilitation by intervening visuomotor rotations occurred only when required motor adjustments and calibration of feedback signals were similar in both tasks. These results suggest that both the available feedback signals and prior history of learning influence the choice and maintenance of control policy during adaptations.

THE ADAPTATION VS. STANDARDIZATION DILEMMA: THE CASE OF AN AMERICAN COMPANY IN BRAZIL

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Thelma Valéria Rocha

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This study analyzes the adaptation versus standardization dilemma in International Marketing in subsidiaries of multinationals corporations. It highlights the importance of GMS – global marketing strategies – in the ability to innovate in subsidiaries in emerging economies, as Brazil. The objective is to find out how the level of autonomy displayed by subsidiaries influences the adaptation vs. standardization dilemma, and, consequently, the marketing-mix program. The methodology followed is qualitative research using a case-study approach in an American multinational from the food sector. In this case, we found out that firm's brands are very important to this firm's success overseas, which sustains that brand policies should be defined carefully at both levels: subsidiaries and headquarters. This brand policy influences direct the autonomy to innovate in marketing at subsidiaries level. This study is useful for managers at subsidiaries who need to understand the importance of global marketing strategies, and also for managers at headquarters who need to verify in which circumstances autonomy pays off.

Inter-plant communication through mycorrhizal networks mediates complex adaptive behaviour in plant communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Gorzelak, Monika A; Asay, Amanda K; Pickles, Brian J; Simard, Suzanne W

2015-05-15

Adaptive behaviour of plants, including rapid changes in physiology, gene regulation and defence response, can be altered when linked to neighbouring plants by a mycorrhizal network (MN). Mechanisms underlying the behavioural changes include mycorrhizal fungal colonization by the MN or interplant communication via transfer of nutrients, defence signals or allelochemicals. We focus this review on our new findings in ectomycorrhizal ecosystems, and also review recent advances in arbuscular mycorrhizal systems. We have found that the behavioural changes in ectomycorrhizal plants depend on environmental cues, the identity of the plant neighbour and the characteristics of the MN. The hierarchical integration of this phenomenon with other biological networks at broader scales in forest ecosystems, and the consequences we have observed when it is interrupted, indicate that underground 'tree talk' is a foundational process in the complex adaptive nature of forest ecosystems. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company.

Adaptation in Living Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Tu, Yuhai; Rappel, Wouter-Jan

2018-03-01

Adaptation refers to the biological phenomenon where living systems change their internal states in response to changes in their environments in order to maintain certain key functions critical for their survival and fitness. Adaptation is one of the most ubiquitous and arguably one of the most fundamental properties of living systems. It occurs throughout all biological scales, from adaptation of populations of species over evolutionary time to adaptation of a single cell to different environmental stresses during its life span. In this article, we review some of the recent progress made in understanding molecular mechanisms of cellular-level adaptation. We take the minimalist (or the physicist) approach and study the simplest systems that exhibit generic adaptive behaviors, namely chemotaxis in bacterium cells (Escherichia coli) and eukaryotic cells (Dictyostelium). We focus on understanding the basic biochemical interaction networks that are responsible for adaptation dynamics. By combining theoretical modeling with quantitative experimentation, we demonstrate universal features in adaptation as well as important differences in different cellular systems. Future work in extending the modeling framework to study adaptation in more complex systems such as sensory neurons is also discussed.

Importance of adaptation and genotype × environment interactions in tropical beef breeding systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Burrow, H M

2012-05-01

This paper examines the relative importance of productive and adaptive traits in beef breeding systems based on Bos taurus and tropically adapted breeds across temperate and (sub)tropical environments. In the (sub)tropics, differences that exist between breeds in temperate environments are masked by the effects of environmental stressors. Hence in tropical environments, breeds are best categorised into breed types to compare their performance across environments. Because of the presence of environmental stressors, there are more sources of genetic variation in tropical breeding programmes. It is therefore necessary to examine the genetic basis of productive and adaptive traits for breeding programmes in those environments. This paper reviews the heritabilities and genetic relationships between economically important productive and adaptive traits relevant to (sub)tropical breeding programmes. It is concluded that it is possible to simultaneously genetically improve productive and adaptive traits in tropically adapted breeds of beef cattle grazed in tropical environments without serious detrimental consequences for either adaptation or production. However, breed-specific parameters are required for genetic evaluations. The paper also reviews the magnitude of genotype × environment (G × E) interactions impacting on production and adaptation of cattle, where 'genotype' is defined as breed (within a crossbreeding system), sire within breed (in a within-breed selection programme) or associations between economically important traits and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs - within a marker-assisted selection programme). It is concluded that re-ranking of breeds across environments is best managed by the use of the breed type(s) best suited to the particular production environment. Re-ranking of sires across environments is apparent in poorly adapted breed types across extreme tropical and temperate environments or where breeding animals are selected in a temperate

Shift Work in Nurses: Contribution of Phenotypes and Genotypes to Adaptation

Science.gov (United States)

Gamble, Karen L.; Motsinger-Reif, Alison A.; Hida, Akiko; Borsetti, Hugo M.; Servick, Stein V.; Ciarleglio, Christopher M.; Robbins, Sam; Hicks, Jennifer; Carver, Krista; Hamilton, Nalo; Wells, Nancy; Summar, Marshall L.; McMahon, Douglas G.; Johnson, Carl Hirschie

2011-01-01

Background Daily cycles of sleep/wake, hormones, and physiological processes are often misaligned with behavioral patterns during shift work, leading to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular/metabolic/gastrointestinal disorders, some types of cancer, and mental disorders including depression and anxiety. It is unclear how sleep timing, chronotype, and circadian clock gene variation contribute to adaptation to shift work. Methods Newly defined sleep strategies, chronotype, and genotype for polymorphisms in circadian clock genes were assessed in 388 hospital day- and night-shift nurses. Results Night-shift nurses who used sleep deprivation as a means to switch to and from diurnal sleep on work days (∼25%) were the most poorly adapted to their work schedule. Chronotype also influenced efficacy of adaptation. In addition, polymorphisms in CLOCK, NPAS2, PER2, and PER3 were significantly associated with outcomes such as alcohol/caffeine consumption and sleepiness, as well as sleep phase, inertia and duration in both single- and multi-locus models. Many of these results were specific to shift type suggesting an interaction between genotype and environment (in this case, shift work). Conclusions Sleep strategy, chronotype, and genotype contribute to the adaptation of the circadian system to an environment that switches frequently and/or irregularly between different schedules of the light-dark cycle and social/workplace time. This study of shift work nurses illustrates how an environmental “stress” to the temporal organization of physiology and metabolism can have behavioral and health-related consequences. Because nurses are a key component of health care, these findings could have important implications for health-care policy. PMID:21533241

Normalised subband adaptive filtering with extended adaptiveness on degree of subband filters

Science.gov (United States)

Samuyelu, Bommu; Rajesh Kumar, Pullakura

2017-12-01

This paper proposes an adaptive normalised subband adaptive filtering (NSAF) to accomplish the betterment of NSAF performance. In the proposed NSAF, an extended adaptiveness is introduced from its variants in two ways. In the first way, the step-size is set adaptive, and in the second way, the selection of subbands is set adaptive. Hence, the proposed NSAF is termed here as variable step-size-based NSAF with selected subbands (VS-SNSAF). Experimental investigations are carried out to demonstrate the performance (in terms of convergence) of the VS-SNSAF against the conventional NSAF and its state-of-the-art adaptive variants. The results report the superior performance of VS-SNSAF over the traditional NSAF and its variants. It is also proved for its stability, robustness against noise and substantial computing complexity.

Labor-Force Participation, Policies & Practices in an Aging America: Adaptation Essential for a Healthy & Resilient Population.

Science.gov (United States)

Berkman, Lisa F; Börsch-Supan, Axel; Avendano, Mauricio

2015-01-01

Population aging in the United States poses challenges to societal institutions while simultaneously creating opportunities to build a more resilient, successful, and cohesive society. Work organization and labor-force participation are central to both the opportunities and challenges posed by our aging society. We argue that expectations about old age have not sufficiently adapted to the reality of aging today. Our institutions need more adaptation in order to successfully face the consequences of demographic change. Although this adaptation needs to focus especially on work patterns among the "younger elderly," our society has to change its general attitudes toward work organization and labor-force participation, which will have implications for education and health care. We also show that work's beneficial effects on well-being in older ages are often neglected, while the idea that older workers displace younger workers is a misconception emerging from the "lump of labor" fallacy. We conclude, therefore, that working at older ages can lead to better quality of life for older people and to a more productive and resilient society overall.

Farming System Evolution and Adaptive Capacity: Insights for Adaptation Support

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jami L. Dixon

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Studies of climate impacts on agriculture and adaptation often provide current or future assessments, ignoring the historical contexts farming systems are situated within. We investigate how historical trends have influenced farming system adaptive capacity in Uganda using data from household surveys, semi-structured interviews, focus-group discussions and observations. By comparing two farming systems, we note three major findings: (1 similar trends in farming system evolution have had differential impacts on the diversity of farming systems; (2 trends have contributed to the erosion of informal social and cultural institutions and an increasing dependence on formal institutions; and (3 trade-offs between components of adaptive capacity are made at the farm-scale, thus influencing farming system adaptive capacity. To identify the actual impacts of future climate change and variability, it is important to recognize the dynamic nature of adaptation. In practice, areas identified for further adaptation support include: shift away from one-size-fits-all approach the identification and integration of appropriate modern farming method; a greater focus on building inclusive formal and informal institutions; and a more nuanced understanding regarding the roles and decision-making processes of influential, but external, actors. More research is needed to understand farm-scale trade-offs and the resulting impacts across spatial and temporal scales.

40 CFR 68.22 - Offsite consequence analysis parameters.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Offsite consequence analysis... PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Hazard Assessment § 68.22 Offsite consequence analysis parameters. (a) Endpoints. For analyses of offsite consequences, the following endpoints shall be...

SpotADAPT

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kaulakiene, Dalia; Thomsen, Christian; Pedersen, Torben Bach

2015-01-01

by Amazon Web Services (AWS). The users aiming for the spot market are presented with many instance types placed in multiple datacenters in the world, and thus it is difficult to choose the optimal deployment. In this paper, we propose the framework SpotADAPT (Spot-Aware (re-)Deployment of Analytical...... of typical analytical workloads and real spot price traces. SpotADAPT's suggested deployments are comparable to the theoretically optimal ones, and in particular, it shows good cost benefits for the budget optimization -- on average SpotADAPT is at most 0.3% more expensive than the theoretically optimal...

Adaptation: Needs, Financing and Institutions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klein, Richard J.T.; Kartha, Sivan; Persson, Aasa; Watkiss, Paul; Ackerman, Frank; Downing, Thomas E.; Kjellen, Bo; Schipper, Lisa (Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm (SE))

2008-07-01

Regardless of the efforts put into mitigation, some impacts of climate change are already unavoidable. Adaptation to climate change has therefore become a key component of domestic climate policy, along with mitigation. Adaptation has also become key to the success of global climate policy. Without an agreement on supporting adaptation in developing countries, there will be no agreement on mitigation. Strong mitigation efforts make it more likely that adaptation will be effective and affordable. The world cannot rely on adaptation alone: it would eventually lead to a level of climate change to which adaptation is no longer feasible. Government action is needed to create an enabling environment for adaptation. This includes removing existing financial, legal, institutional and knowledge barriers to adaptation, and strengthening the capacity of people and organisations to adapt. The success of adaptation relies on the success of development, and vice versa. Poverty reduction, good governance, education, environmental protection, health and gender equality all contribute to adaptive capacity. Substantially more money is needed to support adaptation in developing countries. Current levels of funding will soon have to be scaled up by two orders of magnitude (from US$ hundreds of million to US$ tens of billion per year). An agreement on adaptation in Copenhagen in 2009 will need to include concrete steps towards a strengthened knowledge base for adaptation, substantially more funding for developing countries, and enhanced adaptation planning and implementation at the national level. Recommendations: Developed countries should accept a transparent, principle-based allocation of responsibility for adaptation funding, resulting in adequate, new and additional money to support adaptation programmes in developing countries. Levies on carbon market transactions and auctioning emission permits are two existing mechanisms of generating new and additional funds consistent with

Adaptation illustrations: Chapter 4

Science.gov (United States)

Maria Janowiak; Patricia Butler; Chris Swanston; Matt St. Pierre; Linda. Parker

2012-01-01

In this chapter, we demonstrate how the Adaptation Workbook (Chapter 3) can be used with the Adaptation Strategies and Approaches (Chapter 2) to develop adaptation tactics for two real-world management issues. The two illustrations in this chapter are intended to provide helpful tips to managers completing the Adaptation Workbook, as well as to show how the anticipated...

Stormwater management: adaptation and planning under climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mailhot, A.

2009-01-01

'Full text:' Extreme rainfall events are expected to increase in intensity and frequency in a future climate. Such a change will have an impact on the level of service provided by stormwater infrastructures since the current capacity is based on statistical analyses of past events, assuming that past conditions are representative of future climate conditions. Therefore, an increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme events will result in increasing runoff volumes and peak discharges that will more frequently exceed the capacity of current systems. For that reason, it is important to look for adaptation measures and to review design criteria in order to maintain an acceptable level of service in the long term. One important challenge related to stormwater management and climate change (CC) is related to the time scale of both the expected lifespan of some system components (that can last up to 100 years) and the horizon of the actual CC projection (50 to 100 years). Pipes currently replaced or installed may consequently experience very different climatic conditions during their lifetime and a general degradation of the level of service may be expected according to the actual CC projections. Among others, this means that the design criteria currently used must be reviewed. This paper intends to review and describe the main issues related to adaptation and planning of stormwater management infrastructures under climate change. More precisely, the following topics will be presented and discussed: 1) what are the available projections for intense rainfall events and what are the main uncertainties related to these projections? (how reliable are they?); 2) what will be the impacts of CC on stormwater management according to available projections? 3) how do we revise design criteria in a changing climate and define the level of service in a context where the return period concept is no longer valid? 4) what kind of adaptation measures can be put forward

General Logic-Systems and Consequence Operators

OpenAIRE

Herrmann, Robert A.

2005-01-01

In this paper, general logic-systems are investigated. It is shown that there are infinitely many finite consequence operators defined on a fixed language L that cannot be generated from a finite logic-system. It is shown that a set map is a finite consequence operator iff it is defined by a general logic-system.

Prescription period in the revised Paris convention and its consequences for insurers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stanislas, A.

2000-01-01

Despite the high level of safety and technical improvements achieved in nuclear industry over more than thirty years of operation, the original reasons for which this industry enjoys a special liability regime are still valid. ''The possibility remains that incidents capable of causing considerable damage should occur'' and Common law is still not well adapted to deal with the specific problems in this field. Consequently, whatever the conclusions of the Paris Convention revision exercise in progress at the NEA of the OECD may be, it is likely that the future specific liability regime will still need limits both in amount and in time for insurance purposes at least. While, at present, insurers can cope with a 10-year prescription period in their Nuclear Third Party Liability policies, the possible extension of this period to thirty years for personal injuries would not be acceptable without clear provisions in the Protocol and in National legislation. (author)

Adaptive lag synchronization and parameters adaptive lag identification of chaotic systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu Yuhua, E-mail: yuhuaxu2004@163.co [College of Information Science and Technology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620 (China) and Department of Mathematics, Yunyang Teachers' College, Hubei, Shiyan 442000 (China); Zhou Wuneng, E-mail: wnzhou@163.co [College of Information Science and Technology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620 (China) and Key Laboratory of Wireless Sensor Network and Communication, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050 (China); Fang Jian' an, E-mail: jafang@dhu.edu.c [College of Information Science and Technology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620 (China); Sun Wen, E-mail: sunwen_2201@163.co [School of Mathematics and Information, Yangtze University, Hubei, Jingzhou 434023 (China)

2010-07-26

This Letter investigates the problem of adaptive lag synchronization and parameters adaptive lag identification of chaotic systems. In comparison with those of existing parameters identification schemes, the unknown parameters are identified by adaptive lag laws, and the delay time is also identified in this Letter. Numerical simulations are also given to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Psychological consequences caused by nuclear terrorism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peyankov, I.

2009-01-01

The psychological consequences caused by eventual nuclear terrorist act are believed to be some of the most: serious. in this article are presented the issues concerning psychological effects as psychological suffering, alteration of risk estimation, changes of individual and social behavior, etc. The most common psychological consequences as a result of the most popular large-scale nuclear accidents in Chernobyl, TMI (USA), Goiania (Brazil) are described. Some of the main factors, such as sex, age, health status, social status and etc, are analyzed. These factors determine the expression of psychological reactions provoked by nuclear accidents or eventual act of nuclear terrorism. In addition, the main precautions to cope with psychological consequences caused by nuclear terrorism are listed

Integrated assessment of vulnerability to climate change and options for adaptation in the Netherlands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kramer, K.; Kuikman, P.J.; Veraart, J.A.; Van Walsum, P.E.V.; Westein, E.; Verhagen, A.; Daan, N.; Van Ierland, E.C.; Szoenyi, J.; De Groot, R.S.; Van Vliet, A.; Martens, P.; Amelung, B.; Huynen, M.

2002-01-01

In recent decades it has become increasingly clear that the global climate is warming and that regional climates are changing. The changes include alterations in rainfall pattern and intensities, sea level, and the frequencies of extreme weather events. Climate changes will not just have global effects, they will also occur regionally. The consequences will be felt and dealt with in our own region. In addition to studies at the European level, a study entitled 'An integrated assessment of vulnerability to climate change and adaptation options in the Netherlands' was carried out

ADAPTIVE REUSE FOR NEW SOCIAL AND MUNICIPAL FUNCTIONS AS AN ACCEPTABLE APPROACH FOR CONSERVATION OF INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE ARCHITECTURE IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oleg Fetisov

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The present paper deals with a problem of conservation and adaptive reuse of industrial heritage architecture. The relevance and topicality of the problem of adaptive reuse of industrial heritage architecture for new social and municipal functions as the conservation concept are defined. New insights on the typology of industrial architecture are reviewed (e. g. global changes in all European industry, new concepts and technologies in manufacturing, new features of industrial architecture and their construction and typology, first results of industrialization and changes in the typology of industrial architecture in post-industrial period. General goals and tasks of conservation in context of adaptive reuse of industrial heritage architecture are defined (e. g. historical, architectural and artistic, technical. Adaptive reuse as an acceptable approach for conservation and new use is proposed and reviewed. Moreover, the logical model of adaptive reuse of industrial heritage architecture as an acceptable approach for new use has been developed. Consequently, three general methods for the conservation of industrial heritage architecture by the adaptive reuse approach are developed: historical, architectural and artistic, technical. Relevant functional methods' concepts (social concepts are defined and classified. General beneficial effect of the adaptive reuse approach is given. On the basis of analysis results of experience in adaptive reuse of industrial architecture with new social functions general conclusions are developed.

Adaptation in Collaborative Governance Regimes

Science.gov (United States)

Emerson, Kirk; Gerlak, Andrea K.

2014-10-01

Adaptation and the adaptive capacity of human and environmental systems have been of central concern to natural and social science scholars, many of whom characterize and promote the need for collaborative cross-boundary systems that are seen as flexible and adaptive by definition. Researchers who study collaborative governance systems in the public administration, planning and policy literature have paid less attention to adaptive capacity specifically and institutional adaptation in general. This paper bridges the two literatures and finds four common dimensions of capacity, including structural arrangements, leadership, knowledge and learning, and resources. In this paper, we focus on institutional adaptation in the context of collaborative governance regimes and try to clarify and distinguish collaborative capacity from adaptive capacity and their contributions to adaptive action. We posit further that collaborative capacities generate associated adaptive capacities thereby enabling institutional adaptation within collaborative governance regimes. We develop these distinctions and linkages between collaborative and adaptive capacities with the help of an illustrative case study in watershed management within the National Estuary Program.

Daily chicken: the cultural transmission of bourgeois family values in adaptations of literary classics for children, 1850-1950.

Science.gov (United States)

Parlevliet, Sanne

2011-01-01

Literature is a significant agent in the transmission of culture. Through literature expected behavior and patterns of life are passed on from generation to generation. The anticipated power of children's literature is even stronger. Socializing the target audience has always been one of its main aims. Consequently, books for children are governed by dominant social, cultural, and educational norms. This article explores the reciprocity between cultural transmission and the transmission of literature. It examines adaptations of international literary classics in their capacity of cultural intermediaries between old masterpieces and young audiences. Focusing on ways of transmitting family ideologies to children, the repository of Dutch adaptations of "Reynard the Fox," "Till Eulenspiegel," "Robinson Crusoe," and "Gulliver's Travels" serves as a case study.

Ultramarathon is an outstanding model for the study of adaptive responses to extreme load and stress

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Millet Grégoire P

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Ultramarathons comprise any sporting event involving running longer than the traditional marathon length of 42.195 km (26.2 miles. Studies on ultramarathon participants can investigate the acute consequences of ultra-endurance exercise on inflammation and cardiovascular or renal consequences, as well as endocrine/energetic aspects, and examine the tissue recovery process over several days of extreme physical load. In a study published in BMC Medicine, Schütz et al. followed 44 ultramarathon runners over 4,487 km from South Italy to North Cape, Norway (the Trans Europe Foot Race 2009 and recorded daily sets of data from magnetic resonance imaging, psychometric, body composition and biological measurements. The findings will allow us to better understand the timecourse of degeneration/regeneration of some lower leg tissues such as knee joint cartilage, to differentiate running-induced from age-induced pathologies (for example, retropatelar arthritis and finally to assess the interindividual susceptibility to injuries. Moreover, it will also provide new information about the complex interplay between cerebral adaptations/alterations and hormonal influences resulting from endurance exercise and provide data on the dose-response relationship between exercise and brain structure/function. Overall, this study represents a unique attempt to investigate the limits of the adaptive response of human bodies. Please see related article: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/10/78

Adapting Agricultural Water Use to Climate Change in a Post-Soviet Context: Challenges and Opportunities in Southeast Kazakhstan.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrett, Tristam; Feola, Giuseppe; Khusnitdinova, Marina; Krylova, Viktoria

2017-01-01

The convergence of climate change and post-Soviet socio-economic and institutional transformations has been underexplored so far, as have the consequences of such convergence on crop agriculture in Central Asia. This paper provides a place-based analysis of constraints and opportunities for adaptation to climate change, with a specific focus on water use, in two districts in southeast Kazakhstan. Data were collected by 2 multi-stakeholder participatory workshops, 21 semi-structured in-depth interviews, and secondary statistical data. The present-day agricultural system is characterised by enduring Soviet-era management structures, but without state inputs that previously sustained agricultural productivity. Low margins of profitability on many privatised farms mean that attempts to implement integrated water management have produced water users associations unable to maintain and upgrade a deteriorating irrigation infrastructure. Although actors engage in tactical adaptation measures, necessary structural adaptation of the irrigation system remains difficult without significant public or private investments. Market-based water management models have been translated ambiguously to this region, which fails to encourage efficient water use and hinders adaptation to water stress. In addition, a mutual interdependence of informal networks and formal institutions characterises both state governance and everyday life in Kazakhstan. Such interdependence simultaneously facilitates operational and tactical adaptation, but hinders structural adaptation, as informal networks exist as a parallel system that achieves substantive outcomes while perpetuating the inertia and incapacity of the state bureaucracy. This article has relevance for critical understanding of integrated water management in practice and adaptation to climate change in post-Soviet institutional settings more broadly.

Academic Motivation Scale: adaptation and psychometric analyses for high school and college students.

Science.gov (United States)

Stover, Juliana Beatriz; de la Iglesia, Guadalupe; Boubeta, Antonio Rial; Liporace, Mercedes Fernández

2012-01-01

The Academic Motivation Scale (AMS), supported in Self-Determination Theory, has been applied in recent decades as well in high school as in college education. Although several versions in Spanish are available, the underlying linguistic and cultural differences raise important issues when they are applied to Latin-American population. Consequently an adapted version of the AMS was developed, and its construct validity was analyzed in Argentine students. Results obtained on a sample that included 723 students from Buenos Aires (393 high school and 330 college students) verified adequate psychometric properties in this new version, solving some controversies regarded to its dimensionality.

Error-Induced Learning as a Resource-Adaptive Process in Young and Elderly Individuals

Science.gov (United States)

Ferdinand, Nicola K.; Weiten, Anja; Mecklinger, Axel; Kray, Jutta

Thorndike described in his law of effect [44] that actions followed by positive events are more likely to be repeated in the future, whereas actions that are followed by negative outcomes are less likely to be repeated. This implies that behavior is evaluated in the light of its potential consequences, and non-reward events (i.e., errors) must be detected for reinforcement learning to take place. In short, humans have to monitor their performance in order to detect and correct errors, and this allows them to successfully adapt their behavior to changing environmental demands and acquire new behavior, i.e., to learn.

Possible impacts of sea level rise on disease transmission and potential adaptation strategies, a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Dvorak, Ana C; Solo-Gabriele, Helena M; Galletti, Andrea; Benzecry, Bernardo; Malone, Hannah; Boguszewski, Vicki; Bird, Jason

2018-04-18

Sea levels are projected to rise in response to climate change, causing the intrusion of sea water into land. In flat coastal regions, this would generate an increase in shallow water covered areas with limited circulation. This scenario raises a concern about the consequences it could have on human health, specifically the possible impacts on disease transmission. In this review paper we identified three categories of diseases which are associated with water and whose transmission can be affected by sea level rise. These categories include: mosquitoborne diseases, naturalized organisms (Vibrio spp. and toxic algae), and fecal-oral diseases. For each disease category, we propose comprehensive adaptation strategies that would help minimize possible health risks. Finally, the City of Key West, Florida is analyzed as a case study, due to its inherent vulnerability to sea level rise. Current and projected adaptation techniques are discussed as well as the integration of additional recommendations, focused on disease transmission control. Given that sea level rise will likely continue into the future, the promotion and implementation of positive adaptation strategies is necessary to ensure community resilience. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Origins of adaptive immunity.

Science.gov (United States)

Liongue, Clifford; John, Liza B; Ward, Alister

2011-01-01

Adaptive immunity, involving distinctive antibody- and cell-mediated responses to specific antigens based on "memory" of previous exposure, is a hallmark of higher vertebrates. It has been argued that adaptive immunity arose rapidly, as articulated in the "big bang theory" surrounding its origins, which stresses the importance of coincident whole-genome duplications. Through a close examination of the key molecules and molecular processes underpinning adaptive immunity, this review suggests a less-extreme model, in which adaptive immunity emerged as part of longer evolutionary journey. Clearly, whole-genome duplications provided additional raw genetic materials that were vital to the emergence of adaptive immunity, but a variety of other genetic events were also required to generate some of the key molecules, whereas others were preexisting and simply co-opted into adaptive immunity.

Different drinking motives, different adverse consequences?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wicki, Matthias; Kuntsche, Emmanuel; Eichenberger, Yvonne

2017-01-01

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: This study, which builds on previous research demonstrating that drinking motives are associated with adverse consequences, investigates the associations between drinking motives and non-alcohol-attributed adverse consequences and disentangles alcohol-related and direct......, differences across countries were tested in a multigroup analysis. RESULTS: The indirect effect (via alcohol use) was greater for injuries and academic problems than for more general outcomes such as life dissatisfaction and negative body image. For social, enhancement and coping motives, we found positive...... indirect effects (via alcohol use) on injuries and academic problems; the association was negative for conformity motives. The direct effect, that is, the effect above and beyond alcohol use, indicated more negative consequences among those who tended to drink more frequently for coping motives. More...

[Epilepsy-new diagnostic tools, old drugs? : Therapeutic consequences of epilepsy genetics].

Science.gov (United States)

Tacke, M; Neubauer, B A; Gerstl, L; Roser, T; Rémi, J; Borggraefe, I

2017-12-01

Recent advances in the field of epilepsy genetics have led to an increased fraction of patients with epilepsies where the etiology of the disease could be identified. Nevertheless, there is some criticism regarding the use of epilepsy genetics because in many cases the identification of a pathogenetic mutation does not lead to an adaptation of therapy or to an improved prognosis. In addition, the interpretation of genetic results might be complicated due to the considerable numbers of variants of unclear significance. This publication presents the arguments in favour of a broad use of genetic investigations for children with epilepsies. Several diseases where a genetic diagnosis does in fact have direct therapeutic consequences are mentioned. In addition, the indirect impact of an established etiology, encompassing the avoidance of unnecessary diagnostic measures, possibility of genetic counselling, and the easing of the psychologic burden for the caregivers, should not be underestimated. The arguments in favour of broad genetic diagnostics prevail notwithstanding the lack of relevant new developments regarding the therapy.

Defining adaptation in a generic multi layer model: CAM: The GRAPPLE Conceptual Adaptation Model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hendrix, M.; De Bra, P.M.E.; Pechenizkiy, M.; Smits, D.; Cristea, A.I.; Dillenbourg, P.; Specht, M.

2008-01-01

Authoring of Adaptive Hypermedia is a difficult and time consuming task. Reference models like LAOS and AHAM separate adaptation and content in different layers. Systems like AHA!, offer graphical tools based on these models to allow authors to define adaptation without knowing any adaptation

Migratory divides and their consequences for dispersal, population size and parasite-host interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Møller, A P; Garamszegi, L Z; Peralta-Sánchez, J M; Soler, J J

2011-08-01

Populations of migratory birds differ in their direction of migration with neighbouring populations often migrating in divergent directions separated by migratory divides. A total of 26% of 103 passerine bird species in Europe had migratory divides that were located disproportionately often along a longitudinal gradient in Central Europe, consistent with the assumption of a Quaternary glacial origin of such divides in the Iberian and Balkan peninsulas followed by recolonization. Given that studies have shown significant genetic differentiation and reduced gene flow across migratory divides, we hypothesized that an absence of migratory divides would result in elevated rates of gene flow and hence a reduced level of local adaptation. In a comparative study, species with migratory divides had larger population sizes and population densities and longer dispersal distances than species without migratory divides. Species with migratory divides tended to be habitat generalists. Bird species with migratory divides had higher richness of blood parasites and higher growth rates of Staphylococcus on their eggs during the incubation period. There was weaker cell-mediated immunity in adults and stronger cell lysis in species with migratory divides. These findings may suggest that migratory divides constitute barriers to dispersal with consequences for ecology and evolution of distributions, population sizes, habitats and parasite-host interactions. They also suggest that migratory divides may play a role in local adaptation in host-parasite interactions. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2011 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

Adaptive chaos control and synchronization in only locally Lipschitz systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin Wei

2008-01-01

In the existing results on chaos control and synchronization based on the adaptive controlling technique (ACT), a uniform Lipschitz condition on a given dynamical system is always assumed in advance. However, without this uniform Lipschitz condition, the ACT might be failed in both theoretical analysis and in numerical experiment. This Letter shows how to utilize the ACT to get a rigorous control for the system which is not uniformly Lipschitz but only locally Lipschitz, and even for the system which has unbounded trajectories. In fact, the ACT is proved to possess some limitation, which is actually induced by the nonlinear degree of the original system. Consequently, a piecewise ACT is proposed so as to improve the performance of the existing techniques

The interaction of parental alcoholism, adaptation role, and familial dysfunction.

Science.gov (United States)

Scharff, Judith L; Broida, John P; Conway, Kim; Yue, Alicia

2004-05-01

Many people believe that parental alcoholism has adverse consequences on children-some research fails to support this hypothesis. Familial dysfunction is often regarded as having a more important impact on adults, perhaps because of a failure to recognize that adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs) may have adopted more than one coping strategy. The present study investigated within-group differences in psychological symptomology as measured by the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI). ACOAs, were compared by roles (Hero, Mascot, Lost Child, and Scapegoat) to non-ACOAs as measured by familial dysfunction and roles. MANOVA indicated significant main effects of dysfunction, role, ACOA, and an interaction of role and ACOA. Failures to recognize the impact of parental alcoholism may be caused by multiple adaptation strategies.

Introgression of novel traits from a wild wheat relative improves drought adaptation in wheat.

Science.gov (United States)

Placido, Dante F; Campbell, Malachy T; Folsom, Jing J; Cui, Xinping; Kruger, Greg R; Baenziger, P Stephen; Walia, Harkamal

2013-04-01

Root architecture traits are an important component for improving water stress adaptation. However, selection for aboveground traits under favorable environments in modern cultivars may have led to an inadvertent loss of genes and novel alleles beneficial for adapting to environments with limited water. In this study, we elucidate the physiological and molecular consequences of introgressing an alien chromosome segment (7DL) from a wild wheat relative species (Agropyron elongatum) into cultivated wheat (Triticum aestivum). The wheat translocation line had improved water stress adaptation and higher root and shoot biomass compared with the control genotypes, which showed significant drops in root and shoot biomass during stress. Enhanced access to water due to higher root biomass enabled the translocation line to maintain more favorable gas-exchange and carbon assimilation levels relative to the wild-type wheat genotypes during water stress. Transcriptome analysis identified candidate genes associated with root development. Two of these candidate genes mapped to the site of translocation on chromosome 7DL based on single-feature polymorphism analysis. A brassinosteroid signaling pathway was predicted to be involved in the novel root responses observed in the A. elongatum translocation line, based on the coexpression-based gene network generated by seeding the network with the candidate genes. We present an effective and highly integrated approach that combines root phenotyping, whole-plant physiology, and functional genomics to discover novel root traits and the underlying genes from a wild related species to improve drought adaptation in cultivated wheat.

Shift in the isoelectric-point of milk proteins as a consequence of adaptive divergence between the milks of mammalian species.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Khaldi, Nora

2011-07-29

Abstract Background Milk proteins are required to proceed through a variety of conditions of radically varying pH, which are not identical across mammalian digestive systems. We wished to investigate if the shifts in these requirements have resulted in marked changes in the isoelectric point and charge of milk proteins during evolution. Results We investigated nine major milk proteins in 13 mammals. In comparison with a group of orthologous non-milk proteins, we found that 3 proteins κ-casein, lactadherin, and muc1 have undergone the highest change in isoelectric point during evolution. The pattern of non-synonymous substitutions indicate that selection has played a role in the isoelectric point shift, since residues that show significant evidence of positive selection are much more likely to be charged (p = 0.03 for κ-casein; p < 10-8 for muc1). However, this selection does not appear to be solely due to adaptation to the diversity of mammalian digestive systems, since striking changes are seen among species that resemble each other in terms of their digestion. Conclusion The changes in charge are most likely due to changes of other protein functions, rather than an adaptation to the different mammalian digestive systems. These functions may include differences in bioactive peptide releases in the gut between different mammals, which are known to be a major contributing factor in the functional and nutritional value of mammalian milk. This raises the question of whether bovine milk is optimal in terms of particular protein functions, for human nutrition and possibly disease resistance. This article was reviewed by Fyodor Kondrashov, David Liberles (nominated by David Ardell), and Christophe Lefevre (nominated by Mark Ragan).

Large Ensemble Analytic Framework for Consequence-Driven Discovery of Climate Change Scenarios

Science.gov (United States)

Lamontagne, Jonathan R.; Reed, Patrick M.; Link, Robert; Calvin, Katherine V.; Clarke, Leon E.; Edmonds, James A.

2018-03-01

An analytic scenario generation framework is developed based on the idea that the same climate outcome can result from very different socioeconomic and policy drivers. The framework builds on the Scenario Matrix Framework's abstraction of "challenges to mitigation" and "challenges to adaptation" to facilitate the flexible discovery of diverse and consequential scenarios. We combine visual and statistical techniques for interrogating a large factorial data set of 33,750 scenarios generated using the Global Change Assessment Model. We demonstrate how the analytic framework can aid in identifying which scenario assumptions are most tied to user-specified measures for policy relevant outcomes of interest, specifically for our example high or low mitigation costs. We show that the current approach for selecting reference scenarios can miss policy relevant scenario narratives that often emerge as hybrids of optimistic and pessimistic scenario assumptions. We also show that the same scenario assumption can be associated with both high and low mitigation costs depending on the climate outcome of interest and the mitigation policy context. In the illustrative example, we show how agricultural productivity, population growth, and economic growth are most predictive of the level of mitigation costs. Formulating policy relevant scenarios of deeply and broadly uncertain futures benefits from large ensemble-based exploration of quantitative measures of consequences. To this end, we have contributed a large database of climate change futures that can support "bottom-up" scenario generation techniques that capture a broader array of consequences than those that emerge from limited sampling of a few reference scenarios.

Water System Adaptation To Hydrological Changes: Module 3, Consequences of Prolonged Drought on Urban Water System Resilience: Case Study from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Science.gov (United States)

This course focuses on water system adaptation to short-term and long-term climate and hydrologic stressors that affect water availability, water quality, security, and resilience. The course is organized into 15 sequential modules. The lectures will be augmented by weekly assign...

Technology transfer for adaptation

Science.gov (United States)

Biagini, Bonizella; Kuhl, Laura; Gallagher, Kelly Sims; Ortiz, Claudia

2014-09-01

Technology alone will not be able to solve adaptation challenges, but it is likely to play an important role. As a result of the role of technology in adaptation and the importance of international collaboration for climate change, technology transfer for adaptation is a critical but understudied issue. Through an analysis of Global Environment Facility-managed adaptation projects, we find there is significantly more technology transfer occurring in adaptation projects than might be expected given the pessimistic rhetoric surrounding technology transfer for adaptation. Most projects focused on demonstration and early deployment/niche formation for existing technologies rather than earlier stages of innovation, which is understandable considering the pilot nature of the projects. Key challenges for the transfer process, including technology selection and appropriateness under climate change, markets and access to technology, and diffusion strategies are discussed in more detail.

Enhanced attention amplifies face adaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

Rhodes, Gillian; Jeffery, Linda; Evangelista, Emma; Ewing, Louise; Peters, Marianne; Taylor, Libby

2011-08-15

Perceptual adaptation not only produces striking perceptual aftereffects, but also enhances coding efficiency and discrimination by calibrating coding mechanisms to prevailing inputs. Attention to simple stimuli increases adaptation, potentially enhancing its functional benefits. Here we show that attention also increases adaptation to faces. In Experiment 1, face identity aftereffects increased when attention to adapting faces was increased using a change detection task. In Experiment 2, figural (distortion) face aftereffects increased when attention was increased using a snap game (detecting immediate repeats) during adaptation. Both were large effects. Contributions of low-level adaptation were reduced using free viewing (both experiments) and a size change between adapt and test faces (Experiment 2). We suggest that attention may enhance adaptation throughout the entire cortical visual pathway, with functional benefits well beyond the immediate advantages of selective processing of potentially important stimuli. These results highlight the potential to facilitate adaptive updating of face-coding mechanisms by strategic deployment of attentional resources. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adaptive developmental delay in Chagas disease vectors: an evolutionary ecology approach.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frédéric Menu

2010-05-01

Full Text Available The developmental time of vector insects is important in population dynamics, evolutionary biology, epidemiology and in their responses to global climatic change. In the triatomines (Triatominae, Reduviidae, vectors of Chagas disease, evolutionary ecology concepts, which may allow for a better understanding of their biology, have not been applied. Despite delay in the molting in some individuals observed in triatomines, no effort was made to explain this variability.We applied four methods: (1 an e-mail survey sent to 30 researchers with experience in triatomines, (2 a statistical description of the developmental time of eleven triatomine species, (3 a relationship between development time pattern and climatic inter-annual variability, (4 a mathematical optimization model of evolution of developmental delay (diapause.85.6% of responses informed on prolonged developmental times in 5(th instar nymphs, with 20 species identified with remarkable developmental delays. The developmental time analysis showed some degree of bi-modal pattern of the development time of the 5(th instars in nine out of eleven species but no trend between development time pattern and climatic inter-annual variability was observed. Our optimization model predicts that the developmental delays could be due to an adaptive risk-spreading diapause strategy, only if survival throughout the diapause period and the probability of random occurrence of "bad" environmental conditions are sufficiently high.Developmental delay may not be a simple non-adaptive phenotypic plasticity in development time, and could be a form of adaptive diapause associated to a physiological mechanism related to the postponement of the initiation of reproduction, as an adaptation to environmental stochasticity through a spreading of risk (bet-hedging strategy. We identify a series of parameters that can be measured in the field and laboratory to test this hypothesis. The importance of these findings is

Adaptation to climate change

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Carmin, J.; Tierney, K.; Chu, E.; Hunter, L.M.; Roberts, J.T.; Shi, L.; Dunlap, R.E.; Brulle, R.J.

2015-01-01

Climate change adaptation involves major global and societal challenges such as finding adequate and equitable adaptation funding and integrating adaptation and development programs. Current funding is insufficient. Debates between the Global North and South center on how best to allocate the

Symmetry-adapted Liouville space. Pt. 8

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Temme, F.P.

1990-01-01

A generalized hierarchy over lexical weight-sets is shown to provide significant insight into the structure of identical higher I i spin clusters under the S n /SO(3) dual groups. The use of combinatorial S n word-lengths allows one to derive the dual irreps directly from the combinatorics inherent in the adapted spin space. These advantages arise from the intimate connections between the scalar invariants of Cayley algebra over a field and their lexical combinatorics over vertical strokeI, Σ i M i , ()> space, which itself is a consequence of the S n -group representational algebra. By taking the highest SO(3) weight as the lexical origin, the calculations become recursive over all further expansions of the spin space, i.e., arising from an enhanced magnitude for the component nuclear spins, I i . The method over Hilbert space for spin clusters of I i ≤ 9/2 is more direct than those associated with unitary group algebras; in addition, the cogent beauty of combinatorial concepts derived from Cayley algebra deserves wider recognition in the physical sciences. (orig.)

Planning and costing agriculture's adaptation to climate change: Policy Perspectives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Downing, Tom; Chambwera, Muyeye; Venton, Courtnay Cabot; Dyszynski, Jillian; Crawford, Victoria

2011-10-15

Agriculture has a crucial role to play in meeting development goals – from demand for food as populations grow and become wealthier to maintaining essential ecosystem services, diverse livelihoods, and economic development. Underinvestment over the past 20 years has resulted in a sector that is not adequately prepared for the challenges of climate change. Yet for most developing countries, agriculture has been one of the earliest sectors to be affected by climate change, with negative impacts already apparent and more serious consequences projected for the future. There is increasing recognition by both the climate change and agricultural development communities that agriculture needs to be part of a new global climate change deal. 'No agriculture, no deal' is a clear signal from concerned stakeholders that agriculture will be a key feature of climate change negotiations, both for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting vulnerable populations and economies. There has been a long history of assessments of the impact of climate change on agriculture, and recent international movements to press toward effective action are noteworthy. This Policy Perspectives paper summarises the results from a recent study led by the International Institute for Environment and Development, the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Global Climate Adaptation Partnership, with national teams in five developing countries. The principal conclusions inform policy and planning by addressing the following issues: 1. Framing and methodological development in the assessment of climate adaptation. 2. Assessment of current vulnerabilities, and potential future impacts and costs of adaptation. 3. Identification of strategies and measures considered priorities across regions and types of agriculture in 'pathways of adaptation'.

Combination of Adaptive Feedback Cancellation and Binaural Adaptive Filtering in Hearing Aids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anthony Lombard

2009-01-01

Full Text Available We study a system combining adaptive feedback cancellation and adaptive filtering connecting inputs from both ears for signal enhancement in hearing aids. For the first time, such a binaural system is analyzed in terms of system stability, convergence of the algorithms, and possible interaction effects. As major outcomes of this study, a new stability condition adapted to the considered binaural scenario is presented, some already existing and commonly used feedback cancellation performance measures for the unilateral case are adapted to the binaural case, and possible interaction effects between the algorithms are identified. For illustration purposes, a blind source separation algorithm has been chosen as an example for adaptive binaural spatial filtering. Experimental results for binaural hearing aids confirm the theoretical findings and the validity of the new measures.

Computerized adaptive testing item selection in computerized adaptive learning systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Eggen, Theodorus Johannes Hendrikus Maria; Eggen, T.J.H.M.; Veldkamp, B.P.

2012-01-01

Item selection methods traditionally developed for computerized adaptive testing (CAT) are explored for their usefulness in item-based computerized adaptive learning (CAL) systems. While in CAT Fisher information-based selection is optimal, for recovering learning populations in CAL systems item

Modeling atmospheric dispersion for reactor accident consequence evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alpert, D.J.; Gudiksen, P.H.; Woodard, K.

1982-01-01

Atmospheric dispersion models are a central part of computer codes for the evaluation of potential reactor accident consequences. A variety of ways of treating to varying degrees the many physical processes that can have an impact on the predicted consequences exists. The currently available models are reviewed and their capabilities and limitations, as applied to reactor accident consequence analyses, are discussed

Independent AMP and NAD signaling regulates C2C12 differentiation and metabolic adaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Chia George; Burkholder, Thomas J

2016-12-01

The balance of ATP production and consumption is reflected in adenosine monophosphate (AMP) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) content and has been associated with phenotypic plasticity in striated muscle. Some studies have suggested that AMPK-dependent plasticity may be an indirect consequence of increased NAD synthesis and SIRT1 activity. The primary goal of this study was to assess the interaction of AMP- and NAD-dependent signaling in adaptation of C2C12 myotubes. Changes in myotube developmental and metabolic gene expression were compared following incubation with 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide (AICAR) and nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) to activate AMPK- and NAD-related signaling. AICAR showed no effect on NAD pool or nampt expression but significantly reduced histone H3 acetylation and GLUT1, cytochrome C oxidase subunit 2 (COX2), and MYH3 expression. In contrast, NMN supplementation for 24 h increased NAD pool by 45 % but did not reduce histone H3 acetylation nor promote mitochondrial gene expression. The combination of AMP and NAD signaling did not induce further metabolic adaptation, but NMN ameliorated AICAR-induced myotube reduction. We interpret these results as indication that AMP and NAD contribute to C2C12 differentiation and metabolic adaptation independently.

Constrained consequence

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Britz, K

2011-09-01

Full Text Available their basic properties and relationship. In Section 3 we present a modal instance of these constructions which also illustrates with an example how to reason abductively with constrained entailment in a causal or action oriented context. In Section 4 we... of models with the former approach, whereas in Section 3.3 we give an example illustrating ways in which C can be de ned with both. Here we employ the following versions of local consequence: De nition 3.4. Given a model M = hW;R;Vi and formulas...

40 CFR 68.165 - Offsite consequence analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 15 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Offsite consequence analysis. 68.165 Section 68.165 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CHEMICAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROVISIONS Risk Management Plan § 68.165 Offsite consequence...

An Examination of the Relationship between Consequence-Specific Normative Belief Patterns and Alcohol-Related Consequences among College Students

Science.gov (United States)

Reavy, Racheal; Cleveland, Michael J.; Mallett, Kimberly A.; Scaglione, Nichole M.; Sell, Nichole M.; Turrisi, Rob

2016-01-01

Background Research has previously identified a high-risk subgroup of college students who experience high levels of multiple and repeated alcohol-related consequences (MRC group). The purpose of this study was to examine the association between consequence-specific normative influences and experiencing multiple and repeated drinking-related consequences using a person-centered approach. Normative subgroups were identified using latent profile analysis (LPA), which were then used to predict MRC group status at 6-month follow-up. Methods First-year college student drinkers (N=2024) at a large northeastern university completed online surveys during the fall and spring semesters of their freshman year. Retention was high with 92% of invited participants completing T2, of which the MRC group accounted for 27%. Results Three student profiles were identified from LPA on T1 data: Non Permissive Parents (77%), Positive Peer and Parent Norms (20%), and Permissive Parents (3%). Logistic regression revealed that both the Positive Peer and Parent Norms and Permissive Parents profiles had significantly higher odds of MRC group membership at follow-up (1.81 and 2.78 times greater, respectively). Conclusions The results suggest value in prevention efforts that include normative beliefs about alcohol-related consequences. Further, parental norms in particular have the potential to enhance interventions, especially through direct communication of disapproval for experiencing consequences. PMID:27805274

Quantifying the Adaptive Cycle.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David G Angeler

Full Text Available The adaptive cycle was proposed as a conceptual model to portray patterns of change in complex systems. Despite the model having potential for elucidating change across systems, it has been used mainly as a metaphor, describing system dynamics qualitatively. We use a quantitative approach for testing premises (reorganisation, conservatism, adaptation in the adaptive cycle, using Baltic Sea phytoplankton communities as an example of such complex system dynamics. Phytoplankton organizes in recurring spring and summer blooms, a well-established paradigm in planktology and succession theory, with characteristic temporal trajectories during blooms that may be consistent with adaptive cycle phases. We used long-term (1994-2011 data and multivariate analysis of community structure to assess key components of the adaptive cycle. Specifically, we tested predictions about: reorganisation: spring and summer blooms comprise distinct community states; conservatism: community trajectories during individual adaptive cycles are conservative; and adaptation: phytoplankton species during blooms change in the long term. All predictions were supported by our analyses. Results suggest that traditional ecological paradigms such as phytoplankton successional models have potential for moving the adaptive cycle from a metaphor to a framework that can improve our understanding how complex systems organize and reorganize following collapse. Quantifying reorganization, conservatism and adaptation provides opportunities to cope with the intricacies and uncertainties associated with fast ecological change, driven by shifting system controls. Ultimately, combining traditional ecological paradigms with heuristics of complex system dynamics using quantitative approaches may help refine ecological theory and improve our understanding of the resilience of ecosystems.

An Adaptive Critic Approach to Reference Model Adaptation

Science.gov (United States)

Krishnakumar, K.; Limes, G.; Gundy-Burlet, K.; Bryant, D.

2003-01-01

Neural networks have been successfully used for implementing control architectures for different applications. In this work, we examine a neural network augmented adaptive critic as a Level 2 intelligent controller for a C- 17 aircraft. This intelligent control architecture utilizes an adaptive critic to tune the parameters of a reference model, which is then used to define the angular rate command for a Level 1 intelligent controller. The present architecture is implemented on a high-fidelity non-linear model of a C-17 aircraft. The goal of this research is to improve the performance of the C-17 under degraded conditions such as control failures and battle damage. Pilot ratings using a motion based simulation facility are included in this paper. The benefits of using an adaptive critic are documented using time response comparisons for severe damage situations.

The psychometric properties of a shortened Dutch version of the consequences scale used in the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara De Bruyn

Full Text Available Alcohol and drug misuse among college students has been studied extensively and has been clearly identified as a public health problem. Within more general populations alcohol misuse remains one of the leading causes of disease, disability and death worldwide. Conducting research on alcohol misuse requires valid and reliable instruments to measure its consequences. One scale that is often used is the consequences scale in the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey (CADS. However, psychometric studies on the CADS are rare and the ones that do exist report varying results. This article aims to address this imbalance by examining the psychometric properties of a Dutch version of the CADS in a large sample of Flemish university and college students.The analyses are based on data collected by the inter-university project 'Head in the clouds', measuring alcohol use among students. In total, 19,253 students participated (22.1% response rate. The CADS scale was measured using 19 consequences, and participants were asked how often they had experienced these on a 6-point scale. Firstly, the factor structure of the CADS was examined. Two models from literature were compared by performing confirmatory factor analyses (CFA and were adapted if necessary. Secondly, we assessed the composite reliability as well as the convergent, discriminant and concurrent validity.The two-factor model, identifying personal consequences (had a hangover; got nauseated or vomited; missed a class and social consequences (got into an argument or fight; been criticized by someone I know; done something I later regretted; been hurt or injured was indicated to be the best model, having both a good model fit and an acceptable composite reliability. In addition, construct validity was evaluated to be acceptable, with good discriminant validity, although the convergent validity of the factor measuring 'social consequences' could be improved. Concurrent validity was evaluated as good.In deciding

Domestic policy consequences of new implementation models. Consequences for industrial niches; Industripolitiske konsekvenser av nye gjennomfoeringsmodeller. Konsekvenser for nisjebedriftene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johannessen, T.

1995-12-31

The paper relates to the consequences of domestic policy with the focus on new implementation models used for cost reduction of offshore development projects in Norway. The paper puts the attention to the consequences from implementation models on industrial niches (subcontractors)

Adaptation and Cultural Diffusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Ormrod, Richard K.

1992-01-01

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

Adaptation improves face trustworthiness discrimination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruce D Keefe

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Adaptation to facial characteristics, such as gender and viewpoint, has been shown to both bias our perception of faces and improve facial discrimination. In this study, we examined whether adapting to two levels of face trustworthiness improved sensitivity around the adapted level. Facial trustworthiness was manipulated by morphing between trustworthy and untrustworthy prototypes, each generated by morphing eight trustworthy and eight untrustworthy faces respectively. In the first experiment, just-noticeable differences (JNDs were calculated for an untrustworthy face after participants adapted to an untrustworthy face, a trustworthy face, or did not adapt. In the second experiment, the three conditions were identical, except that JNDs were calculated for a trustworthy face. In the third experiment we examined whether adapting to an untrustworthy male face improved discrimination to an untrustworthy female face. In all experiments, participants completed a two-interval forced-choice adaptive staircase procedure, in which they judged which face was more untrustworthy. JNDs were derived from a psychometric function fitted to the data. Adaptation improved sensitivity to faces conveying the same level of trustworthiness when compared to no adaptation. When adapting to and discriminating around a different level of face trustworthiness there was no improvement in sensitivity and JNDs were equivalent to those in the no adaptation condition. The improvement in sensitivity was found to occur even when adapting to a face with different gender and identity. These results suggest that adaptation to facial trustworthiness can selectively enhance mechanisms underlying the coding of facial trustworthiness to improve perceptual sensitivity. These findings have implications for the role of our visual experience in the decisions we make about the trustworthiness of other individuals.

Bridging recommendation and adaptation: Generic Adaptation Framework - Twittomender compliance study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hannon, J.; Knutov, E.; De Bra, P.M.E.; Pechenizkiy, M.; McCarthy, K.; Smyth, B.; Pechenizkiy, M.; Knutov, E.; Yudelson, M.; Abel, F.; Houben, G.J.P.M.; Herder, E.

2012-01-01

In this paper we consider Recommender System (RS) modeling in terms of Adaptive Hypermedia Systems (AHS) and investigate AHS and RS functionality compliance in terms of common features, functionality, building blocks and composition of the system. We bring up complementary aspects of adaptation,

Ambiguous Adaptation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller Larsen, Marcus; Lyngsie, Jacob

2017-01-01

We investigate the connection between contract duration, relational mechanisms, and premature relationship termination. Based on an analysis of a large sample of exchange relationships in the global service-provider industry, we argue that investments in either longer contract duration or more in...... ambiguous reference points for adaption and thus increase the likelihood of premature termination by restricting the parties' set of adaptive actions....

Subjective and Objective Work-Based Identity Consequences

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Botha, F.C.; Roodt, G.; van de Bunt-Kokhuis, S.G.M.; Jansen, P.G.W.; Roodt, G.

2015-01-01

The aim of this chapter is to provide a systematic literature review on the selected consequences of work-based identity (WI). The first section of the chapter includes the following subjective consequences: self-report measures on personal alienation, helping behaviour (H-OCB), burnout (consisting

Validation of an Adapted French Form of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale in Four Francophone Countries

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, Claire S.; Broonen, Jean-Paul; Stauffer, Sarah D.; Hamtiaux, Armanda; Pouyaud, Jacques; Zecca, Gregory; Houssemand, Claude; Rossier, Jerome

2013-01-01

This study presents the validation of a French version of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale in four Francophone countries. The aim was to re-analyze the item selection and then compare this newly developed French-language form with the international form 2.0. Exploratory factor analysis was used as a tool for item selection, and confirmatory factor…

Experiences of falls and strategies to manage the consequences of falls in persons with late effects of polio: A qualitative study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christina Brogårdh

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Objective: To explore how persons with late effects of polio experience falls and what strategies they use to manage the consequences of falls. Design: A qualitative study with face-to-face interviews. Data were analysed by systematic text condensation. Participants: Fourteen ambulatory persons (7 women; mean age 70 years with late effects of polio. Results: Analysis resulted in one main theme, “Everyday life is a challenge to avoid the consequences of falls”, and 3 categories with 7 subcategories. Participants perceived that falls were unpredictable and could occur anywhere. Even slightly uneven surfaces could cause a fall, and increased impairments following late effects of polio led to reduced movement control and an inability to adjust balance quickly. Physical injuries were described after the falls, as well as emotional and psychological reactions, such as embarrassment, frustration and fear of falling. Assistive devices, careful planning and strategic thinking were strategies to prevent falls, together with adaptation and social comparisons to mitigate the emotional reactions. Conclusion: Experiences of falls greatly affect persons with late effects of polio in daily life. To reduce falls and fall-related consequences both problem-focused and emotion-focused strategies are used. In order to increase daily functioning, these findings should be included in a multifaceted falls management programme.

Adaptive Controller Effects on Pilot Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Trujillo, Anna C.; Gregory, Irene M.; Hempley, Lucas E.

2014-01-01

Adaptive control provides robustness and resilience for highly uncertain, and potentially unpredictable, flight dynamics characteristic. Some of the recent flight experiences of pilot-in-the-loop with an adaptive controller have exhibited unpredicted interactions. In retrospect, this is not surprising once it is realized that there are now two adaptive controllers interacting, the software adaptive control system and the pilot. An experiment was conducted to categorize these interactions on the pilot with an adaptive controller during control surface failures. One of the objectives of this experiment was to determine how the adaptation time of the controller affects pilots. The pitch and roll errors, and stick input increased for increasing adaptation time and during the segment when the adaptive controller was adapting. Not surprisingly, altitude, cross track and angle deviations, and vertical velocity also increase during the failure and then slowly return to pre-failure levels. Subjects may change their behavior even as an adaptive controller is adapting with additional stick inputs. Therefore, the adaptive controller should adapt as fast as possible to minimize flight track errors. This will minimize undesirable interactions between the pilot and the adaptive controller and maintain maneuvering precision.

Attention modulates visual size adaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kreutzer, Sylvia; Fink, Gereon R; Weidner, Ralph

2015-01-01

The current study determined in healthy subjects (n = 16) whether size adaptation occurs at early, i.e., preattentive, levels of processing or whether higher cognitive processes such as attention can modulate the illusion. To investigate this issue, bottom-up stimulation was kept constant across conditions by using a single adaptation display containing both small and large adapter stimuli. Subjects' attention was directed to either the large or small adapter stimulus by means of a luminance detection task. When attention was directed toward the small as compared to the large adapter, the perceived size of the subsequent target was significantly increased. Data suggest that different size adaptation effects can be induced by one and the same stimulus depending on the current allocation of attention. This indicates that size adaptation is subject to attentional modulation. These findings are in line with previous research showing that transient as well as sustained attention modulates visual features, such as contrast sensitivity and spatial frequency, and influences adaptation in other contexts, such as motion adaptation (Alais & Blake, 1999; Lankheet & Verstraten, 1995). Based on a recently suggested model (Pooresmaeili, Arrighi, Biagi, & Morrone, 2013), according to which perceptual adaptation is based on local excitation and inhibition in V1, we conclude that guiding attention can boost these local processes in one or the other direction by increasing the weight of the attended adapter. In sum, perceptual adaptation, although reflected in changes of neural activity at early levels (as shown in the aforementioned study), is nevertheless subject to higher-order modulation.

Biodiversity and global change. Adaptative responses to global change: results and prospective. IFB-GICC restitution colloquium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Despres, L.; Hossaert-Mckey, M.; Martin, J.F.; Pont, D.; Valero, M.; Chave, J.; Benizri, E.; Amiaud, B.; Boury-Esnault, N.; Fritz, H.; Lavelle, P.; Martin, F.; Poulet, S.; Blanchard, F.; Cheddadi, R.; Dupouey, J.L.; Hulle, M.; Michaux, J.; Souissi, S.; Bridault, A.; Dambrine, E.; Gomez, B.; Thevenard, F.; Legendre, S.; Suc, J.P.; Zeitoun, V.; Bezancon, G.; Frascaria-Lacoste, N.; Ponsard, S.; Bourguet, D.; Vigne, J.D.; Doyen, L.; Joly, P.; Gourlet-Fleury, S.; Garnier, E.; Lebaron, Ph.; Boulinier, Th.; Chuine, I.; Jiguet, F.; Couvet, D.; Soussana, J.F.; Weimerskirsch, H.; Grosbois, V.; Bretagnolle, V.

2006-01-01

Global change is the consequence of the worldwide human print on ecology. The uncontrolled use of fossil fuels, the urbanization, the intensifying of agriculture, the homogenization of life styles and cultures, the homogenization of fauna and vegetation, the commercial trades, the bio-invasions, the over-exploitation of resources and the emergence of new economic powers (China, India, Brazil..) represent an adaptative dynamics of interactions which affects the overall biosphere and the adaptative capacities and the future of all species. Biodiversity is an ecological and societal insurance against the risks and uncertainties linked with global change. The French institute of biodiversity (IFB) has created a working group in charge of a study on global change and biodiversity, in particular in terms of: speed and acceleration of processes, interaction between the different organization levels of the world of living, scale changes, and adaptative capacities. 38 projects with an interdisciplinary approach have been retained by the IFB and the Ministry of ecology and sustainable development. The conclusion of these projects were presented at this restitution colloquium and are summarized in this document. The presentations are organized in 7 sessions dealing with: global changes and adaptation mechanisms; functional responses to global changes; spatial responses to global changes; temporal responses to global changes; selective answers to global changes; available tools and ecological services; scenarios and projections. (J.S.)

Forecasting Sensorimotor Adaptability from Baseline Inter-Trial Correlations

Science.gov (United States)

Beaton, K. H.; Bloomberg, J. J.

2014-01-01

One of the greatest challenges surrounding adaptation to the spaceflight environment is the large variability in symptoms, and corresponding functional impairments, from one crewmember to the next. This renders preflight training and countermeasure development difficult, as a "one-size-fits-all" approach is inappropriate. Therefore, it would be highly advantageous to know ahead of time which crewmembers might have more difficulty adjusting to the novel g-levels inherent to spaceflight. Such knowledge could guide individually customized countermeasures, which would enable more efficient use of crew time, both preflight and inflight, and provide better outcomes. The primary goal of this project is to look for a baseline performance metric that can forecast sensorimotor adaptability without exposure to an adaptive stimulus. We propose a novel hypothesis that considers baseline inter-trial correlations, the trial-to-trial fluctuations in motor performance, as a predictor of individual sensorimotor adaptive capabilities. To-date, a strong relationship has been found between baseline inter-trial correlations and adaptability in two oculomotor systems. For this project, we will explore an analogous predictive mechanism in the locomotion system. METHODS: Baseline Inter-trial Correlations: Inter-trial correlations specify the relationships among repeated trials of a given task that transpire as a consequence of correcting for previous performance errors over multiple timescales. We can quantify the strength of inter-trial correlations by measuring the decay of the autocorrelation function (ACF), which describes how rapidly information from past trials is "forgotten." Processes whose ACFs decay more slowly exhibit longer-term inter-trial correlations (longer memory processes), while processes whose ACFs decay more rapidly exhibit shorterterm inter-trial correlations (shorter memory processes). Longer-term correlations reflect low-frequency activity, which is more easily

Fast, accurate, and robust frequency offset estimation based on modified adaptive Kalman filter in coherent optical communication system

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yanfu; Xiang, Qian; Zhang, Qun; Zhou, Zhongqing; Jiang, Wen; He, Qianwen; Yao, Yong

2017-09-01

We propose a joint estimation scheme for fast, accurate, and robust frequency offset (FO) estimation along with phase estimation based on modified adaptive Kalman filter (MAKF). The scheme consists of three key modules: extend Kalman filter (EKF), lock detector, and FO cycle slip recovery. The EKF module estimates time-varying phase induced by both FO and laser phase noise. The lock detector module makes decision between acquisition mode and tracking mode and consequently sets the EKF tuning parameter in an adaptive manner. The third module can detect possible cycle slip in the case of large FO and make proper correction. Based on the simulation and experimental results, the proposed MAKF has shown excellent estimation performance featuring high accuracy, fast convergence, as well as the capability of cycle slip recovery.

Morphological changes of the ovipositor in species of Cheloninae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae in the course of adaptation to egg-larval parasitism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brajković M.

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Adaptation to the parasitic way of life in braconids has led to a number of consequences in the morphology of the ovipositor of females. As a derivative of the paired appendages of the eighth and ninth abdominal segments, the ovipositor is a complex morphological structure of gonapophysal origin whose muscular system makes possible highly complex movements during the act of egg-laying. In some groups of braconids, imaginal and egg-larval forms of parasitism have developed in the course of evolution. In adapting to these two forms of parasitism, the ovipositor underwent significant changes, while still remaining a successful structure for the paralyzation and laying of eggs in the host. This paper presents a survey of the ovipository apparatus structure in the species of the genera Ascogaster Wesmael, Leptodrepana Shaw, Chelonus Panzer, Microchelonus Szepligeti, and Phanerotoma Wesmael, and gives a review of the changes in structure of the ovipositor during adaptation to egg-larval parasitism.

A Comparative Survey of Adaptive Codec Solutions for VoIP over Multirate WLANs: A Capacity versus Quality Performance Trade-Off

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sfairopoulou A

2011-01-01

Full Text Available In multi-rate WLANs, users can suffer transmission rate changes due to the link adaptation mechanism. This results in a variable capacity channel, which is very hostile for VoIP and can cause serious quality of service (QoS degradation in all active calls. Various codec adaptation mechanisms have been proposed as a solution to this, as well as to solve congestion problems on WLAN environments. Here, these solutions are presented, categorized according to the adaptation policy and scenario they implement, and evaluated at call-level in terms of the resulting blocking and dropping probabilities, as well as the perceived voice quality. To define a common performance metric, a new index named VGoS-factor is presented, which, by combining these capacity and quality indicators, can provide an overall view of the capacity versus quality trade-off of the proposed mechanisms and consequently help in choosing the adequate policy for each scenario.

How Harmful are Adaptation Restrictions

OpenAIRE

Bruin, de, K.C.; Dellink, R.B.

2009-01-01

The dominant assumption in economic models of climate policy remains that adaptation will be implemented in an optimal manner. There are, however, several reasons why optimal levels of adaptation may not be attainable. This paper investigates the effects of suboptimal levels of adaptation, i.e. adaptation restrictions, on the composition and level of climate change costs and on welfare. Several adaptation restrictions are identified and then simulated in a revised DICE model, extended with ad...

Joint sub-carrier pairing and resource allocation for cognitive networks with adaptive relaying

KAUST Repository

Soury, Hamza; Bader, F.; Shaat, M.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2013-01-01

Relayed transmission in a cognitive radio (CR) environment could be used to increase the coverage and capacity of communication system that benefits already from the efficient management of the spectrum developed by CR. Furthermore, there are many types of cooperative communications, including decode-and-forward (DAF) and amplify-and-forward (AAF). In this paper, these techniques are combined in an adaptive mode to benefit from its forwarding advantages; this mode is called adaptive relaying protocol (ARP). Moreover, this work focuses on the joint power allocation in a cognitive radio system in a cooperative mode that operates ARP in multi-carrier mode. The multi-carrier scenario is used in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) mode, and the problem is formulated to maximize the end-to-end rate by searching the best power allocation at the transmitters. This work includes, besides the ARP model, a sub-carrier pairing strategy that allows the relays to switch to the best sub-carrier pairs to increase the throughput. The optimization problem is formulated and solved under the interference and power budget constraints using the sub-gradient algorithm. The simulation results confirm the efficiency of the proposed adaptive relaying protocol in comparison to other relaying techniques. The results show also the consequence of the choice of the pairing strategy. 2013 Stolojescu-Crisan and Isar; licensee Springer.

Joint sub-carrier pairing and resource allocation for cognitive networks with adaptive relaying

KAUST Repository

Soury, Hamza

2013-11-09

Relayed transmission in a cognitive radio (CR) environment could be used to increase the coverage and capacity of communication system that benefits already from the efficient management of the spectrum developed by CR. Furthermore, there are many types of cooperative communications, including decode-and-forward (DAF) and amplify-and-forward (AAF). In this paper, these techniques are combined in an adaptive mode to benefit from its forwarding advantages; this mode is called adaptive relaying protocol (ARP). Moreover, this work focuses on the joint power allocation in a cognitive radio system in a cooperative mode that operates ARP in multi-carrier mode. The multi-carrier scenario is used in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) mode, and the problem is formulated to maximize the end-to-end rate by searching the best power allocation at the transmitters. This work includes, besides the ARP model, a sub-carrier pairing strategy that allows the relays to switch to the best sub-carrier pairs to increase the throughput. The optimization problem is formulated and solved under the interference and power budget constraints using the sub-gradient algorithm. The simulation results confirm the efficiency of the proposed adaptive relaying protocol in comparison to other relaying techniques. The results show also the consequence of the choice of the pairing strategy. 2013 Stolojescu-Crisan and Isar; licensee Springer.

Joint Subcarrier Pairing and Resource Allocation for Cognitive Network and Adaptive Relaying Strategy

KAUST Repository

Soury, Hamza

2012-05-01

Recent measurements show that the spectrum is under-utilized by licensed users in wireless communication. Cognitive radio (CR) has been proposed as a suitable solution to manage the inefficient usage of the spectrum and increase coverage area of wireless networks. The concept is based on allowing a group of secondary users (SUs) to share the unused radio spectrum originally owned by the primary user (PUs). The operation of CR should not cause harmful interference to the PUs. In the other hand, relayed transmission increases the coverage and achievable capacity of communication systems and in particular in CR systems. In fact there are many types of cooperative communications, however the two main ones are decode-and-forward (DAF) and amplify-and-forward (AAF). Adaptive relaying scheme is a relaying technique by which the benefits of the amplifying or decode and forward techniques can be achieved by switching the forwarding technique according to the quality of the signal. In this dissertation, we investigate the power allocation for an adaptive relaying protocol (ARP) scheme in cognitive system by maximizing the end-to-end rate and searching the best carriers pairing distribution. The optimization problem is under the interference and power budget constraints. The simulation results confirm the efficiency of the proposed adaptive relaying protocol in comparison to other relaying techniques, and the consequence of the choice of the pairing strategy.

Tracking adaptation and measuring development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brooks, Nick; Anderson, Simon; Ayers, Jessica; Burton, Ian; Tellam, Ian

2011-11-15

This is the first paper in the new IIED Climate Change Working Paper series. As adaptation to climate change becomes the focus of increasing attention and the target of significant spending, there is a growing need for frameworks and tools that enable organisations to track and assess the outcomes of adaptation interventions. This paper presents a coherent framework for climate change adaptation programming, including potential indicators, or indicator categories/types, for tracking and evaluating the success of adaptation support and adaptation interventions. The paper begins with a discussion of some of the key issues related to the evaluation of adaptation, and outlines some of the main difficulties and constraints with respect to the development of adaptation indicators. Next, an evaluation framework is proposed and indicator categories or 'domains' are identified. Lastly, key conclusions are provided and a theory of change is outlined that shows how development and use of the framework could lead to more effective adaptation investments for climate resilient development.

College Alcohol Beliefs and Drinking Consequences: A Multiple Mediation Analysis of Norms, Expectancies, and Willingness to Experience Drinking Consequences

Science.gov (United States)

Osberg, Timothy M.; Boyer, Amber

2018-01-01

Objective: We explored the potential mediating role of willingness to experience drinking consequences and other traditional alcohol outcome predictors (descriptive norms, injunctive norms, positive alcohol expectancies) in explaining the association between college alcohol beliefs1 (CABs) and the actual experience of drinking consequences among…

Adaptive and Mutational Resistance: Role of Porins and Efflux Pumps in Drug Resistance

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández, Lucía

2012-01-01

Summary: The substantial use of antibiotics in the clinic, combined with a dearth of new antibiotic classes, has led to a gradual increase in the resistance of bacterial pathogens to these compounds. Among the various mechanisms by which bacteria endure the action of antibiotics, those affecting influx and efflux are of particular importance, as they limit the interaction of the drug with its intracellular targets and, consequently, its deleterious effects on the cell. This review evaluates the impact of porins and efflux pumps on two major types of resistance, namely, mutational and adaptive types of resistance, both of which are regarded as key phenomena in the global rise of antibiotic resistance among pathogenic microorganisms. In particular, we explain how adaptive and mutational events can dramatically influence the outcome of antibiotic therapy by altering the mechanisms of influx and efflux of antibiotics. The identification of porins and pumps as major resistance markers has opened new possibilities for the development of novel therapeutic strategies directed specifically against these mechanisms. PMID:23034325

Face adaptation improves gender discrimination.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Hua; Shen, Jianhong; Chen, Juan; Fang, Fang

2011-01-01

Adaptation to a visual pattern can alter the sensitivities of neuronal populations encoding the pattern. However, the functional roles of adaptation, especially in high-level vision, are still equivocal. In the present study, we performed three experiments to investigate if face gender adaptation could affect gender discrimination. Experiments 1 and 2 revealed that adapting to a male/female face could selectively enhance discrimination for male/female faces. Experiment 3 showed that the discrimination enhancement induced by face adaptation could transfer across a substantial change in three-dimensional face viewpoint. These results provide further evidence suggesting that, similar to low-level vision, adaptation in high-level vision could calibrate the visual system to current inputs of complex shapes (i.e. face) and improve discrimination at the adapted characteristic. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adaption of the LHC cold mass cooling system to the requirements of the Future Circular Collider (FCC)

Science.gov (United States)

Kotnig, C.; Tavian, L.; Brenn, G.

2017-12-01

The cooling of the superconducting magnet cold masses with superfluid helium (He II) is a well-established concept successfully in operation for years in the LHC. Consequently, its application for the cooling of FCC magnets is an obvious option. The 12-kW heat loads distributed over 10-km long sectors not only require an adaption of the magnet bayonet heat exchangers but also present new challenges to the cryogenic plants, the distribution system and the control strategy. This paper recalls the basic LHC cooling concept with superfluid helium and defines the main parameters for the adaption to the FCC requirements. Pressure drop and hydrostatic head are developed in the distribution and pumping systems; their impact on the magnet temperature profile and the corresponding cooling efficiency is presented and compared for different distribution and pumping schemes.

A qualitative assessment of climate adaptation options and some estimates of adaptation costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Ierland, E.C.; De Bruin, K.; Dellink, R.B.; Ruijs, A.

2006-12-01

The Routeplanner project aims to provide a 'systematic assessment' of potential adaptation options to respond to climate change in the Netherlands in connection to spatial planning. The study is the result of a policy oriented project that took place between May and September 2006. The aim of the current study is to provide a 'qualitative assessment' of the direct and indirect effects of adaptation options and to provide an assessment of some of the costs and benefits of adaptation options. The present report presents and summarizes the results of all phases of the study: an inventory of adaptation options, a qualitative assessment of the effects of the adaptation options for the Netherlands in the long run, a database which allows to rank the various options according to a set of criteria and a relative ranking on the basis of these criteria. Finally, the report also contains the best available information on costs and benefits of various adaptation options.

29 CFR 2570.114 - Consequences of default.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Consequences of default. 2570.114 Section 2570.114 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR... ERISA Section 502(c)(6) § 2570.114 Consequences of default. For 502(c)(6) civil penalty proceedings...

29 CFR 2570.134 - Consequences of default.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Consequences of default. 2570.134 Section 2570.134 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR... ERISA Section 502(c)(7) § 2570.134 Consequences of default. For 502(c)(7) civil penalty proceedings...

29 CFR 2570.164 - Consequences of default.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Consequences of default. 2570.164 Section 2570.164 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR... ERISA Section 502(c)(8) § 2570.164 Consequences of default. For 502(c)(8) civil penalty proceedings...

Greenhouse effect: analysis, incertitudes, consequences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perrier, A.

1991-01-01

A general presentation of climatic changes due to greenhouse effect with their consequences is analysed. After a schematic description of this effect a simplified atmospheric model (box model) is proposed. This model integrates the main feedback effects and quantifies them. The effects of astronomic and atmospheric factors on climatic changes are analyzed and compared with classical paleoclimatic results. This study shows the need of good global modelization to evaluate long term quantification of climatic greenhouse effects according to the main time lag of the several biospheric boxes. An overview of biologic and agronomic consequences is given to promote new research subjects and to orientate protecting and conservative biospheric actions [fr

The purpose of adaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gardner, Andy

2017-10-06

A central feature of Darwin's theory of natural selection is that it explains the purpose of biological adaptation. Here, I: emphasize the scientific importance of understanding what adaptations are for, in terms of facilitating the derivation of empirically testable predictions; discuss the population genetical basis for Darwin's theory of the purpose of adaptation, with reference to Fisher's 'fundamental theorem of natural selection'; and show that a deeper understanding of the purpose of adaptation is achieved in the context of social evolution, with reference to inclusive fitness and superorganisms.

Adaptability in the workplace: development of a taxonomy of adaptive performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Pulakos, E D; Arad, S; Donovan, M A; Plamondon, K E

2000-08-01

The purpose of this research was to develop a taxonomy of adaptive job performance and examine the implications of this taxonomy for understanding, predicting, and training adaptive behavior in work settings. Two studies were conducted to address this issue. In Study 1, over 1,000 critical incidents from 21 different jobs were content analyzed to identify an 8-dimension taxonomy of adaptive performance. Study 2 reports the development and administration of an instrument, the Job Adaptability Inventory, that was used to empirically examine the proposed taxonomy in 24 different jobs. Exploratory factor analyses using data from 1,619 respondents supported the proposed 8-dimension taxonomy from Study 1. Subsequent confirmatory factor analyses on the remainder of the sample (n = 1,715) indicated a good fit for the 8-factor model. Results and implications are discussed.

The Urban Adaptation and Adaptation Process of Urban Migrant Children: A Qualitative Study

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yang; Fang, Xiaoyi; Cai, Rong; Wu, Yang; Zhang, Yaofang

2009-01-01

This article employs qualitative research methods to explore the urban adaptation and adaptation processes of Chinese migrant children. Through twenty-one in-depth interviews with migrant children, the researchers discovered: The participant migrant children showed a fairly high level of adaptation to the city; their process of urban adaptation…

Adaptations in Play

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Ida Kathrine Hammeleff

2017-01-01

2010). Such adaptations make use of different strategies for capturing the various aspects of their source. Talisman: Digital Edition (Nomad Games 2014) largely adopts the same primary mechanics of the board game Talisman (Fantasy Flight Games 2008) while StarCraft: The Board Game (Fantasy Flight Games...... from television or cinema (Woods 2012). Furthermore, since the early days of digital games, tabletop games have served as a source of inspiration for many video-game designers, and more recently we have seen the occurrence of tabletop game adaptations of popular video-games such as StarCraft (Blizzard...... similarities and differences equally and thus challenges the ‘ideology of fidelity’ that has long permeated the field of adaption studies. This presentation explores adaptations between digital and non-digital games. This analysis is inspired by intermedial studies (e.g. Elleström 2010) that distinguishes...

Hepatic steatosis : metabolic consequences

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boer, Adriana Maria den

2006-01-01

In this thesis we focused on the causes and consequences of hepatic steatosis. Epidemiological studies in humans, as well as experimental studies in animal models, have shown an association between visceral obesity and dyslipidemia, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The mechanism

Climate Change Perceptions of NY State Farmers: The Role of Risk Perceptions and Adaptive Capacity

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, Bruno; Burnham, Morey; Terracina-Hartman, Carol; Sopchak, Amanda R.; Selfa, Theresa

2016-12-01

Climate change is expected to severely impact agricultural practices in many important food-producing regions, including the Northeast United States. Changing climate conditions, such as increases in the amount of rainfall, will require farmers to adapt. Yet, little is known with regard to farmers' perceptions and understandings about climate change, especially in the industrialized country context. This paper aims at overcoming this research limitation, as well as determining the existing contextual, cognitive, and psychological barriers that can prevent adoption of sustainable practices of farmers in New York State. The study is framed within the adaptive capacity and risk perception literature, and is based on a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with farmers in 21 farms in two counties in Central New York. The results reveal diverging views about the long-term consequences of climate change. Results also reveal that past experience remains as the most important source of information that influences beliefs and perceptions about climate change, confirming previous research.