Sensitivity analysis of human brain structural network construction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kuang Wei

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Network neuroscience leverages diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging and tractography to quantify structural connectivity of the human brain. However, scientists and practitioners lack a clear understanding of the effects of varying tractography parameters on the constructed structural networks. With diffusion images from the Human Connectome Project (HCP, we characterize how structural networks are impacted by the spatial resolution of brain atlases, total number of tractography streamlines, and grey matter dilation with various graph metrics. We demonstrate how injudicious combinations of highly refined brain parcellations and low numbers of streamlines may inadvertently lead to disconnected network models with isolated nodes. Furthermore, we provide solutions to significantly reduce the likelihood of generating disconnected networks. In addition, for different tractography parameters, we investigate the distributions of values taken by various graph metrics across the population of HCP subjects. Analyzing the ranks of individual subjects within the graph metric distributions, we find that the ranks of individuals are affected differently by atlas scale changes. Our work serves as a guideline for researchers to optimize the selection of tractography parameters and illustrates how biological characteristics of the brain derived in network neuroscience studies can be affected by the choice of atlas parcellation schemes. Diffusion tractography has been proven to be a promising noninvasive technique to study the network properties of the human brain. However, how various tractography and network construction parameters affect network properties has not been studied using a large cohort of high-quality data. We utilize data provided by the Human Connectome Project to characterize the changes to network properties induced by varying the brain parcellation atlas scales, the number of reconstructed tractography tracks, and the degree of grey

42 CFR 137.362 - May construction project agreements be amended?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false May construction project agreements be amended? 137... of the Secretary in Establishing and Implementing Construction Project Agreements § 137.362 May construction project agreements be amended? Yes, the Self-Governance Tribe, at its discretion, may request the...

A structural approach to constructing perspective efficient and reliable human-computer interfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balint, L.

1989-01-01

The principles of human-computer interface (HCI) realizations are investigated with the aim of getting closer to a general framework and thus, to a more or less solid background of constructing perspective efficient, reliable and cost-effective human-computer interfaces. On the basis of characterizing and classifying the different HCI solutions, the fundamental problems of interface construction are pointed out especially with respect to human error occurrence possibilities. The evolution of HCI realizations is illustrated by summarizing the main properties of past, present and foreseeable future interface generations. HCI modeling is pointed out to be a crucial problem in theoretical and practical investigations. Suggestions concerning HCI structure (hierarchy and modularity), HCI functional dynamics (mapping from input to output information), minimization of human error caused system failures (error-tolerance, error-recovery and error-correcting) as well as cost-effective HCI design and realization methodology (universal and application-oriented vs. application-specific solutions) are presented. The concept of RISC-based and SCAMP-type HCI components is introduced with the aim of having a reduced interaction scheme in communication and a well defined architecture in HCI components' internal structure. HCI efficiency and reliability are dealt with, by taking into account complexity and flexibility. The application of fast computerized prototyping is also briefly investigated as an experimental device of achieving simple, parametrized, invariant HCI models. Finally, a concise outline of an approach of how to construct ideal HCI's is also suggested by emphasizing the open questions and the need of future work related to the proposals, as well. (author). 14 refs, 6 figs

A 3D bioprinting system to produce human-scale tissue constructs with structural integrity.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Hyun-Wook; Lee, Sang Jin; Ko, In Kap; Kengla, Carlos; Yoo, James J; Atala, Anthony

2016-03-01

A challenge for tissue engineering is producing three-dimensional (3D), vascularized cellular constructs of clinically relevant size, shape and structural integrity. We present an integrated tissue-organ printer (ITOP) that can fabricate stable, human-scale tissue constructs of any shape. Mechanical stability is achieved by printing cell-laden hydrogels together with biodegradable polymers in integrated patterns and anchored on sacrificial hydrogels. The correct shape of the tissue construct is achieved by representing clinical imaging data as a computer model of the anatomical defect and translating the model into a program that controls the motions of the printer nozzles, which dispense cells to discrete locations. The incorporation of microchannels into the tissue constructs facilitates diffusion of nutrients to printed cells, thereby overcoming the diffusion limit of 100-200 μm for cell survival in engineered tissues. We demonstrate capabilities of the ITOP by fabricating mandible and calvarial bone, cartilage and skeletal muscle. Future development of the ITOP is being directed to the production of tissues for human applications and to the building of more complex tissues and solid organs.

Towards a Psychological Construct of Being Moved

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Menninghaus, Winfried; Wagner, Valentin; Hanich, Julian; Wassiliwizky, Eugen; Kuehnast, Milena; Jacobsen, Thomas

2015-01-01

The emotional state of being moved, though frequently referred to in both classical rhetoric and current language use, is far from established as a well-defined psychological construct. In a series of three studies, we investigated eliciting scenarios, emotional ingredients, appraisal patterns,

Individual differences in the learning potential of human beings

Science.gov (United States)

Stern, Elsbeth

2017-01-01

To the best of our knowledge, the genetic foundations that guide human brain development have not changed fundamentally during the past 50,000 years. However, because of their cognitive potential, humans have changed the world tremendously in the past centuries. They have invented technical devices, institutions that regulate cooperation and competition, and symbol systems, such as script and mathematics, that serve as reasoning tools. The exceptional learning ability of humans allows newborns to adapt to the world they are born into; however, there are tremendous individual differences in learning ability among humans that become obvious in school at the latest. Cognitive psychology has developed models of memory and information processing that attempt to explain how humans learn (general perspective), while the variation among individuals (differential perspective) has been the focus of psychometric intelligence research. Although both lines of research have been proceeding independently, they increasingly converge, as both investigate the concepts of working memory and knowledge construction. This review begins with presenting state-of-the-art research on human information processing and its potential in academic learning. Then, a brief overview of the history of psychometric intelligence research is combined with presenting recent work on the role of intelligence in modern societies and on the nature-nurture debate. Finally, promising approaches to integrating the general and differential perspective will be discussed in the conclusion of this review.

Communication, coordination and cooperation in construction projects: business environment and human behaviours

Science.gov (United States)

Salah Alaloul, Wesam; Shahir Liew, Mohd; Zawawi, Noor Amila Wan

2017-12-01

The accomplishment of construction projects is extremely dependent on the integration of several stakeholders; therefore none of them has the control or the ability to accomplish the project alone. Each of them may influence and be influenced by the project management approach. There is no comprehensive theoretical platform for defining Communication, Coordination and Cooperation (3Cs) in the management of construction project. This paper deliberates the function of the 3Cs different theoretical perceptions. Through an analysis of selected articles from reputable academic journals in construction management, the business environment and human behaviour were identified as two main parts. A little has been done so far about the 3Cs, and how they are correlated with construction projects performance. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to explain the definitions and the association between the 3Cs. There is a significant link between communication and coordination. Coordination alternatively, is trust-based a logic of mutual and exchange. Consequently, cooperation is much more sophisticated, which needing more time and attempts.

Human Machine Interaction by Simulation of Dynamics of Construction Machinery

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Langer, Thomas Heegaard

-body vibration exposure was more than 20 percent and at the same time the fuel consumption was reduced significant. Training of operators is hence beneficial for both employees and employers of the construction industry. The whole-body vibration exposure on operators of dump trucks are dominated by off-road......This industrial Ph.D. project concerns whole-body vibrations in human operated construction machinery. The emissions of these vibrations is closely related to the subjective experience of comfort and in some cases these vibrations can occur in a level which can cause the operator back disorders...

"Being an English Major, Being a Humanities Student": Connecting Academic Subject Identity in Literary Studies to Other Social Domains

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Evelyn T. Y.

2016-01-01

This study examined students' construction of academic subject identity in a university humanities discipline, English literary studies. In so doing, the study aimed to provide an empirically grounded intervention in current debates on the value of the humanities in higher education. Eight students participated in interviews lasting 15-20 minutes…

MODUS OF SOCIAL INTEGRITY: PRACTICE OF CONSTRUCTING PRODUCTIVE CO-BEING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. I. Brodetskaya

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose. Analysis is focused on the study of theoretical and methodological preconditions of social integrity phenomenon research. Trends in the conceptual base of modern social theory are focused on the research of social phenomenon, the study of the conditions and mechanisms for the development of sociality. This suggests the need to find new interpretive schemes. The methodology of political philosophy in the analysis of sociality was limited. This theory has brought the phenomenon of co-existence to the aspect of political discourse. In this regard, the reference to the existence of human co-beingness, mechanisms and modus of its formation is a necessary methodological step. It allows you to draw a parallel between the phenomenon of social integrity and totality. Existential installation integrity, unity of individual and social order is invested in the social context as a human desire to know the surrounding reality. Cognition is installation on the penetration deep into the object, understanding its nature. Cognition opens up the prospect of being a harmonious personality. Existential knowledge focuses on the identity of the co-existence and serves only the prospect of overcoming the limitations of the totality. The potential of this phenomenon allows penetration of rigid rational scheme of classical political methodology, introducing the community as a spiritual practice, the experience of communitas. Thus, as the research methodology used social integrity existential approach, which actualizes the potential of the spiritual foundations of co-existence. This methodological step allows disclosing sociality at a deep level of analysis as a spiritual practice to others, modus being-cognition of the human reality. Originality of this work is to extend the of heuristic possibilities of social theory in the analysis of the social problems aspect with the purpose construction of integrated research methodology problems. Conclusions. Thus, the

Drawing Inspiration from Human Brain Networks: Construction of Interconnected Virtual Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Murakami, Masaya; Kominami, Daichi; Leibnitz, Kenji; Murata, Masayuki

2018-04-08

Virtualization of wireless sensor networks (WSN) is widely considered as a foundational block of edge/fog computing, which is a key technology that can help realize next-generation Internet of things (IoT) networks. In such scenarios, multiple IoT devices and service modules will be virtually deployed and interconnected over the Internet. Moreover, application services are expected to be more sophisticated and complex, thereby increasing the number of modifications required for the construction of network topologies. Therefore, it is imperative to establish a method for constructing a virtualized WSN (VWSN) topology that achieves low latency on information transmission and high resilience against network failures, while keeping the topological construction cost low. In this study, we draw inspiration from inter-modular connectivity in human brain networks, which achieves high performance when dealing with large-scale networks composed of a large number of modules (i.e., regions) and nodes (i.e., neurons). We propose a method for assigning inter-modular links based on a connectivity model observed in the cerebral cortex of the brain, known as the exponential distance rule (EDR) model. We then choose endpoint nodes of these links by controlling inter-modular assortativity, which characterizes the topological connectivity of brain networks. We test our proposed methods using simulation experiments. The results show that the proposed method based on the EDR model can construct a VWSN topology with an optimal combination of communication efficiency, robustness, and construction cost. Regarding the selection of endpoint nodes for the inter-modular links, the results also show that high assortativity enhances the robustness and communication efficiency because of the existence of inter-modular links of two high-degree nodes.

Drawing Inspiration from Human Brain Networks: Construction of Interconnected Virtual Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masaya Murakami

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Virtualization of wireless sensor networks (WSN is widely considered as a foundational block of edge/fog computing, which is a key technology that can help realize next-generation Internet of things (IoT networks. In such scenarios, multiple IoT devices and service modules will be virtually deployed and interconnected over the Internet. Moreover, application services are expected to be more sophisticated and complex, thereby increasing the number of modifications required for the construction of network topologies. Therefore, it is imperative to establish a method for constructing a virtualized WSN (VWSN topology that achieves low latency on information transmission and high resilience against network failures, while keeping the topological construction cost low. In this study, we draw inspiration from inter-modular connectivity in human brain networks, which achieves high performance when dealing with large-scale networks composed of a large number of modules (i.e., regions and nodes (i.e., neurons. We propose a method for assigning inter-modular links based on a connectivity model observed in the cerebral cortex of the brain, known as the exponential distance rule (EDR model. We then choose endpoint nodes of these links by controlling inter-modular assortativity, which characterizes the topological connectivity of brain networks. We test our proposed methods using simulation experiments. The results show that the proposed method based on the EDR model can construct a VWSN topology with an optimal combination of communication efficiency, robustness, and construction cost. Regarding the selection of endpoint nodes for the inter-modular links, the results also show that high assortativity enhances the robustness and communication efficiency because of the existence of inter-modular links of two high-degree nodes.

Construction of human antibody gene libraries and selection of antibodies by phage display.

Science.gov (United States)

Frenzel, André; Kügler, Jonas; Wilke, Sonja; Schirrmann, Thomas; Hust, Michael

2014-01-01

Antibody phage display is the most commonly used in vitro selection technology and has yielded thousands of useful antibodies for research, diagnostics, and therapy.The prerequisite for successful generation and development of human recombinant antibodies using phage display is the construction of a high-quality antibody gene library. Here, we describe the methods for the construction of human immune and naive scFv gene libraries.The success also depends on the panning strategy for the selection of binders from these libraries. In this article, we describe a panning strategy that is high-throughput compatible and allows parallel selection in microtiter plates.

Construction of a novel lentiviral vector carrying human B-domain ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... integration were detected in all cell lines after transfection. A novel lentiviral vector carrying human FVIII³BD was constructed, which was able to transfect different mammalian cell types accompanied by high-level activity. This lentiviral vector may provide a theoretical basis for the gene therapy of patients with hemophilia ...

Construction of a human corneal stromal equivalent with non-transfected human corneal stromal cells and acellular porcine corneal stromata.

Science.gov (United States)

Diao, Jin-Mei; Pang, Xin; Qiu, Yue; Miao, Ying; Yu, Miao-Miao; Fan, Ting-Jun

2015-03-01

A tissue-engineered human corneal stroma (TE-HCS) has been developed as a promising equivalent to the native corneal stroma for replacement therapy. However, there is still a crucial need to improve the current approaches to render the TE-HCS equivalent more favorable for clinical applications. At the present study, we constructed a TE-HCS by incubating non-transfected human corneal stromal (HCS) cells in an acellular porcine corneal stromata (aPCS) scaffold in 20% fetal bovine serum supplemented DMEM/F12 (1:1) medium at 37 °C with 5% CO2in vitro. After 3 days of incubation, the constructed TE-HCS had a suitable tensile strength for transplantation, and a transparency that is comparable to native cornea. The TE-HCS had a normal histological structure which contained regularly aligned collagen fibers and differentiated HCS cells with positive expression of marker and functional proteins, mimicking a native HCS. After transplantation into rabbit models, the TE-HCS reconstructed normal corneal stroma in vivo and function well in maintaining corneal clarity and thickness, indicating that the completely biological TE-HCS could be used as a HCS equivalent. The constructed TE-HCS has promising potentials in regenerative medicine and treatment of diseases caused by corneal stromal disorders. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exploring constructs of well-being, happiness and quality of life.

Science.gov (United States)

Medvedev, Oleg N; Landhuis, C Erik

2018-01-01

Existing definitions of happiness, subjective well-being, and quality of life suggest conceptual overlap between these constructs. This study explored the relationship between these well-being constructs by applying widely used measures with satisfactory psychometric properties. University students ( n = 180) completed widely used well-being measures including the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ), the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Positive and Negative Affect Scale. We analyzed the data using correlation, regression, and exploratory factor analysis. All included well-being measures demonstrated high loadings on the global well-being construct that explains about 80% of the variance in the OHQ, the psychological domain of Quality of Life and subjective well-being. The results show high positive correlations between happiness, psychological and health domains of quality of life, life satisfaction, and positive affect. Social and environmental domains of quality of life were poor predictors of happiness and subjective well-being after controlling for psychological quality of life. Together, these data provide support for a global well-being dimension and interchangeable use of terms happiness, subjective well-being, and psychological quality of life with the current sample and measures. Further investigation with larger heterogeneous samples and other well-being measures is warranted.

Construction and characterization of a cDNA library from human ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The tumor-suppressor gene p53 and its downstream genes consist of a complicated gene network, and the challenge to understand the network is to identify p53 downstream genes. In order to isolate and identify new p53 regulated genes, we constructed and characterized a normalized cDNA library from human brain ...

Reservoirs and human well being: new challenges for evaluating impacts and benefits in the neotropics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

JG. Tundisi

Full Text Available As in many other continents, neotropical ecosystems are impacted by the construction of reservoirs. These artificial ecosystems change considerably the natural terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and their biodiversity. The multiple uses of reservoirs promote benefits for the human beings in terms of economic development, income, jobs and employment. Services of reservoirs are important assets for the regional ecosystem. Evaluation of ecosystem services produced by artificial reservoirs, are new challenges to the understanding of the cost/benefit relationships of reservoir construction in the neotropics. Regulating and other services promoted by reservoirs lead to new trends for "green technology" and the implementation of ecohydrological and ecotechnological developments. This approach can be utilized with better success as a substitute for the usual impact/benefit evaluation of the reservoirs. Better and diversified services can be achieved with "green technology" applied to the construction.

Attempt on construction of human friendly man-machine interface. Study and apply about human communication; Human friendly na man machine interface kochiku no kokoromi. Ningen no communication no kento to sono oyo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tatsuno, J. [Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo (Japan); Kokubo, Y.; Matsumura, I.; Kobayashi, H. [Hosei University, Tokyo (Japan)

1998-04-01

This paper describes an attempt on a construction way of human friendly man-machine interface. At first, we do a simple experiment to find out the characteristic of human verbal communication. From the experimental results, we get some rules in case in human verbal communication. We construct the man-machine interface which is based on these rules. Through teaching process, we examine our verbal communication interface comparing with conventional interfaces. From this comparison, we recognize that the verbal communication interface is valid to construct the user-friendly man-machine interface. 12 refs., 9 figs., 2 tabs.

A human language corpus for interstellar message construction

Science.gov (United States)

Elliott, John

2011-02-01

The aim of HuLCC (the human language chorus corpus), is to provide a resource of sufficient size to facilitate inter-language analysis by incorporating languages from all the major language families: for the first time all aspects of typology will be incorporated within a single corpus, adhering to a consistent grammatical classification and granularity, which historically adopt a plethora of disparate schemes. An added feature will be the inclusion of a common text element, which will be translated across all languages, to provide a precise comparable thread for detailed linguistic analysis for translation strategies and a mechanism by which these mappings can be explicitly achieved. Methods developed to solve unambiguous mappings across these languages can then be adopted for any subsequent message authored by the SETI community. Initially, it is planned to provide at least 20,000 words for each chosen language, as this amount of text exceeds the point where randomly generated text can be disambiguated from natural language and is of sufficient size useful for message transmission [1] (Elliot, 2002). This paper details the design of this resource, which ultimately will be made available to SETI upon its completion, and discusses issues 'core' to any message construction.

Spatial Construction Skills of Chimpanzees ("Pan Troglodytes") and Young Human Children ("Homo Sapiens Sapiens")

Science.gov (United States)

Poti, Patrizia; Hayashi, Misato; Matsuzawa, Tetsuro

2009-01-01

Spatial construction tasks are basic tests of visual-spatial processing. Two studies have assessed spatial construction skills in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and young children (Homo sapiens sapiens) with a block modelling task. Study 1a subjects were three young chimpanzees and five adult chimpanzees. Study 1b subjects were 30 human children…

REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS IN А FIELD OF HUMAN MICROBIAL ECOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION OF PROBIOTICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. A. Starovoitova

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Modern huge and world-wide known projects concerning studying of human microbial ecology and construction of probiotics, particularly: Society for Microbial Ecology and Disease, Probiotics & Health Targeted Initiative of International Science and Technology Center (TI PROBIO ISTC, Human Microbiome Project of National Institutes of Health, MetaHIT Project (Metagenomics of the Human Intestinal Tract of European Commission, Human Metabolome Project of Canadian University of Alberta and some more else were characterized in the article. Brief historical information and reference to official sites of every discussed project were given. Main goals and tasks of every project were described. Short characteristic of discussed projects and also modern accessible results of researches were given. Importance of every examined project for widening scientific knowledge in the field of human microbial ecology and also for improvement and/or for construction of modern effective probiotics on basis of human normal intestinal microflora were paid attention. Close interaction of scientific data received by realization of every discussed project was shown.

Can the silkworm (Bombyx mori) be used as a human disease model?

Science.gov (United States)

Tabunoki, Hiroko; Bono, Hidemasa; Ito, Katsuhiko; Yokoyama, Takeshi

2016-02-01

Bombyx mori (silkworm) is the most famous lepidopteran in Japan. B. mori has long been used in the silk industry and also as a model insect for agricultural research. In recent years, B. mori has attracted interest in its potential for use in pathological analysis of model animals. For example, the human macular carotenoid transporter was discovered using information of B. mori carotenoid transporter derived from yellow-cocoon strain. The B. mori carotenoid transport system is useful in human studies. To develop a human disease model, we characterized the human homologs of B. mori, and by constructing KAIKO functional annotation pipeline, and to analyze gene expression profile of a unique B. mori mutant strain using microarray analysis. As a result, we identified a novel molecular network involved in Parkinson's disease. Here we describe the potential use of a spontaneous mutant silkworm strain as a human disease model. We also summarize recent progress in the application of genomic information for annotation of human homologs in B. mori. The B. mori mutant will provide a clue to pathological mechanisms, and the findings will be helpful for the development of therapies and for medical drug discovery.

Study finds declining construction leadtimes for nukes being built

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smock, R.

1983-01-01

A new Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) study of 26 nuclear projects shows a decrease in the leadtime for nuclear plants under construction in contrast to the findings of other studies. The EPRI study plots construction leadtime against the year of construction permit issuance rather than the year of completion, and it eliminates management delays, physical plant differences, and management differences. The result is a two-part trendline reflecting the discontinuity of regulatory ratchet effects, which cause 50% of construction leadtime delay while labor material delivery problems account for 20% and deliberate delays 22% of leadtime delay. When allowance is made for deliberate delays, there is no growth in construction leadtime. There was no correlation of utility finances, the accuracy of load growth forecasts, or the state regulatory environment to the length of construction. 3 figures,

Constructing a Computer Model of the Human Eye Based on Tissue Slice Images

OpenAIRE

Dai, Peishan; Wang, Boliang; Bao, Chunbo; Ju, Ying

2010-01-01

Computer simulation of the biomechanical and biological heat transfer in ophthalmology greatly relies on having a reliable computer model of the human eye. This paper proposes a novel method on the construction of a geometric model of the human eye based on tissue slice images. Slice images were obtained from an in vitro Chinese human eye through an embryo specimen processing methods. A level set algorithm was used to extract contour points of eye tissues while a principle component analysi...

Construction and characterization of a bispecific diabody for retargeting T cells to human carcinomas

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Helfrich, Wijnand; Kroesen, Bart-Jan; Roovers, R.C; Westers, L; Molema, Ingrid; Hoogenboom, H.R; de Leij, Lou

1998-01-01

We describe the construction of a recombinant bispecific antibody fragment in the diabody format with specificity for both the well-established human pancarcinoma associated target antigen EGP2 (epithelial glycoprotein 2, also known as the CO 17-1A antigen or KSA) and the CD3 epsilon chain of human

Cell reprogramming by 3D bioprinting of human fibroblasts in polyurethane hydrogel for fabrication of neural-like constructs.

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Lin; Hsu, Shan-Hui

2018-04-01

3D bioprinting is a technique which enables the direct printing of biodegradable materials with cells into 3D tissue. So far there is no cell reprogramming in situ performed with the 3D bioprinting process. Forkhead box D3 (FoxD3) is a transcription factor and neural crest marker, which was reported to reprogram human fibroblasts into neural crest stem-like cells. In this study, we synthesized a new biodegradable thermo-responsive waterborne polyurethane (PU) gel as a bioink. FoxD3 plasmids and human fibroblasts were co-extruded with the PU hydrogel through the syringe needle tip for cell reprogramming. The rheological properties of the PU hydrogel including the modulus, gelation time, and shear thinning were optimized for the transfection effect of FoxD3 in situ. The corresponding shear rate and shear stress were examined. Results showed that human fibroblasts could be reprogrammed into neural crest stem-like cells with high cell viability during the extrusion process under an average shear stress ∼190 Pa. We further translated the method to the extrusion-based 3D bioprinting, and demonstrated that human fibroblasts co-printed with FoxD3 in the thermo-responsive PU hydrogel could be reprogrammed and differentiated into a neural-tissue like construct at 14 days after induction. The neural-like tissue construct produced by 3D bioprinting from human fibroblasts may be applied to personalized drug screening or neuroregeneration. There is no study so far on cell reprogramming in situ with 3D bioprinting. In this manuscript, a new thermoresponsive polyurethane bioink was developed and employed to deliver FoxD3 plasmid into human fibroblasts by the extrusion-based bioprinting. When the polyurethane gel was extruded through the syringe tip, the shear stress generated may have caused the transient membrane permeability for transfection. The shear stress was optimized for transfection in situ by 3D bioprinting. We demonstrated that human fibroblasts could be

Predictable grammatical constructions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lucas, Sandra

2015-01-01

My aim in this paper is to provide evidence from diachronic linguistics for the view that some predictable units are entrenched in grammar and consequently in human cognition, in a way that makes them functionally and structurally equal to nonpredictable grammatical units, suggesting that these p......My aim in this paper is to provide evidence from diachronic linguistics for the view that some predictable units are entrenched in grammar and consequently in human cognition, in a way that makes them functionally and structurally equal to nonpredictable grammatical units, suggesting...... that these predictable units should be considered grammatical constructions on a par with the nonpredictable constructions. Frequency has usually been seen as the only possible argument speaking in favor of viewing some formally and semantically fully predictable units as grammatical constructions. However, this paper...... semantically and formally predictable. Despite this difference, [méllo INF], like the other future periphrases, seems to be highly entrenched in the cognition (and grammar) of Early Medieval Greek language users, and consequently a grammatical construction. The syntactic evidence speaking in favor of [méllo...

Formation of Main Elements of the System Motivation of Human Capital of Construction Enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malykhina Oksana M.

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The article focuses on a necessity to develop system motivation of human capital of construction enterprises. The author gives her own vision of this process on the basis of the system situational approach. The article identifies main requirements, which are made stronger with the necessity of establishment of the system motivation. It generalises the aggregate of components of internal and external environments, which form the structure, requirements to functioning and directions of managerial impact on the genesis of this process, which would facilitate achievement of long-term goals of construction enterprises on the basis of the innovation model of development. Efficiency of functioning of the system motivation of human capital of construction enterprises would depend on accounting in the process of its formation and development of such basic properties as: target orientation, synergetic integrity, availability of the internal organisational structure, ability to restore and resistance to influence of external environment factors, flexibility and dynamism and ecologo-socio-economic efficiency.

Construction of a T7 Human Lung Cancer cDNA Library

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wentao YUE

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Background and objective Currently, only a limited numbers of tumor markers for non small lung cancer (NSCLC diagnosis, new biomarker, such as serum autoantibody may improve the early detection of lung cancer. Our objective is construction human lung squamous carcinoma and adenocarcinoma T7 phage display cDNA library from the tissues of NSCLC patients. Methods mRNA was isolated from a pool of total RNA extract from NSCLC tissues obtained from 5 adenocarcinomas and 5 squamous carcinomas, and then mRNA was reverse transcribed into double stranded cDNA. After digestion, the cDNA was inserted into T7Select 10-3 vector. The phage display cDNA library was constructed by package reaction in vitro and plate proliferation. Plaque assay and PCR were used to evaluate the library.Results Two T7 phage display cDNA library were established. Plaque assay show the titer of lung squamas carcinoma library was 1.8×106 pfu, and the adenocarcinoma library was 5×106 pfu. The phage titer of the amplified library were 3.2×1010 pfu/mL and 2.5×1010 pfu/mL. PCR amplification of random plaque show insert ratio were 100% (24/24 in adenocarcinoma library and 95.8% in human lung squamas carcinoma library (23/24. Insert range from 300 bp to 1 500 bp. Conclusion Two phage display cDNA library from NSCLC were constructed.

Servant leadership and work-related well-being in a construction company

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michiel F. Coetzer

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Orientation: High levels of work-related well-being are imperative to ensure financial stability, competitiveness and sustainability in the construction industry. Leadership plays a fundamental role to enhance work engagement and to decrease burnout. The interrelationships between servant leadership, job demands, job resources, work engagement and burnout are still unknown, especially within the construction industry. Research purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the interrelationships between servant leadership, job demands, job resources, work engagement and burnout in a construction company. Motivation for the study: The construction industry is a highly demanding and labour intensive industry, which makes it difficult to sustain high work engagement and low burnout. This industry therefore calls for a people-orientated leadership approach, such as servant leadership, to enhance job resources to ultimately increase work engagement and to decrease burnout levels. Research design, approach and method: A quantitative research design was applied and four quantitative surveys were used to collect data. Two hundred and twenty-four sets of questionnaires were completed by employees in a South African construction company. Main findings: The results indicated that job resources mediated a positive relationship between servant leadership and work engagement and a negative relationship between servant leadership and burnout. Servant leadership had a positive significant relationship with job resources and significantly explained a proportion of the variance in job resources. Job resources, in turn, significantly explained a proportion of increase in work engagement levels and a proportion of reduction in burnout levels. An insignificant relationship was found between job demands and servant leadership. Practical or managerial implications: The findings showed that servant leadership could be used as an effective leadership approach to enhance

Construction and confirmation of the plasmid of human mitochondrial DNA 4977 bp deletion induced by ionizing radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Xiaosui; Zhou Lijun; Wang Yuxiao; Qu Jia; Feng Jiangbing; Lu Xue; Chen Deqing; Liu Qingjie

2006-01-01

Objective: To construct a stable plasmid that spanning deleted human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) 4977 bp induced by ionizing radiation and another one for control DNA fragment, in order to use in the human mitochondrial genome study in the future. Methods: The peripheral blood, which had no mtDNA 4977 bp deletion found in previous study, was exposed to 10 Gy 60 Co γ-rays in vitro. The total cell DNA was extracted and PCR was carried out: a nest-PCR of three-round PCR was used for the mtDNA 4977 bp deletion and one- round regular PCR was used for the control ND1 gene. The PCR products were used for transfection by electroporation and the positive clones were obtained after screening. The plasmid DNA was isolated and sequenced after enzymatic digestion and purification. The sequence result was BLASTed with the human mitochondrial genome. Results: The sizes of PCR products for the flanked 4977 bp deletion and the ND1 gene were similar with those predicted according to GeneBank. The sequences for the positive clones were above 99 per cent homologous with the human mitochondrial genome after BLASTed. Conclusion: The plasmids for deleted human mtDNA 4977 bp and control DNA fragment have been constructed successfully, and they could be used in the quality and quantity studies on human mtDNA 4977 bp deletion. (authors)

Regulation of human heme oxygenase in endothelial cells by using sense and antisense retroviral constructs.

Science.gov (United States)

Quan, S; Yang, L; Abraham, N G; Kappas, A

2001-10-09

Our objective was to determine whether overexpression and underexpression of human heme oxygenase (HHO)-1 could be controlled on a long-term basis by introduction of the HO-1 gene in sense (S) and antisense (AS) orientation with an appropriate vector into endothelial cells. Retroviral vector (LXSN) containing viral long terminal repeat promoter-driven human HO-1 S (LSN-HHO-1) and LXSN vectors containing HHO-1 promoter (HOP)-controlled HHO-1 S and AS (LSN-HOP-HHO-1 and LSN-HOP-HHO-1-AS) sequences were constructed and used to transfect rat lung microvessel endothelial cells (RLMV cells) and human dermal microvessel endothelial cells (HMEC-1 cells). RLMV cells transduced with HHO-1 S expressed human HO-1 mRNA and HO-1 protein associated with elevation in total HO activity compared with nontransduced cells. Vector-mediated expression of HHO-1 S or AS under control of HOP resulted in effective production of HO-1 or blocked induction of endogenous human HO-1 in HMEC-1 cells, respectively. Overexpression of HO-1 AS was associated with a long-term decrease (45%) of endogenous HO-1 protein and an increase (167%) in unmetabolized exogenous heme in HMEC-1 cells. Carbon monoxide (CO) production in HO-1 S- or AS-transduced HMEC-1 cells after heme treatment was increased (159%) or decreased (50%), respectively, compared with nontransduced cells. HO-2 protein levels did not change. These findings demonstrate that HHO-1 S and AS retroviral constructs are functional in enhancing and reducing HO activity, respectively, and thus can be used to regulate cellular heme levels, the activity of heme-dependent enzymes, and the rate of heme catabolism to CO and bilirubin.

Human Skin Constructs with Spatially Controlled Vasculature Using Primary and iPSC-Derived Endothelial Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Abaci, Hasan E; Guo, Zongyou; Coffman, Abigail; Gillette, Brian; Lee, Wen-Han; Sia, Samuel K; Christiano, Angela M

2016-07-01

Vascularization of engineered human skin constructs is crucial for recapitulation of systemic drug delivery and for their long-term survival, functionality, and viable engraftment. In this study, the latest microfabrication techniques are used and a novel bioengineering approach is established to micropattern spatially controlled and perfusable vascular networks in 3D human skin equivalents using both primary and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived endothelial cells. Using 3D printing technology makes it possible to control the geometry of the micropatterned vascular networks. It is verified that vascularized human skin equivalents (vHSEs) can form a robust epidermis and establish an endothelial barrier function, which allows for the recapitulation of both topical and systemic delivery of drugs. In addition, the therapeutic potential of vHSEs for cutaneous wounds on immunodeficient mice is examined and it is demonstrated that vHSEs can both promote and guide neovascularization during wound healing. Overall, this innovative bioengineering approach can enable in vitro evaluation of topical and systemic drug delivery as well as improve the potential of engineered skin constructs to be used as a potential therapeutic option for the treatment of cutaneous wounds. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Construction and characterization of a yeast artificial chromosome library containing seven haploid human genome equivalents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albertsen, H.M.; Abderrahim, H.; Cann, H.M.; Dausset, J.; Le Paslier, D.; Cohen, D.

1990-01-01

Prior to constructing a library of yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) containing very large human DNA fragments, the authors performed a series of preliminary experiments aimed at developing a suitable protocol. They found an inverse relationship between YAC insert size and transformation efficiency. Evidence of occasional rearrangement within YAC inserts was found resulting in clonally stable internal deletions or clonally unstable size variations. A protocol was developed for preparative electrophoretic enrichment of high molecular mass human DNA fragments from partial restriction digests and ligation with the YAC vector in agarose. A YAC library has been constructed from large fragments of DNA from an Epstein-Barr virus-transformed human lymphoblastoid cell line. The library presently contains 50,000 clones, 95% of which are greater than 250 kilobase pairs in size. The mean YAC size of the library, calculated from 132 randomly isolated clones, is 430 kilobase pairs. The library thus contains the equivalent of approximately seven haploid human genomes

Waterworks are not fully utilized, more are to be constructed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zackova, K.

2003-01-01

Author deals the intention of Ministry of Land-management to build water dam Slatinka and water basins Garajky, Hroncek and Tichy Potok. The report about construction of water basins forecasts that in 2015 it will be the lack of water in capacity in amount of 1910 dm 3 /sec in Eastern Slovakia. Conception takes into account that average specific need of water is almost minimally 330 dm 3 per inhabitant and day, plans in 80's predicted consumption of 430 dm 3 in 1990. But the need of drinking water is descending from the beginning of 90's. The need of drinking water has descended in 30-40 per cent in the last decade. According to office of water management approximately 15 billion Slovak crowns are necessary for the construction of four new water dams. Estimation of expenses for construction of existing buildings was very inaccurate. E.g. water dam Zilina had to cost 4.2 billions Slovak crowns, but it cost lastly 13.2 billions Slovak crown and it is still not complete. Author notes that already built water basins are used only at 15-40%. It is speculated about support of construction of water basins from European Union funds. Consumption and production of drinking water in Slovak Republic are presented

Organized crime-trafficking with human being

OpenAIRE

Jelenová, Jana

2011-01-01

Organized crime - Trafficking in human beings This thesis deals with the criminal offence of trafficking in human beings under Sec. 168 of the Czech Criminal Code. A trafficking in human being is not a frequent criminal offence but with its consequences belongs to the most dangerous crimes. After the Velvet revolution the relevance of this crime has raised subsequently and therefore the regulation of this crime requires particular attention. It is important to find new ways and improve curren...

Theoretical Constructs of Well-Being and Their Implications for Education

Science.gov (United States)

Thorburn, Malcolm

2015-01-01

In the broad area of moral philosophy, critiques of well-being values have notably increased since the 1980's. Often underpinning analysis are contrasting theories of well-being, e.g. subjective constructs that value highly reflections on personal experiences and individual fulfillment, and objective theories that emphasise more through specific…

Interdisciplinary Construction and Implementation of a Human sized Humanoid Robot by master students

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Helbo, Jan; Svendsen, Mads Sølver

2009-01-01

With limited funding it seemed a very good idea to encourage master students to design and construct their own human size biped robot.  Because this task is huge and very interdisciplinary different expertises were covered by students from different departments who in turn took over results from...... former students. In the last three years three student groups from respectively Department of Mechanical Engineering and Electronic Systems have been working on the project.  The robot AAU-BOT1 is designed, manufactured, assembled, instrumented and the time for walking should be possible in the near...

Modular Construction of Large Non-Immune Human Antibody Phage-Display Libraries from Variable Heavy and Light Chain Gene Cassettes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Nam-Kyung; Bidlingmaier, Scott; Su, Yang; Liu, Bin

2018-01-01

Monoclonal antibodies and antibody-derived therapeutics have emerged as a rapidly growing class of biological drugs for the treatment of cancer, autoimmunity, infection, and neurological diseases. To support the development of human antibodies, various display techniques based on antibody gene repertoires have been constructed over the last two decades. In particular, scFv-antibody phage display has been extensively utilized to select lead antibodies against a variety of target antigens. To construct a scFv phage display that enables efficient antibody discovery, and optimization, it is desirable to develop a system that allows modular assembly of highly diverse variable heavy chain and light chain (Vκ and Vλ) repertoires. Here, we describe modular construction of large non-immune human antibody phage-display libraries built on variable gene cassettes from heavy chain and light chain repertoires (Vκ- and Vλ-light can be made into independent cassettes). We describe utility of such libraries in antibody discovery and optimization through chain shuffling.

Adaptation and niche construction in human prehistory: a case study from the southern Scandinavian Late Glacial.

Science.gov (United States)

Riede, Felix

2011-03-27

The niche construction model postulates that human bio-social evolution is composed of three inheritance domains, genetic, cultural and ecological, linked by feedback selection. This paper argues that many kinds of archaeological data can serve as proxies for human niche construction processes, and presents a method for investigating specific niche construction hypotheses. To illustrate this method, the repeated emergence of specialized reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) hunting/herding economies during the Late Palaeolithic (ca 14.7-11.5 kyr BP) in southern Scandinavia is analysed from a niche construction/triple-inheritance perspective. This economic relationship resulted in the eventual domestication of Rangifer. The hypothesis of whether domestication was achieved as early as the Late Palaeolithic, and whether this required the use of domesticated dogs (Canis familiaris) as hunting, herding or transport aids, is tested via a comparative analysis using material culture-based phylogenies and ecological datasets in relation to demographic/genetic proxies. Only weak evidence for sustained niche construction behaviours by prehistoric hunter-gatherer in southern Scandinavia is found, but this study nonetheless provides interesting insights into the likely processes of dog and reindeer domestication, and into processes of adaptation in Late Glacial foragers.

Constructing Citizenship through War in the Human Rights Era

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Timothy William Waters

2017-01-01

Full Text Available War’s historical relationship to the creation of territorial nation-states is well known, but what empirical and normative role does war play in creating the citizen in a modern democracy? Although contemporary theories of citizenship and human rights do not readily acknowledge a legitimate, generative function for war – as evidenced by restrictions on aggression, annexation of occupied territory, expulsions, denationalization, or derogation of fundamental rights – an empirical assessment of state practice, including the interpretation of international legal obligations, suggests that war plays a powerfully transformative role in the construction of citizenship, and that international law and norms implicitly accept this. Dominant discourses on citizenship in the liberal and cosmopolitan traditions focus on the individual as the unit of analysis and normative concern, and on his rights against the state. At the same time, the choice of how to construct citizenship – to whom to grant it or from whom to withhold it, and what content to give citizenship – is closely linked to questions of security and identity: citizenship either presupposes or purports to create some measure of common identity among citizens, and implies obligations as well as rights. This chapter argues that, in assessing legal and moral positions, this role – if not necessarily approved – must be accounted for to achieve a fuller understanding of how peace, war and rights are related. Human rights may be conceptualized as universal, but their application and specific content are often mediated through the state, and therefore understanding how states retain the ability to define the contours of citizenship, including through the effects of war, is critical to an understanding of the actual scope of human rights as a legal enterprise and a lived experience. The article will examine the formal limits placed on war as an instrument that could affect citizenship; then

21 CFR 211.65 - Equipment construction.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Equipment construction. 211.65 Section 211.65 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) DRUGS... construction. (a) Equipment shall be constructed so that surfaces that contact components, in-process materials...

42 CFR 137.329 - What environmental considerations must be included in the construction project agreement?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... must be included in the construction project agreement? The construction project agreement must include..., and (d) An assurance that no action will be taken on the construction phase of the project that would... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false What environmental considerations must be included...

An FDA oncology analysis of CD3 bispecific constructs and first-in-human dose selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Saber, Haleh; Del Valle, Pedro; Ricks, Tiffany K; Leighton, John K

2017-11-01

We retrospectively examined the nonclinical studies conducted with 17 CD3 bispecific constructs in support of first-in-human (FIH) trials in oncology. We also collected information on the design of dose-finding clinical trials. Sponsors have used different MABEL approaches for FIH dose selection. To better assess acceptable approaches, FIH doses were computed from nonclinical studies and compared to the maximum tolerated doses (MTDs) in patients, to the highest human doses (HHDs) when an MTD was not identified, or to the recommended human dose (RHD) for blinatumomab. We concluded that approaches based on receptor occupancy, highest non-severely toxic dose, or no-observed adverse effect level are not acceptable for selecting the FIH dose as they resulted in doses close to or above the MTDs, HHDs, or the RHD. A FIH dose corresponding to 10%-30% pharmacologic activity (PA) was an acceptable approach. A FIH dose corresponding to 50% PA was acceptable for all except one construct, potentially due to its biological or structural properties. The most common toxicities in animals and patients were those related to cytokine release. Doses were better tolerated when intra-animal or intra-patient dose escalation was used. Exposing naïve patients to an MTD achieved with intra-patient dose escalation design may be unsafe. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Construction of an infectious clone of human adenovirus type 41.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Duo-Ling; Dong, Liu-Xin; Li, Meng; Guo, Xiao-Juan; Wang, Min; Liu, Xin-Feng; Lu, Zhuo-Zhuang; Hung, Tao

2012-07-01

Human adenovirus type 41 (HAdV-41) is well known for its fastidiousness in cell culture. To construct an infectious clone of HAdV-41, a DNA fragment containing the left and right ends of HAdV-41 as well as a kanamycin resistance gene and a pBR322 replication origin was excised from the previously constructed plasmid pAd41-GFP. Using homologous recombination, the plasmid pKAd41 was generated by co-transformation of the E. coli BJ5183 strain with this fragment and HAdV-41 genomic DNA. Virus was rescued from pKAd41-transfected 293TE7 cells, a HAdV-41 E1B55K-expressing cell line. The genomic integrity of the rescued virus was verified by restriction analysis and sequencing. Two fibers on the virion were confirmed by western blot. Immunofluorescence showed that more expression of the hexon protein could be found in 293TE7 cells than in 293 cells after HAdV-41 infection. The feature of non-lytic replication was preserved in 293TE7 cells, since very few progeny HAdV-41 viruses were released to the culture medium. These results show that pKAd41 is an effective infectious clone and suggest that the combination of pKAd41 and 293TE7 cells is an ideal system for virological study of HAdV-41.

Human-Level Artificial Intelligence? Be Serious!

OpenAIRE

Nilsson, Nils J.

2005-01-01

I claim that achieving real human-level artificial intelligence would necessarily imply that most of the tasks that humans perform for pay could be automated. Rather than work toward this goal of automation by building special-purpose systems, I argue for the development of general-purpose, educable systems that can learn and be taught to perform any of the thousands of jobs that humans can perform. Joining others who have made similar proposals, I advocate beginning with a system that has mi...

Molecular-level characterization of elastin-like constructs and human aortic elastin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heinz, Andrea; Schräder, Christoph U; Baud, Stéphanie

2014-01-01

This study aimed to characterize the structures of two elastin-like constructs, one composed of a cross-linked elastin-like polypeptide and the other one of cross-linked tropoelastin, and native aortic elastin. The structures of the insoluble materials and human aortic elastin were investigated...... quantification revealed that the cross-linking degree of the two in vitro cross-linked materials was significantly lower than that of native elastin. Molecular dynamics simulations were performed, based on molecular species identified in the samples, to follow the formation of elastin cross-links. The results...... provide evidence for the significance of the GVGTP hinge region of domain 23 for the formation of elastin cross-links. Overall, this work provides important insight into structural similarities and differences between elastin-like constructs and native elastin. Furthermore, it represents a step toward...

HUMAN RESISTANCE TO THE USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andi Andi

2005-01-01

Full Text Available The process of implementing information technology (IT often fails to bring the intended result because the human dimension is not given adequate consideration. Yet despite some evidence of failure, little has been written on the nature of human performance, compared to abundant resources about technical and procedural aspects, as it applies to the ideals of the IT philosophy. To combat people’s deficiencies, this paper focuses mainly on the question why people resist IT. It explores sources of human resistance to the use of IT. A survey is the conducted to personnel working for construction companies to examine the resistance sources. The result reveals personal money, habit, and threat to information security as most dominant sources for such resistance, instead of fear of employment instability as many previous researches have discussed. The paper discusses the resistances and suggests possible solutions to deal with them.

Construction of Anterior Hemi-Corneal Equivalents Using Nontransfected Human Corneal Cells and Transplantation in Dog Models.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Bin; Song, Zhan; Fan, Tingjun

2017-11-01

Tissue-engineered human anterior hemi-cornea (TE-aHC) is a promising equivalent for treating anterior lamellar keratopathy to surmount the severe shortage of donated corneas. This study was intended to construct a functional TE-aHC with nontransfected human corneal stromal (ntHCS) and epithelial (ntHCEP) cells using acellular porcine corneal stromata (aPCS) as a carrier scaffold, and evaluate its biological functions in a dog model. To construct a TE-aHC, ntHCS cells were injected into an aPCS scaffold and cultured for 3 days; then, ntHCEP cells were inoculated onto the Bowman's membrane of the scaffold and cultured for 5 days under air-liquid interface condition. After its morphology and histological structure were characterized, the constructed TE-aHC was transplanted into dog eyes via lamellar keratoplasty. The corneal transparency, thickness, intraocular pressure, epithelial integrity, and corneal regeneration were monitored in vivo, and the histological structure and histochemical property were examined ex vivo 360 days after surgery, respectively. The results showed that the constructed TE-aHC was highly transparent and composed of a corneal epithelium of 7-8 layer ntHCEP cells and a corneal stroma of regularly aligned collagen fibers and well-preserved glycosaminoglycans with sparsely distributed ntHCS cells, mimicking a normal anterior hemi-cornea (aHC). Moreover, both ntHCEP and ntHCS cells maintained positive expression of their marker and functional proteins. After transplantation into dog eyes, the constructed TE-aHC acted naturally in terms of morphology, structure and inherent property, and functioned well in maintaining corneal clarity, thickness, normal histological structure, and composition in dog models by reconstructing a normal aHC, which could be used as a promising aHC equivalent in corneal regenerative medicine and aHC disorder therapy. © 2017 International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Barriers of lean construction implementation in the Moroccan construction industry

Science.gov (United States)

Bajjou, Mohamed Saad; Chafi, Anas

2018-04-01

Improving the production system performance has become a fundamental pillar that must be taken into consideration in the construction industry. Recent developments in the construction sector have led to renewed interest in new techniques of management. Lean Construction is a very effective approach that has gained a high popularity by its ability to eliminate waste and maximize the value for the customer. Although both developed and developing countries have gained large benefits by implementing Lean Construction approach, several experiences showed many barriers that are hindering its implementation especially in developing countries. This paper aims to assess the critical barriers to the successful implementation in the Moroccan construction industry. Based on a literature review, followed by an analysis of data collected from a questionnaire survey which targeted 330 practitioners in the Moroccan construction field, several barriers were identified as key barriers. The findings of this investigation revealed that there are significant barriers such as Lack of knowledge about Lean Construction concepts, Unskilled Human Resources, and insufficient financial resources.

Environmental assessment for construction and operation of a Human Genome Laboratory at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, California

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1994-12-01

Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) proposes to construct and operate a new laboratory for consolidation of current and future activities of the Human Genome Center (HGC). This document addresses the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative environmental and human-health effects from the proposed facility construction and operation. This document was prepared in accordance the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (United States Codes 42 USC 4321-4347) (NEPA) and the US Department of Energy`s (DOE) Final Rule for NEPA Implementing Procedures [Code of Federal Regulations 10CFR 1021].

HUMAN BEINGS TRAFFICKING IN THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS CASE-LAW

OpenAIRE

Laura-Cristiana SPĂTARU-NEGURĂ

2017-01-01

After last year’s analysis regarding the European Union’s commitment to fight against the human beings trafficking, we have considered to further explore the human beings trafficking approach in the European Court of Human Rights case-law, the most developped regional jurisdiction on human rights. Surprisingly, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms does not make an express reference to the human beings trafficking. However, we have to bear in mind...

Habitats and Surface Construction Technology and Development Roadmap

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Marc; Kennedy, Kriss J.

1997-01-01

The vision of the technology and development teams at NASA Ames and Johnson Research Centers is to provide the capability for automated delivery and emplacement of habitats and surface facilities. The benefits of the program are as follows: Composites and Inflatables: 30-50% (goal) lighter than Al Hard Structures; Capability for Increased Habitable Volume, Launch Efficiency; Long Term Growth Potential; and Supports initiation of commercial and industrial expansion. Key Habitats and Surface Construction (H&SC) technology issues are: Habitat Shell Structural Materials; Seals and Mechanisms; Construction and Assembly: Automated Pro-Deploy Construction Systems; ISRU Soil/Construction Equipment: Lightweight and Lower Power Needs; Radiation Protection (Health and Human Performance Tech.); Life Support System (Regenerative Life Support System Tech.); Human Physiology of Long Duration Space Flight (Health and Human Performance Tech.); and Human Psychology of Long Duration Space Flight (Health and Human Performance Tech.) What is being done regarding these issues?: Use of composite materials for X-38 CRV, RLV, etc.; TransHAB inflatable habitat design/development; Japanese corporations working on ISRU-derived construction processes. What needs to be done for the 2004 Go Decision?: Characterize Mars Environmental Conditions: Civil Engineering, Material Durability, etc.; Determine Credibility of Inflatable Structures for Human Habitation; and Determine Seal Technology for Mechanisms and Hatches, Life Cycle, and Durability. An overview encompassing all of the issues above is presented.

42 CFR 423.894 - Construction.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Construction. 423.894 Section 423.894 Public Health CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICARE... Plans § 423.894 Construction. Nothing in this part must be interpreted as prohibiting or restricting: (a...

Interactively human: Sharing time, constructing materiality.

Science.gov (United States)

Roepstorff, Andreas

2013-06-01

Predictive processing models of cognition are promising an elegant way to unite action, perception, and learning. However, in the current formulations, they are species-unspecific and have very little particularly human about them. I propose to examine how, in this framework, humans can be able to massively interact and to build shared worlds that are both material and symbolic.

Trafficking in human beings, enslavement, crimes against humanity: unravelling the concepts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Wilt, H.

2014-01-01

This article explores the conceptual relationship between trafficking in human beings, enslavement and crimes against humanity. The analysis of case law of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the European Court on Human Rights reveals that, while trafficking in human

Construction of predictive promoter models on the example of antibacterial response of human epithelial cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wingender Edgar

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Binding of a bacteria to a eukaryotic cell triggers a complex network of interactions in and between both cells. P. aeruginosa is a pathogen that causes acute and chronic lung infections by interacting with the pulmonary epithelial cells. We use this example for examining the ways of triggering the response of the eukaryotic cell(s, leading us to a better understanding of the details of the inflammatory process in general. Results Considering a set of genes co-expressed during the antibacterial response of human lung epithelial cells, we constructed a promoter model for the search of additional target genes potentially involved in the same cell response. The model construction is based on the consideration of pair-wise combinations of transcription factor binding sites (TFBS. It has been shown that the antibacterial response of human epithelial cells is triggered by at least two distinct pathways. We therefore supposed that there are two subsets of promoters activated by each of them. Optimally, they should be "complementary" in the sense of appearing in complementary subsets of the (+-training set. We developed the concept of complementary pairs, i.e., two mutually exclusive pairs of TFBS, each of which should be found in one of the two complementary subsets. Conclusions We suggest a simple, but exhaustive method for searching for TFBS pairs which characterize the whole (+-training set, as well as for complementary pairs. Applying this method, we came up with a promoter model of antibacterial response genes that consists of one TFBS pair which should be found in the whole training set and four complementary pairs. We applied this model to screening of 13,000 upstream regions of human genes and identified 430 new target genes which are potentially involved in antibacterial defense mechanisms.

[Regional ecological construction and mission of landscape ecology].

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Duning; Xie, Fuju; Wei, Jianbing

2004-10-01

The eco-construction on regional and landscape scale is the one which can be used to specific landscape and intercrossing ecosystem in specific region including performing scientific administration of ecosystem and optimizing environmental function. Recently, the government has taken a series of significant projects into action, such as national forest protection item, partly forest restoration, and adjustment of water, etc. Enforcing regional eco-construction and maintaining the ecology security of the nation have become the strategic requisition. In various regions, different eco-construction should be applied, for example, performing ecological safeguard measure in ecological sensitive zone, accommodating the ecological load in ecological fragile zone, etc., which can control the activities of human being, so that, sustainable development can be reached. Facing opportunity and challenge in the development of landscape ecology, we have some key topics: landscape pattern of ecological security, land use and ecological process, landscape changes under human activity stress, quantitative evaluation of the influence on human being activities, evaluation of zonal ecological security and advance warning of ecological risk, and planning and optimizing of model in landscape eco-construction.

25 CFR 256.22 - How can I be sure that the work that is being done on my dwelling meets minimum construction...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false How can I be sure that the work that is being done on my dwelling meets minimum construction standards? 256.22 Section 256.22 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS... is being done on my dwelling meets minimum construction standards? (a) At various stages of...

HUMAN BEINGS TRAFFICKING IN THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS CASE-LAW

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura-Cristiana SPĂTARU-NEGURĂ

2017-05-01

Full Text Available After last year’s analysis regarding the European Union’s commitment to fight against the human beings trafficking, we have considered to further explore the human beings trafficking approach in the European Court of Human Rights case-law, the most developped regional jurisdiction on human rights. Surprisingly, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms does not make an express reference to the human beings trafficking. However, we have to bear in mind that the Convention is a living instrument, its interpretation being made in the light of the present-day conditions. Thus, taking into consideration the global threat of this phenomenon, it is more obvious than ever that the Convention could not neglect this issue.

Gendered discursive constructions of bank manager positions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lassen, Inger

2009-01-01

Human beings are notorious categorizers with a predilection for defining, labelling and evaluating. By referring to categories like for instance sex, age, religion and occupation, we construct social roles for ourselves and for our fellow human beings; we thereby develop identities that give us...... of freedom. This chapter subscribes to the social constructionist view that identities are discursively constructed and negotiated in social encounters. This will be illustrated on the basis of two sets of data obtained from focus group interviews. In the first set of data, female employees in a Danish bank...

The American nuclear construction craftsmen: Will we be ready to build again?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bravo, R.

1990-01-01

The present state of nuclear plant maintenance and operations support reflects sexual, ethnic, and radical integration; continued educational advances; some computer literacy; mixed trades in maintenance; detailed training for maintenance and operations work in the operating plant; plant safety awareness and respect; need for top-quality, take the time to do it right mentality; and planning. With no new nuclear construction, what will be the specific talents, focus, and contributions that the craftsmen can be expected to bring to the project? To be prepared to successfully manage the next generation of nuclear plant construction, the industry must be acutely aware of the needs of the labor pool. To be aware of the needs requires an intimate knowledge of the present state of the craft talent, the changed expectations of their contributions, and the effects of new technologies, materials, methods, and individuals that will be used to design and build

Radiation hybrids from human chromosome 3: A basis for the construction of region and specific sublibraries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atchison, L.; Cosmis, R.L.; Atchison, M.L.

1990-01-01

The authors are interested in identifying genes on human chromosome involved in disease processes. To date at least 20 different loci on this chromosome are implicated with various disease states. DNA libraries containing clones derived from a small chromosomal subregion implicated in a particular disease would greatly assist these studies. They have utilized the radiation hybrid (RH) technique to generate a series of somatic cell hybrids that contain small segments of human chromosome 3 as the only human genetic material. A Chinese hamster-human cell hybrid (Q314-2) containing only human chromosome 3 was used to prepare radiation hybrids. Cells were lethally X-irradiated with 6,000 rads and fused to Urd(??) Chinese hamster cells by PEG 1000 treatment. The majority of hybrids (>72%) analyzed retained portions of chromosome 3. The amount of chromosome 3 in each hybrid ranged from nearly all of the chromosome to very little. Currently these hybrids are being further characterized with single copy probes of known map location in order to isolate regions of chromosome 3 that contain specific disease locus. These reduced hybrids can then be used for the construction of region specific libraries and for the generation of new DNA probes from the specific region of interest

An Exploration of Human Well-Being Bundles as Identifiers of Ecosystem Service Use Patterns.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamann, Maike; Biggs, Reinette; Reyers, Belinda

2016-01-01

We take a social-ecological systems perspective to investigate the linkages between ecosystem services and human well-being in South Africa. A recent paper identified different types of social-ecological systems in the country, based on distinct bundles of ecosystem service use. These system types were found to represent increasingly weak direct feedbacks between nature and people, from rural "green-loop" communities to urban "red-loop" societies. Here we construct human well-being bundles and explore whether the well-being bundles can be used to identify the same social-ecological system types that were identified using bundles of ecosystem service use. Based on national census data, we found three distinct well-being bundle types that are mainly characterized by differences in income, unemployment and property ownership. The distribution of these well-being bundles approximates the distribution of ecosystem service use bundles to a substantial degree: High levels of income and education generally coincided with areas characterised by low levels of direct ecosystem service use (or red-loop systems), while the majority of low well-being areas coincided with medium and high levels of direct ecosystem service use (or transition and green-loop systems). However, our results indicate that transformations from green-loop to red-loop systems do not always entail an immediate improvement in well-being, which we suggest may be due to a time lag between changes in the different system components. Using human well-being bundles as an indicator of social-ecological dynamics may be useful in other contexts since it is based on socio-economic data commonly collected by governments, and provides important insights into the connections between ecosystem services and human well-being at policy-relevant sub-national scales.

An Exploration of Human Well-Being Bundles as Identifiers of Ecosystem Service Use Patterns.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maike Hamann

Full Text Available We take a social-ecological systems perspective to investigate the linkages between ecosystem services and human well-being in South Africa. A recent paper identified different types of social-ecological systems in the country, based on distinct bundles of ecosystem service use. These system types were found to represent increasingly weak direct feedbacks between nature and people, from rural "green-loop" communities to urban "red-loop" societies. Here we construct human well-being bundles and explore whether the well-being bundles can be used to identify the same social-ecological system types that were identified using bundles of ecosystem service use. Based on national census data, we found three distinct well-being bundle types that are mainly characterized by differences in income, unemployment and property ownership. The distribution of these well-being bundles approximates the distribution of ecosystem service use bundles to a substantial degree: High levels of income and education generally coincided with areas characterised by low levels of direct ecosystem service use (or red-loop systems, while the majority of low well-being areas coincided with medium and high levels of direct ecosystem service use (or transition and green-loop systems. However, our results indicate that transformations from green-loop to red-loop systems do not always entail an immediate improvement in well-being, which we suggest may be due to a time lag between changes in the different system components. Using human well-being bundles as an indicator of social-ecological dynamics may be useful in other contexts since it is based on socio-economic data commonly collected by governments, and provides important insights into the connections between ecosystem services and human well-being at policy-relevant sub-national scales.

Construction safety

CERN Document Server

Li, Rita Yi Man

2013-01-01

A close-to-ideal blend of suburb and city, speedy construction of towers of Babylon, the sparkling proportion of glass and steel buildings’ facade at night showcase the wisdom of humans. They also witness the footsteps, sweats and tears of architects and engineers. Unfortunately, these signatures of human civilizations are swathed in towering figures of construction accidents. Fretting about these on sites, different countries adopt different measures on sites. This book firstly sketches the construction accidents on sites, followed by a review on safety measures in some of the developing countries such as Bermuda, Egypt, Kuwait and China; as well as developed countries, for example, the United States, France and Singapore. It also highlights the enormous compensation costs with the courts’ experiences in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong.

Container construction for the Pu-Be source at the Atominstitut Wien

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tatlisu Halit

2003-07-01

The aim of this study was to construct a neutron source container as small as possible. For this purpose an aluminum container was ordered to reserve the Pu-Be neutron source of the TRIGA Mark-II research reactor at the Atominstitute of Austrian Universities, Vienna. The important point is the shielding of the neutrons according to the radiation protection policy at ATI. Fast neutrons, which emitted from the source, cannot be shielded directly. They have to be moderated by a suitable moderator material and then they can be absorbed using a strong neutron absorber material. The most effective moderators are elements with low atomic number; therefore hydrogen-containing materials are the major component of neutron shielding. As a moderator and absorber material together we have chosen borated polyethylene among the various materials considering its properties. It contains H and C, which are suitable moderator materials and B for neutron absorption. It is important to quickly moderate the neutron to low energy, where it can be absorbed with boron owing to the high absorption cross section. The constructed shielding, which consists of borated polyethylene, was placed into the ordered A1 container. At the end we measured the emitted radiation dose using a neutron counter at different distances from the container. (author)

INTERACTION BETWEEN HUMAN BEING AND URBAN CULTURE SPACE: ONE OF THE MOTIVATIONS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION INTERNATIONALISATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hu Liang Cai

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: the objective of this paper is to deeply and clearly explain the internationalisation of higher education from the aspect of the integration of human being with urban cultural space. Materials and Methods: the methods used in the research are mainly analytical and descriptive ones enabling to show how the integration of human being and urban cultural space promote and influence the internationalisation of higher education. Results: the motivation for the internationalisation of higher education is closely interrelated with that of urbanisation. Besides the economic and political incentives, modern urban culture, caused by globalisation, also plays a very important role in encouraging higher education internationalisation. Discussion and Conclusions: the appearance of higher education internationalisation is mediated by the alteration of the existing environment of urban culture space against the background of city internationalisation. Human beings’ need for self-assurance in urban culture space helps to stimulate the internationalisation of higher education, and human beings promote the development of modern culture space and their separation in urban culture space accelerates the development of higher education. From the perspective of higher education internationalisation, to sort out the cultural motivation for higher education and find its suitable form for the city’s internationalisation is crucial for adjusting the orientation and guaranteeing the efficacy of higher education internationalisation. From the aspect of human beings’ development, the separation between urban space and human beings caused by the city’s ongoing internationalisation is a pressing problem to be solved. From the aspect of the construction of urban culture space, as an important means of retaining human beings’ equilibrium, urban culture promotes the internationalisation of higher education.

42 CFR 137.327 - May multiple projects be included in a single construction project agreement?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false May multiple projects be included in a single construction project agreement? 137.327 Section 137.327 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF...-GOVERNANCE Construction Project Assumption Process § 137.327 May multiple projects be included in a single...

Air Force construction automation/robotics

Science.gov (United States)

Nease, AL; Dusseault, Christopher

1994-01-01

The Air Force has several unique requirements that are being met through the development of construction robotic technology. The missions associated with these requirements place construction/repair equipment operators in potentially harmful situations. Additionally, force reductions require that human resources be leveraged to the maximum extent possible and that more stringent construction repair requirements push for increased automation. To solve these problems, the U.S. Air Force is undertaking a research and development effort at Tyndall AFB, FL to develop robotic teleoperation, telerobotics, robotic vehicle communications, automated damage assessment, vehicle navigation, mission/vehicle task control architecture, and associated computing environment. The ultimate goal is the fielding of robotic repair capability operating at the level of supervised autonomy. The authors of this paper will discuss current and planned efforts in construction/repair, explosive ordnance disposal, hazardous waste cleanup, fire fighting, and space construction.

41 CFR 102-74.135 - Who selects construction and alteration projects that are to be performed?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... and alteration projects that are to be performed? 102-74.135 Section 102-74.135 Public Contracts and... construction and alteration projects that are to be performed? The Administrator of General Services selects construction and alteration projects to be performed. ...

Noise-induced hearing loss in construction workers being assessed for hand-arm vibration syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

House, Ronald A; Sauvé, John T; Jiang, Depeng

2010-01-01

Construction workers are at risk of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) but often have no periodic audiometric testing. The participants were construction workers assessed for Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) at the Occupational Health Clinic, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario. Audiometry was offered and 169 of the 191 workers assessed for HAVS agreed to have the audiometric test. The objective was to examine the prevalence of hearing loss in these 169 workers and to determine the effect on hearing of duration of work in construction (as a proxy for noise exposure) and the severity of vibration white finger (VWF) which previous studies have suggested is a marker for increased individual susceptibility for NIHL. VWF was measured by the Stockholm vascular scale. All participants were men, median age of 57 (range: 28-75), median number of years worked in construction of 35 (range: 4-52). All of the Spearman rank correlations between years worked in construction and the hearing levels at each audiometric frequency were statistically significant (p hearing loss at or above the level at which a workers' compensation pension would be granted in Ontario and the prevalence of this auditory outcome had a statistically significant increase as years worked in construction increased. Multivariate linear regression indicated that VWF also had a statistically significant effect on hearing loss for all audiometric frequencies combined after controlling for years worked in construction. Improved prevention of hearing loss in construction workers is needed.

Legally Human? 'Novel Beings' and English Law.

Science.gov (United States)

Lawrence, David R; Brazier, Margaret

2018-04-17

Novel beings-intelligent, conscious life-forms sapient in the same way or greater than are human beings-are no longer the preserve of science fiction. Through technologies such as artificial general intelligence, synthetic genomics, gene printing, cognitive enhancement, advanced neuroscience, and more, they are becoming ever more likely and by some definitions may already be emerging. Consideration of the nature of intelligent, conscious novel beings such as those that may result from these technologies requires analysis of the concept of the 'reasonable creature in being' in English law, as well as of the right to life as founded in the European Convention on Human Rights and the attempts to endow human status on animals in recent years. Our exploration of these issues leads us to conclude that there is a strong case to recognize such 'novel' beings as entitled to the same fundamental rights to life, freedom from inhumane treatment, and liberty as we are.

Human cloning: can it be made safe?

Science.gov (United States)

Rhind, Susan M; Taylor, Jane E; De Sousa, Paul A; King, Tim J; McGarry, Michelle; Wilmut, Ian

2003-11-01

There are continued claims of attempts to clone humans using nuclear transfer, despite the serious problems that have been encountered in cloning other mammals. It is known that epigenetic and genetic mechanisms are involved in clone failure, but we still do not know exactly how. Human reproductive cloning is unethical, but the production of cells from cloned embryos could offer many potential benefits. So, can human cloning be made safe?

Impact of human development on safety consciousness in construction.

Science.gov (United States)

Baradan, Selim; Dikmen, Seyyit Umit; Akboga Kale, Ozge

2018-05-03

The International Labour Organization (ILO) reports that the risk of fatal occupational injuries in developing countries is almost twice as high as in developed countries, indicating a potential relationship between the fatality rates and the development level. The human development index (HDI), based on life expectancy, knowledge level and purchasing power parity, endorsed by the United Nations Development Programme, is a widely accepted measure of the development level. This study investigates the relationship between the HDI and the fatality rates reported by the ILO. A 23-country data set is used to demonstrate the general trend of the relationship followed by country-specific analyses for Australia, Spain, Hungary and Turkey. The study conducted is limited to fatal occupational injuries in construction, where the accidents are notoriously high. The results demonstrate a statistically significant inverse relationship between the fatality rates and the HDI.

[The relationships among occupational and organizational commitment, human relations in the workplace, and well-being in nurses].

Science.gov (United States)

Sawada, Tadayuki

2013-12-01

This study examined the relationship among human relations in the workplace, job involvement, affective commitment and continuance commitment with occupational and organizational commitment, and well-being. Questionnaires were completed by 855 female nurses who worked in four public hospitals (mean age = 32.6 years). The results of factor analysis showed that each component of the vocational constructs was distinguishable from the others. Path analysis showed that human relations in the workplace directly influenced job involvement and affective commitment both to the occupation and to the organization. Job involvement in turn directly influenced affective commitment and continuance commitment to the occupation. Job involvement also influenced affective commitment to the organization directly, and indirectly through affective commitment to the occupation. Finally, it was found that human relations in the workplace and affective commitment to the occupation positively influenced well-being; continuance commitment to the occupation was a negative influence. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Impact of social determinants on well-being of urban construction workers of Hyderabad.

Science.gov (United States)

Bala, Sudha; Valsangkar, Sameer; Lakshman Rao, Reshaboyina Lakshmi Narayana; Surya Prabha, Manem Lakshmi

2016-01-01

Hyderabad has witnessed one of the largest labor immigration in recent years and these construction workers are highly vulnerable in terms of health. Social determinants of health (SDH) arise from conditions in which they live and these factors interact with each other to produce direct impact on health. (1) To evaluate the sociodemographic and job characteristics of the construction workers. (2) To assess the impact of social determinants on well-being. A sample size of 135 construction workers working at three sites of HITEC city were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaire. Health perception and the impact on well-being was measured using the Healthy Days Module and Kessler's Psychological Distress Scale. SDH were measured on a 27-item questionnaire with responses on a Likert scale ranging from 0 to 4. Proportions, percentages, P values, and mean scores were obtained. The mean age of the sample was 35.4 ± 11.94 years. Seventeen (12.6%) of the workers reported a high risk score on the Kessler's Psychological Distress Scale. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify significant domains of social determinants independently associated with the well being of construction workers and significant among the nine domains of social determinants were addiction score domain with odds of 2.259 and a P value of 0.015 and the distress domain with odds of 1.108 and a P < 0.001. There is a significant impairment of physical and mental health due to various factors including SDH, such as addictive habits and psychological distress, which are amenable to prevention.

Being human in a global age of technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Whelton, Beverly J B

2016-01-01

This philosophical enquiry considers the impact of a global world view and technology on the meaning of being human. The global vision increases our awareness of the common bond between all humans, while technology tends to separate us from an understanding of ourselves as human persons. We review some advances in connecting as community within our world, and many examples of technological changes. This review is not exhaustive. The focus is to understand enough changes to think through the possibility of healthcare professionals becoming cyborgs, human-machine units that are subsequently neither human and nor machine. It is seen that human technology interfaces are a different way of interacting but do not change what it is to be human in our rational capacities of providing meaningful speech and freely chosen actions. In the highly technical environment of the ICU, expert nurses work in harmony with both the technical equipment and the patient. We used Heidegger to consider the nature of equipment, and Descartes to explore unique human capacities. Aristotle, Wallace, Sokolowski, and Clarke provide a summary of humanity as substantial and relational. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Being Human or Being a Citizen? Rethinking Human Rights and Citizenship Education in the Light of Agamben and Merleau-Ponty

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Ruyu

2012-01-01

This paper argues against a trend of human rights education, where human rights are taught in the form of citizenship education. In my view, citizenship education and human rights education cannot be taken as replaceable for each other. Underpinning the idea of citizenship is a distinction between "politically qualified" and "politically…

Bone tissue engineering with human mesenchymal stem cell sheets constructed using magnetite nanoparticles and magnetic force.

Science.gov (United States)

Shimizu, Kazunori; Ito, Akira; Yoshida, Tatsuro; Yamada, Yoichi; Ueda, Minoru; Honda, Hiroyuki

2007-08-01

An in vitro reconstruction of three-dimensional (3D) tissues without the use of scaffolds may be an alternative strategy for tissue engineering. We have developed a novel tissue engineering strategy, termed magnetic force-based tissue engineering (Mag-TE), in which magnetite cationic liposomes (MCLs) with a positive charge at the liposomal surface, and magnetic force were used to construct 3D tissue without scaffolds. In this study, human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) magnetically labeled with MCLs were seeded onto an ultra-low attachment culture surface, and a magnet (4000 G) was placed on the reverse side. The MSCs formed multilayered sheet-like structures after a 24-h culture period. MSCs in the sheets constructed by Mag-TE maintained an in vitro ability to differentiate into osteoblasts, adipocytes, or chondrocytes after a 21-day culture period using each induction medium. Using an electromagnet, MSC sheets constructed by Mag-TE were harvested and transplanted into the bone defect in the crania of nude rats. Histological observation revealed that new bone surrounded by osteoblast-like cells was formed in the defect area 14 days after transplantation with MSC sheets, whereas no bone formation was observed in control rats without the transplant. These results indicated that Mag-TE could be used for the transplantation of MSC sheets using magnetite nanoparticles and magnetic force, providing novel methodology for bone tissue engineering.

Study on techniques to use the comprehensive functions of human beings in a group

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Numano, Masayoshi; Matsuoka, Takeshi; Fukuto, Junji; Mitomo, Nobuo; Miyazaki, Keiko; Hirao, Yoshihiro; Ando, Hirotomo

1997-01-01

In an atomic power plant, it is necessary to provide sufficient informations concerning the quantity of state in the plant to the operators. However, an atomic power plant is apt to have a black box in its operation because of the automatized systems to avoid human errors. Thus, the informations of plant are needed to be provided in fitting forms for human cognitive functions. Here, an investigation was made focusing on the feedback of operation results and the presentation of the plant states in the PWR plant model. In addition, exchange and sharing of informations as well as role assignment in the operational support among groups were investigated using duty officers on bridge of a modern coastwise tanker as the subjects. To prevent an error manipulation during intelligent works in plant operation, a model room for virtual reality experiment was constructed. Then, an input system for sensory feedback and its plant model were proposed to examine the validity of the feedback inputs. (M.N.)

Three concepts of cloning in human beings.

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Ke-Hui

2005-07-01

Human cloning, organ cloning and tissue cloning are various types of cloning that occur at different levels with different methodologies. According to three standards of terminology for an embryo (fertilization through germ cells, development in the uterus and having the potential to produce a human life), tissue cloning and type I organ cloning will not produce an embryo. In contrast, human cloning and type II organ cloning will produce an embryo. Thus, only non-germinal tissue cloning and type I organ cloning are beyond the ethical question and will not change human beings as a species. Using cloned tissues to make new tissues or organs is promising for the future of medicine.

Attention and working memory: two basic mechanisms for constructing temporal experiences

OpenAIRE

Marchetti, Giorgio

2014-01-01

Various kinds of observations show that the ability of human beings to both consciously relive past events – episodic memory – and conceive future events, entails an active process of construction. This construction process also underpins many other important aspects of conscious human life, such as perceptions, language, and conscious thinking. This article provides an explanation of what makes the constructive process possible and how it works. The process mainly relies on attentional activ...

42 CFR 137.338 - Must funds from other sources be incorporated into a construction project agreement?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... SELF-GOVERNANCE Construction Project Assumption Process § 137.338 Must funds from other sources be... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Must funds from other sources be incorporated into a construction project agreement? 137.338 Section 137.338 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE...

Construction of a humanized antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen by specificity-determining residues (SDR)-grafting and de-immunization.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Keun-Soo; Kim, Hyun-Jung; Han, Byung Woo; Myung, Pyung-Keun; Hong, Hyo Jeong

2010-05-28

We previously constructed a humanized antibody, HuS10, by grafting the complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) of a parental murine monoclonal antibody into the homologous human antibody sequences. This process is termed CDR grafting. Some residues that were thought to affect the CDR loops and stabilize the structure of the variable regions were retained in the framework region. HuS10 exhibited in vivo virus-neutralizing activity, but its murine content had the potential to elicit immune responses in patients. In this study, to minimize the immunogenic potential of HuS10, we replaced 17 mouse residues in HuS10 with the comparable human residues using specificity-determining residue (SDR)-grafting and de-immunization methods. The resultant humanized antibody, HzS-III, had the same affinity and epitope specificity as HuS10 and had reduced immunogenic potential, as assessed by T-cell epitope analysis. Thus, SDR grafting in combination with de-immunization may be a useful strategy for minimizing the immunogenicity of humanized antibodies. In addition, HzS-III may be a good candidate for immunoprophylaxis of HBV infection. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fiscal 1998 research report. Construction model project of the human sensory database; 1998 nendo ningen kankaku database kochiku model jigyo seika hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-03-01

This report summarizes the fiscal 1998 research result on construction of the human sensory database. The human sensory database for evaluating working environment was constructed on the basis of the measurement result on human sensory data (stress and fatigue) of 400 examinees at fields (transport field, control room and office) and in a laboratory. By using the newly developed standard measurement protocol for evaluating summer clothing (shirt, slacks and underwear), the database composed of the evaluation experiment results and the comparative experiment results on human physiological and sensory data of aged and young people was constructed. The database is featured by easy retrieval of various information concerned corresponding to requirements of tasks and use purposes. For evaluating the mass data with large time variation read corresponding to use purposes for every scene, the data detection support technique was adopted paying attention to physical and psychological variable phases, and mind and body events. A meaning of reaction and a hint for necessary measures are showed for every phase and event. (NEDO)

[Human nature and the enhancement of human beings in the light of the transhumanist program].

Science.gov (United States)

Goffi, Jean-Yves

2011-01-01

There are three main approaches about the question of Human Nature. essentialists consider that there exists a permanent Human Nature, shared by every human being. Existentialists consider that there is no such thing as human nature, but inescapable modes of being in the world. A moderate approach would consider that Human Nature can be modified within the limits of anthropological invariants. Transhumanists are conservative in that they think that there is a Human Nature; but they are radical in that they believe that it can (and must) be transcended by bio-technnologies and computer technologies. This project is evaluated as a caricature of suitable human enhancement.

Simulation-based assessment for construction helmets.

Science.gov (United States)

Long, James; Yang, James; Lei, Zhipeng; Liang, Daan

2015-01-01

In recent years, there has been a concerted effort for greater job safety in all industries. Personnel protective equipment (PPE) has been developed to help mitigate the risk of injury to humans that might be exposed to hazardous situations. The human head is the most vulnerable to impact as a moderate magnitude can cause serious injury or death. That is why industries have required the use of an industrial hard hat or helmet. There have only been a few articles published to date that are focused on the risk of head injury when wearing an industrial helmet. A full understanding of the effectiveness of construction helmets on reducing injury is lacking. This paper presents a simulation-based method to determine the threshold at which a human will sustain injury when wearing a construction helmet and assesses the risk of injury for wearers of construction helmets or hard hats. Advanced finite element, or FE, models were developed to study the impact on construction helmets. The FE model consists of two parts: the helmet and the human models. The human model consists of a brain, enclosed by a skull and an outer layer of skin. The level and probability of injury to the head was determined using both the head injury criterion (HIC) and tolerance limits set by Deck and Willinger. The HIC has been widely used to assess the likelihood of head injury in vehicles. The tolerance levels proposed by Deck and Willinger are more suited for finite element models but lack wide-scale validation. Different cases of impact were studied using LSTC's LS-DYNA.

Exploring the acquisition and production of grammatical constructions through human-robot interaction with echo state networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Hinaut, Xavier; Petit, Maxime; Pointeau, Gregoire; Dominey, Peter Ford

2014-01-01

One of the principal functions of human language is to allow people to coordinate joint action. This includes the description of events, requests for action, and their organization in time. A crucial component of language acquisition is learning the grammatical structures that allow the expression of such complex meaning related to physical events. The current research investigates the learning of grammatical constructions and their temporal organization in the context of human-robot physical interaction with the embodied sensorimotor humanoid platform, the iCub. We demonstrate three noteworthy phenomena. First, a recurrent network model is used in conjunction with this robotic platform to learn the mappings between grammatical forms and predicate-argument representations of meanings related to events, and the robot's execution of these events in time. Second, this learning mechanism functions in the inverse sense, i.e., in a language production mode, where rather than executing commanded actions, the robot will describe the results of human generated actions. Finally, we collect data from naïve subjects who interact with the robot via spoken language, and demonstrate significant learning and generalization results. This allows us to conclude that such a neural language learning system not only helps to characterize and understand some aspects of human language acquisition, but also that it can be useful in adaptive human-robot interaction.

Assessing the sustainable construction of large construction companies in Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Adewale, Bamgbade Jibril; Mohammed, Kamaruddeen Ahmed; Nasrun, Mohd Nawi Mohd

2016-08-01

Considering the increasing concerns for the consideration of sustainability issues in construction project delivery within the construction industry, this paper assesses the extent of sustainable construction among Malaysian large contractors, in order to ascertain the level of the industry's impacts on both the environment and the society. Sustainable construction explains the construction industry's responsibility to efficiently utilise the finite resources while also reducing construction impacts on both humans and the environment throughout the phases of construction. This study used proportionate stratified random sampling to conduct a field study with a sample of 172 contractors out of the 708 administered questionnaires. Data were collected from large contractors in the eleven states of peninsular Malaysia. Using the five-level rating scale (which include: 1= Very Low; 2= Low; 3= Moderate; 4= High; 5= Very High) to describe the level of sustainable construction of Malaysian contractors based on previous studies, statistical analysis reveals that environmental, social and economic sustainability of Malaysian large contractors are high.

Being a Modern Human: essentialist and hierarchical approaches to the emergence of 'modern human behaviour'

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Terry Hopkinson

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The emergence of the modern human mind and modern human behaviour is a prominent issue in palaeolithic archaeology. The consensus has been that modernity, understood in terms of increased rates of innovation and the emergence of symbolism, is enabled by a heritable neurophysiology unique to Homo sapiens. This consensus is characterised as biological essentialist in that it understands modernity as genotypically specified and unique to Homo sapiens. 'Archaic' hominins such as the Neanderthals are understood to have lacked the modern neuroanatomical genotype and therefore to have been innately incapable of modern cognition and behaviour. The biological-essentialist programme, however, is facing a serious challenge as evidence for innovation and symbolism is found in the archaeological records of the Eurasian Middle Palaeolithic and the African Middle Stone Age. An alternative programme is emerging that understands modern human behaviour as an emergent property of social, demographic and ecological dynamics. It is argued that this programme is currently inadequate since it cannot explain the emergence of symbolically charged material culture and relies on inexorable long-term population growth. It is suggested here that the problem is better understood in terms of hierarchy theory, a body of ideas concerned with systems organised on multiple scales. Palaeolithic behaviour is reconceptualised as social practice emerging from a multi-scale knowledge system. It is shown that enhancements in the rate at which knowledgeable practices disseminate through social fields – the social transmission of knowledge - will have the effect of increasing the likelihood that novel practices will be incorporated into long-term structuring principles and thus become persistent practices. They will also effect a scalar convergence of domains of knowledgeability such that technical practices become incorporated into the construction of personhood as meaningful or

Ecological Wisdom and Inspiration Underlying the Planning and Construction of Ancient Human Settlements: Case Study of Hongcun UNESCO World Heritage Site in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shanwen Zheng

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Human settlements are social-economic-natural complex ecosystems centered on human activities and the most prominent site for the contradictions between humans and the environment. Taking Hongcun, a UNESCO World Heritage site in China, as an example, this paper analyzes the methods and effect of coupling man and nature in Hongcun, summarizes the ecological wisdom of dealing with the relationship between human and nature, and uses this wisdom to shed light on the planning, construction, and management of contemporary urban and rural settlements. Firstly, the study introduces the Human-Natural Intergraded Ecological Planning (HNIEP model’s hypothesis, explaining its foundation and potential principles or approaches. Secondly, using the case study of Hongcun to explain, support, and validate the HNIEP model and its framework, the study found that the unique planning and construction of Hongcun has greatly promoted ecosystem services, such as local microclimate regulation, rainwater runoff regulation, water conservation, landscape aesthetic, and engagement with nature. Thirdly, Hongcun reflects the concept of harmonious coexistence between human and nature, the wisdom of rational use of ecosystem structures, processes and functions, and the wisdom of coupling human activities with the living environment and natural ecosystem. Finally, the paper summarizes the enlightenment brought by both the HNIEP model and Hongcun wisdom to contemporary urban-rural planning and construction management.

Comparative Research on Human Settlements in Asian Rural Areas Based on Collaborative Construction Mechanism

Science.gov (United States)

Xin, Sui; Chaoyang, Sun; Mo, Li

2018-02-01

Rural planning is perceived as a spatial planning centered on the human settlements and there are many activities for rural reconstruction and researches conducted from the perspective of active intervention, with fewer studies regarding the village as the main body for the establishment of self-built system. And the other-organization built by the rural areas is strongly oriented. In Asian countries like China, South Korea and Japan, there are farming traditions, in which the familial and small-scale farmland holding and agricultural production mode are deep-rooted. Traditional agriculture and rural areas are not fundamentally changed by industrialization and modernization process. And the small-scale peasant in the East is marked by the decentralized possession of farmland and management in the rural areas and a large number of farmers to be remained. But the rural population keeps decreasing. After analyzing the status quo of human settlements in China, Korea and Japan, the paper makes an analysis from the different ways of thinking and professional perspective and focuses on putting forward the solutions to the problems on macro level, with the feasibility of the practical significance and the landing researches still staying in the testing stage. In the context of increasingly missing regional and contextual features, the launching and researches of “co-constructed community” as the folk protection way to emerging rural heritage are just started, and the researches on rural construction in Northeast China from the perspective of catalyst are absent. The contact agent with the catalytic action mechanism of seeing big things through small ones fits the rural areas marked by vast territory and diversified aspect, which is applicable to the bottom-up operation mechanism autonomously built by the villagers.

Construction of retroviral recombinant containing human tissue ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

USER

2010-03-29

Mar 29, 2010 ... Recombinant retroviral vector containing human tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2) gene was ..... heavy metal ions, the protein could be express in an .... involves adhesion, degradation and movement. To.

Face, content, and construct validity of human placenta as a haptic training tool in neurointerventional surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Ribeiro de Oliveira, Marcelo Magaldi; Nicolato, Arthur; Santos, Marcilea; Godinho, Joao Victor; Brito, Rafael; Alvarenga, Alexandre; Martins, Ana Luiza Valle; Prosdocimi, André; Trivelato, Felipe Padovani; Sabbagh, Abdulrahman J; Reis, Augusto Barbosa; Maestro, Rolando Del

2016-05-01

OBJECT The development of neurointerventional treatments of central nervous system disorders has resulted in the need for adequate training environments for novice interventionalists. Virtual simulators offer anatomical definition but lack adequate tactile feedback. Animal models, which provide more lifelike training, require an appropriate infrastructure base. The authors describe a training model for neurointerventional procedures using the human placenta (HP), which affords haptic training with significantly fewer resource requirements, and discuss its validation. METHODS Twelve HPs were prepared for simulated endovascular procedures. Training exercises performed by interventional neuroradiologists and novice fellows were placental angiography, stent placement, aneurysm coiling, and intravascular liquid embolic agent injection. RESULTS The endovascular training exercises proposed can be easily reproduced in the HP. Face, content, and construct validity were assessed by 6 neurointerventional radiologists and 6 novice fellows in interventional radiology. CONCLUSIONS The use of HP provides an inexpensive training model for the training of neurointerventionalists. Preliminary validation results show that this simulation model has face and content validity and has demonstrated construct validity for the interventions assessed in this study.

The well-being of laboratory non-human primates.

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Kate C; Dettmer, Amanda M

2017-01-01

The well-being of non-human primates in captivity is of joint concern to scientists, veterinarians, colony managers, caretakers, and researchers working with non-human primates in biomedical research. With increased regulatory, accreditation, and research focus on optimizing the use of social housing for laboratory primates, as well as the advent of techniques to assess indices of chronic stress and related measures of well-being, there is no better time to present the most current advances in the field of non-human primate behavioral management. The collective body of research presented here was inspired in part by a 2014 symposium entitled, "Chronic Hormones and Demographic Variables: Center-Wide Studies on Non-Human Primate Well-Being" held at the American Society of Primatologists' 37th Annual Meeting in Decatur, GA. By aiming to target readership with scientific and/or management oversight of captive primate behavioral management programs, this special issue provides badly-needed guidance for implementing social housing programs in a research environment and leverages collaboration across multiple facilities to address key components of behavioral management, explore refinements in how well-being can be measured, and identify the interrelationships between varying indices. Am. J. Primatol. 79:e22520, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Teachers as Human Capital or Human Beings? USAID's Perspective on Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Ginsburg, Mark

2017-01-01

This article analyzes three USAID education strategy documents (1998, 2005, and 2011) as well as USAID's requests for proposals for three projects to assess how teachers are represented. The main findings indicate that USAID education strategy documents a) treat teachers as human capital, a human resource input, rather than as human beings and b)…

A Study of the potency of construction service industries to support the first nuclear power plant construction in Indonesia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dharu Dewi; Sriyana

2008-01-01

The study was conducted to identify the potency of construction service industries to participate in nuclear power plant program in Indonesia. The potency is identified by evaluation results of national industries potency in some multinational construction service industries. The research methodology chosen was the survey method by sending questionnaires, visits to National industries, interview, and literature study. The data collection technique was sampling purposive. Data can be obtained from both primary and secondary data. The study results showed that the performance of construction service industries to support the NPP program must be increased through the selection of competent human resources, reliable equipment and an effective and efficient project management system, so that they can be expected to play necessary role in the nuclear power plant construction in Indonesia. (author)

Ectopic bone formation in nude rats using human osteoblasts seeded poly(3)hydroxybutyrate embroidery and hydroxyapatite-collagen tapes constructs.

Science.gov (United States)

Mai, Ronald; Hagedorn, Manolo Gunnar; Gelinsky, Michael; Werner, Carsten; Turhani, Dritan; Späth, Heike; Gedrange, Tomas; Lauer, Günter

2006-09-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the ectopic bone formation using tissue engineered cell-seeded constructs with two different scaffolds and primary human maxillary osteoblasts in nude rats over an implantation period of up to 96 days. Collagen I-coated Poly(3)hydroxybutyrate (PHB) embroidery and hydroxyapatite (HAP) collagen tapes were seeded with primary human maxillary osteoblasts (hOB) and implanted into athymic rnu/run rats. A total of 72 implants were placed into the back muscles of 18 rats. 24, 48 and 96 days after implantation, histological and histomorphometric analyses were made. The osteoblastic character of the cells was confirmed by immunocytochemistry and RT-PCR for osteocalcin. Histological analysis demonstrated that all cell-seeded constructs induced ectopic bone formation after 24, 48 and 96 days of implantation. There was more mineralized tissue in PHB constructs than in HAP-collagen tapes (at day 24; p embroidery or HAP-collagen tapes can induce ectopic bone formation. However, the amount of bone formed decreased with increasing length of implantation.

[Cloning of VH and VL Gene of Human anti-IL1RAP McAb and Construction of Recombinant Chimeric Receptor].

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Ling-Ling; Ruan, Su-Hong; Tian, Yu; Zhao, Kai; Xu, Kai Lin

2015-10-01

To clone the variable region genes of human anti-IL1RAP (IL-1 receptor accessory protein) monoclonal antibodies (McAb) and to construct IL1RAP chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). The VH and VL DNA of IL1RAP single chain antibodies were amplified by RACE and overlap extension PCR from total RNA extracted from 3H6E10 and 10D8A7 hybridoma and ligated into specific IL1RAP single-chain variable fragments (scFv). CD8α transmembrane domain, CD137 intracellular domain, TCR ζ chain, human CD8α signal peptide and scFv-anti-IL1RAP were cloned into plasmid LV-lac. Recombinant lentiviruses were generated by co-transfection of recombinant plasmid LV-lac, pMD2. G, and psPAX2 helper vectors into 293FT packing cells. The VH and VL genes of 2 human anti-IL1RAP McAb were acquired. The 3H6E10 VH and VL genes consisted of 402 bp and 393 bp encoding 134 and 131 aminoacid residues, respectively; 10D8A7 VH and VL genes consisted of 423 bp and 381 bp encoding 141 and 127 amine acid residues, respectively. Recombinant expression vertors LV-3H6E10 scFv-ICD and LV-10D8A7 scFv-ICD (ICD: CD8α transmembrane domain-CD137 intracellular domain-TCR ζ chain) were constructed. The target fragments were demonstrated by sequencing analysis. Recombinant plasmids were transfected into 293FT cells and lentiviral particles were acquired. Human anti-IL1RAP recombinant receptors are constructed successfully and lay a good foundation for the construction of IL1RAP-CAR killer T cell vaccine.

25 CFR 170.405 - Can tribal transportation planning funds be used for road construction and other projects?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... INTERIOR LAND AND WATER INDIAN RESERVATION ROADS PROGRAM Planning, Design, and Construction of Indian... funds be used for road construction and other projects? Yes, any tribe can request to have its planning... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Can tribal transportation planning funds be used for road...

First contacts and the common behavior of human beings

OpenAIRE

Van Brakel, Jaap

2005-01-01

In this paper my aim is to shed light on the common behavior of human beings by looking at '' first contacts '': the situation where people with unshared histories first meet (who don't speak one an others' language, don't have access to interpreters, etc.). The limits of the human life form are given by what is similar in the common behavior(s) of human beings. But what is similar should not be understood as something that is biologically or psychologically or transcendentally shared by all ...

42 CFR 137.275 - May Self-Governance Tribes include IHS construction programs in a construction project agreement...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false May Self-Governance Tribes include IHS construction... OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES TRIBAL SELF-GOVERNANCE Construction Purpose and Scope § 137.275 May Self-Governance Tribes include IHS construction programs in a construction project agreement or in a funding...

ETHOS OF MUSIC ART AND HUMAN WELL-BEING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CARMEN COZMA

2011-11-01

Full Text Available What does make the ground of the authentic works of music art crossing the centuries and what does move the human soul any time and anywhere? Which is the support of music art – generally speaking – beyond its aesthetic dimension? How could we explain and understand, in a better and in a more efficient way, the powerful influence of musical artistic creation upon the human well-being? These are merely part of the interrogations challenging our interest in finding and revealing the profound link between ethical values, music art and human health (in its integrality. The purpose of this essay is to emphasize the foundation of human equilibrium considering the offer of the harmony carried by music art, exploring the significance of a nucleus-concept of the Greek philosophers that has been acknowledged as kalokagatheia – the self-fulfilled cultivation of body and soul, as a micro-cosmos living within the macro-cosmos. In terms of a philosophical hermeneutics of art, we reach to disclose part of the salutogenic function of music art concerning the human well-being in nowadays.

Does Globalization Affect Human Well-Being?

Science.gov (United States)

Tsai, Ming-Chang

2007-01-01

The prevailing theorizing of globalization's influence of human well-being suggests to assess both the favorable and unfavorable outcomes. This study formulates a dialectical model, adopts a comprehensive globalization measure and uses a three-wave panel data during 1980-2000 to empirically test direct and indirect effects of global flows' human…

Statistical physics of human beings in games: Controlled experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Yuan; Huang, Ji-Ping

2014-07-01

It is important to know whether the laws or phenomena in statistical physics for natural systems with non-adaptive agents still hold for social human systems with adaptive agents, because this implies whether it is possible to study or understand social human systems by using statistical physics originating from natural systems. For this purpose, we review the role of human adaptability in four kinds of specific human behaviors, namely, normal behavior, herd behavior, contrarian behavior, and hedge behavior. The approach is based on controlled experiments in the framework of market-directed resource-allocation games. The role of the controlled experiments could be at least two-fold: adopting the real human decision-making process so that the system under consideration could reflect the performance of genuine human beings; making it possible to obtain macroscopic physical properties of a human system by tuning a particular factor of the system, thus directly revealing cause and effect. As a result, both computer simulations and theoretical analyses help to show a few counterparts of some laws or phenomena in statistical physics for social human systems: two-phase phenomena or phase transitions, entropy-related phenomena, and a non-equilibrium steady state. This review highlights the role of human adaptability in these counterparts, and makes it possible to study or understand some particular social human systems by means of statistical physics coming from natural systems.

Human annoyance, acceptability and concern as responses to vibration from the construction of Light Rapid Transit lines in residential environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wong-McSweeney, D., E-mail: D.B.C.WongMcSweeney@salford.ac.uk [Acoustics Research Centre, University of Salford, Salford M5 4TW (United Kingdom); Woodcock, J.S.; Peris, E.; Waddington, D.C.; Moorhouse, A.T. [Acoustics Research Centre, University of Salford, Salford M5 4TW (United Kingdom); Redel-Macías, M.D. [Dep. Rural Engineering Campus de Rabanales, University of Córdoba, Córdoba (Spain)

2016-10-15

The aim of this paper is to investigate the use of different self-reported measures for assessing the human response to environmental vibration from the construction of an urban LRT (Light Rapid Transit) system. The human response to environmental stressors such as vibration and noise is often expressed in terms of exposure–response relationships that describe annoyance as a function of the magnitude of the vibration. These relationships are often the basis of noise and vibration policy and the setting of limit values. This paper examines measures other than annoyance by expressing exposure–response relationships for vibration in terms of self-reported concern about property damage and acceptability. The exposure–response relationships for concern about property damage and for acceptability are then compared with those for annoyance. It is shown that concern about property damage occurs at vibration levels well below those where there is any risk of damage. Earlier research indicated that concern for damage is an important moderator of the annoyance induced. Acceptability, on the other hand, might be influenced by both annoyance and concern, as well as by other considerations. It is concluded that exposure–response relationships expressing acceptability as a function of vibration exposure could usefully complement existing relationships for annoyance in future policy decisions regarding environmental vibration. The results presented in this paper are derived from data collected through a socio-vibration survey (N = 321) conducted for the construction of an urban LRT in the United Kingdom. - Highlights: • The human response to construction vibration is assessed in residential environments. • Exposure–response relationships are generated based on survey and semi-empirical vibration estimation. • Annoyance, concern and acceptability are compared as response measures. • Concern and acceptability are viable measures complementing annoyance.

Human nature: neither material nor spiritually being

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Alba Martínez Amorós

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The idea of «human nature» defended by Ortega y Gasset is as original as opposite to what is usually understood. We are making a mistake if the starting point is to conceive Man as one living being among others. Neither science nor philosophy, while remaining in the Eleatic tradition, can give a clear explanation. Science, because if we look at Man, as he is presented to us, it is impossible to distinguish in him materially from spiritually; his body and his psyche. Philosophy, because the concept of «human nature» is an invention of our reason, a fantasy. That nature doesn’t exist because the being of man is so strange and different from other beings that its consistency is just going to be what it never manages to be. Therefore, it is what happens, a journey, a history that is running within a circumstance. This is my life, and that of everyone.

Target Article with Commentaries: Developmental Niche Construction

Science.gov (United States)

Flynn, Emma G.; Laland, Kevin N.; Kendal, Rachel L.; Kendal, Jeremy R.

2013-01-01

Niche construction is the modification of components of the environment through an organism's activities. Humans modify their environments mainly through ontogenetic and cultural processes, and it is this reliance on learning, plasticity and culture that lends human niche construction a special potency. In this paper we aim to facilitate…

Statistical physics of human beings in games: Controlled experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang Yuan; Huang Ji-Ping

2014-01-01

It is important to know whether the laws or phenomena in statistical physics for natural systems with non-adaptive agents still hold for social human systems with adaptive agents, because this implies whether it is possible to study or understand social human systems by using statistical physics originating from natural systems. For this purpose, we review the role of human adaptability in four kinds of specific human behaviors, namely, normal behavior, herd behavior, contrarian behavior, and hedge behavior. The approach is based on controlled experiments in the framework of market-directed resource-allocation games. The role of the controlled experiments could be at least two-fold: adopting the real human decision-making process so that the system under consideration could reflect the performance of genuine human beings; making it possible to obtain macroscopic physical properties of a human system by tuning a particular factor of the system, thus directly revealing cause and effect. As a result, both computer simulations and theoretical analyses help to show a few counterparts of some laws or phenomena in statistical physics for social human systems: two-phase phenomena or phase transitions, entropy-related phenomena, and a non-equilibrium steady state. This review highlights the role of human adaptability in these counterparts, and makes it possible to study or understand some particular social human systems by means of statistical physics coming from natural systems. (topical review - statistical physics and complex systems)

The difference of being human: Morality

Science.gov (United States)

Ayala, Francisco J.

2010-01-01

In The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, published in 1871, Charles Darwin wrote: “I fully … subscribe to the judgment of those writers who maintain that of all the differences between man and the lower animals the moral sense or conscience is by far the most important.” I raise the question of whether morality is biologically or culturally determined. The question of whether the moral sense is biologically determined may refer either to the capacity for ethics (i.e., the proclivity to judge human actions as either right or wrong), or to the moral norms accepted by human beings for guiding their actions. I propose that the capacity for ethics is a necessary attribute of human nature, whereas moral codes are products of cultural evolution. Humans have a moral sense because their biological makeup determines the presence of three necessary conditions for ethical behavior: (i) the ability to anticipate the consequences of one's own actions; (ii) the ability to make value judgments; and (iii) the ability to choose between alternative courses of action. Ethical behavior came about in evolution not because it is adaptive in itself but as a necessary consequence of man's eminent intellectual abilities, which are an attribute directly promoted by natural selection. That is, morality evolved as an exaptation, not as an adaptation. Moral codes, however, are outcomes of cultural evolution, which accounts for the diversity of cultural norms among populations and for their evolution through time. PMID:20445091

The niche construction of cultural complexity: interactions between innovations, population size and the environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Fogarty, Laurel; Creanza, Nicole

2017-12-05

Niche construction is a process through which organisms alter their environments and, in doing so, influence or change the selective pressures to which they are subject. 'Cultural niche construction' refers specifically to the effect of cultural traits on the selective environments of other biological or cultural traits and may be especially important in human evolution. In addition, the relationship between population size and cultural accumulation has been the subject of extensive debate, in part because anthropological studies have demonstrated a significant association between population size and toolkit complexity in only a subset of studied cultures. Here, we review the role of cultural innovation in constructing human evolutionary niches and introduce a new model to describe the accumulation of human cultural traits that incorporates the effects of cultural niche construction. We consider the results of this model in light of available data on human toolkit sizes across populations to help elucidate the important differences between food-gathering societies and food-producing societies, in which niche construction may be a more potent force. These results support the idea that a population's relationship with its environment, represented here by cultural niche construction, should be considered alongside population size in studies of cultural complexity.This article is part of the themed issue 'Process and pattern in innovations from cells to societies'. © 2017 The Author(s).

Constructive Preference Elicitation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paolo Dragone

2018-01-01

Full Text Available When faced with large or complex decision problems, human decision makers (DM can make costly mistakes, due to inherent limitations of their memory, attention, and knowledge. Preference elicitation tools assist the decision maker in overcoming these limitations. They do so by interactively learning the DM’s preferences through appropriately chosen queries and suggesting high-quality outcomes based on the preference estimates. Most state-of-the-art techniques, however, fail in constructive settings, where the goal is to synthesize a custom or entirely novel configuration rather than choosing the best option among a given set of candidates. Many wide-spread problems are constructive in nature: customizing composite goods such as cars and computers, bundling products, recommending touristic travel plans, designing apartments, buildings, or urban layouts, etc. In these settings, the full set of outcomes is humongous and can not be explicitly enumerated, and the solution must be synthesized via constrained optimization. In this article, we describe recent approaches especially designed for constructive problems, outlining the underlying ideas and their differences as well as their limitations. In presenting them, we especially focus on novel issues that the constructive setting brings forth, such as how to deal with sparsity of the DM’s preferences, how to properly frame the interaction, and how to achieve efficient synthesis of custom instances.

Being human and doing primatology: national, socioeconomic, and ethnic influences on primatological practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuentes, Agustin

2011-03-01

The emerging manifesto, center of the essay collection this commentary is part of, points out that primatology is a primate's science and field of endeavor. It is about primates, and constructed and carried out by primates. But the relationships between different primates involved in primatology cannot be described merely as scientific, zoological, or conservatory. A main point emerging from this perspective is that the relationships amongst primates (as scientists and as subjects) are affected by primatologists' experiences outside of academic science and within the cultural schema that we acquire as members of human societies. My contribution focuses on the primatologists and their sometimes discussed, but too often ignored, cultural and ethnic contexts as influences on how they study, think about, and interact with other primates. In our views and bonds with other primates, do national, class, and ethnic factors count? 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The Construction of cDNA Libraries from Human Single Preimplantation Embryos and Their Use in the Study of Gene Expression During Development

OpenAIRE

Adjaye, James; Daniels, Rob; Monk, Marilyn

1998-01-01

Purpose:The construction and application of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based cDNA libraries from unfertilized human oocytes and single preimplantation-stage embryos are described. The purpose of these studies is to provide a readily available resource for the study of gene expression during human preimplantation development.

42 CFR 136.110 - Facilities construction.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Facilities construction. 136.110 Section 136.110..., DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES INDIAN HEALTH Grants for Development, Construction, and Operation of Facilities and Services § 136.110 Facilities construction. In addition to other requirements of this subpart...

Osteogenic Differentiation of Three-Dimensional Bioprinted Constructs Consisting of Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells In Vitro and In Vivo.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiao-Fei Wang

Full Text Available Here, we aimed to investigate osteogenic differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs in three-dimensional (3D bioprinted tissue constructs in vitro and in vivo. A 3D Bio-plotter dispensing system was used for building 3D constructs. Cell viability was determined using live/dead cell staining. After 7 and 14 days of culture, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR was performed to analyze the expression of osteogenesis-related genes (RUNX2, OSX, and OCN. Western blotting for RUNX2 and immunofluorescent staining for OCN and RUNX2 were also performed. At 8 weeks after surgery, osteoids secreted by osteogenically differentiated cells were assessed by hematoxylin-eosin (H&E staining, Masson trichrome staining, and OCN immunohistochemical staining. Results from live/dead cell staining showed that most of the cells remained alive, with a cell viability of 89%, on day 1 after printing. In vitro osteogenic induction of the 3D construct showed that the expression levels of RUNX2, OSX, and OCN were significantly increased on days 7 and 14 after printing in cells cultured in osteogenic medium (OM compared with that in normal proliferation medium (PM. Fluorescence microscopy and western blotting showed that the expression of osteogenesis-related proteins was significantly higher in cells cultured in OM than in cells cultured in PM. In vivo studies demonstrated obvious bone matrix formation in the 3D bioprinted constructs. These results indicated that 3D bioprinted constructs consisting of hASCs had the ability to promote mineralized matrix formation and that hASCs could be used in 3D bioprinted constructs for the repair of large bone tissue defects.

A specialized isotope mass spectrometer for noninvasive diagnostics of Helicobacter pylori infection in human beings

Science.gov (United States)

Blashenkov, N. M.; Sheshenya, E. S.; Solov'ev, S. M.; Sachenko, V. D.; Gall, L. N.; Zarutskii, I. V.; Gall, N. R.

2013-05-01

A specialized isotope mass spectrometer for noninvasive diagnostics of Helicobacter pylori infection in human beings based on the carbon-13 isotope breath test has been designed and constructed. Important stages of the work included (i) calculating a low-aberration mass analyzer, (ii) manufacturing and testing special gas inlet system, and (iii) creating a small-size collector of ions. The proposed instrument ensures 13C/12C isotopic ratio measurement to within 1.7‰ (pro mille) accuracy, which corresponds to requirements for a diagnostic tool. Preliminary medical testing showed that the mass spectrometer is applicable to practical diagnostics. The instrument is also capable of measuring isotopic ratios of other light elements, including N, O, B (for BF2+ ions), Ar, Cl, and S.

The Construction Solid Waste Minimization Practices among Malaysian Contractors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Che Ahmad A.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The function of minimization of construction solid waste is to reduce or eliminates the adverse impacts on the environment and to human health. Due to the increase of population that leads to rapid development, there are possibilities of construction solid waste to be increased shortly from the construction works, demolition or renovation works. Materials such as wood, concrete, paint, brick, roofing, tiles, plastic and any other materials would contribute problem involving construction solid waste. Therefore, the proper waste minimization is needed to control the quantity of construction solid waste produced. This paper identifies the type of construction solid waste produced and discusses the waste minimization practice by the contractors at construction sites in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, Malaysia.

The Riddle of a Human Being: A Human Singularity of Co-evolutionary Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helena N. Knyazeva

2008-10-01

Full Text Available span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: #39;Times New Roman#39;"The theory of self-organization of complex systems studies laws of sustainable co-evolutionary development of structures having different speeds of development as well as laws of assembling of a complex evolutionary whole from parts when some elements of ldquo;memoryrdquo; (the biological memory, i.e. DNA, the memory of culture, i.e. the cultural and historical traditions, etc. must be included. The theory reveals general rules of nonlinear synthesis of complex evolutionary structures. The most important and paradoxical consequences of the holistic view, including an approach to solving the riddle of human personality, are as follows: 1 the explanation why and under what conditions a part (a human can be more complex than a whole (society; 2 in order to reconstruct society it is necessary to change an individual but not by cutting off the supposed undesirable past, since a human being as a microcosm is the synthesis of all previous stages of evolution, and as a result of repression of, it would seem, the wild past one can extinguish a ldquo;divine sparkrdquo; in his soul; 3 in the physical sense, singularity denotes a moment of instability, phase transition; one can talk about the human singularity of co-evolutionary processes, since in such a moment of instability individual actions of a human can play a key role in determining a channel of further development as well as in appearance of a new pattern of collective behavior in society; 4 as the models of nonlinear dynamics, elaborated at the Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, show, there is a possibility of a direct influence of the future and even a touch of an infinitely remote future in certain evolutionary regimes and under rigorously definite conditions, more over, it turns out that such a possibility exists only for a human (admittedly, through a specific state of being

Molecular cloning and construction of the coding region for human acetylcholinesterase reveals a G + C-rich attenuating structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soreq, H.; Ben-Aziz, R.; Prody, C.A.; Seidman, S.; Gnatt, A.; Neville, L.; Lieman-Hurwitz, J.; Lev-Lehman, E.; Ginzberg, D.; Lapidot-Lifson, Y.; Zakut, H.

1990-01-01

To study the primary structure of human acetylcholinesterase and its gene expression and amplification, cDNA libraries from human tissues expressing oocyte-translatable AcChoEase mRNA were constructed and screened with labeled oligodeoxynucleotide probes. Several cDNA clones were isolated that encoded a polypeptide with ≥50% identically aligned amino acids to Torpedo AcChoEase and human butyrylcholinesterase. However, these cDNA clones were all truncated within a 300-nucleotide-long G + C-rich region with a predicted pattern of secondary structure having a high Gibbs free energy downstream from the expected 5' end of the coding region. Screening of a genomic DNA library revealed the missing 5' domain. When ligated to the cDNA and constructed into a transcription vector, this sequence encoded a synthetic mRNA translated in microinjected oocytes into catalytically active AcChoEase with marked preference for acetylthiocholine over butyrylthiocholine as a substrate, susceptibility to inhibition by the AcChoEase inhibitor BW284C51, and resistance to the AcChoEase inhibitor tetraisopropylpyrophosphoramide. Blot hybridization of genomic DNA from different individuals carrying amplified AcChoEase genes revealed variable intensities and restriction patterns with probes from the regions upstream and downstream from the predicted G + C-rich structure. Thus, the human AcChoEase gene includes a putative G + C-rich attenuator domain and is subject to structural alterations in cases of AcChoEase gene amplification

From ''being to the self'' to ''become to be'': on development of autonomy construction in nursing students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberta Waterkemper

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Objective. To understand nursing student's self-consciousness and his/her autonomy in the discipline of fundamentals of professional care in the context of a liberating pedagogical proposal. Methodology. This qualitative, case-based research in the model of Ludke and André involved 14 students participating in the discipline. Data were collected by non-participatory observation and analysis of documents. Field observation was conducted from March to July 2010 and data were collected according to the proposal of Minayo: pre-analysis, exploration of material and treatment of results. Results. We constructed two thematic units of analysis: from ''being to the self'' and exercise of ''become to be''. Conclusion. When nursing students feel more liberty, they have the opportunity to substitute the scary prospect of learning something new material to something that motivates their curiosity and leads them to become more autonomous.

From ''being to the self'' to ''become to be'': on development of autonomy construction in nursing students.

Science.gov (United States)

Waterkemper, Roberta; do Prado, Marta Lenise; Medina-Moya, José Luis; Backes, Vânia Marli Schubert

2014-01-01

To understand nursing student's self-consciousness and his/her autonomy in the discipline of fundamentals of professional care in the context of a liberating pedagogical proposal. This qualitative, case-based research in the model of Ludke and André involved 14 students participating in the discipline. Data were collected by non-participatory observation and analysis of documents. Field observation was conducted from March to July 2010 and data were collected according to the proposal of Minayo: pre-analysis, exploration of material and treatment of results. We constructed two thematic units of analysis: from ''being to the self'' and exercise of ''become to be''. When nursing students feel more liberty, they have the opportunity to substitute the scary prospect of learning something new material to something that motivates their curiosity and leads them to become more autonomous.

Triadic (ecological, neural, cognitive) niche construction: a scenario of human brain evolution extrapolating tool use and language from the control of reaching actions.

Science.gov (United States)

Iriki, Atsushi; Taoka, Miki

2012-01-12

Hominin evolution has involved a continuous process of addition of new kinds of cognitive capacity, including those relating to manufacture and use of tools and to the establishment of linguistic faculties. The dramatic expansion of the brain that accompanied additions of new functional areas would have supported such continuous evolution. Extended brain functions would have driven rapid and drastic changes in the hominin ecological niche, which in turn demanded further brain resources to adapt to it. In this way, humans have constructed a novel niche in each of the ecological, cognitive and neural domains, whose interactions accelerated their individual evolution through a process of triadic niche construction. Human higher cognitive activity can therefore be viewed holistically as one component in a terrestrial ecosystem. The brain's functional characteristics seem to play a key role in this triadic interaction. We advance a speculative argument about the origins of its neurobiological mechanisms, as an extension (with wider scope) of the evolutionary principles of adaptive function in the animal nervous system. The brain mechanisms that subserve tool use may bridge the gap between gesture and language--the site of such integration seems to be the parietal and extending opercular cortices.

Assessment of ecological and human health risks of heavy metal contamination in agriculture soils disturbed by pipeline construction.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Peng; Xiao, Jun; Wang, Yafeng; Chen, Liding

2014-02-28

The construction of large-scale infrastructures such as nature gas/oil pipelines involves extensive disturbance to regional ecosystems. Few studies have documented the soil degradation and heavy metal contamination caused by pipeline construction. In this study, chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) levels were evaluated using Index of Geo-accumulation (Igeo) and Potential Ecological Risk Index (RI) values, and human health risk assessments were used to elucidate the level and spatial variation of heavy metal pollution risks. The results showed that the impact zone of pipeline installation on soil heavy metal contamination was restricted to pipeline right-of-way (RoW), which had higher Igeo of Cd, Cu, Ni and Pb than that of 20 m and 50 m. RI showed a declining tendency in different zones as follows: trench > working zone > piling area > 20 m > 50 m. Pipeline RoW resulted in higher human health risks than that of 20 m and 50 m, and children were more susceptible to non-carcinogenic hazard risk. Cluster analysis showed that Cu, Ni, Pb and Cd had similar sources, drawing attention to the anthropogenic activity. The findings in this study should help better understand the type, degree, scope and sources of heavy metal pollution from pipeline construction to reduce pollutant emissions, and are helpful in providing a scientific basis for future risk management.

Assessment of Ecological and Human Health Risks of Heavy Metal Contamination in Agriculture Soils Disturbed by Pipeline Construction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peng Shi

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The construction of large-scale infrastructures such as nature gas/oil pipelines involves extensive disturbance to regional ecosystems. Few studies have documented the soil degradation and heavy metal contamination caused by pipeline construction. In this study, chromium (Cr, cadmium (Cd, copper (Cu, nickel (Ni, lead (Pb and zinc (Zn levels were evaluated using Index of Geo-accumulation (Igeo and Potential Ecological Risk Index (RI values, and human health risk assessments were used to elucidate the level and spatial variation of heavy metal pollution risks. The results showed that the impact zone of pipeline installation on soil heavy metal contamination was restricted to pipeline right-of-way (RoW, which had higher Igeo of Cd, Cu, Ni and Pb than that of 20 m and 50 m. RI showed a declining tendency in different zones as follows: trench > working zone > piling area > 20 m > 50 m. Pipeline RoW resulted in higher human health risks than that of 20 m and 50 m, and children were more susceptible to non-carcinogenic hazard risk. Cluster analysis showed that Cu, Ni, Pb and Cd had similar sources, drawing attention to the anthropogenic activity. The findings in this study should help better understand the type, degree, scope and sources of heavy metal pollution from pipeline construction to reduce pollutant emissions, and are helpful in providing a scientific basis for future risk management.

Human intrusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hora, S.; Neill, R.; Williams, R.; Bauser, M.; Channell, J.

1993-01-01

This paper focused on the possible approaches to evaluating the impacts of human intrusion on nuclear waste disposal. Several major issues were reviewed. First, it was noted that human intrusion could be addressed either quantitatively through performance assessments or qualitatively through design requirements. Second, it was decided that it was impossible to construct a complete set of possible future human intrusion scenarios. Third, the question of when the effect of possible human intrusion should be considered, before or after site selection was reviewed. Finally, the time frame over which human intrusion should be considered was discussed

Linkages between landscapes and human well-being

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bieling, Claudia; Plieninger, Tobias; Pirker, Heidemarie

2014-01-01

in Germany and Austria by performing open, single-question interviews with 262 respondents. Data reveal an outstanding relevance of nonmaterial values. Linkages between landscapes and human well-being are tied to specific features of the material environment but, likewise, practices and experiences play...

A miniature implantable coil that can be wrapped around a tubular organ within the human body

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, Shitong; Wang, Hao; Mao, Zhi-Hong; Sun, Mingui

2018-05-01

There are many tubular or rod-shaped organs and tissues within the human body. A miniature medical implant that wraps around such a biological structure can monitor or modulate its function. In order to provide the wrap-around implant with power, a solenoidal coil coupled wirelessly with a planar coil outside the human body can be used. Unfortunately, there is a serious practical problem that this configuration cannot be realized easily because the implantable solenoidal coil cannot be positioned around the tubular biological structure unless either the structure or the coil is cut and reconnected, which is impermissible in most cases. In addition, when a planner exterior coil is used for wireless power transfer and communication, its maximum magnetic coupling with the implanted solenoidal coil is achieved when the tubular structure is perpendicular to the surface of the body. However, in human anatomy, most tubular/rod structures are oriented horizontally. In order to solve these problems, we present a new flexible coil for the class of wrapped-around implantable devices. Our multilayer coil has specially designed windings in cross patterns. The new coil can be made conveniently in high precision at low cost on a flat substrate using the same technology for making the flexible multilayer printed circuit boards along with miniature sensors and electronic circuits. This allows the implant to be made in a flat form and then wrapped around the biostructure during surgery. We present the design of this new coil, perform theoretical analysis with respect to its wireless power transfer efficiency, discuss the effects of coil parameters, and conduct experiments using constructed miniature prototypes. Our results confirm the validity of the new coil.

A miniature implantable coil that can be wrapped around a tubular organ within the human body

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shitong Mao

2018-05-01

Full Text Available There are many tubular or rod-shaped organs and tissues within the human body. A miniature medical implant that wraps around such a biological structure can monitor or modulate its function. In order to provide the wrap-around implant with power, a solenoidal coil coupled wirelessly with a planar coil outside the human body can be used. Unfortunately, there is a serious practical problem that this configuration cannot be realized easily because the implantable solenoidal coil cannot be positioned around the tubular biological structure unless either the structure or the coil is cut and reconnected, which is impermissible in most cases. In addition, when a planner exterior coil is used for wireless power transfer and communication, its maximum magnetic coupling with the implanted solenoidal coil is achieved when the tubular structure is perpendicular to the surface of the body. However, in human anatomy, most tubular/rod structures are oriented horizontally. In order to solve these problems, we present a new flexible coil for the class of wrapped-around implantable devices. Our multilayer coil has specially designed windings in cross patterns. The new coil can be made conveniently in high precision at low cost on a flat substrate using the same technology for making the flexible multilayer printed circuit boards along with miniature sensors and electronic circuits. This allows the implant to be made in a flat form and then wrapped around the biostructure during surgery. We present the design of this new coil, perform theoretical analysis with respect to its wireless power transfer efficiency, discuss the effects of coil parameters, and conduct experiments using constructed miniature prototypes. Our results confirm the validity of the new coil.

The Social and Local Construction of Human Rights. Reflections from the Perspective of the Right to Education in Mexico

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Víctor Alfonzo Zertuche Cobos

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The present article constitutes a critical reflection on human rights from the social-legal field in Mexico. Its purpose is to provide a discussion on a current legal and institutional reality, that is, the right to education in human rights based on one of the most important constitutional reforms in recent years in the field of human rights: the reform of June 2011. This reform, by the article 1° and 3° of the Constitution, introduced a public policy (proposed to the National Development Plan 2013-2018, along with the National Human Rights Program 2014-2018 within the federal public administration whose object is to implement the teaching of human rights at the national level. In this proposal, we observe two effects, one positive and one negative, inscribed only in the institutional or official dimension of the Mexican State, from which is derived a third positive effect for the social or local sphere, that is to say, for the space where the popular sectors or cultural minorities live. Therefore, it is in this social or local sphere where the third positive effect of the national public policy would take place to rethink the counter-hegemonic and alternative use of the right to education in human rights, from where would be possible the social-local construction or reconstruction of human rights that the present and future society requires with some urgency.

Construction and sequencing of an infectious clone of the human parvovirus B19

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhi Ning; Zadori, Zoltan; Brown, Kevin E.; Tijssen, Peter

2004-01-01

Human parvovirus B19 has a nonenveloped, icosahedral capsid packaging a linear single-stranded DNA genome of 5.6 kb with long inverted terminal repeats (ITR) at both the 5' and 3' end. Previous attempts to construct a full-length B19 clone were unsuccessful due to deletions in the ITR sequences. We cloned the complete parvovirus B19 genome with intact ITRs from an aplastic crisis patient. Sequence analysis of the complete viral genome indicated that both 5' and 3' ITRs have two sequence configurations and several base changes within the ITRs compared to previous published sequences. After transfection of the plasmid into permissive cells, spliced and non-spliced viral transcripts and viral capsid proteins could be detected. Southern blot analysis of the DNA purified from the plasmid-transfected cells confirmed parvovirus B19 DNA replication. Production of infectious virus by the B19 plasmid was shown by inoculation of cell lysate derived from transfected cells into fresh cells. Together, these results indicate the first successful production of an infectious clone for parvovirus B19 virus

Yield Strength Testing in Human Cadaver Nasal Septal Cartilage and L-Strut Constructs.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yuan F; Messinger, Kelton; Inman, Jared C

2017-01-01

To our knowledge, yield strength testing in human nasal septal cartilage has not been reported to date. An understanding of the basic mechanics of the nasal septum may help surgeons decide how much of an L-strut to preserve and how much grafting is needed. To determine the factors correlated with yield strength of the cartilaginous nasal septum and to explore the association between L-strut width and thickness in determining yield strength. In an anatomy laboratory, yield strength of rectangular pieces of fresh cadaver nasal septal cartilage was measured, and regression was performed to identify the factors correlated with yield strength. To measure yield strength in L-shaped models, 4 bonded paper L-struts models were constructed for every possible combination of the width and thickness, for a total of 240 models. Mathematical modeling using the resultant data with trend lines and surface fitting was performed to quantify the associations among L-strut width, thickness, and yield strength. The study dates were November 1, 2015, to April 1, 2016. The factors correlated with nasal cartilage yield strength and the associations among L-strut width, thickness, and yield strength in L-shaped models. Among 95 cartilage pieces from 12 human cadavers (mean [SD] age, 67.7 [12.6] years) and 240 constructed L-strut models, L-strut thickness was the only factor correlated with nasal septal cartilage yield strength (coefficient for thickness, 5.54; 95% CI, 4.08-7.00; P cadaver nasal septal cartilage, L-strut thickness was significantly associated with yield strength. In a bonded paper L-strut model, L-strut thickness had a more important role in determining yield strength than L-strut width. Surgeons should consider the thickness of potential L-struts when determining the amount of cartilaginous septum to harvest and graft. NA.

The Future Human Being – What is it like?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matusevych Tetiana

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Realization of permanent transformational transitions has brought to necessity to apprehend complex ontological issues of a new reality for development of a complex strategy for adequate opposition to challenges faced by the humanity. Understanding the role of education in the formation and development of a future human being ranks first among these issues. In this article I have analyzed modern directions of futuristic apprehension of a sense of transformational changes of a man (transhumanism, theory of androgyny, represented a key role of the philosophy of education in development of an image of the future human being, and determined main characteristics of a personality of planetary-cosmic type, system of his personal, local and global interactions.

Social cost in construction projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Çelik, Tolga; Kamali, Saeed; Arayici, Yusuf

2017-01-01

Despite the fact that completion of construction projects has a direct positive impact on the growth of national and local economies as well as humans' wellbeing, construction projects, especially in the urban areas, generate serious environmental nuisances for the adjacent residents and have unintentional adverse impacts on their surrounding environment. Construction causative adverse impacts on the neighbouring communities are known as the social costs. This study aims to present a state-of-the-art overview of social costs in construction industry in terms of definition, consideration, classification and quantification. Furthermore, it is aimed to bring the construction social cost phenomenon for the agenda of Environmental Impact Assessors.

Social cost in construction projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Çelik, Tolga, E-mail: tolga.celik@emu.edu.tr [Department of Civil Engineering, Eastern Mediterranean University, Famagusta, T.R. North Cyprus, Via Mersin 10 (Turkey); Kamali, Saeed, E-mail: saeedkamali2002@gmail.com [Civil Engineering Department, Middle East Technical University, 06800 Ankara (Turkey); Arayici, Yusuf, E-mail: yusuf.arayici@hku.edu.tr [Department of Civil Engineering, Hasan Kalyoncu University, Gaziantep (Turkey)

2017-05-15

Despite the fact that completion of construction projects has a direct positive impact on the growth of national and local economies as well as humans' wellbeing, construction projects, especially in the urban areas, generate serious environmental nuisances for the adjacent residents and have unintentional adverse impacts on their surrounding environment. Construction causative adverse impacts on the neighbouring communities are known as the social costs. This study aims to present a state-of-the-art overview of social costs in construction industry in terms of definition, consideration, classification and quantification. Furthermore, it is aimed to bring the construction social cost phenomenon for the agenda of Environmental Impact Assessors.

Human Being and the Philosophical Discourse

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirela Arsith

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The hypothesis from which we start our approach is the one according to which the philosophicaldiscourse is a specific way of communicating the reality. The base of the philosophical communication issurprise, doubt, uncertainty, anxiety, all generated by the fundamental interrogations of Kantian origin: Howmuch am I able to know? What do I have to do? What am I allowed to hope? The answers to all thesequestions were set up in philosophical concepts and visions, all of them leading to communication, trying toexpress themselves and make themselves understood. Communicability is the very essence of thephilosophical approach. Actually, communication is a fundamental philosophical attitude as I, in my capacityof human being, live only with the other, in full interaction. On my own I am nothing. Throughout this paperwe find arguments for the idea according to which the philosophical discourse subordinates an art ofgenuinely living and communicating about balance and avoidance of excess, about the ability to assume andovercome, about lucidity and wisdom, about credibility, certainty and truth, about freedom and limitation,about the meaning and value of the human condition.

Assessing Environmental Impact Indicators in Road Construction Projects in Developing Countries

OpenAIRE

Mohamed Marzouk; Mohamed El-zayat; Ahmed Aboushady

2017-01-01

Environmental pollution is considered to be one of the main concerns in the construction industry. Environmental pollution has become a major challenge to construction projects due to the huge amount of pollution caused by construction projects. There are different types of environmental impact indicators, such as the greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint, eutrophication potential (EP), acidification potential (AP), human health (HH) particulate, ozone depletion, and smog. Each of these environmenta...

Constructive Memory: Past and Future

OpenAIRE

Schacter, Daniel L.

2012-01-01

Human memory is not a literal reproduction of the past, but instead relies on constructive processes that are sometimes prone to error and distortion. Understanding of constructive memory has accelerated during recent years as a result of research that has linked together its cognitive and neural bases. This article focuses on three aspects of constructive memory that have been the target of recent research: (i) the idea that certain kinds of memory distortions reflect the operation of adapti...

Getting Back on Track to Being Human

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Darcia Narvaez

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Cooperation and compassion are forms of intelligence. Their lack is an indication of ongoing stress or toxic stress during development that undermined the usual growth of compassion capacities. Though it is hard to face at first awareness, humans in the dominant culture tend to be pretty unintelligent compared to those from societies that existed sustainably for thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, of years. Whereas in sustainable societies everyone must learn to cooperate with earth’s systems to survive and thrive, in the dominant culture this is no longer the case. Now due to technological advances that do not take into account the long-term welfare of earth systems, humans have become “free riders” until these systems collapse from abuse or misuse. The dominant human culture, a “weed species,” has come to devastate planetary ecosystems in a matter of centuries. What do we do to return ourselves to living as earth creatures, as one species among many in community? Humanity needs to restore lost capacities—relational attunement and communal imagination—whose loss occurs primarily in cultures dominated by child-raising practices and ways of thinking that undermine cooperative companionship and a sense of partnership that otherwise develops from the beginning of life. To plant the seeds of cooperation, democracy, and partnership, we need to provide the evolved nest to children, and facilitate the development of ecological attachment to their landscape. This will take efforts at the individual, policy, and institutional levels.

Operations Management on The Construction Site

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Koch, Christian

2004-01-01

this as a refreshing renewal and improvement of practical operations management at the site. However this paper will present a first step of development of a new approach to operations management at the building site, which at the same time builds on, and criticize lean construction for missing the point...... of the knowledge economy. This endeavour is carried out in two ways. First by a reading of the operations management literature. Juxtaposing this with lean construction extentions and the critique developed by other scholars. And also drawing on human resource management approaches. Second through a series......” scheme. In both directions it is revealed that the human resource and knowledge element of building processes is largely left untouched by lean construction methods. It is suggested to introduce at least two more dimensions of operations management at the site than the ones offered in lean construction...

Design and construction of a large reinforced concrete containment model to be tested to failure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ucciferro, J.J.; Horschel, D.S.

1987-01-01

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission is investigating the performance of LWR containments subjected to severe accidents. This work is being performed by the Containment Integrity Division at Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia). The latest research effort involves the testing of a 1/6-scale reinforced concrete containment model. The containment, which was designed and constructed by United Engineers and Constructors, is the largest and most complex model of its kind. The design and construction of the containment model are the subject of this paper. The objective of the containment model tests is to generate data that can be used to qualify methods for reliably predicting the response of LWR containment buildings to severe accident loads. The data recorded during testing include deformations and leakage past sealing surfaces, as well as strains and displacements of the containment shell

The craniomandibular mechanics of being human

Science.gov (United States)

Wroe, Stephen; Ferrara, Toni L.; McHenry, Colin R.; Curnoe, Darren; Chamoli, Uphar

2010-01-01

Diminished bite force has been considered a defining feature of modern Homo sapiens, an interpretation inferred from the application of two-dimensional lever mechanics and the relative gracility of the human masticatory musculature and skull. This conclusion has various implications with regard to the evolution of human feeding behaviour. However, human dental anatomy suggests a capacity to withstand high loads and two-dimensional lever models greatly simplify muscle architecture, yielding less accurate results than three-dimensional modelling using multiple lines of action. Here, to our knowledge, in the most comprehensive three-dimensional finite element analysis performed to date for any taxon, we ask whether the traditional view that the bite of H. sapiens is weak and the skull too gracile to sustain high bite forces is supported. We further introduce a new method for reconstructing incomplete fossil material. Our findings show that the human masticatory apparatus is highly efficient, capable of producing a relatively powerful bite using low muscle forces. Thus, relative to other members of the superfamily Hominoidea, humans can achieve relatively high bite forces, while overall stresses are reduced. Our findings resolve apparently discordant lines of evidence, i.e. the presence of teeth well adapted to sustain high loads within a lightweight cranium and mandible. PMID:20554545

Are (Should) Human Rights (Be) Universal?

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, Rhoda E.

1998-01-01

Believes that the purpose of human rights is to change many culturally ingrained habits and customs that violate the dignity of the individual. Expounds the differences between cultural relativism and cultural absolutism. States that "weak" cultural relativism is sometimes an appropriate response to human-rights violations. (CMK)

Relating ASD symptoms to well-being: moving across different construct levels.

Science.gov (United States)

Deserno, M K; Borsboom, D; Begeer, S; Geurts, H M

2018-05-01

Little is known about the specific factors that contribute to the well-being (WB) of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A plausible hypothesis is that ASD symptomatology has a direct negative effect on WB. In the current study, the emerging tools of network analysis allow to explore the functional interdependencies between specific symptoms of ASD and domains of WB in a multivariate framework. We illustrate how studying both higher-order (total score) and lower-order (subscale) representations of ASD symptomatology can clarify the interrelations of factors relevant for domains of WB. We estimated network structures on three different construct levels for ASD symptomatology, as assessed with the Adult Social Behavior Questionnaire (item, subscale, total score), relating them to daily functioning (DF) and subjective WB in 323 adult individuals with clinically identified ASD (aged 17-70 years). For these networks, we assessed the importance of specific factors in the network structure. When focusing on the highest representation level of ASD symptomatology (i.e. a total score), we found a negative connection between ASD symptom severity and domains of WB. However, zooming in on lower representation levels of ASD symptomatology revealed that this connection was mainly funnelled by ASD symptoms related to insistence on sameness and experiencing reduced contact and that those symptom scales, in turn, impact different domains of WB. Zooming in across construct levels of ASD symptom severity into subscales of ASD symptoms can provide us with important insights into how specific domains of ASD symptoms relate to specific domains of DF and WB.

Construction and expression of secreting type human TRAIL gene vector mediated by hypoxia/radiation double sensitive promoter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Yanming; Jia Xiaojing; Qu Yaqin; Li Yanbo

2009-01-01

Objective: To construct secreting type human TRAIL (shTRAIL) gene vector pcDNA3.1-HRE/Egr1-shTRAIL mediated by hypoxia/radiation double sensitive promoter, and observe the effect of hypoxia and radiation on shTRAIL. Methods: HRE upper and lower strands were gotten by chemical synthesis, double strands HRE was gotten by PCR; pMD19T-Egr1 was digested by Sac I and Hind III, then Egr1 was obtained, pshuttle-shTRAIL was digested by Kpn I and BamH I, then shTRAIL was obtained; HRE/Egr1 double sensitive promoter mediated shTRAIL expression vector pcDNA3.1-HRE/Egr1-shTRAIL was constructed by gene recombination technique, it was identified correctly by enzyme digestion, PCR and sequencing. A549 cells were divided into normal, hypoxia (0.1%), irradiation (6 Gy) and hypoxia + irradiation groups. Results: After enzyme digestion by BamH I and Sma I, the fragments which lengths were 1284 bp and 4 998 bp, 2 292 bp and 3 990 bp were obtained; the vector was amplified by PCR with Egr1 and shTRAIL primer, the products which lengthens were 469 bp and 820 bp were obtained; pcDNA3.1-HRE/Egr1-shTRAIL was sequenced, the result was same to designed, this demonstrated that the construction was right. The vectors were transfected into A549 cells of adenocarcinoma of lung, the expression levels of shTRAIL mRNA and protein were increased after treated with hypoxia and radiation, it had statistically significant differences compared with normal group (P<0.05), and when they were combinated, the effect was more obvious. Conclusion: Secreting type human TRAIL gene vector pcDNA3.1-HRE/Egr1-shTRAIL mediated by hypoxia/radiation double sensitive promoter is constructed successfully, and hypoxia and radiation could increase the expression of TRAIL, and they have synergetic effect. (authors)

Accounting for the impact of conservation on human well-being.

Science.gov (United States)

Milner-Gulland, E J; McGregor, J A; Agarwala, M; Atkinson, G; Bevan, P; Clements, T; Daw, T; Homewood, K; Kumpel, N; Lewis, J; Mourato, S; Palmer Fry, B; Redshaw, M; Rowcliffe, J M; Suon, S; Wallace, G; Washington, H; Wilkie, D

2014-10-01

Conservationists are increasingly engaging with the concept of human well-being to improve the design and evaluation of their interventions. Since the convening of the influential Sarkozy Commission in 2009, development researchers have been refining conceptualizations and frameworks to understand and measure human well-being and are starting to converge on a common understanding of how best to do this. In conservation, the term human well-being is in widespread use, but there is a need for guidance on operationalizing it to measure the impacts of conservation interventions on people. We present a framework for understanding human well-being, which could be particularly useful in conservation. The framework includes 3 conditions; meeting needs, pursuing goals, and experiencing a satisfactory quality of life. We outline some of the complexities involved in evaluating the well-being effects of conservation interventions, with the understanding that well-being varies between people and over time and with the priorities of the evaluator. Key challenges for research into the well-being impacts of conservation interventions include the need to build up a collection of case studies so as to draw out generalizable lessons; harness the potential of modern technology to support well-being research; and contextualize evaluations of conservation impacts on well-being spatially and temporally within the wider landscape of social change. Pathways through the smog of confusion around the term well-being exist, and existing frameworks such as the Well-being in Developing Countries approach can help conservationists negotiate the challenges of operationalizing the concept. Conservationists have the opportunity to benefit from the recent flurry of research in the development field so as to carry out more nuanced and locally relevant evaluations of the effects of their interventions on human well-being. © 2014 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc

[Ecosystem services supply and consumption and their relationships with human well-being].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Da-Shang; Zheng, Hua; Ouyang, Zhi-Yun

2013-06-01

Sustainable ecosystem services supply is the basis of regional sustainable development, and human beings can satisfy and improve their well-being through ecosystem services consumption. To understand the relationships between ecosystem services supply and consumption and human well-being is of vital importance for coordinating the relationships between the conservation of ecosystem services and the improvement of human well-being. This paper summarized the diversity, complexity, and regionality of ecosystem services supply, the diversity and indispensability of ecosystem services consumption, and the multi-dimension, regionality, and various evaluation indices of human well-being, analyzed the uncertainty and multi-scale correlations between ecosystem services supply and consumption, and elaborated the feedback and asynchronous relationships between ecosystem services and human well-being. Some further research directions for the relationships between ecosystem services supply and consumption and human well-being were recommended.

When does it pay to invest in a patch? The evolution of intentional niche construction.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohlenhoff, Kathryn A; Codding, Brian F

2017-09-01

Humans modify their environments in ways that significantly transform the earth's ecosystems. Recent research suggests that such niche-constructing behaviors are not passive human responses to environmental variation, but instead should be seen as active and intentional management of the environment. Although such research is useful in highlighting the interactive dynamics between humans and their natural world, the niche-construction framework, as currently applied, fails to explain why people would decide to modify their environments in the first place. To help resolve this problem, we use a model of technological intensification to analyze the cost-benefit trade-offs associated with niche construction as a form of patch investment. We use this model to assess the costs and benefits of three paradigmatic cases of intentional niche construction in Western North America: the application of fire in acorn groves, the manufacture of fishing weirs, and the adoption of maize agriculture. Intensification models predict that investing in patch modification (niche construction) only provides a net benefit when the amount of resources needed crosses a critical threshold that makes the initial investment worthwhile. From this, it follows that low-cost investments, such as burning in oak groves, should be quite common, while more costly investments, such as maize agriculture, should be less common and depend on the alternatives available in the local environment. We examine how patterns of mobility, risk management, territoriality, and private property also co-evolve with the costs and benefits of niche construction. This approach illustrates that explaining niche-constructing behavior requires understanding the economic trade-offs involved in patch investment. Integrating concepts from niche construction and technological intensification models within a behavioral ecological framework provides insights into the coevolution and active feedback between adaptive behaviors and

Recombinant anti-tenascin antibody constructs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

ZALUTSKY, MICHAEL R

2006-08-29

-tenascin constructs with optimized properties for use in tandem with short half life radionuclides such as 211At ( as well as 1.8-hr 18F for PET imaging) is warranted. Our specific aims are: 1) to construct a bivalent, anti-tenascin molecule containing murine 81C6 variable regions and the human IgG2 hinge region. Both the CH2 domain deletion construct (CH2) and F(ab’)2 will be investigated; 2) to construct a single-chain Fv dimer or multimer with adequate stability, affinity and immunoreactivity for use in tandem with 211At for therapy and 18F for imaging; 3) to generate higher affinity scFv constructs reactive with the alternatively spliced fibronectin type III repeats CD of the tenascin molecule via phage display technology and site-directed mutagenesis; 4) to label promising anti-tenascin constructs with radioiodine, 211At, and 18F and evaluate their potential as radiodiagnostic and radiotherapeutic agents. The proposed studies include: characterization of affinity and immunoreactivity after labeling; evaluation of tissue distribution and projected dosimetry in normal mice, and athymic rodents with subcutaneous, intracranial and neoplastic meningitis xenografts; investigation of the nature of low and high molecular weight labeled catabolites generated in mice; and assessment of cytotoxicity in vitro and in vivo models of human glioma, and possibly, other tenascin expressing tumors; and 5) to investigate strategies for labeling scFv monomers and dimers which will minimize retention of the radiohalogen in the kidneys through the use of negatively charged templates.

Ubiquitous mobile knowledge construction in collaborative learning environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Baloian, Nelson; Zurita, Gustavo

2012-01-01

Knowledge management is a critical activity for any organization. It has been said to be a differentiating factor and an important source of competitiveness if this knowledge is constructed and shared among its members, thus creating a learning organization. Knowledge construction is critical for any collaborative organizational learning environment. Nowadays workers must perform knowledge creation tasks while in motion, not just in static physical locations; therefore it is also required that knowledge construction activities be performed in ubiquitous scenarios, and supported by mobile and pervasive computational systems. These knowledge creation systems should help people in or outside organizations convert their tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge, thus supporting the knowledge construction process. Therefore in our understanding, we consider highly relevant that undergraduate university students learn about the knowledge construction process supported by mobile and ubiquitous computing. This has been a little explored issue in this field. This paper presents the design, implementation, and an evaluation of a system called MCKC for Mobile Collaborative Knowledge Construction, supporting collaborative face-to-face tacit knowledge construction and sharing in ubiquitous scenarios. The MCKC system can be used by undergraduate students to learn how to construct knowledge, allowing them anytime and anywhere to create, make explicit and share their knowledge with their co-learners, using visual metaphors, gestures and sketches to implement the human-computer interface of mobile devices (PDAs).

Engineered cartilaginous tubes for tracheal tissue replacement via self-assembly and fusion of human mesenchymal stem cell constructs.

Science.gov (United States)

Dikina, Anna D; Strobel, Hannah A; Lai, Bradley P; Rolle, Marsha W; Alsberg, Eben

2015-06-01

There is a critical need to engineer a neotrachea because currently there are no long-term treatments for tracheal stenoses affecting large portions of the airway. In this work, a modular tracheal tissue replacement strategy was developed. High-cell density, scaffold-free human mesenchymal stem cell-derived cartilaginous rings and tubes were successfully generated through employment of custom designed culture wells and a ring-to-tube assembly system. Furthermore, incorporation of transforming growth factor-β1-delivering gelatin microspheres into the engineered tissues enhanced chondrogenesis with regard to tissue size and matrix production and distribution in the ring- and tube-shaped constructs, as well as luminal rigidity of the tubes. Importantly, all engineered tissues had similar or improved biomechanical properties compared to rat tracheas, which suggests they could be transplanted into a small animal model for airway defects. The modular, bottom up approach used to grow stem cell-based cartilaginous tubes in this report is a promising platform to engineer complex organs (e.g., trachea), with control over tissue size and geometry, and has the potential to be used to generate autologous tissue implants for human clinical applications. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Foetal exposure to food and environmental carcinogens in human beings.

Science.gov (United States)

Myöhänen, Kirsi; Vähäkangas, Kirsi

2012-02-01

Exposure to many different chemicals during pregnancy through maternal circulation is possible. Transplacental transfer of xenobiotics can be demonstrated using human placental perfusion. Also, placental perfusion can give information about the placental kinetics as well as metabolism and accumulation in the placenta because it retains the tissue structure and function. Although human placental perfusion has been used extensively to study the transplacental transfer of drugs, the information on food and environmental carcinogens is much more limited. This review deals with the foetal exposure to food and environmental carcinogens in human beings. In particular, human transplacental transfer of the food carcinogens such as acrylamide, glycidamide and nitrosodimethylamine are in focus. Because these carcinogens are genotoxic, the functional capacity of human placenta to induce DNA adduct formation or metabolize these above mentioned CYP2E1 substrates is of interest in this context. © 2011 The Authors. Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology © 2011 Nordic Pharmacological Society.

Psychological aspects of human cloning and genetic manipulation: the identity and uniqueness of human beings.

Science.gov (United States)

Morales, N M

2009-01-01

Human cloning has become one of the most controversial debates about reproduction in Western civilization. Human cloning represents asexual reproduction, but the critics of human cloning argue that the result of cloning is not a new individual who is genetically unique. There is also awareness in the scientific community, including the medical community, that human cloning and the creation of clones are inevitable. Psychology and other social sciences, together with the natural sciences, will need to find ways to help the healthcare system, to be prepared to face the new challenges introduced by the techniques of human cloning. One of those challenges is to help the healthcare system to find specific standards of behaviour that could be used to help potential parents to interact properly with cloned babies or children created through genetic manipulation. In this paper, the concepts of personality, identity and uniqueness are discussed in relationship to the contribution of twin studies in these areas. The author argues that an individual created by human cloning techniques or any other type of genetic manipulation will not show the donor's characteristics to the extent of compromising uniqueness. Therefore, claims to such an effect are needlessly alarmist.

Researching chemicals in human milk can be conducted without discouraging breastfeeding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José G. Dórea

2012-05-01

Health Organization recommends six months of exclusive breastfeeding. Cinar et al. [1] recognized that human milk provides all of the vitamins and essential minerals and trace elements (micronutrients that are required for the normal development of infants as well as many brain-protective substances. They do not describe the exposures associated with formula-feeding in the regions under study and so the reader has no basis for understanding whether infant exposures to metals would be higher or lower based on the choice of formula over breastfeeding. Further, there is no evidence that formula feeding would attenuate any effects that may occur from fetal exposures [3]. Scientists conducting biomonitoring research using human milk have an obligation to understand the sensitivity of this issue and the impact their information and/or message may have on health professionals and breastfeeding mothers. Indeed, Geraghty et al. [4] highlighted the potential harm from poor reporting methods in breast milk monitoring of environmental chemicals; American women responded that they would immediately wean if told that phthalates were in their milk. It is incumbent on us to strive to contextualize human milk biomonitoring data, constructing a message that puts into perspective both risks of environmental hazards and benefits of breastfeeding. Formula-feeding should never be implied (implicitly or explicitly as a means to attenuate maternal-infant exposure to environmental chemicals, especially without data to support such a message (5. The otherwise interesting paper of Cinar et al. [1] gives the false impression that milk of Turkish mothers is unsafe and that if the infant is not breastfed, chemical exposures will not occur.

Human factors/ergonomics as a systems discipline? "The human use of human beings" revisited

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hollnagel, Erik

2014-01-01

Discussions of the possible future of Human factors/ergonomics (HFE) usually take the past for granted in the sense that the future of HFE is assumed to be more of the same. This paper argues that the nature of work in the early 2010s is so different from the nature of work when HFE was formulated...

A Conceptual Framework for Knowledge Creation Based on Constructed Meanings within Mentor-Learner Conversations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Badie, Farshad

2016-01-01

focus of this article is on construction of conceptual knowledge and its development. This research localises the constructivist learning in the context of mentor-learner interactions. It will analyse meaning construction relying on my own conceptual framework that represents a semantic loop......Constructivism is a learning philosophy and an educational theory of learning. In the framework of constructivism, a human being with insights based on her/his pre-structured knowledge and on background knowings could actively participate in an interaction with another human being. The central...

Using Drones to Study Human Beings: Ethical and Regulatory Issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Resnik, David B; Elliott, Kevin C

2018-02-27

Researchers have used drones to track wildlife populations, monitor forest fires, map glaciers, and measure air pollution but have only begun to consider how to use these unmanned aerial vehicles to study human beings. The potential use of drones to study public gatherings or other human activities raises novel issues of privacy, confidentiality, and consent, which this article explores in depth. It argues that drone research could fall into several different categories: non-human subjects research (HSR), exempt HSR, or non-exempt HSR. In the case of non-exempt HSR, it will be difficult for institutional review boards to approve studies unless they are designed so that informed consent can be waived. Whether drone research is non-HSR, exempt HSR, or non-exempt HSR, it is important for investigators to consult communities which could be affected by the research.

The big challenges in modeling human and environmental well-being.

Science.gov (United States)

Tuljapurkar, Shripad

2016-01-01

This article is a selective review of quantitative research, historical and prospective, that is needed to inform sustainable development policy. I start with a simple framework to highlight how demography and productivity shape human well-being. I use that to discuss three sets of issues and corresponding challenges to modeling: first, population prehistory and early human development and their implications for the future; second, the multiple distinct dimensions of human and environmental well-being and the meaning of sustainability; and, third, inequality as a phenomenon triggered by development and models to examine changing inequality and its consequences. I conclude with a few words about other important factors: political, institutional, and cultural.

Identification of Key Indicators for Sustainable Construction Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Humphrey Danso

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Studies on sustainable construction materials are on the rise with their environmental, social, and economic benefits. This study identifies the key indicators for measuring sustainable construction materials. The design used for the study was that of a survey which relied on a questionnaire with five-point Likert scale to generate data for the analysis. For this purpose, 25 indicators from the three dimensions (environmental, social, and economic identified from the literature were presented to the respondents in a structured questionnaire, and responses were collected and analysed using SPSS. The study identified three key environmental indicators for measuring sustainable construction materials, and these indicators are human toxicity, climate change, and solid waste. Furthermore, adaptability, thermal comfort, local resources, and housing for all were identified as the four key social indicators for sustainable construction materials. In addition, maintenance cost, operational cost, initial cost, long-term savings, and life span were found to be the five key economic indicators for measuring sustainable construction materials. The study therefore suggests that these twelve indicators should be considered in future studies that seek to measure sustainable construction materials.

Embodied energy of construction materials: integrating human and capital energy into an IO-based hybrid model.

Science.gov (United States)

Dixit, Manish K; Culp, Charles H; Fernandez-Solis, Jose L

2015-02-03

Buildings alone consume approximately 40% of the annual global energy and contribute indirectly to the increasing concentration of atmospheric carbon. The total life cycle energy use of a building is composed of embodied and operating energy. Embodied energy includes all energy required to manufacture and transport building materials, and construct, maintain, and demolish a building. For a systemic energy and carbon assessment of buildings, it is critical to use a whole life cycle approach, which takes into account the embodied as well as operating energy. Whereas the calculation of a building's operating energy is straightforward, there is a lack of a complete embodied energy calculation method. Although an input-output-based (IO-based) hybrid method could provide a complete and consistent embodied energy calculation, there are unresolved issues, such as an overdependence on price data and exclusion of the energy of human labor and capital inputs. This paper proposes a method for calculating and integrating the energy of labor and capital input into an IO-based hybrid method. The results demonstrate that the IO-based hybrid method can provide relatively complete results. Also, to avoid errors, the total amount of human and capital energy should not be excluded from the calculation.

Aquatic macrophytes can be used for wastewater polishing but not for purification in constructed wetlands

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Yingying; Harpenslager, Sarah F.; van Kempen, Monique M. L.; Verbaarschot, Evi J. H.; Loeffen, Laury M. J. M.; Roelofs, Jan G. M.; Smolders, Alfons J. P.; Lamers, Leon P. M.

2017-02-01

The sequestration of nutrients from surface waters by aquatic macrophytes and sediments provides an important service to both natural and constructed wetlands. While emergent species take up nutrients from the sediment, submerged and floating macrophytes filter nutrients directly from the surface water, which may be more efficient in constructed wetlands. It remains unclear, however, whether their efficiency is sufficient for wastewater purification and how plant species and nutrient loading affects nutrient distribution over plants, water and sediment. We therefore determined nutrient removal efficiencies of different vegetation (Azolla filiculoides, Ceratophyllum demersum and Myriophyllum spicatum) and sediment types (clay, peaty clay and peat) at three nutrient input rates, in a full factorial, outdoor mesocosm experiment. At low loading (0.43 mg P m-2 d-1), plant uptake was the main pathway (100 %) for phosphorus (P) removal, while sediments showed a net P release. A. filiculoides and M. spicatum showed the highest biomass production and could be harvested regularly for nutrient recycling, whereas C. demersum was outcompeted by spontaneously developing macrophytes and algae. Higher nutrient loading only stimulated A. filiculoides growth. At higher rates ( ≥ 21.4 mg P m-2 d-1), 50-90 % of added P ended up in sediments, with peat sediments becoming more easily saturated. For nitrogen (N), 45-90 % was either taken up by the sediment or lost to the atmosphere at loadings ≥ 62 mg N m-2 d-1. This shows that aquatic macrophytes can indeed function as an efficient nutrient filter but only for low loading rates (polishing) and not for high rates (purification). The outcome of this controlled study not only contributes to our understanding of nutrient dynamics in constructed wetlands but also shows the differential effects of wetland sediment types and plant species. Furthermore, the acquired knowledge may benefit the application of macrophyte harvesting to remove

Management for Construction Materials and Control of Construction Waste in Construction Industry: A Review

OpenAIRE

A. A. Gulghane; Prof P. V. Khandve

2015-01-01

In recent treads a wide range of building materials is available for the construction of civil engineering structures. The total cost of materials may be up to 60% or more of the total cost incurred in construction project dependent upon the type of project. Effective construction materials management is a key to success for a construction project. Construction waste is another serious problem in construction industry. A large and various types of construction waste with different...

Household electricity access, availability and human well-being: Evidence from India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad, Sohail; Mathai, Manu V.; Parayil, Govindan

2014-01-01

According to the 2011 Census of India, over 31% of India's 1.2 billion people lived in nearly 8000 towns and cities; the remaining 830 million people lived in over 638,000 villages. About 55% of rural households and 93% of urban households had access to electricity. The 2005 Indian Human Development Survey showed that on average, electricity availability (hours of supply per day) in rural and urban households were 14 and 19 h, respectively (Desai et al., 2007). Using nationally representative data from Indian Human Development Survey, this study estimated the impact of electricity access and availability on two attributes of human well-being, viz. education and health attainment. It found a significant positive relationship between electricity availability and well-being in rural and urban households. Electricity accessibility, revealed a significant positive relationship only for rural households. The paper concludes with implications for electricity policy and infrastructure choices. - Graphical abstract: Impact of electricity security on the attributes of human well-being. - Highlights: • Nexus between well-being, and electricity access and availability is quantified. • Electricity access is positively associated with well-being in rural but not urban. • Electricity availability negatively associates with morbidity and absenteeism. • Electricity security as human well-being enabler seeks nuanced policy attention. • Decentralized rapidly deployable modular technologies and microgrids are advocated

In vitro cartilage construct generation from silk fibroin- chitosan porous scaffold and umbilical cord blood derived human mesenchymal stem cells in dynamic culture condition.

Science.gov (United States)

Agrawal, Parinita; Pramanik, Krishna; Biswas, Amit; Ku Patra, Ranjan

2018-02-01

Cartilage construct generation includes a scaffold with appropriate composition to mimic matrix of the damaged tissue on which the stem cells grow and differentiate. In this study, umbilical cord blood (UCB) derived human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) were seeded on freeze dried porous silk-fibroin (SF)/chitosan (CS) scaffolds. Influence of static and dynamic (spinner flask bioreactor) culture conditions on the developing cartilage construct were studied by in-vitro characterization for viability, proliferation, distribution, and chondrogenic differentiation of hMSCs over the scaffold. Constructs developed in spinner flask consisted of 62% live cells, and exhibited 543% more cell density at the core than constructs cultured in static system. Quantification of DNA and glycosaminoglycans accumulation after 21 days showed the progression of chondrogenic differentiation of hMSCs was higher in dynamic culture compared to static one. In constructs generated under dynamic condition, histology staining for proteoglycan matrix, and fluorescence staining for collagen-II and aggrecan showed positive correlation between early and late stage chondrogenic markers, which was further confirmed by quantitative PCR analysis, showing low collagen-I expression and highly expressed Sox9, collagen-II and aggrecan. The present study demonstrated that construct generated by combining 3D SF/CS scaffold with UCB-hMSCs under dynamic condition using spinner flask bioreactor can be used for cartilage tissue regeneration for future medical treatments. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 106A: 397-407, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The construction of human body--from model to reality.

Science.gov (United States)

Motoc, A; Motoc, Marilena; Bolintineanu, S; Muşuroi, Corina; Munteanu, M

2005-01-01

The human body building represented a complex research topic for the scientist in the most diverse domains. Although their interests and reasons were different, the goal was always the same: establishing a relation to verify the ratio between the dimensions of the constituent segments It appears that the mystery was solved out in the XIX-th century by Adolf Zeising, a German, who, using the statistic calculus, defined the division of a segment by the gold section. This purely mathematic logic confirms the human body's integration in proportion to the finest segments, thus providing the technical instrument of building a fully harmonious human body. The present study aims to compare the ideal, the calculated perfection to the reality, namely the theoretically obtained values to the average values of an 18-year-old male. It appears that the differences refer especially to the limbs; both the superior ones and the inferior ones being longer comparing to the ideal pattern while the bust is shorter and broader.

Open source platform for collaborative construction of wearable sensor datasets for human motion analysis and an application for gait analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Llamas, César; González, Manuel A; Hernández, Carmen; Vegas, Jesús

2016-10-01

Nearly every practical improvement in modeling human motion is well founded in a properly designed collection of data or datasets. These datasets must be made publicly available for the community could validate and accept them. It is reasonable to concede that a collective, guided enterprise could serve to devise solid and substantial datasets, as a result of a collaborative effort, in the same sense as the open software community does. In this way datasets could be complemented, extended and expanded in size with, for example, more individuals, samples and human actions. For this to be possible some commitments must be made by the collaborators, being one of them sharing the same data acquisition platform. In this paper, we offer an affordable open source hardware and software platform based on inertial wearable sensors in a way that several groups could cooperate in the construction of datasets through common software suitable for collaboration. Some experimental results about the throughput of the overall system are reported showing the feasibility of acquiring data from up to 6 sensors with a sampling frequency no less than 118Hz. Also, a proof-of-concept dataset is provided comprising sampled data from 12 subjects suitable for gait analysis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

KARATE WITH CONSTRUCTIVE LEARNING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Srikrishna Karanam

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Any conventional learning process involves the traditional hierarchy of garnering of information and then recall gathered information. Constructive learning is an important research area having wide impact on teaching methods in education, learning theories, and plays a major role in many education reform movements. It is observed that constructive learning advocates the interconnection between emotions and learning. Human teachers identify the emotions of students with varying degrees of accuracy and can improve the learning rate of the students by motivating them. In learning with computers, computers also should be given the capability to recognize emotions so as to optimize the learning process. Image Processing is a very popular tool used in the process of establishing the theory of Constructive Learning. In this paper we use the Optical Flow computation in image sequences to analyze the accuracy of the moves of a karate player. We have used the Lucas-Kanade method for computing the optical flow in image sequences. A database consisting of optical flow images by a group of persons learning karate is formed and the learning rates are analyzed in order to main constructive learning. The contours of flow images are compared with the standard images and the error graphs are plotted. Analysis of the emotion of the amateur karate player is made by observing the error plots.

Antiviral Activity of HIV gp120 Targeting Bispecific T Cell Engager (BiTE®) Antibody Constructs.

Science.gov (United States)

Brozy, Johannes; Schlaepfer, Erika; Mueller, Christina K S; Rochat, Mary-Aude; Rampini, Silvana K; Myburgh, Renier; Raum, Tobias; Kufer, Peter; Baeuerle, Patrick A; Muenz, Markus; Speck, Roberto F

2018-05-02

Today's gold standard in HIV therapy is the combined antiretroviral therapy (cART). It requires strict adherence by patients and life-long medication, which can lower the viral load below detection limits and prevent HIV-associated immunodeficiency, but cannot cure patients. The bispecific T cell engaging (BiTE®) antibody technology has demonstrated long-term relapse-free outcomes in patients with relapsed and refractory acute lymphocytic leukemia. We here generated BiTE® antibody constructs that target the HIV-1 envelope protein gp120 (HIV gp120) using either the scFv B12 or VRC01, the first two extracellular domains (1+2) of human CD4 alone or joined to the single chain variable fragment (scFv) of the antibody 17b fused to an anti-human CD3ϵ scFv. These engineered human BiTE® antibody constructs showed engagement of T cells for redirected lysis of HIV gp120-transfected CHO cells. Furthermore, they substantially inhibited HIV-1 replication in PBMCs as well as in macrophages co-cultured with autologous CD8+ T-cells, the most potent being the human CD4(1+2) BiTE® antibody construct and the CD4(1+2)L17b BiTE® antibody construct. The CD4(1+2) h BiTE® antibody construct promoted HIV infection of human CD4-/CD8+ T cells. In contrast, the neutralizing B12 and the VRC01 BiTE® antibody constructs as well as the CD4(1+2)L17b BiTE® antibody construct did not. Thus, BiTE® antibody constructs targeting HIV gp120 are very promising for constraining HIV and warrant further development as novel antiviral therapy with curative potential. Importance HIV is a chronic infection well controlled with the current cART. However, we lack cure of HIV, and the HIV pandemic goes on. Here we showed in vitro and ex vivo t hat a bispecific T-cell engaging (BiTE®) antibody construct targeting HIV gp120 resulted in substantially reduced HIV replication. In addition, these BiTE® antibody constructs display efficient killing of gp120 expressing cells and inhibited replication in ex vivo

To be or not to be: Stuttering and the human costs of being "un-disabled".

Science.gov (United States)

Watermeyer, Brian; Kathard, Harsha

2016-02-01

The centrality of communicating in human life means that communication difficulties are experienced at a deeply personal level and have significant implications for identity. Intervention methods may interact positively or negatively with these experiences. This paper explores this intersection in the case of stuttering, suggesting that some intervention styles may dovetail unhelpfully with the "mainstream" prizing of normalcy. In particular, most "western" societies offer a performance-oriented milieu which prizes efficiency, immediacy and competitiveness, diverting energy from the equally important work of understanding and integrating difference. Given that a person who stutters speaks fluently and with a stutter, stuttering can lean toward a complex view of disability identity-being both able and disabled. This split repertoire invites psychologically costly efforts at being "un-disabled". Interventions which amplify this tendency can contribute to an alienation from self amid strivings for normalcy.

Managing the Activities Against Trafficking in Human Beings

OpenAIRE

Ion GANE

2012-01-01

Organized crime has a long history and has permanently adapted to the weaknesses of the legal system, procedures and operational capabilities of the national Law Enforcement Agencies. Economic discomfort appears to be the main reason for illegal migration movement throughout the world. Due to unemployment, many human beings become victims of trafficking- prostitution and slavery. Nevertheless, many of the willing migrants undertake the hazardous travel to their destination country with crimin...

Can human populations be stabilized?

Science.gov (United States)

Warren, Stephen G.

2015-02-01

Historical examples of demographic change, in China, Italy, Nigeria, Utah, Easter Island, and elsewhere, together with simple mathematics and biological principles, show that stabilizing world population before it is limited by food supply will be more difficult than is generally appreciated. United Nations population projections are wrong because they assume, in spite of the absence of necessary feedbacks, that all nations will converge rapidly to replacement-level fertility and thereafter remain at that level. Education of women and provision of contraceptives have caused dramatic reductions in fertility, but many groups, including some that are well-educated, maintain high fertility. Small groups with persistent high fertility can grow to supplant low-fertility groups, resulting in continued growth of the total population. The global average fertility rate could rise even if each country's fertility rate is falling. In some low-fertility European countries where deaths exceed births, the population continues to grow because of immigration. Producing more than two offspring is normal for all animal species with stable populations because their populations are limited by resources or predation rather than birth control. It may therefore be appropriate to view the growth of human population as the result not of excess fertility but rather of excess food.

Assessing Environmental Impact Indicators in Road Construction Projects in Developing Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed Marzouk

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Environmental pollution is considered to be one of the main concerns in the construction industry. Environmental pollution has become a major challenge to construction projects due to the huge amount of pollution caused by construction projects. There are different types of environmental impact indicators, such as the greenhouse gas (GHG footprint, eutrophication potential (EP, acidification potential (AP, human health (HH particulate, ozone depletion, and smog. Each of these environmental impact indicators can be linked to different phases of the construction projects. The overall environmental impact indicators can be divided into direct, indirect, and operational emissions. This paper presents a Building Information Modeling (BIM-based methodology for the assessment of environmental impacts in road construction projects. The model takes into account the overall life cycle of the road construction project, which is divided into: manufacturing phase, transportation phase, construction phase, maintenance phase, operational phase, recycling phase, and deconstruction phase. A case study is presented to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed model. The proposed model solves a major problem for road construction project teams who want to assess the environmental impact indicators associated with their project prior to the start of the execution of their projects.

Assessing problem-solving skills in construction education with the virtual construction simulator

Science.gov (United States)

Castronovo, Fadi

The ability to solve complex problems is an essential skill that a construction and project manager must possess when entering the architectural, engineering, and construction industry. Such ability requires a mixture of problem-solving skills, ranging from lower to higher order thinking skills, composed of cognitive and metacognitive processes. These skills include the ability to develop and evaluate construction plans and manage the execution of such plans. However, in a typical construction program, introducing students to such complex problems can be a challenge, and most commonly the learner is presented with only part of a complex problem. To support this challenge, the traditional methodology of delivering design, engineering, and construction instruction has been going through a technological revolution, due to the rise of computer-based technology. For example, in construction classrooms, and other disciplines, simulations and educational games are being utilized to support the development of problem-solving skills. Previous engineering education research has illustrated the high potential that simulations and educational games have in engaging in lower and higher order thinking skills. Such research illustrated their capacity to support the development of problem-solving skills. This research presents evidence supporting the theory that educational simulation games can help with the learning and retention of transferable problem-solving skills, which are necessary to solve complex construction problems. The educational simulation game employed in this study is the Virtual Construction Simulator (VCS). The VCS is a game developed to provide students in an engaging learning activity that simulates the planning and managing phases of a construction project. Assessment of the third iteration of the VCS(3) game has shown pedagogical value in promoting students' motivation and a basic understanding of construction concepts. To further evaluate the benefits on

Mechanical properties and structure-function relationships of human chondrocyte-seeded cartilage constructs after in vitro culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Middendorf, Jill M; Griffin, Darvin J; Shortkroff, Sonya; Dugopolski, Caroline; Kennedy, Stephen; Siemiatkoski, Joseph; Cohen, Itai; Bonassar, Lawrence J

2017-10-01

Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation (ACI) is a widely recognized method for the repair of focal cartilage defects. Despite the accepted use, problems with this technique still exist, including graft hypertrophy, damage to surrounding tissue by sutures, uneven cell distribution, and delamination. Modified ACI techniques overcome these challenges by seeding autologous chondrocytes onto a 3D scaffold and securing the graft into the defect. Many studies on these tissue engineered grafts have identified the compressive properties, but few have examined frictional and shear properties as suggested by FDA guidance. This study is the first to perform three mechanical tests (compressive, frictional, and shear) on human tissue engineered cartilage. The objective was to understand the complex mechanical behavior, function, and changes that occur with time in these constructs grown in vitro using compression, friction, and shear tests. Safranin-O histology and a DMMB assay both revealed increased sulfated glycosaminoglycan (sGAG) content in the scaffolds with increased maturity. Similarly, immunohistochemistry revealed increased lubricin localization on the construct surface. Confined compression and friction tests both revealed improved properties with increased construct maturity. Compressive properties correlated with the sGAG content, while improved friction coefficients were attributed to increased lubricin localization on the construct surfaces. In contrast, shear properties did not improve with increased culture time. This study suggests the various mechanical and biological properties of tissue engineered cartilage improve at different rates, indicating thorough mechanical evaluation of tissue engineered cartilage is critical to understanding the performance of repaired cartilage. © 2017 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 35:2298-2306, 2017. © 2017 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Alternatives to Conventional Construction Materials on Landfills. A Guide; Alternativa konstruktionsmaterial paa deponier. Vaegledning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rihm, Thomas; Rogbeck, Yvonne; Svedberg, Bo; Eriksson, Maria

2009-03-15

Before a landfill can be sited, an application for a permit from the authorities is required. Already in the application process the consequences concerning impact on human health and on the environment must be described, including descriptions of e.g. bottom liners and capping constructions. Since there is a long period of time between when the permit is given and when the capping will be carried out, it is common practice, either to postpone decisions concerning capping details, or to delegate the decisions to the supervisory authorities to be made at a later stage. All constructions must however be approved by the authorities before they can be carried out. A construction must fulfil the demands for its function. For the capping this means that the percolation through it must be low, even in a long time perspective. A construction may not in itself cause adverse environmental effects, e.g. leaching of hazardous substances from the construction material. Thus, there are functional as well as environmental demands. Beside the functional demands given in the Swedish legislation, notably in the ordinance on landfilling, the construction must be physically stable, also in a long time perspective. The materials in the construction must have sufficient strength, and may not change over time, e.g. due to degradation, which could lead to malfunction. Demands on environmental behaviour can be divided into two parts. Humans and animals must be kept from direct contact with dangerous substances including dermal contact, inhalation of dust or gases and oral intake of soil, plants or berries. Secondly, dangerous substances may not be spread with surface or ground water to an extent that could lead to adverse effects on human health or on the environment. The impact on the environment is not only depending of the materials being used, but also on the construction design, where in the landfill the construction is situated and, not least, how the landfill is located. It is

A taxonomy for human reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beattie, J.D.; Iwasa-Madge, K.M.

1984-01-01

A human interaction taxonomy (classification scheme) was developed to facilitate human reliability analysis in a probabilistic safety evaluation of a nuclear power plant, being performed at Ontario Hydro. A human interaction occurs, by definition, when operators or maintainers manipulate, or respond to indication from, a plant component or system. The taxonomy aids the fault tree analyst by acting as a heuristic device. It helps define the range and type of human errors to be identified in the construction of fault trees, while keeping the identification by different analysts consistent. It decreases the workload associated with preliminary quantification of the large number of identified interactions by including a category called 'simple interactions'. Fault tree analysts quantify these according to a procedure developed by a team of human reliability specialists. The interactions which do not fit into this category are called 'complex' and are quantified by the human reliability team. The taxonomy is currently being used in fault tree construction in a probabilistic safety evaluation. As far as can be determined at this early stage, the potential benefits of consistency and completeness in identifying human interactions and streamlining the initial quantification are being realized

Well-Being With Soul: Science in Pursuit of Human Potential.

Science.gov (United States)

Ryff, Carol D

2018-03-01

This essay examines core contributions of a model of psychological well-being that has had widespread scientific impact. It drew on distant formulations to identify new dimensions and measures for assessing what it means to be well. Key themes among the more than 750 studies using the model are sketched, followed by reflections about why there has been so much interest in this eudaimonic approach to well-being. A final section looks to the future, proposing new directions to illuminate the forces that work against the realization of human potential as well as those that nurture human flourishing and self-realization.

Robotic Nudges: The Ethics of Engineering a More Socially Just Human Being.

Science.gov (United States)

Borenstein, Jason; Arkin, Ron

2016-02-01

Robots are becoming an increasingly pervasive feature of our personal lives. As a result, there is growing importance placed on examining what constitutes appropriate behavior when they interact with human beings. In this paper, we discuss whether companion robots should be permitted to "nudge" their human users in the direction of being "more ethical". More specifically, we use Rawlsian principles of justice to illustrate how robots might nurture "socially just" tendencies in their human counterparts. Designing technological artifacts in such a way to influence human behavior is already well-established but merely because the practice is commonplace does not necessarily resolve the ethical issues associated with its implementation.

Biohydrogels for the In Vitro Re-construction and In Situ Regeneration of Human Skin

Science.gov (United States)

Korkina, Liudmila; Kostyuk, Vladimir; Guerra, Liliana

Natural and synthetic biohydrogels are of great interest for the development of innovative medicinal and cosmetic products feasible for the treatment of numerous skin diseases and age-related changes in skin structure and function. Here, the characteristics of bio-resorbable hydrogels as scaffolds for the in vitro re-construction of temporary skin substitutes or full skin equivalents for further transplantation are reviewed. Another fast developing area of regenerative medicine is the in situ regeneration of human skin. The approach is mainly applicable to activate and facilitate the skin regeneration process and angiogenesis in chronic wounds with impaired healing. In this case, extracellular matrix resembling polymers are used to stimulate cell growth, adhesion, and movement. Better results could be achieved by activation of biocompatible hydrogels either with proteins (growth factors, adhesion molecules or/and cytokines) or with allogenic skin cells producing and releasing these molecules. Hydrogels are widely applied as carriers of low molecular weight substances with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-ageing, and wound healing action. Incorporation of these substances into hydrogels enhances their penetration through the skin barrier and prevents their destruction by oxidation. Potential roles of hydrogel-based products for modern dermatology and cosmetology are also discussed.

Human niche, human behaviour, human nature.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuentes, Agustin

2017-10-06

The concept of a 'human nature' or 'human natures' retains a central role in theorizing about the human experience. In Homo sapiens it is clear that we have a suite of capacities generated via our evolutionary past, and present, and a flexible capacity to create and sustain particular kinds of cultures and to be shaped by them. Regardless of whether we label these capacities 'human natures' or not, humans occupy a distinctive niche and an evolutionary approach to examining it is critical. At present we are faced with a few different narratives as to exactly what such an evolutionary approach entails. There is a need for a robust and dynamic theoretical toolkit in order to develop a richer, and more nuanced, understanding of the cognitively sophisticated genus Homo and the diverse sorts of niches humans constructed and occupied across the Pleistocene, Holocene, and into the Anthropocene. Here I review current evolutionary approaches to 'human nature', arguing that we benefit from re-framing our investigations via the concept of the human niche and in the context of the extended evolutionary synthesis (EES). While not a replacement of standard evolutionary approaches, this is an expansion and enhancement of our toolkit. I offer brief examples from human evolution in support of these assertions.

How can new technology, improve façade construction of office building, in Iran

OpenAIRE

Saberi, Akbar

2014-01-01

It is evident that available technologies on office building sector in Shiraz relay on traditional construction especially on wet methods. Wet system process depends on human interpretation (The human interpretation is the basics of the systems) which cause major problems in construction quality. For this propose this dissertation focus on construction method in office building in Iran. Compared to wet construction, dry system is new technology in the construction industry. ...

Games, tradition and 'Being Human' in Ayi Kwei Armah's "The Healers"

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Games, tradition and 'Being Human' in Ayi Kwei Armah's "The Healers" ... critique in order to question our assumptions about human activities such as the Olympic Games and general health practices. Armah ... AJOL African Journals Online.

Construction Managers’ Perception of the Factors Affecting Sustainability in Construction Projects

OpenAIRE

Reza Taheriattar; Morvarid Farzanehrafat

2014-01-01

Sustainable construction is a comprehensive concept which requires long-term planning. Moreover, construction managers play a key role in leading, planning and scheduling of a construction project. As a result, sustainability of construction projects can be affected by construction managers’ decisions. In addition, for greater development of sustainable construction, affecting factors should firstly be notified. Therefore, it seems necessary to investigate construction managers’ perception of...

Role to Be Played by Independent Geotechnical Supervision in the Foundation for Bridge Construction

Science.gov (United States)

Sobala, Dariusz; Rybak, Jarosław

2017-10-01

Some remarks concerning the necessity of employing an independent and over all ethical geotechnical survey were presented in the paper. Starting from the design phase, through the whole construction process, the importance of geotechnical engineer is stated in legal acts. Numerous testing technologies serve for the calibration of geotechnical technologies and allow for confirming the quality and capacity of piles. Special emphasis was payed to the involvement of scientifical and research institutions which can not only serve services but also can postprocess and methodize collected data. Such databases enable for new codes, methods and recommendations. Selection of deep foundations for bridge-type structures is most often dependent on complex geotechnical conditions, concentrated loads and constraints for pier displacements. Besides the last ones, prior to more common introduction of the design-construct system, could be a convenient justification for design engineer, who imposed deep foundation because he did not want or was not able to estimate the effect of pier settlement on civil engineering structure. The paper provides some notes about the need to engage a geotechnical supervising service of high competency and ethical quality during engineering and construction stages of foundations for bridge-type structures where legal requirements are of special consideration. Successive stages of projects are reviewed and research methods used for current calibration of geotechnical technologies and verification of geotechnical work quality are analysed. Special attention is given to potential involvement of independent R&D institutions which, apart from rendering specific services, also collect and systemize the research results thus enabling, in the long term, to revise engineering standards, instructions and guidelines.

By Virtue of Being Human.

Science.gov (United States)

King, S. Claire

1998-01-01

Describes some efforts to ensure that teachers in the United States understand and teach about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Although the declaration is 50 years old, it is not as well known in the United States as it is in other parts of the world. Teaching its content and meaning to children is discussed. (SLD)

Single, childless working women's construction of wellbeing: On balance, being dynamic and tensions between them.

Science.gov (United States)

Engler, Kim; Frohlich, Katherine; Descarries, Francine; Fernet, Mylène

2011-01-01

Single, childless working women (SCWW) are a notable proportion of the female workforce. The budding research on this population suggests that they have issues of wellbeing that may be tied to specific needs of both their workplaces and their personal lives, and hence, distinct work-life dynamics that require attention. This study explores how SCWW construct their wellbeing. The sample was composed of 22 SCWW aged 29 to 45. A discourse analysis of the transcripts of semi-structured interviews with these women was performed. Most women drew on an interpretative repertoire of "wellbeing as balance" (e.g., diversification and reasonable dosing of life's dimensions). It was associated with a recurrent subject position we have termed "the dynamic woman" whose intensity transfused talk of the activities in her life. Here, work becomes a "passion" and a source of appreciated challenges. However, a dilemma could arise from these constructions for positioning oneself in relation to the cadence of one's active life or rather, in articulating an unambiguous claim to balance. Balance/dosing and dynamicity/passion can be uneasy bedfellows. Our analyses raise questions about possible counter[balancing] discourses and further argue the relevance of work-life issues for SCWW.

Construction and Design Kits: Human Problem-Domain Communication

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Fischer, Gerhard; Lemke, Andreas C

1987-01-01

.... To provide the user with the appropriate level of control and a better understanding, we have to replace human-computer communication with human problem-domain communication, which allows users...

A Semantics-Based Approach to Construction Cost Estimating

Science.gov (United States)

Niknam, Mehrdad

2015-01-01

A construction project requires collaboration of different organizations such as owner, designer, contractor, and resource suppliers. These organizations need to exchange information to improve their teamwork. Understanding the information created in other organizations requires specialized human resources. Construction cost estimating is one of…

Ethical issues of transplanting organs from transgenic animals into human beings.

Science.gov (United States)

Behnam Manesh, Shima; Omani Samani, Reza; Behnam Manesh, Shayan

2014-01-01

One of the most important applications of transgenic animals for medical purposes is to transplant their organs into human's body, an issue which has caused a lot of ethical and scientific discussions. we can divide the ethical arguments to two comprehensive groups; the first group which is known as deontological critiques (related to the action itself regardless of any results pointing the human or animal) and the second group, called the consequentialist critiques (which are directly pointing the consequences of the action). The latter arguments also can be divided to two subgroups. In the first one which named anthropocentrism, just humankind has inherent value in the moral society, and it studies the problem just from a human-based point of view while in second named, biocentrism all the living organism have this value and it deals specially with the problem from the animal-based viewpoint. In this descriptive-analytic study, ethical issues were retrieved from books, papers, international guidelines, thesis, declarations and instructions, and even some weekly journals using keywords related to transgenic animals, organ, and transplantation. According to the precautionary principle with the strong legal and ethical background, due to lack of accepted scientific certainties about the safety of the procedure, in this phase, transplanting animal's organs into human beings have the potential harm and danger for both human and animals, and application of this procedure is unethical until the safety to human will be proven.

Strategic Scenario Construction Made Easy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Duus, Henrik Johannsen

2016-01-01

insights from the area of strategic forecasting (of which scenario planning is a proper subset) and experiences gained from a recent course in that area to develop a simpler, more direct, hands-on method for scenario construction and to provide several ideas for scenario construction that can be used......Scenario planning is a well-known way to develop corporate strategy by creating multiple images of alternative futures. Yet although scenario planning grew from very hands-on strategy development efforts in the military and from operations research dedicated to solving practical problems, the use...... of scenarios in business has, in many cases, remained a cumbersome affair. Very often a large group of consultants, employees and staff is involved in the development of scenarios and strategies, thus making the whole process expensive in terms of time, money and human resources. In response, this article uses...

Quantum physics and human language

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartle, James B

2007-01-01

Human languages employ constructions that tacitly assume specific properties of the limited range of phenomena they evolved to describe. These assumed properties are true features of that limited context, but may not be general or precise properties of all the physical situations allowed by fundamental physics. In brief, human languages contain 'excess baggage' that must be qualified, discarded, or otherwise reformed to give a clear account in the context of fundamental physics of even the everyday phenomena that the languages evolved to describe. The surest route to clarity is to express the constructions of human languages in the language of fundamental physical theory, not the other way around. These ideas are illustrated by an analysis of the verb 'to happen' and the word 'reality' in special relativity and the modern quantum mechanics of closed systems

Construction and Characterization of a Humanized Anti-Epstein-Barr Virus gp350 Antibody with Neutralizing Activity in Cell Culture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jerome E. Tanner

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Acute Epstein-Barr virus (EBV infection in immunosuppressed transplant patients can give rise to a malignant B-cell proliferation known as post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD. The EBV major virion surface glycoprotein (gp350 is a principal target of naturally occurring neutralizing antibodies and is viewed as the best target to prevent acute infection and PTLD in at-risk transplant recipients. We have constructed a humanized (hu version of the murine anti-gp350 neutralizing monoclonal antibody 72a1. The hu72a1 IgG1 antibody displayed no significant anti-mouse activity, recognized both gp350 and its splice variant gp220 as well as a gp350 peptide that was shown to constitute the principal EBV gp350 neutralizing epitope when tested in immunoassays. Hu72a1 antibody blocked in vitro EBV infection of B cells at a level which equaled that of a mouse-human chimeric 72a1 antibody construct. This work provides a further structural and immunological understanding of the 72a1 antibody interaction with EBV gp350, and constitutes a launch point for future anti-EBV therapeutic antibodies designed to block EBV infection and prevent PTLD while eliminating the deleterious antigenic murine features of the original 72a1 antibody.

The "sociotype" construct: Gauging the structure and dynamics of human sociality.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro C Marijuán

Full Text Available Exploring the pertinence of a "sociotype" construct, established along the conceptual chain genotype-phenotype-sociotype, is the essential purpose of the present paper. Further, by following the sociotype's conceptual guidelines, a new psychometric indicator has been developed in order to gauge the level of social interaction around each individual-the sociotype questionnaire (SOCQ. A first version of this questionnaire has been elaborated by gathering data about the different classes of social bonds (family, friends, acquaintances, and work/study colleagues in general population and about the dynamic update of these bonds via face-to-face conversation and other modes of interaction. A specific fieldwork was undertaken, involving 1,075 participants, all of them Spanish adults (with diverse social and regional backgrounds. The data obtained were analyzed by means of the correlational method with an analytical cross-sectional design: the number of factors and the consistency and reliability of the resulting scales were evaluated and correlated. The new sociotype indicator resulting from that fieldwork, in spite of its limitations, seems to be valid and reliable, as well as closely associated with widely used metrics of loneliness and psychological distress. It is interesting that the construct noticeably varies throughout the life course and circumstances of individuals, based on their gender and age, and adjusting to the different situations of social networking. This is the first study, to the best of our knowledge, which has tried to reach both a theoretical and an operational formulation of the sociotype construct, by establishing an ad hoc psychometric questionnaire. We think that the information provided by this operational definition opens a new direction of work that could be useful to guide the development and evaluation of programs aimed at improving and strengthening social networking in people at risk, especially for the elderly.

Human factors/ergonomics as a systems discipline? "The human use of human beings" revisited.

Science.gov (United States)

Hollnagel, Erik

2014-01-01

Discussions of the possible future of Human factors/ergonomics (HFE) usually take the past for granted in the sense that the future of HFE is assumed to be more of the same. This paper argues that the nature of work in the early 2010s is so different from the nature of work when HFE was formulated 60-70 years ago that a critical reassessment of the basis for HFE is needed. If HFE should be a systems discipline, it should be a soft systems rather than a hard systems discipline. It is not enough for HFE to seek to improve performance and well-being through systems design, since any change to the work environment in principle alters the very basis for the change. Instead HFE should try to anticipate how the nature of work will change so that it can both foresee what work will be and propose what work should be. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Unmanned aerial vehicles in construction and worker safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, John; Murashov, Vladimir; Branche, Christine M

2018-01-01

Applications of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for military, recreational, public, and commercial uses have expanded significantly in recent years. In the construction industry, UAVs are used primarily for monitoring of construction workflow and job site logistics, inspecting construction sites to assess structural integrity, and for maintenance assessments. As is the case with other emerging technologies, occupational safety assessments of UAVs lag behind technological advancements. UAVs may create new workplace hazards that need to be evaluated and managed to ensure their safe operation around human workers. At the same time, UAVs can perform dangerous tasks, thereby improving workplace safety. This paper describes the four major uses of UAVs, including their use in construction, the potential risks of their use to workers, approaches for risk mitigation, and the important role that safety and health professionals can play in ensuring safe approaches to the their use in the workplace. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Constructing bald eagle nests with natural materials

Science.gov (United States)

T. G. Grubb

1995-01-01

A technique for using natural materials to build artificial nests for bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and other raptors is detailed. Properly constructed nests are as permanently secured to the nest tree or cliff substrate as any eagle-built nest or human-made platform. Construction normally requires about three hours and at least two people. This technique is...

Constructive memory: past and future.

Science.gov (United States)

Schacter, Daniel L

2012-03-01

Human memory is not a literal reproduction of the past, but instead relies on constructive processes that are sometimes prone to error and distortion. Understanding of constructive memory has accelerated during recent years as a result of research that has linked together its cognitive and neural bases. This article focuses on three aspects of constructive memory that have been the target of recent research: (i) the idea that certain kinds of memory distortions reflect the operation of adaptive cognitive processes that contribute to the efficient functioning of memory; (ii) the role of a constructive memory system in imagining or simulating possible future events; and (iii) differences between true and false memories that have been revealed by functional neuroimaging techniques. The article delineates the theoretical implications of relevant research, and also considers some clinical and applied implications.

Islamic Constructs of Nursi’s Perspective and Their Impacts on Psychology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MUSTAFA TEKKE

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This study proposed new constructs to the field of Islamic psychology. It is particularly noteworthy to articulate the views of Said Nursi in the context of Islamic psychology. Based on fundamental aims of Qur’an, it clearly shows that Tawhid (Belief in God, Nubuwwa (Awareness of Prophetic Teaching, Hashr (Belief in Resurrection, and Ibadah (Worship as for main constructs of Qur'an greatly influential on a person's belief and thought.The proposed four constructs were thoroughly scrutinized to determine the possible meanings with human belief and thought. In line with chosen method, this paper applies the views of Nursi as a device for synthesizing arguments. Islamic psychology clearly indicates the Tawhid and  Nubuwwa, called shahadah, are fundamental of Islamic belief and thought and included with awareness of hereafter and doing worship. The other constructs of Hashr and Ibadah are also essential for an Islamic psychology model for understanding human personality. They were conceptually evaluated within the context of psychology, as indicatives of the concept of Islamic personality. These four constructs can be interpreted as inner experience depicting human’s emotions, desires, wishes, and intentions. Thus, they are strongly suggested to employ in newly developing Islamic personality scales.

[Culpability and the problem of the human genome. Between being and having to be].

Science.gov (United States)

Donna, Edgardo

2011-01-01

In a liberal-democratic system, there is no possibility of a criminal liability charge without a minimum of freedom. Nevertheless, since a long time ago and, nowadays, with the advancement of science in the human genome, understanding it as a closed system--farm theory--is intended to demonstrate that the genome is a destination, thus criminal liability will be void, giving rise to security measures.

Constructing an Educational Mars Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Henke, Stephen A.

2004-01-01

January 14th 2004, President George Bush announces his plans to catalyst the space program into a new era of space exploration and discovery. His vision encompasses a robotics program to explore our solar system, a return to the moon, the human exploration of Mars, and to promote international prosperity towards our endeavors. We at NASA now have the task of constructing this vision in a very real timeframe. I have been chosen to begin phase 1 of making this vision a reality. I will be working on creating an Educational Mars Simulation of human exploration of Mars to stimulate interest and involvement with the project from investors and the community. GRC s Computer Services Division (CSD) in collaboration with the Office of Education Programs will be designing models, constructing terrain, and programming this simulation to create a realistic portrayal of human exploration on mars. With recent and past technological breakthroughs in computing, my primary goal can be accomplished with only the aid of 3-4 software packages. Lightwave 3D is the modeling package we have selected to use for the creation of our digital objects. This includes a Mars pressurized rover, rover cockpit, landscape/terrain, and habitat. Once we have the models completed they need textured so Photoshop and Macromedia Fireworks are handy for bringing these objects to life. Before directly importing all of this data into a simulation environment, it is necessary to first render a stunning animation of the desired final product. This animation with represent what we hope to capture out of the simulation and it will include all of the accessories like ray-tracing, fog effects, shadows, anti-aliasing, particle effects, volumetric lighting, and lens flares. Adobe Premier will more than likely be used for video editing and adding ambient noises and music. Lastly, V-Tree is the real-time 3D graphics engine which will facilitate our realistic simulation. Additional information is included in the

Humanity as a Contested Concept: Relations between Disability and ‘Being Human’

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul van Trigt

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This editorial presents the theme and approach of the themed issue “Humanity as a Contested Concept: Relations between Disability and ‘Being Human’”. The way in which the concept of humanity is or must be related to disability is critically investigated from different disciplinary perspectives in the themed issue, which is, moreover, situated in the field of disability studies and related to discussions about posthumanism. The argument is made that humanity is a concept that needs to be constantly reflected upon from a disability studies perspective. Finally, the contributions of the themed issue are briefly outlined.

Risk management and nuclear human resources management in construction nuclear power plants in the Gulf Countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saeed Hakami; Salim Almarmary

2009-01-01

The countries of the Gulf region have the capacity to rapidly expand their economic growth and gross domestic product (GDP). Also, one may observe that their growth rate is very high. To match this, they need a mix of energy sources for this economic growth. Nuclear power plants can have a significant role as a source of energy in the Gulf countries. Although, some of the Gulf countries signed contracts to construct nuclear power plants, they still require high a level of education as well as sufficient and adequate human resources in order to solve complex issues which may happen at nuclear power plants. The objective of this paper is to identify the complex issues that may arise at a nuclear site. Then the paper goes on to discuss how to evaluate these issues. Finally, the paper studies how to manage and control such complex issues in the work place. The advantage of highly educated people as well as sufficient and adequate human resource can increasingly protect and save human health and the natural environment from issues relating to the use of nuclear energy. There are vast theories, strategies and tools that have discussed in regards to human resources management in the nuclear industries. However, this paper chiefly provides a new risk management methodology. This methodology helps to highlight the risk factors and their consequences at nuclear sites. This paper is intended to decrease risks; to protect human health in the work place at nuclear power plants and save the environment within and beyond national borders and for future generations. It aims to increase safety from the use of nuclear energy, particularly in the Gulf countries.(Author)

Trends in research involving human beings in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ricardo Eccard da Silva

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Developing countries have experienced a dramatic increase in the number of clinical studies in the last decades. The aim of this study was to describe 1 the number of clinical trials submitted to the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency (Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária, Anvisa from 2007 to 2012 and the number of human-subject research projects approved by research ethics committees (RECs and the National Research Ethics Committee (Comissão Nacional de Ética em Pesquisa, CONEP in Brazil from 2007 to 2011 and 2 the diseases most frequently studied in Brazilian states in clinical trials approved in the country from 2009 to 2012, based on information from an Anvisa databank. Two databases were used: 1 the National Information System on Research Ethics Involving Human Beings (Sistema Nacional de Informação Sobre Ética em Pesquisa envolvendo Seres Humanos, SISNEP and 2 Anvisa's Clinical Research Control System (Sistema de Controle de Pesquisa Clínica, SCPC. Data from the SCPC indicated an increase of 32.7% in the number of clinical trials submitted to Anvisa, and data from the SISNEP showed an increase of 69.9% in those approved by RECs and CONEP (from 18 160 in 2007 to 30 860 in 2011. Type 2 diabetes (26.0% and breast cancer (20.5%-related to the main causes of mortality in Brazil-were the two most frequently studied diseases. The so-called “neglected diseases,” such as dengue fever, were among the least studied diseases in approved clinical trials, despite their significant impact on social, economic, and health indicators in Brazil. Overall, the data indicated 1 a clear trend toward more research involving human beings in Brazil, 2 good correspondence between diseases most studied in clinical trials approved by Anvisa and the main causes of death in Brazil, and 3 a low level of attention to neglected diseases, an issue that should be considered in setting future research priorities, given their socioeconomic and health effects.

3D Bioprinting Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Constructs for In Situ Cell Proliferation and Successive Multilineage Differentiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Qi; Tomaskovic-Crook, Eva; Wallace, Gordon G; Crook, Jeremy M

2017-09-01

The ability to create 3D tissues from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is poised to revolutionize stem cell research and regenerative medicine, including individualized, patient-specific stem cell-based treatments. There are, however, few examples of tissue engineering using iPSCs. Their culture and differentiation is predominantly planar for monolayer cell support or induction of self-organizing embryoids (EBs) and organoids. Bioprinting iPSCs with advanced biomaterials promises to augment efforts to develop 3D tissues, ideally comprising direct-write printing of cells for encapsulation, proliferation, and differentiation. Here, such a method, employing a clinically amenable polysaccharide-based bioink, is described as the first example of bioprinting human iPSCs for in situ expansion and sequential differentiation. Specifically, we have extrusion printed the bioink including iPSCs, alginate (Al; 5% weight/volume [w/v]), carboxymethyl-chitosan (5% w/v), and agarose (Ag; 1.5% w/v), crosslinked the bioink in calcium chloride for a stable and porous construct, proliferated the iPSCs within the construct and differentiated the same iPSCs into either EBs comprising cells of three germ lineages-endoderm, ectoderm, and mesoderm, or more homogeneous neural tissues containing functional migrating neurons and neuroglia. This defined, scalable, and versatile platform is envisaged being useful in iPSC research and translation for pharmaceuticals development and regenerative medicine. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Constructs for the expression of repeating triple-helical protein domains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peng, Yong Y; Werkmeister, Jerome A; Vaughan, Paul R; Ramshaw, John A M

2009-01-01

The development of novel scaffolds will be an important aspect in future success of tissue engineering. Scaffolds will preferably contain information that directs the cellular content of constructs so that the new tissue that is formed is closely aligned in structure, composition and function to the target natural tissue. One way of approaching this will be the development of novel protein-based constructs that contain one or more repeats of functional elements derived from various proteins. In the present case, we describe a strategy to make synthetic, recombinant triple-helical constructs that contain repeat segments of biologically relevant domains. Copies of a DNA fragment prepared by PCR from human type III collagen have been inserted in a co-linear contiguous fashion into the yeast expression vector YEpFlag-1, using sequential addition between selected restriction sites. Constructs containing 1, 2 and 3 repeats were designed to maintain the (Gly-X-Y) repeat, which is essential for the formation of an extended triple helix. All constructs gave expressed protein, with the best being the 3-repeat construct which was readily secreted. This material had the expected composition and N-terminal sequence. Incubation of the product at low temperature led to triple-helix formation, shown by reaction with a conformation dependent monoclonal antibody.

Constructs for the expression of repeating triple-helical protein domains

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peng, Yong Y; Werkmeister, Jerome A; Vaughan, Paul R; Ramshaw, John A M, E-mail: jerome.werkmeister@csiro.a [CSIRO Molecular and Health Technologies, Bag 10, Clayton South, VIC 3169 (Australia)

2009-02-15

The development of novel scaffolds will be an important aspect in future success of tissue engineering. Scaffolds will preferably contain information that directs the cellular content of constructs so that the new tissue that is formed is closely aligned in structure, composition and function to the target natural tissue. One way of approaching this will be the development of novel protein-based constructs that contain one or more repeats of functional elements derived from various proteins. In the present case, we describe a strategy to make synthetic, recombinant triple-helical constructs that contain repeat segments of biologically relevant domains. Copies of a DNA fragment prepared by PCR from human type III collagen have been inserted in a co-linear contiguous fashion into the yeast expression vector YEpFlag-1, using sequential addition between selected restriction sites. Constructs containing 1, 2 and 3 repeats were designed to maintain the (Gly-X-Y) repeat, which is essential for the formation of an extended triple helix. All constructs gave expressed protein, with the best being the 3-repeat construct which was readily secreted. This material had the expected composition and N-terminal sequence. Incubation of the product at low temperature led to triple-helix formation, shown by reaction with a conformation dependent monoclonal antibody.

[Construction of the lentiviral expression vector for anti-p185(erbB2) mouse/human chimeric antibody].

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Fang; Li, Li; Zhang, Wei; Wang, Qi

2013-04-01

This research was to construct the lentiviral expression vector for anti- p185(erbB2) mouse/human chimeric antibody and to determine the expression of the chimeric antibody gene in 293T cells transfected with this vector. The genes (vL and vH) coding light and heavy chain of variable regions of anti-p185(erbB2) mAb and the constant regions of human IgG1 (kappa and gamma1) were cloned with PCR method. The target genes were assembled by three-primers PCR method to obtain the chimeric light chain (L) and the chimeric heavy chain (H). Both chains inserted into the down stream and upper stream of IRES gene of the plasmid pVAX1/IRES respectively. We digested the plasmid pVAX1/ H-IRES-L with endoenzyme and subcloned H-IRES-L into the lentiviral vector pWPI. The enzyme digestion and sequence analysis showed that the lentiviral expression vector pWPI/H-IRES-L was constructed correctly. Then, it was transfected into 293T cells and after 48h, GFP protein expression in 293T cells were detected by fluorescent microscope and the chimeric antibody expression was detected by RT-PCR and direct ELISA. The results showed that after 293T cells were transfected with recombination plasmid, both light and heavy chains of the chimeric antibody genes could express together. The chimeric antibody expressed could bind to p185(erbB2) specifically. This research may lay a sound foundation for further study of anti-p185(erbB2) engineered antibody.

Will human populations be limited by food?

Science.gov (United States)

Warren, S. G.

2016-12-01

Historical examples of demographic change, in China, Italy, Nigeria, Utah, the Philippines, and elsewhere, together with simple mathematics and biological principles, show that stabilizing world population before it is limited by food supply will be more difficult than is generally appreciated. United Nations population projections are based on a logical fallacy in that they assume, in spite of the absence of necessary negative feedbacks, that all nations will converge rapidly to replacement-level fertility and thereafter remain at that level. The benign projections that have resulted from this assumption may have hindered efforts to make availability of birth-control a priority in development-aid. Education of women and provision of contraceptives have caused dramatic reductions in fertility, but many groups, including some that are well-educated, maintain high fertility. Small groups with persistent high fertility can grow to supplant low-fertility groups, resulting in continued growth of the total population. The global average fertility rate could rise even if each country's fertility rate is falling. In some low-fertility European countries where deaths exceed births, the population continues to grow because of immigration. Producing more than two offspring is normal for all animal species with stable populations, because their populations are limited by resources or predation rather than birth control. It may therefore be appropriate to view the growth of human population as the result not of excess fertility but rather of excess food. Even if the fertility rate is maintained far in excess of 2, the population cannot grow if food is limiting. Without the agricultural advances of the 20thcentury, world population could not have grown as it did from 1.7 billion in 1900 to 6 billion in 2000. The food supply may be enhanced in the future by genetic engineering and other innovations, but it may be limited by water shortage, climate change, pollution, and energy

Gratitude contemplation as a method to improve human well-being and physical functioning: theoretical review of existing research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bożena Burzyńska

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Research in positive psychology aims to find and develop diverse ways to improve human well-being and the psychophysical functioning (Fredrickson, 2008; Seligman, 2002; Sheldon & Lyubomirsky, 2006. As an example, the studies regard such concepts as positive emotions, character strengths or meaning in life. One of the most frequently studied constructs is also gratitude, that is regarded as the appreciation of all what is meaningful, as well as valuable, to oneself (Sansone & Sansone, 2010. Also, the social aspect of being grateful, and the effects of gratitude on one’s health and physical functioning, are frequently emphasized (McCullough, Kimeldorf & Cohen, 2008; Fox, Kaplan, Damasio and Damasio 2015; Algoe, Haidt & Gable, 2008. Among great amount of work about general gratitude already, there is still little research about gratitude contemplation, one of the exercises that enable a person experiencing gratitude in form of meditation. In this article, first I explain the meaning of the gratitude construct and its impact on peoples psychophysical state in general. Then, I analyze one of the newest gratitude activity, that is gratitude contemplation, its definition, the way of use and the results of recent empirical studies worldwide. Finally, I critically discuss the findings and conclude with future steps for further research on gratitude contemplation. I believe that the results and analysis presented in the article create a base for further research in the area of positive psychology.

Ecological consequences of human niche construction: Examining long-term anthropogenic shaping of global species distributions.

Science.gov (United States)

Boivin, Nicole L; Zeder, Melinda A; Fuller, Dorian Q; Crowther, Alison; Larson, Greger; Erlandson, Jon M; Denham, Tim; Petraglia, Michael D

2016-06-07

The exhibition of increasingly intensive and complex niche construction behaviors through time is a key feature of human evolution, culminating in the advanced capacity for ecosystem engineering exhibited by Homo sapiens A crucial outcome of such behaviors has been the dramatic reshaping of the global biosphere, a transformation whose early origins are increasingly apparent from cumulative archaeological and paleoecological datasets. Such data suggest that, by the Late Pleistocene, humans had begun to engage in activities that have led to alterations in the distributions of a vast array of species across most, if not all, taxonomic groups. Changes to biodiversity have included extinctions, extirpations, and shifts in species composition, diversity, and community structure. We outline key examples of these changes, highlighting findings from the study of new datasets, like ancient DNA (aDNA), stable isotopes, and microfossils, as well as the application of new statistical and computational methods to datasets that have accumulated significantly in recent decades. We focus on four major phases that witnessed broad anthropogenic alterations to biodiversity-the Late Pleistocene global human expansion, the Neolithic spread of agriculture, the era of island colonization, and the emergence of early urbanized societies and commercial networks. Archaeological evidence documents millennia of anthropogenic transformations that have created novel ecosystems around the world. This record has implications for ecological and evolutionary research, conservation strategies, and the maintenance of ecosystem services, pointing to a significant need for broader cross-disciplinary engagement between archaeology and the biological and environmental sciences.

A Taxonomy of Privacy Constructs for Privacy-Sensitive Robotics

OpenAIRE

Rueben, Matthew; Grimm, Cindy M.; Bernieri, Frank J.; Smart, William D.

2017-01-01

The introduction of robots into our society will also introduce new concerns about personal privacy. In order to study these concerns, we must do human-subject experiments that involve measuring privacy-relevant constructs. This paper presents a taxonomy of privacy constructs based on a review of the privacy literature. Future work in operationalizing privacy constructs for HRI studies is also discussed.

Ethical Issues of Transplanting Organs from Transgenic Animals into Human Beings

Science.gov (United States)

Behnam Manesh, Shima; Omani Samani, Reza; Behnam Manesh, Shayan

2014-01-01

One of the most important applications of transgenic animals for medical purposes is to transplant their organs into human’s body, an issue which has caused a lot of ethical and scientific discussions. we can divide the ethical arguments to two comprehensive groups; the first group which is known as deontological critiques (related to the action itself regardless of any results pointing the human or animal) and the second group, called the consequentialist critiques (which are directly pointing the consequences of the action). The latter arguments also can be divided to two subgroups. In the first one which named anthropocentrism, just humankind has inherent value in the moral society, and it studies the problem just from a human-based point of view while in second named, biocentrism all the living organism have this value and it deals specially with the problem from the animal-based viewpoint. In this descriptive-analytic study, ethical issues were retrieved from books, papers, international guidelines, thesis, declarations and instructions, and even some weekly journals using keywords related to transgenic animals, organ, and transplantation. According to the precautionary principle with the strong legal and ethical background, due to lack of accepted scientific certainties about the safety of the procedure, in this phase, transplanting animal’s organs into human beings have the potential harm and danger for both human and animals, and application of this procedure is unethical until the safety to human will be proven. PMID:25383334

Development of Earned Value Management System in PP Construction Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Sang-Hyun; Moon, Byeong-Suk [KHNP-CRI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-10-15

The NPP construction project has been determined in the form of a rather lump-sum contract with little details in resource requirements and estimations. Therefore, Earned Value Management System (EVMS) needs to be applied to the NPP projects in order to incorporate scope, schedule and cost targeting efficient and to control effective resource. The NPP projects in Korea have not applied EVMS. EVMS has phased in NPP construction project by Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co., Ltd (KHNP), playing the role of project master manager in NPP construction in Korea. This study presented the EVMS unlike other system. Accordingly, EVMS is expected to reduce risks and increase efficiency in the NPP project. The NPP construction project is a technology ntensive multi-construction project that should be based on economics and stability and that takes over ten years to complete, requiring investment of billions of dollars, a great number of persons concerned, and a vast store of human and material resources. KHNP is phasing EVMS in NPP construction project for overseas contracts and the efficient management, the paper presented the pilot EVMS in KHNP. It expected to control and identify of NPP construction projects by using EVMS as a computerized management tool which is quantitative and objective management criteria. It is necessary to improve of the contract system related EVM for enterprise system, and the effort will be required, such as on-site support and training so that this can be done in collaboration with the relevant stakeholders.

Extra-terrestrial construction processes - Advancements, opportunities and challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Sungwoo; Prabhu, Vibha Levin; Anand, Mahesh; Taylor, Lawrence A.

2017-10-01

Government space agencies, including NASA and ESA, are conducting preliminary studies on building alternative space-habitat systems for deep-space exploration. Such studies include development of advanced technologies for planetary surface exploration, including an in-depth understanding of the use of local resources. Currently, NASA plans to land humans on Mars in the 2030s. Similarly, other space agencies from Europe (ESA), Canada (CSA), Russia (Roscosmos), India (ISRO), Japan (JAXA) and China (CNSA) have already initiated or announced their plans for launching a series of lunar missions over the next decade, ranging from orbiters, landers and rovers for extended stays on the lunar surface. As the Space Odyssey is one of humanity's oldest dreams, there has been a series of research works for establishing temporary or permanent settlement on other planetary bodies, including the Moon and Mars. This paper reviews current projects developing extra-terrestrial construction, broadly categorised as: (i) ISRU-based construction materials; (ii) fabrication methods; and (iii) construction processes. It also discusses four categories of challenges to developing an appropriate construction process: (i) lunar simulants; (ii) material fabrication and curing; (iii) microwave-sintering based fabrication; and (iv) fully autonomous and scaled-up construction processes.

Large size space construction for space exploitation

Science.gov (United States)

Kondyurin, Alexey

2016-07-01

Space exploitation is impossible without large space structures. We need to make sufficient large volume of pressurized protecting frames for crew, passengers, space processing equipment, & etc. We have to be unlimited in space. Now the size and mass of space constructions are limited by possibility of a launch vehicle. It limits our future in exploitation of space by humans and in development of space industry. Large-size space construction can be made with using of the curing technology of the fibers-filled composites and a reactionable matrix applied directly in free space. For curing the fabric impregnated with a liquid matrix (prepreg) is prepared in terrestrial conditions and shipped in a container to orbit. In due time the prepreg is unfolded by inflating. After polymerization reaction, the durable construction can be fitted out with air, apparatus and life support systems. Our experimental studies of the curing processes in the simulated free space environment showed that the curing of composite in free space is possible. The large-size space construction can be developed. A project of space station, Moon base, Mars base, mining station, interplanet space ship, telecommunication station, space observatory, space factory, antenna dish, radiation shield, solar sail is proposed and overviewed. The study was supported by Humboldt Foundation, ESA (contract 17083/03/NL/SFe), NASA program of the stratospheric balloons and RFBR grants (05-08-18277, 12-08-00970 and 14-08-96011).

Construction management

CERN Document Server

Pellicer, Eugenio; Teixeira, José C; Moura, Helder P; Catalá, Joaquín

2014-01-01

The management of construction projects is a wide ranging and challenging discipline in an increasingly international industry, facing continual challenges and demands for improvements in safety, in quality and cost control, and in the avoidance of contractual disputes. Construction Management grew out of a Leonardo da Vinci project to develop a series of Common Learning Outcomes for European Managers in Construction. Financed by the European Union, the project aimed to develop a library of basic materials for developing construction management skills for use in a pan-European context. Focused exclusively on the management of the construction phase of a building project from the contractor's point of view, Construction Management covers the complete range of topics of which mastery is required by the construction management professional for the effective delivery of new construction projects. With the continued internationalisation of the construction industry, Construction Management will be required rea...

Persuasive technology for human well-being : Setting the scene

NARCIS (Netherlands)

IJsselsteijn, W.A.; Kort, de Y.A.W.; Midden, C.J.H.; Eggen, J.H.; Hoven, van den E.A.W.H.; Kort, de Y.A.W.; IJsselsteijn, W.A.; Midden, C.J.H.

2006-01-01

In this short paper we aim to give a brief introduction to persuasive technology, especially as it pertains to human well-being. We discuss a number of current research opportunities in areas of healthcare, environmental conservation, and education. We conclude by highlighting what we regard as the

Construction and Deciphering of Human Phosphorylation-Mediated Signaling Transduction Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Menghuan; Li, Hong; He, Ying; Sun, Han; Xia, Li; Wang, Lishun; Sun, Bo; Ma, Liangxiao; Zhang, Guoqing; Li, Jing; Li, Yixue; Xie, Lu

2015-07-02

Protein phosphorylation is the most abundant reversible covalent modification. Human protein kinases participate in almost all biological pathways, and approximately half of the kinases are associated with disease. PhoSigNet was designed to store and display human phosphorylation-mediated signal transduction networks, with additional information related to cancer. It contains 11 976 experimentally validated directed edges and 216 871 phosphorylation sites. Moreover, 3491 differentially expressed proteins in human cancer from dbDEPC, 18 907 human cancer variation sites from CanProVar, and 388 hyperphosphorylation sites from PhosphoSitePlus were collected as annotation information. Compared with other phosphorylation-related databases, PhoSigNet not only takes the kinase-substrate regulatory relationship pairs into account, but also extends regulatory relationships up- and downstream (e.g., from ligand to receptor, from G protein to kinase, and from transcription factor to targets). Furthermore, PhoSigNet allows the user to investigate the impact of phosphorylation modifications on cancer. By using one set of in-house time series phosphoproteomics data, the reconstruction of a conditional and dynamic phosphorylation-mediated signaling network was exemplified. We expect PhoSigNet to be a useful database and analysis platform benefiting both proteomics and cancer studies.

Protection of Human Beings Trafficked for the Purpose of Organ Removal: Recommendations.

Science.gov (United States)

Pascalev, Assya; Van Assche, Kristof; Sándor, Judit; Codreanu, Natalia; Naqvi, Anwar; Gunnarson, Martin; Frunza, Mihaela; Yankov, Jordan

2016-02-01

This report presents a comprehensive set of recommendations for protection of human beings who are trafficked for the purpose of organ removal or are targeted for such trafficking. Developed by an interdisciplinary group of international experts under the auspices of the project Trafficking in Human Beings for the Purpose of Organ Removal (also known as the HOTT project), these recommendations are grounded in the view that an individual who parts with an organ for money within an illegal scheme is ipso facto a victim and that the crime of trafficking in human beings for the purpose of organ removal (THBOR) intersects with the crime of trafficking in organs. Consequently, the protection of victims should be a priority for all actors involved in antitrafficking activities: those combating organ-related crimes, such as health organizations and survivor support services, and those combating trafficking in human beings, such as the criminal justice sectors. Taking into account the special characteristics of THBOR, the authors identify 5 key stakeholders in the protection of human beings trafficked for organ removal or targeted for such trafficking: states, law enforcement agencies and judiciary, nongovernmental organizations working in the areas of human rights and antitrafficking, transplant centers and health professionals involved in transplant medicine, and oversight bodies. For each stakeholder, the authors identify key areas of concern and concrete measures to identify and protect the victims of THBOR. The aim of the recommendations is to contribute to the development of a nonlegislative response to THBOR, to promote the exchange of knowledge and best practices in the area of victim protection, and to facilitate the development of a policy-driven action plan for the protection of THBOR victims in the European Union and worldwide.

The Influence of Trust on Project Management Practice within the Construction Industry

OpenAIRE

Strahorn, Scott; Brewer, Graham; Gajendran, Thayaparan

2017-01-01

Given that any construction project is inherently a human endeavour, it follows that issues of trust are significant in terms of the stakeholder interactions that deliver eventual project outcomes.  Previous research indicates that the relational basis upon which projects are undertaken are intended to influence the likelihood of trusting relationships between stakeholders.  Thus, experiences of trust in a construction project environment are likely to be influenced by the contextual specific...

The Human Being – He is Still ... the Living Resource of the Company

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihaela Dumitrana

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Almost every day, and quite often, we hear about how important the data, the informationor the knowledge at work is. The saying "The one who has information, also has control” is morecurrent than ever; it provides reliability, it awakens passion and determines you to store everything.We almost become machines, systems of these universal keys represented by knowledge. We tend toappreciate this ambulant knowledge, these bearers of knowledge and we lose sight of the essence - thehuman being. But isn’t he, the human being, who brought us to this moment? Isn’t it that all hisneeds, which became more and more refined, stricter, and more precise that caused thistransformation? We believe that this may continue,at least in accounting, far beyond the momentwhen the great economists labelled the human beingas a factor of production that advances towardsthe human being who brings performance then towardsthe possible ... human being as an asset,equity, debt. Perhaps, as in the case of great denials which have become truths, if not absolute, at leastthere will come a day when we are able to compressthe time ... the space ...., a day when we have thenecessary instruments to trade equity, assets and human liabilities... But until then, with yourpermission, we will deal with the human factor thatbrings performance, which is, we will be presentboth in reality and especially in thought, having the cliché of the transcendality of the human beingtowards new horizons of knowledge.

Construction of high-quality Caco-2 three-frame cDNA library and its application to yeast two-hybrid for the human astrovirus protein-protein interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Wei; Li, Xin; Liu, Wen-Hui; Zhao, Jian; Jin, Yi-Ming; Sui, Ting-Ting

2014-09-01

Human epithelial colorectal adenocarcinoma (Caco-2) cells are widely used as an in vitro model of the human small intestinal mucosa. Caco-2 cells are host cells of the human astrovirus (HAstV) and other enteroviruses. High quality cDNA libraries are pertinent resources and critical tools for protein-protein interaction research, but are currently unavailable for Caco-2 cells. To construct a three-open reading frame, full length-expression cDNA library from the Caco-2 cell line for application to HAstV protein-protein interaction screening, total RNA was extracted from Caco-2 cells. The switching mechanism at the 5' end of the RNA transcript technique was used for cDNA synthesis. Double-stranded cDNA was digested by Sfi I and ligated to reconstruct a pGADT7-Sfi I three-frame vector. The ligation mixture was transformed into Escherichia coli HST08 premium electro cells by electroporation to construct the primary cDNA library. The library capacity was 1.0×10(6)clones. Gel electrophoresis results indicated that the fragments ranged from 0.5kb to 4.2kb. Randomly picked clones show that the recombination rate was 100%. The three-frame primary cDNA library plasmid mixture (5×10(5)cfu) was also transformed into E. coli HST08 premium electro cells, and all clones were harvested to amplify the cDNA library. To detect the sufficiency of the cDNA library, HAstV capsid protein as bait was screened and tested against the Caco-2 cDNA library by a yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) system. A total of 20 proteins were found to interact with the capsid protein. These results showed that a high-quality three-frame cDNA library from Caco-2 cells was successfully constructed. This library was efficient for the application to the Y2H system, and could be used for future research. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Managing Multiple Forms of Employment in the Construction Sector

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Raja, Jawwad; D. Green, Stuart; Leiringer, Roine

2013-01-01

different contracting arrangements impinge on attempts to reposition human resource management (HRM) as a strategic function along the business partnering model. Elevating the role of the HR function is found to be difficult to reconcile with the concurrent demands of managing multiple forms of employment......The construction industry is one of the largest and most complex industrial sectors in the UK. The industry's failure to adopt progressive human resource (HR) practices is routinely blamed on the challenges of operating in a fragmented, project-based environment reliant on subcontracting...

A Theory of Human Needs Should Be Human-Centered, Not Animal-Centered: Commentary on Kenrick et al. (2010).

Science.gov (United States)

Kesebir, Selin; Graham, Jesse; Oishi, Shigehiro

2010-05-01

Kenrick et al. (2010, this issue) make an important contribution by presenting a theory of human needs within an evolutionary framework. In our opinion, however, this framework bypasses the human uniqueness that Maslow intended to capture in his theory. We comment on the unique power of culture in shaping human motivation at the phylogenetic, ontogenetic, and proximate levels. We note that culture-gene coevolution may be a more promising lead to a theory of human motivation than a mammalcentric evolutionary perspective. © The Author(s) 2010.

Why computer games can be essential for human flourishing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fröding, B.; Peterson, M.B.

2013-01-01

Traditionally, playing computer games and engaging in other online activities has been seen as a threat to well-being, health and long-term happiness. It is feared that spending many hours per day in front of the screen leads the individual to forsake other, more worthwhile activities, such as human

Heterotic string construction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schellekens, A.N.

1989-01-01

In this paper an elementary introduction to the principles of four-dimensional string construction will be given. Although the emphasis is on lattice constructions, almost all results have further, and often quite straightforward generalizations to other constructions. Since heterotic strings look phenomenologically more promising than type-II theories the authors only consider the former, although everything can easily be generalized to type-II theories. Some additional aspects of lattice constructions are discussed, and an extensive review can be found

Can Plant Viruses Cross the Kingdom Border and Be Pathogenic to Humans?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fanny Balique

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Phytoviruses are highly prevalent in plants worldwide, including vegetables and fruits. Humans, and more generally animals, are exposed daily to these viruses, among which several are extremely stable. It is currently accepted that a strict separation exists between plant and vertebrate viruses regarding their host range and pathogenicity, and plant viruses are believed to infect only plants. Accordingly, plant viruses are not considered to present potential pathogenicity to humans and other vertebrates. Notwithstanding these beliefs, there are many examples where phytoviruses circulate and propagate in insect vectors. Several issues are raised here that question if plant viruses might further cross the kingdom barrier to cause diseases in humans. Indeed, there is close relatedness between some plant and animal viruses, and almost identical gene repertoires. Moreover, plant viruses can be detected in non-human mammals and humans samples, and there are evidence of immune responses to plant viruses in invertebrates, non-human vertebrates and humans, and of the entry of plant viruses or their genomes into non-human mammal cells and bodies after experimental exposure. Overall, the question raised here is unresolved, and several data prompt the additional extensive study of the interactions between phytoviruses and non-human mammals and humans, and the potential of these viruses to cause diseases in humans.

In defense of the dignity of being human.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaylin, W

1984-08-01

The concept of human dignity is examined in terms of the religious belief that man is created in God's image and from the Kantian viewpoint that man's autonomy gives special value to our species. The theory of psychic determinism and the prospect of genetic engineering of humans are seen as attacks on self determination. Five additional attributes that make humans "special" are explored: conceptual thought, the capacity for technology, our range of emotions, "Lamarckian" environmental genetics, and the freedom to change and modify ourselves.

Construction management and economics: the epistemology of a multidisciplinary design science

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Voordijk, Johannes T.

2009-01-01

Research in the field of construction management and economics (CME) can be characterized as a multidisciplinary design science. Results from the sciences and humanities are necessary inputs for this field of research that deals with design, production and operation of the built environment. The

Experimental verification of internal dosimetry calculations: Construction of a heterogeneous phantom based on human organs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lauridsen, B.; Hedemann Jensen, P.

1987-01-01

The basic dosimetric quantity in ICRP-publication no. 30 is the aborbed fraction AF(T<-S). This parameter is the fraction of energy absorbed in a target organ T per emission of radiation from activity deposited in the source organ S. Based upon this fraction it is possible to calculate the Specific Effective Energy SEE(T<-S). From this, the committed effective dose equivalent from an intake of radioactive material can be found, and thus the annual limit of intake for given radionuclides can be determined. A male phantom has been constructed with the aim of measuring the Specific Effective Energy SEE(T<-S) in various target organs. Impressions-of real human organs have been used to produce vacuum forms. Tissue equivalent plastic sheets were sucked into the vacuum forms producing a shell with a shape identical to the original organ. Each organ has been made of two shells. The same procedure has been used for the body. Thin tubes through the organs make it possible to place TL dose meters in a matrix so the dose distribution can be measured. The phantom has been supplied with lungs, liver, kidneys, spleen, stomach, bladder, pancreas, and thyroid gland. To select a suitable body liquid for the phantom, laboratory experiments have been made with different liquids and different radionuclides. In these experiments the change in dose rate due to changes in density and composition of the liquid was determined. Preliminary results of the experiments are presented. (orig.)

Leadership and cultures of Lithuanian and Dutch construction firms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ozorovskaja, Renata; Voordijk, Johannes T.; Wilderom, Celeste P.M.

2007-01-01

This paper addresses both firm cultures and top leadership styles in construction firms in a West and an East-European country, the Netherlands and Lithuania. Human Resource managers filled in valid questionnaires during an interview on the premises of 16 construction firms in each country. The

Editorial: Human well-being from different perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helena Espirito-Santo

2018-02-01

Full Text Available In 2018, the editors of the Portuguese Journal of Behavioral and Social Research (PJBSR continue to favor the publication of original articles of investigation and revision in the areas of social and behavioral sciences. The PJBSR continues to promote thinking, questioning the changes in society, their realities, and rethinking their problems, encouraging a reflection among their readers. The number 1 of the fourth volume of the PJBSR adds four original articles and one review article. Although this issue of the PJBSR addresses different contents, there is evidence of a focus on the study of positive psychological variables and their relation to human well-being, whether it is operationalized as physical or mental health, studied in the context of institutionalization or in the context of the work, evaluated at the level of the subjective perception of well-being or the level of the conception of death with dignity.

Human hybrid hybridoma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tiebout, R.F.; van Boxtel-Oosterhof, F.; Stricker, E.A.M.; Zeijlemaker, W.P.

1987-11-15

Hybrid hybridomas are obtained by fusion of two cells, each producing its own antibody. Several authors have reported the construction of murine hybrid hybridomas with the aim to obtain bispecific monoclonal antibodies. The authors have investigated, in a model system, the feasibility of constructing a human hybrid hybridoma. They fused two monoclonal cell lines: an ouabain-sensitive and azaserine/hypoxanthine-resistant Epstein-Barr virus-transformed human cell line that produces an IgG1kappa antibody directed against tetanus toxiod and an azaserine/hypoxanthine-sensitive and ouabain-resistant human-mouse xenohybrid cell line that produces a human IgG1lambda antibody directed against hepatitis-B surface antigen. Hybrid hybridoma cells were selected in culture medium containing azaserine/hypoxanthine and ouabain. The hybrid nature of the secreted antibodies was analyzed by means of two antigen-specific immunoassay. The results show that it is possible, with the combined use of transformation and xenohybridization techniques, to construct human hybrid hybridomas that produce bispecific antibodies. Bispecific antibodies activity was measured by means of two radioimmunoassays.

[Arms racing between human beings and pathogens: NDM-1 and superbugs].

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Mingwei; Zheng, Beiwen; Gao, George F; Zhu, Baoli

2010-11-01

Throughout human history, pandemic bacterial diseases such as the plague and tuberculosis have posed an enormous threat to human beings. The discovery of antibiotics has provided us with powerful arsenal for the defense against bacterial infections. However, bacteria are acquiring more and more resistance genes to shield off antibiotics through mutation and horizontal gene transfer. Therefore, novel antibiotics must be produced and the arms race between bacterial pathogens and antibiotics is becoming increasingly intense. Recently, researchers have found that plasmids carrying a new metallo-beta-lactamase gene, blaNDM-1, and many other antibiotics resistance genes can easily spread through bacterial populations and confer recipient stains resistance to nearly all of the current antibiotics. It is a threat to the human health and a great challenge for our medical science, which we are facing. We need to find new ways to fight and win this arms racing.

Construction completion report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

This Construction Completion Report documents the major construction projects at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site and related information on contracts, schedules, and other areas which affected construction. This report is not intended to be an exhaustive detailed analysis of construction, but is a general overview and summary of the WIPP construction. 10 refs., 29 figs

Human cultures as niche constructions within the solar system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van de Vliert, Evert

This commentary seeks to refine Kashima’s (2016) timely and topical but too-general call for embedding culture within the planetary ecosystem. My starting point is that cultures are to an underestimated extent ongoing niche constructions within the merry-go-round of the Sun’s radiation, the Earth’s

Construction Professionals Job Performance and Characteristics: A Comparison of Indigenous and Expatriate Construction Companies in Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henry Ndubuisi Onukwube

2011-06-01

Job performance is considered one of the most important constructs in human resources management because it helps to explain the value and utility that each employee adds to the organisation. The professionals in the Nigerian construction companies are not exception to the perceived low job performance rate within the industry. Extant literature points to the fact that job characteristics of employees can account for variance in their job performance rate.This study compares the job performance rate and job characteristics of construction professionals in indigenous and expatriate construction companies with a view to establish a relationship between job performance and job characteristics of construction professionals. A total of 762 questionnaires were collected and used for the study.  Eighty one (81 construction companies, 50 (62% indigenous and 31 (38% expatriate were selected using stratified random sampling technique. Data collected were analysed using mean item score, spearman rank correlation, linear regression analysis where appropriate. Findings of the study revealed that the relationship between job characteristics and job performance of construction professionals in construction companies in Nigeria is positive but low and the correlation coefficient is higher in expatriate construction companies. Based on the above finding, the study recommends that construction companies in Nigeria should endeavour and improve on their current core job dimensions (task significance, skill variety, task identity, autonomy and feedback inherent in various jobs designed within their respective organizations as this will constitute as one of the variants that will improve the job performance rate of construction professionals.

Designing anticancer peptides by constructive machine learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Grisoni, Francesca; Neuhaus, Claudia; Gabernet, Gisela; Müller, Alex; Hiss, Jan; Schneider, Gisbert

2018-04-21

Constructive machine learning enables the automated generation of novel chemical structures without the need for explicit molecular design rules. This study presents the experimental application of such a generative model to design membranolytic anticancer peptides (ACPs) de novo. A recurrent neural network with long short-term memory cells was trained on alpha-helical cationic amphipathic peptide sequences and then fine-tuned with 26 known ACPs. This optimized model was used to generate unique and novel amino acid sequences. Twelve of the peptides were synthesized and tested for their activity on MCF7 human breast adenocarcinoma cells and selectivity against human erythrocytes. Ten of these peptides were active against cancer cells. Six of the active peptides killed MCF7 cancer cells without affecting human erythrocytes with at least threefold selectivity. These results advocate constructive machine learning for the automated design of peptides with desired biological activities. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The human being and the climate, a dangerous relation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bard, E.

2005-11-01

The author is analyzing the global warming problem, the human being liability facing the society debate, in front of scientific, economic and political challenges. He presents an history of the climatology from the antiquity to today and enhances the mechanisms involved in the climatic changes, and their effects on the environment and the earth. (A.L.B.)

Study and application of human reliability analysis for digital human-system interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jia Ming; Liu Yanzi; Zhang Jianbo

2014-01-01

The knowledge of human-orientated abilities and limitations could be used to digital human-system interface (HSI) design by human reliability analysis (HRA) technology. Further, control room system design could achieve the perfect match of man-machine-environment. This research was conducted to establish an integrated HRA method. This method identified HSI potential design flaws which may affect human performance and cause human error. Then a systematic approach was adopted to optimize HSI. It turns out that this method is practical and objective, and effectively improves the safety, reliability and economy of nuclear power plant. This method was applied to CRP1000 projects under construction successfully with great potential. (authors)

Surgery via natural orifices in human beings: yesterday, today, tomorrow.

Science.gov (United States)

Moris, Demetrios N; Bramis, Konstantinos J; Mantonakis, Eleftherios I; Papalampros, Efstathios L; Petrou, Athanasios S; Papalampros, Alexandros E

2012-07-01

We performed an evaluation of models, techniques, and applicability to the clinical setting of natural orifice surgery (mainly natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery [NOTES]) primarily in general surgery procedures. NOTES has attracted much attention recently for its potential to establish a completely alternative approach to the traditional surgical procedures performed entirely through a natural orifice. Beyond the potentially scar-free surgery and abolishment of dermal incision-related complications, the safety and efficacy of this new surgical technology must be evaluated. Studies were identified by searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Entrez PubMed from 2007 to February 2011. Most of the references were identified from 2009 to 2010. There were limitations as far as the population that was evaluated (only human beings, no cadavers or animals) was concerned, but there were no limitations concerning the level of evidence of the studies that were evaluated. The studies that were deemed applicable for our review were published mainly from 2007 to 2010 (see Methods section). All the evaluated studies were conducted only in human beings. We studied the most common referred in the literature orifices such as vaginal, oral, gastric, esophageal, anal, or urethral. The optimal access route and method could not be established because of the different nature of each procedure. We mainly studied procedures in the field of general surgery such as cholecystectomy, intestinal cancers, renal cancers, appendectomy, mediastinoscopy, and peritoneoscopy. All procedures were feasible and most of them had an uneventful postoperative course. A number of technical problems were encountered, especially as far as pure NOTES procedures are concerned, which makes the need of developing new endoscopic instruments, to facilitate each approach, undeniable. NOTES is still in the early stages of development and more robust technologies will be needed to achieve reliable

Causes of Construction Delays in Qatar Construction Projects

OpenAIRE

Murat Gunduz; Mohanad H. A. AbuHassan

2016-01-01

Construction industry mainly focuses on the superstructure, infrastructure, and oil and gas industry. The development of infrastructure projects in developing countries attracted a lot of foreign construction contractors, consultants, suppliers and diversified workforce to interfere and to be evolved in such huge investment. Reducing worksite delays in such projects require knowledge and attention. Therefore, it is important to identify the influencing delay attributes affecting construction ...

PWR plant construction in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tamura, Toshifumi

2002-01-01

The construction methods based on the experiences on the Nuclear Island, which is a critical path in the total construction schedule, have been studied and reconsidered in order to construct by more reliable and economical method. So various improved construction method are being applied and the duration of construction is being reduced continuously. So various improved construction method are being applied and the duration of construction is being reduced continuously. In this paper, the history of construction of twenty-three (23) PWR Plant, the actual construction methods and schedule of Ohi-3/4, to which the many improved methods were applied during their construction, are introduced mainly with the improved points for previously constructed plants. And also the situation of construction method for the next PWR Plant is simply explained

ConStruct: Improved construction of RNA consensus structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steger Gerhard

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Aligning homologous non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs correctly in terms of sequence and structure is an unresolved problem, due to both mathematical complexity and imperfect scoring functions. High quality alignments, however, are a prerequisite for most consensus structure prediction approaches, homology searches, and tools for phylogeny inference. Automatically created ncRNA alignments often need manual corrections, yet this manual refinement is tedious and error-prone. Results We present an extended version of CONSTRUCT, a semi-automatic, graphical tool suitable for creating RNA alignments correct in terms of both consensus sequence and consensus structure. To this purpose CONSTRUCT combines sequence alignment, thermodynamic data and various measures of covariation. One important feature is that the user is guided during the alignment correction step by a consensus dotplot, which displays all thermodynamically optimal base pairs and the corresponding covariation. Once the initial alignment is corrected, optimal and suboptimal secondary structures as well as tertiary interaction can be predicted. We demonstrate CONSTRUCT's ability to guide the user in correcting an initial alignment, and show an example for optimal secondary consensus structure prediction on very hard to align SECIS elements. Moreover we use CONSTRUCT to predict tertiary interactions from sequences of the internal ribosome entry site of CrP-like viruses. In addition we show that alignments specifically designed for benchmarking can be easily be optimized using CONSTRUCT, although they share very little sequence identity. Conclusion CONSTRUCT's graphical interface allows for an easy alignment correction based on and guided by predicted and known structural constraints. It combines several algorithms for prediction of secondary consensus structure and even tertiary interactions. The CONSTRUCT package can be downloaded from the URL listed in the Availability and

Phenomenology of love: The Destructive and Constructive Nature of Love

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alireza Farnam

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Love, this eminent humane experience, has been explored not only by writers and poets, but also by philosophers, psychologists and even experimental scientists. This paper aims to discuss a novel aspect in phenomenology of love, as the concept of destructive and constructive nature of love, which is to the best of our knowledge, presented for the first time. The fundamental idea of this paper was obtained from verses of Hafiz, then polished by theories of Robert Cloninger and several other thinkers in the field of human emotions. Many verses of Hafiz display love experience as a necessary step towards growth, in a way that could be evinced further by the development of the "self-aware psych" introduced by Cloninger. He introduces the "self-aware psych" as one of the three constituting domains of human mind and personality, the intuitive essence bringing integrity for personality. If self-aware psych flourishes by favorable growth and development, it would prepare the ground for creativity, wisdom and well-being, otherwise, personality disorders would be contingent. The destructive and constructive nature of love, towards development of self-awareness and mental growth, is further determined by re-explaining the proposed theory of "ego as a complex" by Carl Jung, the theory of "network of intentionality" by John Searle, and the theory of "emotional processing" by Edna Foa and Michael Kozak in this context.

Virtual reality simulation for construction safety promotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Dong; Lucas, Jason

2015-01-01

Safety is a critical issue for the construction industry. Literature argues that human error contributes to more than half of occupational incidents and could be directly impacted by effective training programs. This paper reviews the current safety training status in the US construction industry. Results from the review evidence the gap between the status and industry expectation on safety. To narrow this gap, this paper demonstrates the development and utilisation of a training program that is based on virtual reality (VR) simulation. The VR-based safety training program can offer a safe working environment where users can effectively rehearse tasks with electrical hazards and ultimately promote their abilities for electrical hazard cognition and intervention. Its visualisation and simulation can also remove the training barriers caused by electricity's features of invisibility and dangerousness.

Quality of life philosophy II: what is a human being?

Science.gov (United States)

Ventegodt, Søren; Andersen, Niels Jørgen; Kromann, Maximilian; Merrick, Joav

2003-12-01

The human being is a complex matter and many believe that just trying to understand life and what it means to be human is a futile undertaking. We believe that we have to try to understand life and get a grip on the many faces of life, because it can be of great value to us to learn to recognize the fundamental principles of how life is lived to the fullest. Learning to recognize the good and evil forces of life helps us to make use of the good ones. To be human is to balance between hundreds of extremes. Sometimes we have to avoid these extremes, but at other times it seems we should pursue them, to better understand life. With our roots in medicine, we believe in the importance of love for better health. The secret of the heart is when reason and feelings meet and we become whole. Where reason is balanced perfectly by feelings and where mind and body come together in perfect unity, a whole new quality emerges, a quality that is neither feeling nor reason, but something deeper and more complete. In this paper, we outline only enough biology to clarify what the fundamental inner conflicts are about. The insight into these conflicts gives us the key to a great deal of the problems of life. To imagine pleasures greater than sensual pleasures seems impossible to most people. What could such a joy possibly be? But somewhere deep in life exists the finest sweetness, the greatest quality in life, the pure joy of being alive that emerges when we are fully present and life is in balance. This deep joy of life is what we call experiencing the meaning of life.

Quality of Life Philosophy II: What is a Human Being?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Søren Ventegodt

2003-01-01

Full Text Available The human being is a complex matter and many believe that just trying to understand life and what it means to be human is a futile undertaking. We believe that we have to try to understand life and get a grip on the many faces of life, because it can be of great value to us to learn to recognize the fundamental principles of how life is lived to the fullest. Learning to recognize the good and evil forces of life helps us to make use of the good ones.To be human is to balance between hundreds of extremes. Sometimes we have to avoid these extremes, but at other times it seems we should pursue them, to better understand life. With our roots in medicine, we believe in the importance of love for better health. The secret of the heart is when reason and feelings meet and we become whole. Where reason is balanced perfectly by feelings and where mind and body come together in perfect unity, a whole new quality emerges, a quality that is neither feeling nor reason, but something deeper and more complete.In this paper, we outline only enough biology to clarify what the fundamental inner conflicts are about. The insight into these conflicts gives us the key to a great deal of the problems of life. To imagine pleasures greater than sensual pleasures seems impossible to most people. What could such a joy possibly be? But somewhere deep in life exists the finest sweetness, the greatest quality in life, the pure joy of being alive that emerges when we are fully present and life is in balance. This deep joy of life is what we call experiencing the meaning of life.

Concept Representation Analysis in the Context of Human-Machine Interactions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Badie, Farshad

2016-01-01

an inductive machine learning paradigm). The results will support figuring out the most significant key points for constructing a conceptual linkage between a human learning theory and a machine learning paradigm. Accordingly, I will construct a conceptual ground for expressing and analysing concepts......This article attempts to make a conceptual and epistemological junction between human learning and machine learning. I will be concerned with specifying and analysing the structure of concepts in the common ground between a concept-based human learning theory and a concept-based machine learning...... in the common ground of human and informatics sciences and in the context of human-machine interplays....

CONSTRUCTION OF A DYNAMIC INPUT-OUTPUT MODEL WITH A HUMAN CAPITAL BLOCK

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Baranov A. O.

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The accumulation of human capital is an important factor of economic growth. It seems to be useful to include «human capital» as a factor of a macroeconomic model, as it helps to take into account the quality differentiation of the workforce. Most of the models usually distinguish labor force by the levels of education, while some of the factors remain unaccounted. Among them are health status and culture development level, which influence productivity level as well as gross product reproduction. Inclusion of the human capital block to the interindustry model can help to make it more reliable for economic development forecasting. The article presents a mathematical description of the extended dynamic input-output model (DIOM with a human capital block. The extended DIOM is based on the Input-Output Model from The KAMIN system (the System of Integrated Analyses of Interindustrial Information developed at the Institute of Economics and Industrial Engineering of the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the Russian Federation and at the Novosibirsk State University. The extended input-output model can be used to analyze and forecast development of Russian economy.

Ecological Environment in Terms of Human Behavior

OpenAIRE

Chen, Xiaogang; Zhou, Dehu; Lin, Hui

2013-01-01

In terms of human behavior, company and government policy, it is proposed that the ecological behavior of human being is the basis of influence on the ecological environment construction in Poyang Lake and measures to ensure the sustainable development of ecological environment in Poyang Lake.

Construction labor productivity during nuclear power plant construction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murray, W.B.

1980-01-01

There is no single satisfactory way to measure productivity in the construction industry. The industry is too varied, too specialized and too dependent upon vast numbers of interrelations between trades, contractors, designers and owners. Hence, no universally reliable indices for measuring construction productivity has been developed. There are problems that are generic to all large union-built nuclear power plants. The actions of any one owner cannot rectify the shortcomings of the construction industry. The generic problems are being identified, and many national organizations are attempting to make the construction industry more productive by recommending various changes

What Is Humane Education and Why It Should Be Included in Modern Education

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, G. M.

2016-01-01

Humane education has existed since at least the 18th century (Unti & DeRosa, 2003). This brief chapter begins with a brief definition of humane education and examples of how it can be incorporated in linguistics, cross cultural studies and foreign language education. Next, the chapter discusses why humane education constitutes an important…

Innovative Organization of Project Activity of Construction Students

Science.gov (United States)

Stolbova, I. D.; Aleksandrova, E. P.; Krainova, M. N.

2017-11-01

The construction industry competitiveness depends on its equipping with information modeling technologies. This requires training and development of human resources. The advantages of BIM-technologies are considered. The requirements for the specialists capable of promoting information modeling technologies in the construction industry are discussed. For a wide application of BIM-technologies, the problem of training personnel with a new thinking must be solved. When preparing graduates of the major “Construction”, it is necessary to introduce innovative educational technologies aimed at building the students’ ability for team work, competences in the field of modern information and communication technologies, as well as design skills basing on spatial modeling. Graphic training is the first discipline of the professional orientation for construction students. In the context of training it is important to create such learning environment that is close to a professional one. The paper provides the examples of practice-oriented assignments based on the project method in the course of students’ independent work.

The human being facing the climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bard, E.

2006-01-01

This book presents the results of physics, biology, environment and chemistry experts discussions concerning the climatic change. What do we know from the passed climates? Can we forecast those of the next ten years? What is the part of the human activities in this evolution? What can we do and what must we do? (A.L.B.)

Introduction to Special Issue: The Human, Human Rights and DNA Identity Tests

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vaisman, Noa

2018-01-01

might these new ways of imagining the subject shape present and future human rights law and practice? The papers examine a variety of scientific technologies—personalized medicine and organ transplant, mitochondrial DNA replacement, and scaffolds and regenerative medicine—and their implications for our......This special issue examines the diverse realities created by the intersection of emerging technologies, new scientific knowledge, and the human being. It engages with two key questions: how is the human being shaped and constructed in new ways through advances in science and technology? and how...... conceptualization of the human subject. Each is then followed by a commentary that both brings to light new dimensions of the original paper and presents a new theoretical take on the topic. Together these papers offer a serious challenge to the vision of the human subject at the root of human rights law. Instead...

Cell and protein compatible 3D bioprinting of mechanically strong constructs for bone repair

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sawkins, M J; Mistry, P; Shakesheff, K M; Yang, J; Brown, B N; Bonassar, L J

2015-01-01

Rapid prototyping of bone tissue engineering constructs often utilizes elevated temperatures, organic solvents and/or UV light for materials processing. These harsh conditions may prevent the incorporation of cells and therapeutic proteins in the fabrication processes. Here we developed a method for using bioprinting to produce constructs from a thermoresponsive microparticulate material based on poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) at ambient conditions. These constructs could be engineered with yield stresses of up to 1.22 MPa and Young’s moduli of up to 57.3 MPa which are within the range of properties of human cancellous bone. Further study showed that protein-releasing microspheres could be incorporated into the bioprinted constructs. The release of the model protein lysozyme from bioprinted constructs was sustainted for a period of 15 days and a high degree of protein activity could be measured up to day 9. This work suggests that bioprinting is a viable route to the production of mechanically strong constructs for bone repair under mild conditions which allow the inclusion of viable cells and active proteins. (paper)

Sustainable construction: construction and demolition waste reconsidered.

Science.gov (United States)

del Río Merino, Mercedes; Izquierdo Gracia, Pilar; Weis Azevedo, Isabel Salto

2010-02-01

Construction activity in Europe has increased substantially in the past decade. Likewise, there has also been a commensurate rise in the generation of construction and demolition waste (C&DW). This, together with the fact that in many European countries the rate of recycling and reuse of C&DW is still quite low has engendered a serious environmental problem and a motivation to develop strategies and management plans to solve it. Due to its composition, there is a significant potential to reuse and/or recycle C&DW, and thereby, contribute to improving the sustainability of construction and development, but practical procedures are not yet widely known or practiced in the construction industry. This article (a) summarizes the different applications that are presently practiced to optimize the recovery and/or application of C&DW for reuse, and (b) proposes various measures and strategies to improve the processing of this waste. The authors suggest that to enhance environmental effectiveness, a conscious and comprehensive C&DW management plan should be implemented in each jurisdiction. More precisely, this study presents a holistic approach towards C&DW management, through which environmental benefits can be achieved through the application of new construction methods that can contribute to sustainable growth.

Socioecological Aspects of High-rise Construction

Science.gov (United States)

Eichner, Michael; Ivanova, Zinaida

2018-03-01

In this article, the authors consider the socioecological problems that arise in the construction and operation of high-rise buildings. They study different points of view on high-rise construction and note that the approaches to this problem are very different. They also analyse projects of modern architects and which attempts are made to overcome negative impacts on nature and mankind. The article contains materials of sociological research, confirming the ambivalent attitude of urban population to high-rise buildings. In addition, one of the author's sociological survey reveals the level of environmental preparedness of the university students, studying in the field of "Construction of unique buildings and structures", raising the question of how future specialists are ready to take into account socioecological problems. Conclusion of the authors: the construction of high-rise buildings is associated with huge social and environmental risks, negative impact on the biosphere and human health. This requires deepened skills about sustainable design methods and environmental friendly construction technologies of future specialists. Professor M. Eichner presents in the article his case study project results on implementation of holistic eco-sustainable construction principles for mixed-use high-rise building in the metropolis of Cairo.

Earth simulator project. Seeking a guide line for the symbiosis between the earth (Gaia) and human beings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tani, Keiji; Yokokawa, Mitsuo

2000-01-01

In 1997, a project was started to promote the foreseeing study on the changes in global environment by Science and Technology Agency and three studies; a basic process study, observations and computer simulation have started by the project. This report outlines the development of e arth simulator , an ultra high-speed computer as a part of the project. Global warming due to human activities has been progressing on the earth. It is assumed that the mean temperature increase and sea level rising would reach 2degC and 50 cm, respectively before 2100 if the present environmental states still continue in future. There are two inevitable problems in the global environment simulation on global scale; mesh size of simulator and errors in observation data as the initial values for simulation. To accurately simulate the behaviors of thundercloud several kilometers in size, which is closely related to weather disaster, it is necessary to raise the analytic resolution by decreasing the mesh size from 20-30 km to about 1 km, resulting in several hundred times increase of the number of mesh. When compared with CRAY C90, which is the representative computer in the climate and weather field, it is thought necessary to increase the capacities of memory and calculation speed by more than one thousand times. Therefore, it seems necessary to construct a new computer including a parallel type calculator because a computer of effective speed, 5TFLOPS can not be constructed with a single processor. (M.N.)

Protection of Human Beings Trafficked for the Purpose of Organ Removal: Recommendations

OpenAIRE

Pascalev, Assya; Van Assche, Kristof; S?ndor, Judit; Codreanu, Natalia; Naqvi, Anwar; Gunnarson, Martin; Frunza, Mihaela; Yankov, Jordan

2016-01-01

Abstract This report presents a comprehensive set of recommendations for protection of human beings who are trafficked for the purpose of organ removal or are targeted for such trafficking. Developed by an interdisciplinary group of international experts under the auspices of the project Trafficking in Human Beings for the Purpose of Organ Removal (also known as the HOTT project), these recommendations are grounded in the view that an individual who parts with an organ for money within an ill...

Is It Good to Be Gifted? The Social Construction of the Gifted Child

Science.gov (United States)

O'Connor, Jane

2012-01-01

There is growing evidence that children labelled as academically gifted are subjected to negative attitudes from others and that this impacts on their self-esteem and motivation to succeed. Through an analysis of British newspaper stories about gifted children, this article explores the socially constructed nature of the concept of the "gifted…

Constructs of the Work/Life Interface and Their Importance to HRD

Science.gov (United States)

McMillan, Heather S.; Morris, Michael Lane; Atchley, E. Kate

2008-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to identify construct definitions and measurement tools for the work/life interface concepts: balance, conflict and facilitation. An understanding of these concepts is critical to HRD (human resource development) professionals because interventions designed to counter work/life interface issues can not be created, and…

ALGORITHMIC CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULES IN CONDITIONS OF TIMING CONSTRAINTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexey S. Dobrynin

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Tasks of time-schedule construction (JSSP in various fields of human activities have an important theoretical and practical significance. The main feature of these tasks is a timing requirement, describing allowed planning time periods and periods of downtime. This article describes implementation variations of the work scheduling algorithm under timing requirements for the tasks of industrial time-schedules construction, and service activities.

Why the moratorium on human-animal chimera research should not be lifted.

Science.gov (United States)

Moy, Alan

2017-08-01

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced its plans to lift its moratorium on funding research that involves injecting human embryonic stem cells into animal embryos, which would allow for the creation of part-human and part-animal organisms known as chimeras. The NIH allowed only one month to receive public comments in the midst of a presidential election campaign. Lifting the moratorium means that, for the first time, the federal government will begin spending taxpayer dollars on the creation and manipulation of new organisms that would blur the line between humans and animals. Interestingly, this government effort is creating an uncommon coalition between pro-life groups and animal rights activists that oppose this medical research on ethical grounds; the former seeking to ensure the welfare of human embryos and the latter seeking to protect the well-being of animals. Unlike the issue of abortion, this research is complex. Yet, it is important that the pro-life laity and clergy be adequately informed on some of the basic science and ethics that surround this research. To fully understand why this research is unethical and why the NIH is pursuing this particular research, it is important to understand the ethical tenets governing human-subject research and why secular scientists are pursuing this scientific field.

The Earth Sciences, Human Well-Being, and the Reduction of Global Poverty

Science.gov (United States)

Mutter, John C.

2005-04-01

Poverty is not solely a social or political matter, nor is it caused simply by population pressures as Thomas Malthus postulated in 1798. A new understanding of poverty is emerging in which natural and environmental drivers, together with social, political, and demographic causes, underpin livelihoods. The Earth sciences, therefore, play a critical role in identifying the deep causes of human suffering and in identifying solutions. The State of the Planet: Why Are So Many So Poor? For far too many, the state of human well-being is bleak. Around one in six human beings-1 billion people-live in extreme poverty, struggling to survive on less than $1 a day; another one sixth of humanity ekes out existence on $2 per day (U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Report, 2004; http://hdr.undp.org/2004/). The extreme poor lack all normal attributes of a decent, dignified life: adequate food, housing, sanitation, health care, education, and employment. Some 800 million people lack sufficient nourishment almost every day. It stunts their mental and physical development and shortens their lives, making them susceptible to common illnesses that attack their hunger-weakened bodies. Poor nutrition in mothers and infants is the leading cause of reduced disability-adjusted life years in poor countries [ Economist, 2004].

The Ecology and Evolution of Constructed Ecosystems as Green Infrastructure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeremy eLundholm

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Green infrastructure consists of ecosystems that provide valuable services to urban areas. Constructed ecosystems, including green roofs, bioretention systems, constructed wetlands and bioreactors are artificial, custom-built components of green infrastructure that are becoming more common in cities. Small size, strong spatial boundaries, ecological novelty and the role of human design characterize all constructed ecosystems, influencing their functions and interactions with other urban ecosystems. Here I outline the relevance of ecology and evolution in understanding the functioning of constructed ecosystems. In turn, a research focus on the distinctive aspects of constructed ecosystems can contribute to fundamental science.

Radiation hybrid mapping of human chromosome 18

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Francke, U.; Moon, A.J.; Chang, E.; Foellmer, B.; Strauss, B.; Haschke, A.; Chihlin Hsieh; Geigl, E.M.; Welch, S.

1990-01-01

The authors have generated a Chinese hamster V79/380-6 HPRT minus x human leukocyte hybrid cell line (18/V79) with chromosome 18 as the only human chromosome that is retained at high frequency without specific selection. Hybrid cells were selected in HAT medium, and 164 individual colonies were isolated. Of 110 colonies screened for human DNA by PCR amplification using a primer specific for human Alu repeats 67 (61%) were positive. These were expanded in culture for large-scale DNA preparations. Retesting expanded clones by PCR with Alu and LINE primers has revealed unique patterns of amplification products. In situ hybridization of biotin labelled total human DNA to metaphase spreads from various hybrids revealed the presence of one or more human DNA fragments integrated in hamster chromosomes. The authors have generated a resource that should allow the construction of a radiation map, to be compared with the YAC contig map also under construction in their laboratory

Construction of cardiac anthropomorphic phantom for simulation of radiological exams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bandeira, C.K.; Vieira Neto, H.; Vieira, M.P.M.M.

2017-01-01

Phantoms are simulating objects of structures of the human body and can be applied in the quality control and calibration of radiological equipment. The aim of the work is the development of a cardiac anthropomorphic phantom to assist in the elaboration of protocols of dynamic studies that demonstrate the blood circulation inside the cardiac chambers. For the construction of the phantom was used latex, applied in layers on an anatomical model of heart, having been constructed the cardiac chambers and atrioventricular valves. Cardiac chambers were connected to the cannulas for fluid injection and simulation of the circulatory system. The constructed phantom presents anthropomorphic characteristics and allows the circulation of the fluid without reflux, but the thickness of the catheters used does not yet allow flows of greater order of magnitude. This phantom has the potential to be used in the dynamic simulation of cardiac exams, contributing to the elaboration and adequacy of computed tomography protocols

Construction of a novel lentiviral vector carrying human B-domain ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

USER

2010-03-29

Mar 29, 2010 ... Construction of the lentiviral expression vector. Both self-inactivating (SIN) ..... activated partial thromboplastin time. Figure 4. Expression of ... 1 entry to an endocytic pathway and suppresses both the requirement for Nef and ...

Being human: The role of pluripotent stem cells in regenerative medicine and humanizing Alzheimer's disease models.

Science.gov (United States)

Sproul, Andrew A

2015-01-01

Human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) have the capacity to revolutionize medicine by allowing the generation of functional cell types such as neurons for cell replacement therapy. However, the more immediate impact of PSCs on treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) will be through improved human AD model systems for mechanistic studies and therapeutic screening. This review will first briefly discuss different types of PSCs and genome-editing techniques that can be used to modify PSCs for disease modeling or for personalized medicine. This will be followed by a more in depth analysis of current AD iPSC models and a discussion of the need for more complex multicellular models, including cell types such as microglia. It will finish with a discussion on current clinical trials using PSC-derived cells and the long-term potential of such strategies for treating AD. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Trafficking in human beings as a specific form of women's migration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mrvić-Petrović Nataša

2002-01-01

Full Text Available The author is analyzing trafficking in human beings as a specific form of women's (illegal migration. The author is presenting detailed analysis of the international standards and recent activities of different international organizations (UN, Council of Europe, European Community, OSCE, concerning prevention of trafficking in human beings, regulation of foreign migrants' status and protection of victims of trafficking. Starting from the analysis of international documents and national legislations dealing with migration and prostitution, the author is proposing changes of existing domestic laws concerning movement and residence of foreigners. The aim of such changes is to harmonize our legislation with international standards and obligations accepted by signing the Palermo Convention.

Construction of functional linkage gene networks by data integration.

Science.gov (United States)

Linghu, Bolan; Franzosa, Eric A; Xia, Yu

2013-01-01

Networks of functional associations between genes have recently been successfully used for gene function and disease-related research. A typical approach for constructing such functional linkage gene networks (FLNs) is based on the integration of diverse high-throughput functional genomics datasets. Data integration is a nontrivial task due to the heterogeneous nature of the different data sources and their variable accuracy and completeness. The presence of correlations between data sources also adds another layer of complexity to the integration process. In this chapter we discuss an approach for constructing a human FLN from data integration and a subsequent application of the FLN to novel disease gene discovery. Similar approaches can be applied to nonhuman species and other discovery tasks.

Here, there be dragons: charting autophagy-related alterations in human tumors.

Science.gov (United States)

Lebovitz, Chandra B; Bortnik, Svetlana B; Gorski, Sharon M

2012-03-01

Macroautophagy (or autophagy) is a catabolic cellular process that is both homeostatic and stress adaptive. Normal cells rely on basal levels of autophagy to maintain cellular integrity (via turnover of long-lived proteins and damaged organelles) and increased levels of autophagy to buoy cell survival during various metabolic stresses (via nutrient and energy provision through lysosomal degradation of cytoplasmic components). Autophagy can function in both tumor suppression and tumor progression, and is under investigation in clinical trials as a novel target for anticancer therapy. However, its role in cancer pathogenesis has yet to be fully explored. In particular, it remains unknown whether in vitro observations will be applicable to human cancer patients. Another outstanding question is whether there exists tumor-specific selection for alterations in autophagy function. In this review, we survey reported mutations in autophagy genes and key autophagy regulators identified in human tumor samples and summarize the literature regarding expression levels of autophagy genes and proteins in various cancer tissues. Although it is too early to draw inferences from this collection of in vivo studies of autophagy-related alterations in human cancers, their results highlight the challenges that must be overcome before we can accurately assess the scope of autophagy's predicted role in tumorigenesis.

The FACIT-Sp spiritual well-being scale: an investigation of the dimensionality, reliability and construct validity in a cognitively intact nursing home population.

Science.gov (United States)

Haugan, Gørill

2015-03-01

Spiritual well-being has been found to be a strong individual predictor of overall nursing home satisfaction and a fundamental dimension of global as well as health-related quality-in-life among nursing home patients. Therefore, access to a valid and reliable measure of spiritual well-being among nursing home patients is highly warranted. The aim of this study was to investigate the dimensionality, reliability and construct validity of the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy Spiritual Wellbeing scale in a cognitively intact nursing home population. A cross-sectional design was applied, selecting two counties in central Norway from which 20 municipalities representing 44 different nursing homes took part in this study. Long-term care was defined as 24-hour care with duration of 6 months or longer. Participants were 202 cognitively intact long-term nursing home patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria. Approval by all regulatory institutions dealing with research issues in Norway and the Management Unit at the 44 nursing homes was obtained. Explorative and confirmative factor analyses as well as correlation with selected construct were used. Though three items loaded very low (λ = 0.22, 0.26, 0.32) indicating low reliability, the three-factor model for the FACIT-Sp spiritual well-being scale provided an acceptable fit (χ(2) = 101.15 (df = 50), p-value <0.001, RMSEA = 0.075 p = 0.030, NFI = 0.90, GFI = 0.91, AGFI = 0.85) for older nursing home patients, demonstrating acceptable measurement reliability. Construct validity was supported by significant correlations in the hypothesised direction with the selected constructs. The three-factor model is an improvement over the original two-factor construct, based on these nursing home data. The measure yielded significantly factor loadings, good composite reliability and construct validity. © 2014 Nordic College of Caring Science.

SCIENCE AND HUMAN KNOWLEDGE AS MODEL CONSTRUCTION A CIÊNCIA E O CONHECIMENTO HUMANO COMO CONSTRUÇÃO DE MODELOS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luiz Henrique de Araújo Dutra

2008-09-01

Full Text Available In this paper, I try to argue that both science, as a specific kind of knowledge, and human knowledge in general are activities of constructing models. In the first part, I present my conception according to which scientific models are abstract entities, and that scientific theories may be interpreted as classes of models as abstract replicas of real settings, in which certain laws apply. In the second part, I try to extend that same conception to ordinary human knowledge, particularly to the case of the cognitive activity of classifying objects of experience.Neste artigo, vamos procurar argumentar que tanto a ciência, enquanto um tipo específico de conhecimento, quanto o conhecimento humano em geral são atividades de construção de modelos. Na primeira parte, apresentamos nossa concepção segundo a qual os modelos científicos são entidades abstratas, e as teorias científicas podem ser interpretadas como classes de modelos enquanto réplicas abstratas de situações reais, nas quais valem determinadas leis. Na segunda parte, procuramos estender essa mesma concepção ao conhecimento humano ordinário, em particular, ao caso da atividade cognitiva de classificar os objetos da experiência.

Expected characteristics of future reactors for human beings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taketani, Kiyoaki

1992-01-01

Based on four reactor safety components (namely: a) God-given safety, b) Equipment safety, c) Quick-response safety, d) Containing safety), categorical assessment is made of various nuclear reactor concepts ranging from present existing reactors to future reactors based on innovative reactor design. In pursuit of nuclear reactor safety, ultimate characteristics of the ideal nuclear reactor are expected to coincide with those of an inherently safe reactor. A definition of 'inherently safe' has already been proposed by a committee in Japan. As a realistic and existable reactor, which is as close to the ideal reactor, a future reactor which is almost the same as a global reactor, is proposed. This global reactor must be constructable anywhere on earth and must permit easy operation and maintenance by anyone. It is also discussed to identify what behavior is expected of the global reactor under various conditions. At the same time, this future reactor which includes the global reactor, should solve a) the nuclear fuel resource issue, b) efficient utilization of fission energy and c) environmental issues as the greenhouse effect. (author). 7 refs., 2 figs

How engineering facilitates construction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bailey, D.T.

1976-01-01

During a recent survey, construction personnel at jobsites were asked, ''what are the ten most unwanted construction problems.'' One reoccurring answer was design/construction incompatibility. In fact, many designs were impractical from a construction point of view. The reasons for this problem can be identified: Once construction begins, engineering is under intense pressure to issue new drawings to allow work to progress according to schedule. Other reasons may be the relative inexperience of the design personnel in construction, changes in design criteria and delays in receipt of supplier or client information. A description is presented of ways to solve this problem by obtaining construction expertise and input into the various phases and products of the engineering work

Construction of a cDNA library from human retinal pigment epithelial cells challenged with rod outer segments.

Science.gov (United States)

Cavaney, D M; Rakoczy, P E; Constable, I J

1995-05-01

To study genes expressed by retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells during phagocytosis and digestion of rod outer segments (ROS), a complementary (c)DNA library was produced using an in-vitro model. The cDNA library can be used to study molecular changes which contribute to the development of diseases due to a failure in outer segment phagocytosis and digestion by RPE cells. Here we demonstrate a way to study genes and their functions using a molecular biological approach and describing the first step involved in this process, the construction of a cDNA library. Human RPE cells obtained from the eyes of a seven-year-old donor were cultured and challenged with bovine ROS. The culture was harvested and total RNA was extracted. Complementary DNA was transcribed from the messenger (m)RNA and was directionally cloned into the LambdaGEM-4 bacteriophage vector successfully. Some clones were picked and the DNA extracted, to determine the size of the inserts as a measure of the quality of the library. Molecular biology and cell culture are important tools to be used in eye research, especially in areas where tissue is limiting and animal models are not available. We now have a ROS challenged RPE cDNA library which will be used to identify genes responsible for degrading phagocytosed debris within the retinal pigment epithelium.

Quantum Physics and Human Language

OpenAIRE

Hartle, James B.

2006-01-01

Human languages employ constructions that tacitly assume specific properties of the limited range of phenomena they evolved to describe. These assumed properties are true features of that limited context, but may not be general or precise properties of all the physical situations allowed by fundamental physics. In brief, human languages contain `excess baggage' that must be qualified, discarded, or otherwise reformed to give a clear account in the context of fundamental physics of even the ev...

Physically unclonable functions constructions, properties and applications

CERN Document Server

Maes, Roel

2013-01-01

Physically unclonable functions (PUFs) are innovative physical security primitives that produce unclonable and inherent instance-specific measurements of physical objects; in many ways they are the inanimate equivalent of biometrics for human beings. Since they are able to securely generate and store secrets, they allow us to bootstrap the physical implementation of an information security system. In this book the author discusses PUFs in all their facets: the multitude of their physical constructions, the algorithmic and physical properties which describe them, and the techniques required to

Probabilistic liver atlas construction.

Science.gov (United States)

Dura, Esther; Domingo, Juan; Ayala, Guillermo; Marti-Bonmati, Luis; Goceri, E

2017-01-13

Anatomical atlases are 3D volumes or shapes representing an organ or structure of the human body. They contain either the prototypical shape of the object of interest together with other shapes representing its statistical variations (statistical atlas) or a probability map of belonging to the object (probabilistic atlas). Probabilistic atlases are mostly built with simple estimations only involving the data at each spatial location. A new method for probabilistic atlas construction that uses a generalized linear model is proposed. This method aims to improve the estimation of the probability to be covered by the liver. Furthermore, all methods to build an atlas involve previous coregistration of the sample of shapes available. The influence of the geometrical transformation adopted for registration in the quality of the final atlas has not been sufficiently investigated. The ability of an atlas to adapt to a new case is one of the most important quality criteria that should be taken into account. The presented experiments show that some methods for atlas construction are severely affected by the previous coregistration step. We show the good performance of the new approach. Furthermore, results suggest that extremely flexible registration methods are not always beneficial, since they can reduce the variability of the atlas and hence its ability to give sensible values of probability when used as an aid in segmentation of new cases.

Human territoriality: an examination of a construct

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas D. Wickham; Harry C. Zinn

2001-01-01

Human territory research has generally been focused in a variety of settings including urban neighborhoods, libraries, mall parking lots, and areas around phones in public places. It refers to an intertwined system of emotions, beliefs, and behaviors that are place specific, socially and culturally influenced, and are linked to person-place transactions dealing with...

Scenario evolution: Interaction between event tree construction and numerical analyses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barr, G.E.; Barnard, R.W.; Dockery, H.A.; Dunn, E.; MacIntyre, A.T.

1991-01-01

Construction of well-posed scenarios for the range of conditions possible at any proposed repository site is a critical first step to assessing total system performance. Even tree construction is the method that is being used to develop potential failure scenarios for the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. An event tree begins with an initial event or condition. Subsequent events are listed in a sequence, leading eventually to release of radionuclides to the accessible environment. Ensuring the validity of the scenarios requires iteration between problems constructed using scenarios contained in the event tree sequence, experimental results, and numerical analyses. Details not adequately captured within the tree initially may become more apparent as a result of analyses. To illustrate this process, we discuss the iterations used to develop numerical analyses for PACE-90 using basaltic igneous activity and human-intrusion event trees

Reshaping Human Antibodies: Grafting an Antilysozyme Activity

Science.gov (United States)

Verhoeyen, Martine; Milstein, Cesar; Winter, Greg

1988-03-01

The production of therapeutic human monoclonal antibodies by hybridoma technology has proved difficult, and this has prompted the ``humanizing'' of mouse monoclonal antibodies by recombinant DNA techniques. It was shown previously that the binding site for a small hapten could be grafted from the heavy-chain variable domain of a mouse antibody to that of a human myeloma protein by transplanting the hypervariable loops. It is now shown that a large binding site for a protein antigen (lysozyme) can also be transplanted from mouse to human heavy chain. The success of such constructions may be facilitated by an induced-fit mechanism.

NASA Lunar Mining and Construction Activities and Plans

Science.gov (United States)

Sanders, Gerald B.; Larson, William E.; Sacksteder, Kurt R.

2009-01-01

the need to implement efforts that are sustainable and affordable. One area NASA is developing that can significantly change how systems required for sustained human presence are designed and integrated, as well as potentially break our reliance on Earth supplied logistics, is In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU). ISRU, also known living off the land, involves the extraction and processing of local resources into useful products. In particular, the ability to make propellants, life support consumables, fuel cell reagents, and radiation shielding can significantly reduce the cost, mass, and risk of sustained human activities beyond Earth. Also, the ability to modify the lunar landscape for safer landing, transfer of payloads from the lander an outpost, dust generation mitigation, and infrastructure placement and buildup are also extremely important for long-term lunar operations. While extra-terrestrial excavation, material handling and processing, and site preparation and construction may be new to NASA and other space agencies, there is extensive terrestrial hardware and commercial experience that can be leveraged. This paper will provide an overview of current NASA activities in lunar ISRU mining and construction and how terrestrial experience in these areas are important to achieving the goal of affordable and sustainable human exploration.

Radioimmunoassay of erythropoietin: circulating levels in normal and polycythemic human beings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia, J.F.; Ebbe, S.N.; Hollander, L.; Cutting, H.O.; Miller, M.E.; Cronkite, E.P.

1982-01-01

Techniques are described in detail for the RIA of human Ep in unextracted plasma or serum. With 100 μl of sample, the assay is sensitive at an Ep concentration of approximately 4 mU/ml, and when required, the sensitivity can be increased to 0.4 mU/ml, a range considerably less than the concentration observed in normal human beings. This is approximately 100 times more sensitive than existing in vivo bioassays for this hormone. Studies concerned with the validation of the Ep RIA show a high degree of correlation with the polycythemic mouse bioassay. Dilutions of a variety of human serum samples show a parallel relationship with the standard reference preparation for Ep. Validation of the RIA is further confirmed by observations of appropriate increases or decreases of circulating Ep levels in physiological and clinical conditions known to be associated with stimulation or suppression of Ep secretion. Significantly different mean serum concentrations of 17.2 mU/ml for normal male subjects and 18.8 mU/ml for normal female subjects were observed. Mean plasma Ep concentrations in patients with polycythemia vera are significantly decreased, and those of patients with secondary polycythemia are significantly increased as compared to plasma levels in normal subjects. These results demonstrate an initial practical value of the Ep RA in the hematology clinic, which will most certainly be expanded with its more extensive use

Socioecological Aspects of High-rise Construction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eichner Michael

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In this article, the authors consider the socioecological problems that arise in the construction and operation of high-rise buildings. They study different points of view on high-rise construction and note that the approaches to this problem are very different. They also analyse projects of modern architects and which attempts are made to overcome negative impacts on nature and mankind. The article contains materials of sociological research, confirming the ambivalent attitude of urban population to high-rise buildings. In addition, one of the author’s sociological survey reveals the level of environmental preparedness of the university students, studying in the field of "Construction of unique buildings and structures", raising the question of how future specialists are ready to take into account socioecological problems. Conclusion of the authors: the construction of high-rise buildings is associated with huge social and environmental risks, negative impact on the biosphere and human health. This requires deepened skills about sustainable design methods and environmental friendly construction technologies of future specialists. Professor M. Eichner presents in the article his case study project results on implementation of holistic eco-sustainable construction principles for mixed-use high-rise building in the metropolis of Cairo.

Occupational safety and health management in the construction industry: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaafar, Mohd Hafiidz; Arifin, Kadir; Aiyub, Kadaruddin; Razman, Muhammad Rizal; Ishak, Muhammad Izzuddin Syakir; Samsurijan, Mohamad Shaharudin

2017-09-11

The construction industry plays a significant role in contributing to the economy and development globally. During the process of construction, various hazards coupled with the unique nature of the industry contribute to high fatality rates. This review refers to previous published studies and related Malaysian legislation documents. Four main elements consisting of human, worksite, management and external elements which cause occupational accidents and illnesses were identified. External and management elements are the underlying causes contributing to occupational safety and health (OSH), while human and worksite elements are more apparent causes of occupational accidents and illnesses. An effective OSH management approach is required to contain all hazards at construction sites. An approach to OSH management constructed by elements of policy, process, personnel and incentive developed in previous work is explored. Changes to the sub-elements according to previous studies and the related Malaysian legislation are also covered in this review.

Potential and Benefits of Building Information Modeling (BIM During Pre-Construction, Construction and Post Construction Stage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aw Nien Wei

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The construction industry is the main economic support for all countries around the world in which continually adapting to meet competitive challenges around the global market. Nevertheless, the construction project is becoming much more complex and difficult to manage. This is because the construction project involves a large number of stakeholder, for example, the consultant companies, architects, engineers, building surveyors and quantity surveyors. The technology currently used in the construction industry is the AutoCAD (Automatic computeraided design. AutoCAD is a commercial software application for 2D and 3D computer-aided design (CAD and drafting develop by Autodesk. Generally, all the drawing design from Autocad will be exchanged among the stakeholder in the form of paper. Information exchanged among them mostly involves a lot of documents and drawings. This practice creates errors because of documents and drawings are mostly in a paper-based format that is not properly managed which results in miscommunication among them. Having wrong information in the construction process could hinder the productivity of projects because in a construction project information is one of the important construction materials. Building Information Modeling (BIM is one of the newly software in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC industries to ensure all parties receive the right information. BIM technology is also an intelligent model of a building constructed digitally in the way of 3D. The software will generate model containing the information needed to support the construction, fabrication, and procurement activities that needed to realize the building. This paper will discuss on potential and benefits of BIM during pre-construction stage, construction stage and during post construction stage

The Stirling engine. Simply explained, easily constructed. 9. rev. and enl. ed.; Der Stirlingmotor. Einfach erklaert und leicht gebaut

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Viebach, Dieter

2010-07-01

Subsequently to a easily comprehensively description of the function and characteristics of Stirling engines, the author of the book under consideration describes the construction of a model Stirling engine on the basis of clear construction drawings. A delicacy for experienced modelers: The 'amazing model', a miniature Stirling engine consisting of beverage cans, has been running with the warmth of the human hand. Even in this technically demanding model, the construction will be described accurately by detailed construction drawings.

23 CFR 660.113 - Construction.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 23 Highways 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Construction. 660.113 Section 660.113 Highways FEDERAL... (DIRECT FEDERAL) Forest Highways § 660.113 Construction. (a) No construction shall be undertaken on any FH... construction of FHs will be performed by the contract method, unless construction by the FHWA, the FS, or a...

Analysis of the dative in impersonal constructions: the concepts of subject and semi-subject in ancient Greek

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luz Conti

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Impersonal constructions holding a complement both in dative and genitive are attested in Greek with a few verbs, which share the property of expressing the interests or the needs of human beings. These constructions, which occur in several ancient Indo- European languages, are documented in the post- Homeric period in the case of Greek. In the opposite, personal constructions, which appear more recently in other languages, are already documented in Greek since Homer’s times. The dative in the impersonal construction refers to human entities, codes the Experiencer and it is also the topic. These properties, which are close to those of the prototypical subject, seem to allow the dative to show some subject-like syntactic behaviour. In fact, we will argue that the dative in the impersonal construction behaves as a semi-subject, i. e. a verbal complement which, regardless of its coding, does have a set of properties that are typically associated with the subject in Greek. As well as the complement in dative, the complement in genitive in the impersonal construction exhibits a syntactic behaviour similar to the subject. However, the genitive does not follow the same patterns the dative does in the impersonal construction.

Computer-oriented approach to fault-tree construction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salem, S.L.; Apostolakis, G.E.; Okrent, D.

1976-11-01

A methodology for systematically constructing fault trees for general complex systems is developed and applied, via the Computer Automated Tree (CAT) program, to several systems. A means of representing component behavior by decision tables is presented. The method developed allows the modeling of components with various combinations of electrical, fluid and mechanical inputs and outputs. Each component can have multiple internal failure mechanisms which combine with the states of the inputs to produce the appropriate output states. The generality of this approach allows not only the modeling of hardware, but human actions and interactions as well. A procedure for constructing and editing fault trees, either manually or by computer, is described. The techniques employed result in a complete fault tree, in standard form, suitable for analysis by current computer codes. Methods of describing the system, defining boundary conditions and specifying complex TOP events are developed in order to set up the initial configuration for which the fault tree is to be constructed. The approach used allows rapid modifications of the decision tables and systems to facilitate the analysis and comparison of various refinements and changes in the system configuration and component modeling

Leveraging on Information Technology to Teach Construction Law to Built Environment Students: A Knowledge-Based System (KBS Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Faisal Manzoor Arain

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Construction law is a vital component of the body of knowledge that is needed by construction professionals in order to successfully operate in the commercial world of construction. Construction law plays an important role in shaping building projects. Construction projects are complex because they involve many human and non-human factors and variables. Teaching construction law is therefore a complex issue with several dimensions. In recent years, Information Technology (IT has become strongly established as a supporting tool for many professions, including teachers. If faculty members have a knowledge base established on similar past projects, it would assist the faculty members to present case studies and contractually based scenarios to students. This paper proposes potential utilisation of a Knowledge-based System (KBS for teaching construction law to built environment students. The KBS is primarily designed for building professionals to learn from similar past projects. The KBS is able to assist professionals by providing accurate and timelyinformation for decision making and a user-friendly tool for analysing and selecting the suggested controls for variations in educational buildings. It is recommended that the wealth of knowledge available in the KBS can be very helpful in teaching construction law to built environment students. The system presents real case studies and scenarios to students to allow them to analyse and learn construction law. The KBS could be useful to students as a general research tool because the students could populate it with their own data and use it with the reported educational projects. With further generic modifications, the KBS will also be useful for built environment students to learn about project management of building projects; thus, it will raise the overall level of professional understanding, and eventually productivity, in the construction industry.

Human well-being and land cover types in the southeastern U.S.A.

Science.gov (United States)

B. Gyawali; R. Fraser; J. Schelhas; Y. Wang; W. Tadesse; J. Bukenya

2009-01-01

The west-central region of Alabama is rich in natural resources.  Yet changes in land use seem unrelated to improvements in human well-being.  Satellite imagery and U.S. census data for 1980 and 2000 were analyzed to test whether changes in land cover were related to changes in a human well-being index-of income, employment and education at the Cenus Block Group (CBG)...

Consequences of residential development for biodiversity and human well-being

Science.gov (United States)

Liba Pejchar; Sarah E. Reed; Patrick Bixler; Lindsay Ex; Miranda H. Mockrin

2015-01-01

Residential development is a leading driver of land-use change, with important implications for biodiversity, ecosystem processes, and human well-being. We reviewed over 500 published scientific articles on the biophysical, economic, and social effects of residential development and open space in the US. We concluded that current knowledge of the effects of this type...

PRINCIPLES OF ECOLOGICAL CONSTRUCTION IN FACHWERK ARCHITECTURE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shubina Elena Vasil'evna

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The authors consider the ecological aspects of application of Fachwerk, a traditional structural system, in the present-day construction. The authors have identified the potential and defined the principal development and modernization trends of the Fachwerk architecture. The author provides arguments of outstanding contemporary architects in support of the statement that the Fachwerk architecture is friendly to humans and it does not deliver any damage to the environment. Fachwerk complies with the criteria of sustainable development; therefore, it may be retained in the future architecture.

Computational Characterization of Exogenous MicroRNAs that Can Be Transferred into Human Circulation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiang Shu

Full Text Available MicroRNAs have been long considered synthesized endogenously until very recent discoveries showing that human can absorb dietary microRNAs from animal and plant origins while the mechanism remains unknown. Compelling evidences of microRNAs from rice, milk, and honeysuckle transported to human blood and tissues have created a high volume of interests in the fundamental questions that which and how exogenous microRNAs can be transferred into human circulation and possibly exert functions in humans. Here we present an integrated genomics and computational analysis to study the potential deciding features of transportable microRNAs. Specifically, we analyzed all publicly available microRNAs, a total of 34,612 from 194 species, with 1,102 features derived from the microRNA sequence and structure. Through in-depth bioinformatics analysis, 8 groups of discriminative features have been used to characterize human circulating microRNAs and infer the likelihood that a microRNA will get transferred into human circulation. For example, 345 dietary microRNAs have been predicted as highly transportable candidates where 117 of them have identical sequences with their homologs in human and 73 are known to be associated with exosomes. Through a milk feeding experiment, we have validated 9 cow-milk microRNAs in human plasma using microRNA-sequencing analysis, including the top ranked microRNAs such as bta-miR-487b, miR-181b, and miR-421. The implications in health-related processes have been illustrated in the functional analysis. This work demonstrates the data-driven computational analysis is highly promising to study novel molecular characteristics of transportable microRNAs while bypassing the complex mechanistic details.

Computational Characterization of Exogenous MicroRNAs that Can Be Transferred into Human Circulation

Science.gov (United States)

Shu, Jiang; Chiang, Kevin; Zempleni, Janos; Cui, Juan

2015-01-01

MicroRNAs have been long considered synthesized endogenously until very recent discoveries showing that human can absorb dietary microRNAs from animal and plant origins while the mechanism remains unknown. Compelling evidences of microRNAs from rice, milk, and honeysuckle transported to human blood and tissues have created a high volume of interests in the fundamental questions that which and how exogenous microRNAs can be transferred into human circulation and possibly exert functions in humans. Here we present an integrated genomics and computational analysis to study the potential deciding features of transportable microRNAs. Specifically, we analyzed all publicly available microRNAs, a total of 34,612 from 194 species, with 1,102 features derived from the microRNA sequence and structure. Through in-depth bioinformatics analysis, 8 groups of discriminative features have been used to characterize human circulating microRNAs and infer the likelihood that a microRNA will get transferred into human circulation. For example, 345 dietary microRNAs have been predicted as highly transportable candidates where 117 of them have identical sequences with their homologs in human and 73 are known to be associated with exosomes. Through a milk feeding experiment, we have validated 9 cow-milk microRNAs in human plasma using microRNA-sequencing analysis, including the top ranked microRNAs such as bta-miR-487b, miR-181b, and miR-421. The implications in health-related processes have been illustrated in the functional analysis. This work demonstrates the data-driven computational analysis is highly promising to study novel molecular characteristics of transportable microRNAs while bypassing the complex mechanistic details. PMID:26528912

Can Nucleoli Be Markers of Developmental Potential in Human Zygotes?

Science.gov (United States)

Fulka, Helena; Kyogoku, Hirohisa; Zatsepina, Olga; Langerova, Alena; Fulka, Josef

2015-11-01

In 1999, Tesarik and Greco reported that they could predict the developmental potential of human zygotes from a single static evaluation of their pronuclei. This was based on the distribution and number of specific nuclear organelles - the nucleoli. Recent studies in mice show that nucleoli play a key role in parental genome restructuring after fertilization, and that interfering with this process may lead to developmental failure. These studies thus support the Tesarik-Greco evaluation as a potentially useful method for selecting high-quality embryos in human assisted reproductive technologies. In this opinion article we discuss recent evidence linking nucleoli to parental genome reprogramming, and ask whether nucleoli can mirror or be used as representative markers of embryonic parameters such as chromosome content or DNA fragmentation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

TPX tokamak construction management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knutson, D.; Kungl, D.; Seidel, P.; Halfast, C.

1995-01-01

A construction management contract normally involves the acquisition of a construction management firm to assist in the design, planning, budget conformance, and coordination of the construction effort. In addition the construction management firm acts as an agent in the awarding of lower tier contracts. The TPX Tokamak Construction Management (TCM) approach differs in that the construction management firm is also directly responsible for the assembly and installation of the tokamak including the design and fabrication of all tooling required for assembly. The Systems Integration Support (SIS) contractor is responsible for the architect-engineering design of ancillary systems, such as heating and cooling, buildings, modifications and site improvements, and a variety of electrical requirements, including switchyards and >4kV power distribution. The TCM will be responsible for the procurement of materials and the installation of the ancillary systems, which can either be performed directly by the TCM or subcontracted to a lower tier subcontractor. Assurance that the TPX tokamak is properly assembled and ready for operation when turned over to the operations team is the primary focus of the construction management effort. To accomplish this a disciplined constructability program will be instituted. The constructability effort will involve the effective and timely integration of construction expertise into the planning, component design, and field operations. Although individual component design groups will provide liaison during the machine assembly operations, the construction management team is responsible for assembly

Construction and operation costs of constructed wetlands treating wastewater.

Science.gov (United States)

Gkika, Dimitra; Gikas, Georgios D; Tsihrintzis, Vassilios A

2014-01-01

Design data from nine constructed wetlands (CW) facilities of various capacities (population equivalent (PE)) are used to estimate construction and operation costs, and then to derive empirical equations relating the required facility land area and the construction cost to PE. In addition, comparisons between the costs of CW facilities based on various alternative construction materials, i.e., reinforced concrete and earth structures (covered with either high density polyethylene or clay), are presented in relation to the required area. The results show that earth structures are economically advantageous. The derived equations can be used for providing a preliminary cost estimate of CW facilities for domestic wastewater treatment.

Presence of Beryllium (Be) in urban soils: human health risk

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pena, A.; Gonzalez, M. J.; Lobo, M. C.

2009-07-01

Berylium (Be) is, together with As, Cd, Hg, Pb and Ti, one of the trace elements more toxic for human being (Vaessen) and Szteke, 2000; Yaman and Avci, 2006), but in spite of the exponential increment of its applications during the last decades, surprisingly there isn't hardly information about its presence and environmental distribution. The aim of this work is to evaluate the presence of Beryllium in urban soils in Alcala de Henares, (Madrid Spain).

Managing Pre-Construction and Construction Risks on Project Sites in Abuja-Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jimoh R.A.

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Managing risks in construction projects has been acknowledged as a key direction process for the purposes of attaining the project goal in terms of time, cost, quality, safety, and environmental sustainability. Hence, the paper evaluated pre-construction and construction risks on active project sites in Abuja-Nigeria. This was achieved using survey method through the self-administration of 35 questionnaires to the professionals handling the 35 identified projects being undertaking at that time. Results showed that errors and omissions in design and improperly defined project scope had mean score values of 3.03 and 2.54, respectively, were the construction risks most experienced by the professionals during pre-construction. On the other hand, fluctuation in market prices and delays with mean score values of 3.14 and 2.74, respectively, were the construction risks experienced by the professionals during the construction phase of the projects. It is recommended that procurement methods such as construction management should be adopted and stakeholders should keep to their own side of the bargain to avoid unnecessary delays.

Well-Being Impacts of Human-Elephant Conflict in Khumaga, Botswana: Exploring Visible and Hidden Dimensions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Allison L Mayberry

2017-01-01

Full Text Available High densities of wild African savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana combined with widespread human land-use have increased human-elephant conflict in northern Botswana. Visible impacts (e.g. crop/property damage, injury/fatality of elephants on human well-being are well documented in scholarly literature while hidden impacts (e.g. emotional stress, restricted mobility are less so. This research uses qualitative methods to explore human experiences with elephants and perceived impacts of elephants on human well-being. Findings reveal participants are concerned about food insecurity and associated visible impacts of elephant crop raids. Findings also reveal participants are concerned about reduced safety and restricted mobility as hidden impacts threatening livelihoods and everyday life. Both visible and hidden impacts of elephants contribute to people's negative feelings towards elephants, as does the broader political context. This research emphasises the importance of investigating both visible and hidden impacts of elephants on human well-being to foster holistic understanding of human-elephant conflict scenarios and to inform future mitigation strategies.

A construction process model for implementing constructability in construction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Langkemper, J.; Al-Jibouri, S.; Reymen, I.M.M.J.; Maas, G.J.; Gassel, van F.

2003-01-01

In construction, failure of design professionals to consider how a builder will implement the design can result in scheduling problems, cost escalation, delays and disputes during the construction process. The integration of construction knowledge and experience during planning and design is termed

Improving the Healthiness of Sustainable Construction: Example of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emina Kristina Petrović

2018-02-01

Full Text Available With the increasing emphasis on sustainable construction, it has become important to better understand the impacts of common materials. This is especially paramount with the introduction of the United Nations (UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs which call for more comprehensive evaluations, adding many aspects of social consideration to the issues of environmental sustainability, including human health. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC/vinyl can be seen as a material with potential for significant adverse effects on a multiplicity of levels, and the construction industry is its single most significant consumer. This article presents a transdisciplinary review of adverse health impacts associated with PVC showing a number of issues: some that could be eliminated through design, but also some which appear inherent to the material itself and therefore unavoidable. The totality of issues revealed in relation to PVC presents a compelling case for a call for complete elimination of use of this material in sustainable construction.

Accounting for the Impact of Conservation on Human Well-Being

Science.gov (United States)

Milner-Gulland, EJ; Mcgregor, JA; Agarwala, M; Atkinson, G; Bevan, P; Clements, T; Daw, T; Homewood, K; Kumpel, N; Lewis, J; Mourato, S; Palmer Fry, B; Redshaw, M; Rowcliffe, JM; Suon, S; Wallace, G; Washington, H; Wilkie, D

2014-01-01

Conservationists are increasingly engaging with the concept of human well-being to improve the design and evaluation of their interventions. Since the convening of the influential Sarkozy Commission in 2009, development researchers have been refining conceptualizations and frameworks to understand and measure human well-being and are starting to converge on a common understanding of how best to do this. In conservation, the term human well-being is in widespread use, but there is a need for guidance on operationalizing it to measure the impacts of conservation interventions on people. We present a framework for understanding human well-being, which could be particularly useful in conservation. The framework includes 3 conditions; meeting needs, pursuing goals, and experiencing a satisfactory quality of life. We outline some of the complexities involved in evaluating the well-being effects of conservation interventions, with the understanding that well-being varies between people and over time and with the priorities of the evaluator. Key challenges for research into the well-being impacts of conservation interventions include the need to build up a collection of case studies so as to draw out generalizable lessons; harness the potential of modern technology to support well-being research; and contextualize evaluations of conservation impacts on well-being spatially and temporally within the wider landscape of social change. Pathways through the smog of confusion around the term well-being exist, and existing frameworks such as the Well-being in Developing Countries approach can help conservationists negotiate the challenges of operationalizing the concept. Conservationists have the opportunity to benefit from the recent flurry of research in the development field so as to carry out more nuanced and locally relevant evaluations of the effects of their interventions on human well-being. Consideración del Impacto de la Conservación sobre el Bienestar Humano Resumen

(Re)constructing Reflexivity: A Relational Constructionist Approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hosking, D.M.; Pluut, B.

2010-01-01

This article distinguishes three discourses of reflexivity in relation to human inquiry. One of these arises from a post-modern, relational constructionist perspective which radically re-conceptualizes reflexivity: (a) as a local and co-constructed process oriented towards the question (b) how are

Bioengineering pediatric scaffold-free auricular cartilaginous constructs.

Science.gov (United States)

Akbari, Pedram; Waldman, Stephen D; Cushing, Sharon L; Papsin, Blake C; Propst, Evan J; Weber, Joanna F; Yeger, Herman; Farhat, Walid A

2017-05-01

The use of exogenous materials as scaffolds in cartilage tissue engineering has limited the clinical application of resultant constructs due to the risk of postoperative complications. In an effort to minimize such complications, we aim to generate human, scaffold-free auricular cartilaginous constructs. Laboratory study using pediatric auricular cartilage. Remnant, normal pediatric auricular cartilage samples that would have otherwise been discarded were collected and digested to free cells. Harvested cells were cultured and expanded in vitro for two passages and plated as micromass cultures. The culture medium was replaced with a chemically defined chondrogenic medium, and cellular monolayers surrounding micromass cultures were continuously scraped off. Constructs were allowed to mature for a period of 8 weeks. Micromass constructs showed mechanical stability and structurally resembled native auricular tissue, with a perichondrium-like layer of cells surrounding the inner cartilaginous zone. Constructs accumulated equivalent sulphated glycosaminoglycan and 50% of collagen content compared to native auricular cartilage by mass, while displaying 156% more cellularity. High-density micromass cultures of pediatric auricular chondrocytes can generate stable cartilaginous constructs following prolonged chondrogenic inductions in vitro. This technique is an essential step toward the development of three-dimensional constructs to recreate clinically applicable auricular cartilaginous constructs. NA. Laryngoscope, 127:E153-E158, 2017. © 2016 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

Scenario evolution: Interaction between event tree construction and numerical analyses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barr, G.E.; Barnard, R.W.; Dockery, H.A.; Dunn, E.; MacIntyre, A.T.

1990-01-01

Construction of well-posed scenarios for the range of conditions possible at any proposed repository site is a critical first step to assessing total system performance. Event tree construction is the method that is being used to develop potential failure scenarios for the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. An event tree begins with an initial event or condition. Subsequent events are listed in a sequence, leading eventually to release of radionuclides to the accessible environment. Ensuring the validity of the scenarios requires iteration between problems constructed using scenarios contained in the event tree sequence, experimental results, and numerical analyses. Details not adequately captured within the tree initially may become more apparent as a result of analyses. To illustrate this process, the authors discuss the iterations used to develop numerical analyses for PACE-90 (Performance Assessment Calculational Exercises) using basaltic igneous activity and human-intrusion event trees

Characterization of civil construction waste and its incorporation to mortar

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cunha, G.A.; Andrade, A.C.D.; Souza, J.M.M.; Evangelista, A.C.J.; Almeida, V.C.

2009-01-01

As the preservation of the environment is a big concern nowadays, plenty of studies have arisen in order to decrease the production or reuse the waste from human activities. In this context, the civil construction industry comes up, as it is able to incorporate waste to mortar, being a great alternative for the reuse of solid waste. The scope of this work has been the characterization of Construction and Demolishment Waste (RCD) and its incorporation to the mortar aiming at the development of alternative construction materials in the future for the economical reutilization of waste discharged in embankments and landfills so far preserving the environment so far. The experimental studies taken with sample bodies, such as water absorption, resistance to compression, X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence and scanning electronic microscopy, elicits the viability of the partial substitution of cement by RCD mixed waste, taking its different applications into consideration. (author)

Japan's silver human resource centers and participant well-being.

Science.gov (United States)

Weiss, Robert S; Bass, Scott A; Heimovitz, Harley K; Oka, Masato

2005-03-01

Japan's Silver Human Resource Center (SHRC) program provides part-time, paid employment to retirement-aged men and women. We studied 393 new program participants and examined whether part-time work influenced their well-being or "ikigai." The participants were divided into those who had worked in SHRC-provided jobs in the preceding year, and those who had not. Gender-stratified regression models were fitted to determine whether SHRC employment was associated with increased well-being. For men, actively working at a SHRC job was associated with greater well-being, compared to inactive members. And men with SHRC jobs and previous volunteering experience had the greatest increase in well-being. Women SHRC job holders did not experience increased well-being at the year's end. The study concludes that there is justification for exploring the usefulness of a similar program for American retirees who desire post-retirement part-time work.

VIP-Man: An image-based whole-body adult male model constructed from color photographs of the visible human project for multi-particle Monte Carlo calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, X.G.; Chao, T.C.; Bozkurt, A.

2000-01-01

Human anatomical models have been indispensable to radiation protection dosimetry using Monte Carlo calculations. Existing MIRD-based mathematical models are easy to compute and standardize, but they are simplified and crude compared to human anatomy. This article describes the development of an image-based whole-body model, called VIP-Man, using transversal color photographic images obtained from the National Library of Medicine's Visible Human Project for Monte Carlo organ dose calculations involving photons, electron, neutrons, and protons. As the first of a series of papers on dose calculations based on VIP-Man, this article provides detailed information about how to construct an image-based model, as well as how to adopt it into well-tested Monte Carlo codes, EGS4, MCNP4B, and MCNPX

Urban planning with respect to environmental quality and human well-being.

Science.gov (United States)

Panagopoulos, Thomas; González Duque, José Antonio; Bostenaru Dan, Maria

2016-01-01

The cities of today present requirements that are dissimilar to those of the past. There are cities where the industrial and service sectors are in decline, and there are other cities that are just beginning their journey into the technological and industrial sectors. In general, the political and social realms have been restructured in terms of economics, which has resulted in an entirely different shape to the primitive structures of civilization. As people begin to understand the dynamic nature of landscapes, they stop seeing landscapes as a static scene. Sustainable cities must be simultaneously economically viable, socially just, politically well managed and ecologically sustainable to maximize human comfort. The present research suggests a multi-disciplinary approach for attaining a holistic understanding of urban environmental quality and human well-being in relation to sustainable urban development. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Power of Being Vulnerable in Christian Soul Care: Common Humanity and Humility.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Kyubo

2017-02-01

Soul caregivers often hesitate to be vulnerable in their pastoral practices. Jesus, however, embraced his vulnerabilities as a human to redeem humanity even though he was the Son of God. This paper first explores the dynamics of shame and power that make soul caregivers reluctant to accept their vulnerabilities and then describes the contributions of sharing caregiver's vulnerabilities in a soul care practice. This article argues that being vulnerable allows a soul caregiver to imitate Jesus by sharing in the client's common humanity, initiating an authentic relationship between the client and the soul caregiver; it is also a practice of humility, inviting God's cure in soul care. This study proposes the necessity of embracing vulnerability in soul care ministry, instead of hiding it.

The construction and evaluation of reference spectra for the identification of human pathogenic microorganisms by MALDI-TOF MS.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Di Xiao

Full Text Available Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS is an emerging technique for the rapid and high-throughput identification of microorganisms. There remains a dearth of studies in which a large number of pathogenic microorganisms from a particular country or region are utilized for systematic analyses. In this study, peptide mass reference spectra (PMRS were constructed and evaluated from numerous human pathogens (a total of 1019 strains from 94 species, including enteric (46 species, respiratory (21 species, zoonotic (17 species, and nosocomial pathogens (10 species, using a MALDI-TOF MS Biotyper system (MBS. The PMRS for 380 strains of 52 species were new contributions to the original reference database (ORD. Compared with the ORD, the new reference database (NRD allowed for 28.2% (from 71.5% to 99.7% and 42.3% (from 51.3% to 93.6% improvements in identification at the genus and species levels, respectively. Misidentification rates were 91.7% and 57.1% lower with the NRD than with the ORD for genus and species identification, respectively. Eight genera and 25 species were misidentified. For genera and species that are challenging to accurately identify, identification results must be manually determined and adjusted in accordance with the database parameters. Through augmentation, the MBS demonstrated a high identification accuracy and specificity for human pathogenic microorganisms. This study sought to provide theoretical guidance for using PMRS databases in various fields, such as clinical diagnosis and treatment, disease control, quality assurance, and food safety inspection.

Construction Project Leadership from the Perspective of Islam

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MUHAMAD ROSDI SENAM

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Construction industry is continuously being accused with common issues such as low performance, corruptions, spillages, bad practices in addition to common project failures despite advances in project management tools and techniques. This further adds to the existing and increasing complex and multi-facets business environment in construction projects that has resulted in the increasing pressure and challenges faced by project leaders and project managers today. Researchers in project management literature calls for more project leadership research as leadership now is increasingly recognised as project success factor. Ethical dilemma and leadership crisis facing the project managers and business organisations reveals the shortcomings and inadequacies of the conventional non-Islamic leadership that is believed to be or that has not fully considered the religious, spiritual, moral and ethical dimensions. Examples of these theories of leadership are authentic leadership, servant leadership and ethical leadership. Therefore, recent trend from literature has implicitly suggested a new form of leadership for construction project manager which is spiritual, moral, values and ethical form of leadership. The uniqueness of Islam is that it does not separate religion and other aspects of human life activities. Construction and project activities are part of the whole economic and social transactions of a nation and thus it is part of Islam. Project management in particular leadership awaits divine intervention that is tied to God consciousness and accords with values and principles prescribed in the Quran and Sunnah. This research is intended to overcome the spiritual and religious shortcomings of the present leadership models by proposing an Islamic perspective of leadership for construction project manager.

Mechanism of water inrush in tunnel construction in karst area

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liping Li

2016-05-01

Full Text Available With the rapid developing trend of long, large and deep construction characteristics for underground engineering in the world, China has the largest number of karst tunnels with the wide scales and great difficulties. As the hydrogeological conditions are becoming unprecedentedly complex, water inrush disaster becomes the bottleneck problem for the further development of traffic tunnels. Based on the statistical analysis of a large number of cases of water inrush in karst tunnels, influence factors of water inrush have been put forward from the view of karst hydrogeological factors and engineering disturbance of human factors. Karst hydrogeological factors include geological defect, strata dip, formation lithology, landform and underground level. Human factors of engineering disturbance include excavation and reinforcement geological prediction, monitoring and measurement of surrounding rock. It also introduces some geological disasters caused by the water inrush in tunnel excavation. In terms of the formation of water inrush channel, water inrush types are divided into geological defects inrush, non-geological defects inrush and the combination. Conclusions will be beneficial to further research on hazards control of underground construction.

Construction Safety Forecast for ITER

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

cadwallader, lee charles

2006-11-01

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project is poised to begin its construction activity. This paper gives an estimate of construction safety as if the experiment was being built in the United States. This estimate of construction injuries and potential fatalities serves as a useful forecast of what can be expected for construction of such a major facility in any country. These data should be considered by the ITER International Team as it plans for safety during the construction phase. Based on average U.S. construction rates, ITER may expect a lost workday case rate of < 4.0 and a fatality count of 0.5 to 0.9 persons per year.

Constructal theory of social dynamics

CERN Document Server

Bejan, Adrian

2007-01-01

Combines for the first time theories of general physics and applies them to social sciencesOffers a new way to look at social phenomena as part of natural phenomenaA new domain of application of engineering such as thermodynamic optimization, thermoeconomics and "design as science"Discusses how the "flow architectures" of natural sciences are also found in social situationsBoth classes are covered by the same principle (the constructal law)First work to show that the concept of "efficiency" of engineering has a home in physics and social sciencesThe constructal law theory puts a scientific principle behind the major challenges of today and the future: sustainable development, energy sufficiency, equilibria between human settlements and environmental ecosystems, optimal allocation, optimal distribution of finite resources, etc.

A data-driven approach to reverse engineering customer engagement models: towards functional constructs.

Science.gov (United States)

de Vries, Natalie Jane; Carlson, Jamie; Moscato, Pablo

2014-01-01

Online consumer behavior in general and online customer engagement with brands in particular, has become a major focus of research activity fuelled by the exponential increase of interactive functions of the internet and social media platforms and applications. Current research in this area is mostly hypothesis-driven and much debate about the concept of Customer Engagement and its related constructs remains existent in the literature. In this paper, we aim to propose a novel methodology for reverse engineering a consumer behavior model for online customer engagement, based on a computational and data-driven perspective. This methodology could be generalized and prove useful for future research in the fields of consumer behaviors using questionnaire data or studies investigating other types of human behaviors. The method we propose contains five main stages; symbolic regression analysis, graph building, community detection, evaluation of results and finally, investigation of directed cycles and common feedback loops. The 'communities' of questionnaire items that emerge from our community detection method form possible 'functional constructs' inferred from data rather than assumed from literature and theory. Our results show consistent partitioning of questionnaire items into such 'functional constructs' suggesting the method proposed here could be adopted as a new data-driven way of human behavior modeling.

A data-driven approach to reverse engineering customer engagement models: towards functional constructs.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalie Jane de Vries

Full Text Available Online consumer behavior in general and online customer engagement with brands in particular, has become a major focus of research activity fuelled by the exponential increase of interactive functions of the internet and social media platforms and applications. Current research in this area is mostly hypothesis-driven and much debate about the concept of Customer Engagement and its related constructs remains existent in the literature. In this paper, we aim to propose a novel methodology for reverse engineering a consumer behavior model for online customer engagement, based on a computational and data-driven perspective. This methodology could be generalized and prove useful for future research in the fields of consumer behaviors using questionnaire data or studies investigating other types of human behaviors. The method we propose contains five main stages; symbolic regression analysis, graph building, community detection, evaluation of results and finally, investigation of directed cycles and common feedback loops. The 'communities' of questionnaire items that emerge from our community detection method form possible 'functional constructs' inferred from data rather than assumed from literature and theory. Our results show consistent partitioning of questionnaire items into such 'functional constructs' suggesting the method proposed here could be adopted as a new data-driven way of human behavior modeling.

AP1000 construction schedule

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winters, J.W.

2001-01-01

Westinghouse performed this study as part of EPRI interest in advancing the use of computer aided processes to reduce the cost of nuclear power plants. EPRI believed that if one could relate appropriate portions of an advanced light water reactor plant model to activities in its construction sequence, and this relationship could be portrayed visually, then optimization of the construction sequence could be developed as never before. By seeing a 3-D representation of the plant at any point in its construction sequence, more informed decisions can be made on the feasibility or attractiveness of follow on or parallel steps in the sequence. The 3-D representation of construction as a function of time (4-D) could also increase the confidence of potential investors concerning the viability of the schedule and the plant ultimate cost. This study performed by Westinghouse confirmed that it is useful to be able to visualize a plant construction in 3-D as a function of time in order to optimize the sequence of construction activities. (author)

How Can Lean Construction Improve the Daily Schedule of A Construction Manager?

Science.gov (United States)

Binninger, Marco; Dlouhy, Janosch; Schneider, Johannes; Haghsheno, Shervin

2017-10-01

The outcome of construction projects highly depends on effective management. The site manager is responsible for the site, and has a key role in executing construction projects. Especially this position has a wide range of tasks and a high volume of workload, which has to be carried out in a high pressure and high stress environment. Chaotic construction processes often create these working conditions. Lean Construction can help to organize the construction site in a better way and automatically supports the site manager.

3D-fibroblast tissues constructed by a cell-coat technology enhance tight-junction formation of human colon epithelial cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsusaki, Michiya; Hikimoto, Daichi; Nishiguchi, Akihiro; Kadowaki, Koji; Ohura, Kayoko; Imai, Teruko; Akashi, Mitsuru

2015-02-13

Caco-2, human colon carcinoma cell line, has been widely used as a model system for intestinal epithelial permeability because Caco-2 cells express tight-junctions, microvilli, and a number of enzymes and transporters characteristic of enterocytes. However, the functional differentiation and polarization of Caco-2 cells to express sufficient tight-junctions (a barrier) usually takes over 21 days in culture. This may be due to the cell culture environment, for example inflammation induced by plastic petri dishes. Three-dimensional (3D) sufficient cell microenvironments similar to in vivo natural conditions (proteins and cells), will promote rapid differentiation and higher functional expression of tight junctions. Herein we report for the first time an enhancement in tight-junction formation by 3D-cultures of Caco-2 cells on monolayered (1L) and eight layered (8L) normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDF). Trans epithelial electric resistance (TEER) of Caco-2 cells was enhanced in the 3D-cultures, especially 8L-NHDF tissues, depending on culture times and only 10 days was enough to reach the same TEER value of Caco-2 monolayers after a 21 day incubation. Relative mRNA expression of tight-junction proteins of Caco-2 cells on 3D-cultures showed higher values than those in monolayer structures. Transporter gene expression patterns of Caco-2 cells on 3D-constructs were almost the same as those of Caco-2 monolayers, suggesting that there was no effect of 3D-cultures on transporter protein expression. The expression correlation between carboxylesterase 1 and 2 in 3D-cultures represented similar trends with human small intestines. The results of this study clearly represent a valuable application of 3D-Caco-2 tissues for pharmaceutical applications. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Antibiotic resistance - the interplay between antibiotic use in animals and human beings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Singer, R.S.; Finch, R.; Wegener, Henrik Caspar

2003-01-01

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria were first identified in the 1940s, but while new antibiotics were being discovered at a steady rate, the consequences of this phenomenon were slow to be appreciated. Today, the excessive use of antibiotics compounded by the paucity of new agents on the market has...... meant the problem of antibiotic resistance is fast escalating into a global health crisis. There is no doubt that misuse of these drugs in human beings has contributed to the increasing rates of resistance, but recently the use of antibiotics in food animals and its consequent effect on resistance....... There is a growing concern over the transmission of resistant bacteria via the food chain. Many questions will be difficult to resolve, such as how do you distinguish the fraction of resistance in human beings that originated from animals? If we wait to see evidence that a significant amount of antibiotic resistance...

[Elderly human being with ostomy and environments of care: reflection on the perspective of complexity].

Science.gov (United States)

Barros, Edaiane Joana Lima; Santos, Silvana Sidney Costa; Lunardi, Valéria Lerch; Lunardi Filho, Wilson Danilo

2012-01-01

This is discussion about the relationship between elderly human beings with ostomy and their environments care, under the perspective of Complexity Edgar Morin. An axis holds the reflection: environments of care for elderly humans with ostomy. In this sense, we present three types of environment that surround the context of elderly humans with ostomy: home environment, group environment and hospital environment. This brings, as a social contribution, a new look about resizing caring of elderly humans with ostomy in their environment. It is considered that the environment hosting this human being contains a diversity of feelings, emotions, experiences; it binds multiple meanings, from the Complexity perspective, about the relationship between the environment and the caring process.

A Qualitative Comparison on Guidelines for Construction Workers Accommodation and Facility

OpenAIRE

Khamis Norasyikin; Suratkon Azeanita; Mohammad Hairuddin; Yaman Siti Khalijah

2017-01-01

Construction industry in Malaysia covers almost 1.3 million workers. Thus, realizing the importance of human-centred trait, a long-term plan that is led by the Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB) has been designed to improve accommodation and facilities of workers at construction site. In conjunction to that, the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards Malaysia (SIRIM) has developed Malaysia Standard (MS 2593:2015) as the guideline for improvement of accommodation ...

Barriers to Zero Energy Construction (ZEC); technically possible; why not succeed yet?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Abdalla, G.; Maas, G.J.; Demers, C.M.H.; Potvin, A

2009-01-01

The construction activities have a significant impact on the environment in terms of energy consumption and use of raw materials. The construction industry has been challenged to meet the human needs in environmentally friendly ways. Environmentally friendly measures and proven renewable energy

[Principles and methodology for ecological rehabilitation and security pattern design in key project construction].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Li-Ding; Lu, Yi-He; Tian, Hui-Ying; Shi, Qian

2007-03-01

Global ecological security becomes increasingly important with the intensive human activities. The function of ecological security is influenced by human activities, and in return, the efficiency of human activities will also be affected by the patterns of regional ecological security. Since the 1990s, China has initiated the construction of key projects "Yangtze Three Gorges Dam", "Qinghai-Tibet Railway", "West-to-East Gas Pipeline", "West-to-East Electricity Transmission" and "South-to-North Water Transfer" , etc. The interaction between these projects and regional ecological security has particularly attracted the attention of Chinese government. It is not only important for the regional environmental protection, but also of significance for the smoothly implementation of various projects aimed to develop an ecological rehabilitation system and to design a regional ecological security pattern. This paper made a systematic analysis on the types and characteristics of key project construction and their effects on the environment, and on the basis of this, brought forward the basic principles and methodology for ecological rehabilitation and security pattern design in this construction. It was considered that the following issues should be addressed in the implementation of a key project: 1) analysis and evaluation of current regional ecological environment, 2) evaluation of anthropogenic disturbances and their ecological risk, 3) regional ecological rehabilitation and security pattern design, 4) scenario analysis of environmental benefits of regional ecological security pattern, 5) re-optimization of regional ecological system framework, and 6) establishment of regional ecosystem management plan.

Towards green construction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bajracharya, Bijaya B.; Shrestha, Prasanna M.

2000-01-01

Sustainability is the key to any development works. In the operation phase, hydro power is the most sustainable form of energy. However construction activities for the same power station are usually far from being green. The popular myth is that construction activity converts green into grey. Despite this popular myth, construction of a hydro power project in Nepal has made the project area greener than earlier during the construction phase itself. Choice of construction technology, appropriate level of environmental impact assessment, monitoring of environmental parameters along side the construction progress followed by mitigation at the right time; launching community development programmes side by side, having environmental specification in contractual documents and self-reliance to fulfill environmental obligations by contractors itself are the key factors in the environmental management within the construction activities. The main conclusions in the paper is the need to change the way to think about the project constraints

Chondrocytes and stem cells in 3D-bioprinted structures create human cartilage in vivo.

Science.gov (United States)

Apelgren, Peter; Amoroso, Matteo; Lindahl, Anders; Brantsing, Camilla; Rotter, Nicole; Gatenholm, Paul; Kölby, Lars

2017-01-01

Cartilage repair and replacement is a major challenge in plastic reconstructive surgery. The development of a process capable of creating a patient-specific cartilage framework would be a major breakthrough. Here, we described methods for creating human cartilage in vivo and quantitatively assessing the proliferative capacity and cartilage-formation ability in mono- and co-cultures of human chondrocytes and human mesenchymal stem cells in a three-dimensional (3D)-bioprinted hydrogel scaffold. The 3D-bioprinted constructs (5 × 5 × 1.2 mm) were produced using nanofibrillated cellulose and alginate in combination with human chondrocytes and human mesenchymal stem cells using a 3D-extrusion bioprinter. Immediately following bioprinting, the constructs were implanted subcutaneously on the back of 48 nude mice and explanted after 30 and 60 days, respectively, for morphological and immunohistochemical examination. During explantation, the constructs were easy to handle, and the majority had retained their macroscopic grid appearance. Constructs consisting of human nasal chondrocytes showed good proliferation ability, with 17.2% of the surface areas covered with proliferating chondrocytes after 60 days. In constructs comprising a mixture of chondrocytes and stem cells, an additional proliferative effect was observed involving chondrocyte production of glycosaminoglycans and type 2 collagen. This clinically highly relevant study revealed 3D bioprinting as a promising technology for the creation of human cartilage.

Chondrocytes and stem cells in 3D-bioprinted structures create human cartilage in vivo.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Apelgren

Full Text Available Cartilage repair and replacement is a major challenge in plastic reconstructive surgery. The development of a process capable of creating a patient-specific cartilage framework would be a major breakthrough. Here, we described methods for creating human cartilage in vivo and quantitatively assessing the proliferative capacity and cartilage-formation ability in mono- and co-cultures of human chondrocytes and human mesenchymal stem cells in a three-dimensional (3D-bioprinted hydrogel scaffold. The 3D-bioprinted constructs (5 × 5 × 1.2 mm were produced using nanofibrillated cellulose and alginate in combination with human chondrocytes and human mesenchymal stem cells using a 3D-extrusion bioprinter. Immediately following bioprinting, the constructs were implanted subcutaneously on the back of 48 nude mice and explanted after 30 and 60 days, respectively, for morphological and immunohistochemical examination. During explantation, the constructs were easy to handle, and the majority had retained their macroscopic grid appearance. Constructs consisting of human nasal chondrocytes showed good proliferation ability, with 17.2% of the surface areas covered with proliferating chondrocytes after 60 days. In constructs comprising a mixture of chondrocytes and stem cells, an additional proliferative effect was observed involving chondrocyte production of glycosaminoglycans and type 2 collagen. This clinically highly relevant study revealed 3D bioprinting as a promising technology for the creation of human cartilage.

Human and animal research guidelines: aligning ethical constructs with new scientific developments.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferdowsian, Hope

2011-10-01

Both human research and animal research operate within established standards and procedures. Although the human research environment has been criticized for its sometimes inefficient and imperfect process, reported abuses of human subjects in research served as the impetus for the establishment of the Nuremberg Code, Declaration of Helsinki, and the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research and the resulting Belmont Report. No similar, comprehensive and principled effort has addressed the use of animals in research. Although published policies regarding animal research provide relevant regulatory guidance, these policies have not emerged from the process of specifying consistent and reasoned ethical principles. The lack of a fundamental effort to explore the ethical issues and principles regarding the use of animals in research has led to unclear and disparate policies. Recent studies have increased our understanding of animal cognition and emotion, suggesting that animals' potential for experiencing a wide variety of harms, such as pain and fear, is greater than has been previously appreciated. Furthermore, relationships between methods of captivity and certain laboratory procedures and the resulting adverse physical, social and psychological effects have been established. In light of this information, current protections may need to be reconsidered and modified. This paper explores the historical convergence and divergence in the creation of human and animal research guidelines, as well as opportunities to align ethical frameworks with new scientific discoveries. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Construction labor productivity during nuclear power plant construction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murray, W.B.

1980-01-01

This paper discusses the three different types of productivity programs used at the Wm. H. Zimmer Nuclear Power Station construction site. The Standard Cost Estimate as Productivity Measurement compares actual units installed to estimated units. The Manpower and Equipment Utilization Study measures the present utilization level of the construction work force, identifies opportunities for productivity improvement, and establishes a data base against which future improvements could be made. The special productivity program is a specialized and detailed study of first line supervision. Productivity is defined as the degree of efficiency attained in the use of labor, professional and management skills and knowledge, materials and equipment, and time and money to produce an end result. It is concluded that a more consistent system of productivity measurements needs to be developed and promoted for general use in the construction industry

Are sciences essential and humanities elective? Disentangling competing claims for humanities research public value

OpenAIRE

Olmos-Peñuela, Julia; Benneworth, Paul; Castro-Martínez, Elena

2015-01-01

Recent policy discourse suggests that arts and humanities research is seen as being less useful to society than other disciplines, notably in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The paper explores how this assumption s construction has been built and whether it is based upon an unfair prejudice: we argue for a prima facie case to answer in assuming that arts and humanities research s lower societal value. We identify a set of claims circulating in policy circles regarding scienc...

Being Chinese or Being Different: Exploring Chinese Foreign Language (CFL) Teachers Use of Chineseness in Identity Construction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Chun

2015-01-01

that no matter which way they use ‘Chinese-ness’, the participants are able to reflect on their experiences and manifest a willingness to adapt to another culture, in which their identity as CFL teachers are constructed. By the end of study, the combination of teaching culture of Chinese and Danish, in which...... participants are forging new identities for them are discussed. Key words: CFL teacher, Danish university, teaching culture, Chinese-ness 中国式的汉语教师 探讨新汉语教师在构建其职业身份中对于中国特色的诠释和理解 中文摘要 在对外汉语教学中......Abstract This study reports on a qualitative research that explores how three beginning native CFL teachers in a Danish university use ‘Chinese-ness’ and how these serve in explaining their own narratives, either through identifying with, or distancing themselves from. Early results show...

Advanced construction methods in ACR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elgohary, M.; Choy, E.; Yu, S.K.W.

2002-01-01

The ACR - Advanced CANDU Reactor, developed by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), is designed with constructability considerations as a major requirement during all project phases from the concept design stage to the detail design stage. This necessitated a much more comprehensive approach in including constructability considerations in the design to ensure that the construction duration is met. For the ACR-700, a project schedule of 48 months has been developed for the nth replicated unit with a 36 month construction period duration from First Concrete to Fuel Load. An overall construction strategy that builds on the success of the construction methods that are proven in the construction of the Qinshan CANDU 6 project has been developed for the ACR. The overall construction strategy comprises the 'Open Top' construction technique using a Very Heavy Lift crane, parallel construction activities, with extensive modularization and prefabrication. In addition, significant applications of up to date construction technology will be implemented, e.g. large volume concrete pours, prefabricated rebar, use of climbing forms, composite structures, prefabricated permanent formwork, automatic welding, and utilization of the latest electronic technology tools such as 3D CADDs modelling yields a very high quality, clash free product to allow construction to be completed 'right the first time' and eliminates rework. Integration of 3D CADDs models and scheduling tools such as Primavera has allowed development of actual construction sequences and an iterative approach to schedule verification and improvement. Modularization and prefabrication are major features of the ACR design in order to achieve the project schedule. For the reactor building approximately 80% of the volume will be installed as modules or prefabricated assembles. This ensures critical path activities are achieved. This paper examines the advanced construction methods implemented in the design in order to

Transfer of technology construction management activities to preparation of NPP development in Indonesia (an experience of multi propose reactor 30 development at Serpong)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Utomo

2011-01-01

Management and development of a nuclear installation could not be separated from the role of Construction Management in the planning stages of the project start until the commissioning. On the construction of nuclear installations MPR 30 Serpong, the role of human resource of Indonesia particularly Batan has received a lot of knowledge and experiences in the development process, the ongoing process of transfer of technology from the foreign consultants (Bechtel-USA) to Batan has been conducted at the time, and at least we are able to absorb knowledge and prove it through to completion development including commissioning activities. In the course of the time human resource challenges are required to have individual skills and expertise sufficient to handle a mega project such as nuclear power plants. Construction Management is managing a major project stages from planning, construction, procurement, installation commissioning until hand over to the owner. Based on the experience of the construction of the RSG-LP, it is expected that human resources that meet to the standards required competencies for the preparation of NPP in Indonesia are fulfilled. (author)

International conference on electromagnetic fields hazard protection of the human being

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grigor'ev, Yu.G.

1999-01-01

The Second International conference concerning the problems of electromagnetic protection of the human being, fundamental and applied studies, normalization of the EMP: philosophy, criteria and harmonization which took place in Moscow in September 1999 is reported. The topics of reports covered both the mechanism of biological action of electromagnetic fields and aspects of impact of electromagnetic fields from various household appliances on the health of practically all modern people (television, radio, energetic, communication). The plenary section on evaluation of hazards of the mobile communication electromagnetic fields and the round table meeting dealing with evaluation of hazards of electromagnetic fields of the cellular communication base stations were conducted in the course of the conference. The plenary meetings were devoted to harmonization of the electromagnetic protection standards of Russia and western countries. The above conference constitutes one of the stages of the WHO international program concerning electromagnetic fields and the human being [ru

TQM and Its Impact on Organizational Performance: Construction of a Framework Based on the Literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gustavo Silveira de Oliveira

2018-03-01

Full Text Available TQM practices have significant impact on customer satisfaction and constitute an effective means to achieve competitive advantage and performance improvement. This work is intended to contribute to the development of theory in TQM by suggesting a causal model between the six core TQM constructs proposed in Malcolm Baldrige Award (leadership, customer focus, strategic planning, relationship with suppliers, human resource management and process management and a firm’s performance. An extensive review of literature is presented and a TQM model is suggested for future field validation. We conclude that some constructs have an indirect relationship with performance while others have a more direct effect on it. Also, the relationship between TQM constructs are considered to be important and should be empirically investigated. Therefore the model presented will be empirically tested in the future.

Treatment of Ligament Constructs with Exercise-conditioned Serum: A Translational Tissue Engineering Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee-Barthel, Ann; Baar, Keith; West, Daniel W D

2017-06-11

In vitro experiments are essential to understand biological mechanisms; however, the gap between monolayer tissue culture and human physiology is large, and translation of findings is often poor. Thus, there is ample opportunity for alternative experimental approaches. Here we present an approach in which human cells are isolated from human anterior cruciate ligament tissue remnants, expanded in culture, and used to form engineered ligaments. Exercise alters the biochemical milieu in the blood such that the function of many tissues, organs and bodily processes are improved. In this experiment, ligament construct culture media was supplemented with experimental human serum that has been 'conditioned' by exercise. Thus the intervention is more biologically relevant since an experimental tissue is exposed to the full endogenous biochemical milieu, including binding proteins and adjunct compounds that may be altered in tandem with the activity of an unknown agent of interest. After treatment, engineered ligaments can be analyzed for mechanical function, collagen content, morphology, and cellular biochemistry. Overall, there are four major advantages versus traditional monolayer culture and animal models, of the physiological model of ligament tissue that is presented here. First, ligament constructs are three-dimensional, allowing for mechanical properties (i.e., function) such as ultimate tensile stress, maximal tensile load, and modulus, to be quantified. Second, the enthesis, the interface between boney and sinew elements, can be examined in detail and within functional context. Third, preparing media with post-exercise serum allows for the effects of the exercise-induced biochemical milieu, which is responsible for the wide range of health benefits of exercise, to be investigated in an unbiased manner. Finally, this experimental model advances scientific research in a humane and ethical manner by replacing the use of animals, a core mandate of the National

Literature review of human microbes' interaction with plants

Science.gov (United States)

Maguire, B., Jr.

1980-01-01

Human carried microorganisms, which cannot practically be excluded from human supporting agricultural systems of extra terrestrial stations, are considered. These microorganisms damage the plants on which the people depend for oxygen and food. The inclusion of carefully screened or constructed, but more or less normal, phylloplane and rhizosphere microbial communities is studied.

[Being treated as a human being. Experiences of patients in a prenatal service of a philanthropic institution].

Science.gov (United States)

Bonadio, I C

1998-04-01

This paper reports a qualitative study conducted in an anthropological perspective using the ethnografic research methodology. It had has the objective of knowing and understanding the needs, antenatal care values and beliefs of pregnant women in the context of Prenatal Service of a Philanthropic Institution. The central theme "be treated as a Human Being", identified from the analysis of the cultural themes, revealed that, in the women experience, the most significant element is represented either by the effective interaction or by the establishment on bond of trust between them and nurse.

Human T-lymphotropic virus type I tax regulates the expression of the human lymphotoxin gene.

Science.gov (United States)

Tschachler, E; Böhnlein, E; Felzmann, S; Reitz, M S

1993-01-01

Human T-lymphotropic virus type-I (HTLV-I)-infected T-cell lines constitutively produce high levels of lymphotoxin (LT). To analyze the mechanisms that lead to the expression of LT in HTLV-I-infected cell lines, we studied regulatory regions of the human LT promoter involved in the activation of the human LT gene. As determined by deletional analysis, sequences between +137 and -116 (relative to the transcription initiation site) are sufficient to direct expression of a reporter gene in the HTLV-I-infected cell line MT-2. Site-directed mutation of a of the single kappa B-like motif present in the LT promoter region (positions -99 to -89) completely abrogated LT promoter activity in MT-2 cells, suggesting that this site plays a critical role in the activation of the human LT gene. Transfection of LT constructs into HTLV-I-uninfected and -unstimulated Jurkat and U937 cell lines showed little to no activity of the LT promoter. Cotransfection of the same constructs with a tax expression plasmid into Jurkat cells led to detectable promoter activity, which could be significantly increased by stimulation of the cells with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). Similarly, cotransfection of the LT promoter constructs and the tax expression plasmid into U937 cells led to significant promoter activity upon stimulation with PMA. These data suggest that HTLV-I tax is involved in the upregulation of LT gene expression in HTLV-I-infected cells.

Human life: genetic or social construction?

Science.gov (United States)

Yudin, Boris

2005-01-01

I am going to discuss some present-day tendencies in the development of the very old debate on nature vs nurture. There is a widespread position describing the history of this debate as a pendulum-like process. Some three decades ago there was a time of overwhelming prevalence of the position stressing social factors in determining human character and behavior; now the pendulum has come to the opposite side and those who stress the role of biology, of genes are in favor. Yet in my view rather acute opposition of both positions still exists. Its existence depends not so much on new scientific discoveries as on some social and cultural factors which are more conservative than the development of science. More than that, we can even talk about competition of these two positions.

Occupational accidents: a perspective of pakistan construction industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ali, T.H.; Khahro, S.H.; Memon, F.A.

2014-01-01

It has been observed that the construction industry is one of the notorious industry having higher rate of facilities and injuries. Resulting in higher financial losses and work hour losses, which are normally faced by this industry due to occupational accidents. Construction industry has the highest occupational accidents rate recorded throughout the world after agriculture industry. The construction work site is often a busy place having an incredibly high account of activities taking place, where everyone is moving in frenzy having particular task assigned. In such an environment, occupational accidents do occur. This paper gives information about different types of occupational accidents and their causes in the construction industry of Pakistan. A survey has been carried out to identify the types of occupational accidents often occur at construction site. The impact of each occupational accident has also been identified. The input from the different stakeholders involved on the work site was analyzed using RIW (Relative Importance Weight) method. The findings of this research show that fall from elevation, electrocution from building power and snake bite are the frequent occupational accidents occur within the work site where as fall from elevation, struck by, snake bite and electrocution from faulty tool are the occupational accident with high impact within the construction industry of Pakistan. The results also shows the final ranking of the accidents based on higher frequency and higher impact. Poor Management, Human Element and Poor Site Condition are found as the root causes leading to such occupational accidents. Hence, this paper identify that what type of occupational accidents occur at the work place in construction industry of pakistan, in order to develop the corrective actions which should be adequate enough to prevent the re-occurrence of such accidents at work site. (author)

Sustainable construction : towards a strategic approach to construction material management for waste reduction

OpenAIRE

Abarca Guerrero, L.; Scheublin, F.J.M.; Egmond - de Wilde De Ligny, van, E.L.C.; Lambert, A.J.D.

2008-01-01

The construction sector plays a key role in shaping and developing the built environment. It also has an undisputed and significant impact on it due to the amounts of materials extracted and produced as waste. The construction industry has emphasized to recycling construction waste (CW), however, relatively less emphasis has been paid on construction waste minimization. CW reduction can be achieved through changes in design concepts, material and construction methods selection and material ma...

Distinctively human motivation and another view on human evolution

OpenAIRE

Prudkov, Pavel N.

2006-01-01

Human evolution is a multidisciplinary problem, one of its aspects is the origin and development of distinctively human psychological features. Cognitive properties (language, symbolic thinking) are considered as such features and numerous authors hypothesize its evolution. We suggest that the most important human characteristic is connected with motivation rather than cognition; this is the ability to construct and maintain long-term goal-directed processes having no biological basis. Once...

The Role of Social and Intergenerational Equity in Making Changes in Human Well-Being Sustainable

Science.gov (United States)

A sustainable world is one in which human needs are met equitably and without sacrificing the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Human well-being is described by four primary elements—basic human needs, economic needs, environmental needs, and subjective well-bein...

Labor construction trends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCall, H.W.

1976-01-01

The increasing costs and schedule delays being experienced in construction projects have led companies to look for alternatives to their present methods of expansion. One of the facets being evaluated is the construction labor posture. As a result, more companies are employing open shop contractors. Certain benefits can be realized by open shop construction. Productivity, in terms of the time required and overall costs, is definitely improved at no sacrifice in quality. Before an owner decides to build a project open shop, however, he must be fully aware of the pro's and con's of both types of labor posture. He must know to select a capable open shop contractor and he must realize his obligations for a successful open shop program

[Construction of haplotype and haplotype block based on tag single nucleotide polymorphisms and their applications in association studies].

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Ming-liang; Chu, Jia-you

2007-12-01

Human genome has structures of haplotype and haplotype block which provide valuable information on human evolutionary history and may lead to the development of more efficient strategies to identify genetic variants that increase susceptibility to complex diseases. Haplotype block can be divided into discrete blocks of limited haplotype diversity. In each block, a small fraction of ptag SNPsq can be used to distinguish a large fraction of the haplotypes. These tag SNPs can be potentially useful for construction of haplotype and haplotype block, and association studies in complex diseases. There are two general classes of methods to construct haplotype and haplotype blocks based on genotypes on large pedigrees and statistical algorithms respectively. The author evaluate several construction methods to assess the power of different association tests with a variety of disease models and block-partitioning criteria. The advantages, limitations and applications of each method and the application in the association studies are discussed equitably. With the completion of the HapMap and development of statistical algorithms for addressing haplotype reconstruction, ideas of construction of haplotype based on combination of mathematics, physics, and computer science etc will have profound impacts on population genetics, location and cloning for susceptible genes in complex diseases, and related domain with life science etc.

Shortening of construction period of nuclear power plant. Activities of construction industry on construction period shortening

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamata, Hirofumi

2011-01-01

Total construction period could be shorten by prefabricating structures efficiently in another yard and reducing working hours on site, which would reduce work at height or congestion work and also upgrade safety at work. Construction period shortening would surely reduce expenses during work and advance operation start of electric utilities. Construction of reactor building, turbine building, water intake and drainage canal was performed on a relatively large scale and a big share of whole schedule. This article summarized basic technologies to shorten construction period for reactor building/turbine building and water intake and drainage canal. Advanced methods of reactor building/turbine building; (1) modularization of equipment and skeleton, (2) utilization of concrete mold, reinforcing bar and steel frame, (3) precedent steel frame method and (4) steel plate reinforced concrete (SC) method, were outlined and their application examples were shown to reduce work on site and improve work efficiency. As for water intake and drainage canal construction, (1) precast concrete method, (2) SC method and (3) steel plate shell method were described with application examples. Construction procedures and problems using mega block method for water intake and drainage canal were also introduced. (T. Tanaka)

Constructive anthropomorphism: a functional evolutionary approach to the study of human-like cognitive mechanisms in animals.

Science.gov (United States)

Arbilly, Michal; Lotem, Arnon

2017-10-25

Anthropomorphism, the attribution of human cognitive processes and emotional states to animals, is commonly viewed as non-scientific and potentially misleading. This is mainly because apparent similarity to humans can usually be explained by alternative, simpler mechanisms in animals, and because there is no explanatory power in analogies to human phenomena when these phenomena are not well understood. Yet, because it is also difficult to preclude real similarity and continuity in the evolution of humans' and animals' cognitive abilities, it may not be productive to completely ignore our understanding of human behaviour when thinking about animals. Here we propose that in applying a functional approach to the evolution of cognitive mechanisms, human cognition may be used to broaden our theoretical thinking and to generate testable hypotheses. Our goal is not to 'elevate' animals, but rather to find the minimal set of mechanistic principles that may explain 'advanced' cognitive abilities in humans, and consider under what conditions these mechanisms were likely to enhance fitness and to evolve in animals. We illustrate this approach, from relatively simple emotional states, to more advanced mechanisms, involved in planning and decision-making, episodic memory, metacognition, theory of mind, and consciousness. © 2017 The Author(s).

The “sanctity” of marriage – an archaeology of a socio-religious construct: Mythological origins, forms and models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yolanda Dreyer

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the article is to argue that the sexual difference between female and male should be regarded as soteriologically indifferent. Though a biological reality of being human, sexuality is profoundly influenced by social constructs and the institution of marriage itself is a social construct. In this article the biological and social aspects are taken into account in a theological approach which on the one hand is interested in the relationship between God and human beings, and on the other in the way in which the Bible elucidates sexuality and marriage. The article indicates that the idea of sexual intercourse between a man and a woman as being equal to Godgiven “holy matrimony” has mythological origins. It focuses on these origins and on the multifarious forms of marital arrangements and models.

CRYOPRESERVATION STRATEGY FOR TISSUE ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTS CONSISTING OF HUMAN MESENHYMAL STEM CELLS AND HYDROGEL BIOMATERIALS.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Y; Wen, F; Gouk, S S; Lee, E H; Kuleshova, L

2015-01-01

The development of vitrification strategy for cell-biomaterial constructs, particularly biologically inspired nanoscale materials and hydrogels mimicking the in vivo environment is an active area. A cryopreservation strategy mimicking the in vivo environment for cell-hydrogel constructs may enhance cell proliferation and biological function. To demonstrate the efficacy of vitrification as a platform technology involving tissue engineering and human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). Microcarriers made from alginate coated with chitosan and collagen are used. Conventional freezing and vitrification were compared. The vitrification strategy includes 10 min step-wise exposure to a vitrification solution (40% v/v EG, 0.6M sucrose) and immersion into liquid nitrogen. Confocal imaging of live/dead staining of hMSCs cultured on the surface of microcarriers demonstrated that vitrified cells had excellent appearance and prolonged spindle shape morphology. The proliferation ability of post-vitrified cells arbitrated to protein Ki-67 gene expression was not significantly different in comparison to untreated control, while that of post-freezing cells was almost lost. The ability of hMSCs cultured on the surface of microcarriers to proliferate has been not affected by vitrification and it was significantly better after vitrification than after conventional freezing during continuous culture. Collagen II related mRNA expression by 4 weeks post-vitrification and post-freezing showed that ability to differentiate into cartilage was sustained during vitrification and reduced during conventional freezing. No significant difference was found between control and vitrification groups only. Vitrification strategy coupled with advances in hMSC-expansion platform that completely preserves the ability of stem cells to proliferate and subsequently differentiate allows not only to reach a critical cell number, but also demonstrate prospects for effective utilization and transportation of cells

Being Human Today: A Digital Storytelling Pedagogy for Transcontinental Border Crossing

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, Kristian; Gachago, Daniela

2016-01-01

This article reports the findings of a collaborative digital storytelling project titled "Being Human Today," a multimodal curricular initiative that was implemented simultaneously in both a South African and an American university classroom in 2015. By facilitating dialogue and the sharing of digital stories by means of a closed…

Construction and Demolition Waste

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Thomas Højlund; Andersen, L.

2011-01-01

Construction and demolition waste (C&D waste) is the waste generated during the building, repair, remodeling or removal of constructions. The constructions can be roads, residential housing and nonresidential buildings. C&D waste has traditionally been considered without any environmental problems...... should be managed accordingly. Another reason is that it has been documented that a large fraction of C&D waste (about 90 %) can be easily recycled and thus can conserve landfill capacity. C&D waste may conveniently be divided into three subcategories: Buildings, roads and excavations. This chapter...

No choice. Human beings must continue to be fertile and to increase, but they must do so responsibly.

Science.gov (United States)

Tagle Ra

1993-06-01

Commentary is provided on the transition mankind has made from a maintained population growth rate of 2% to adaptation to a more civilized age. When the agricultural age began 100,000 years ago, man was still tribal, and it may well be that scientists are correct in postulating that adaptation is slow. Homo sapiens are still tribal or tried to family or kin groups, rather than to the nations state. These ties to family and tribe may contribute to present day "ethnic cleansing" and the illusion of the notion of a family of all peoples. In the past, families had to be large in order to sustain life; there was still a high death rate which slowed population growth. Population reached 2 billion in 1930 after a million years of growth. Mankind's tinkering with nature produced science and technology, which eliminated the natural balance of mortality. The consequence was a doubling of population in 47 years between 1930 to 1977 to 4 billion people. BY 1987, in just 10 years, another billion was added. Homo sapiens must not act responsible and influence the birth side by practicing "contraception control." Unfortunately, the force of habit has obliterated the reasons for large families, and humans have "unwittingly defied procreation from being merely a means to the status of an end." There is nothing in the Bible that forbids contraception or mentions multiplying in an irresponsible way. Neither this vast increase in population, which presently grows at 95 million per year, nor scientific advancement has eliminated mortality or disease. Million suffer from malnutrition and starvation, and the distribution of resources has been unequal and moves in the direction of resource depletion and environmental degradation. The formula for living must change; families need to plan for few children. Fighting to kill as a means of population control is unacceptable. Human beings possess the intelligence to preserve individual and social human life in a responsible way.

Leadership Quality for Malaysia Construction Leader to Steer a Success Construction Project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ngah Nasaruddin Nur Ain

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Issues that dominate the construction industry for the long time such as time overrun, cost overrun, quality of construction and also safety during the construction process are difficult to resolve because of several factors involved which amongst them are leadership quality in the industry. Solving these issues can make the industry more sustainable in nature. This paper presents the need of leadership quality among construction parties involved to steer a construction project successfully. Literature work found that 11 leadership qualities to ensure construction project success. From the frequency analysis, five most dominant leadership qualities are team building, communication skill, visioning, planning & strategy skill, and decision making. Beside the literature, this study also seeks an opinion from a senior leader of a successful construction company regarding the need of these qualities amongst parties to resolve the construction issues. The results from an interview session indicate that he fully agreed with the need of all the qualities in the construction industry. This shows that there is a strong relationship between solving the issues with the leadership quality in ensuring construction project success. These qualities should be further investigated to acquire a better representation of leadership quality in resolving construction issues for Malaysia construction industry.

Ecological and Economic Use of Energy by Optimization of Building Construction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jahrmann, H. J.

1998-01-01

A major part of energy used in daily life is consumed by heating buildings during cold weather periods and for cooling buildings at warmer times. Another major use of energy takes place during production of building materials, construction of the building itself and the depletion and disposal of this building at the end of its lifecycle. Therefore it seems apparent, that effective conservation and saving of energy is a very comprehensive and total approach. The topic is not solely energy saving, it rather is the most effective use of economical and ecological resources. To be energy conscious we have to give closer look to all phases in the existence of a building, and not only of the building. The human being as well must be thoroughly considered in his surrounding, all aspects of his housing suspected for the waste and potential of energy use. So human itself, with his well being in the house, is a major source of energy use. Even the humans health and sickness with its need for cure will cause significant energy input. In the first phase of energy saving programs two aspects should be focused: 1. Primary energy need of construction materials: Primary energy need is the amount of energy used to produce a construction material; from its base origin up to assembling in the housing. Complete ecological balances already exist for a number of materials. Significant difference between materials is observed. The potential for energy saving is impressive. At least 10-30% total energy conservation during the lifecycle of a building appears likely. In many cases a strong positive impact on local economy is expected too. 2. Energy saving by improvement of the thermal quality of buildings: Energy conscious construction of buildings shows an enormous potential for saving. Thermal insulation and effective heating and ventilation systems promise energy savings in the amount of 30-70%. Infrared thermal building analysis and software simulations used prior revitalization of

Human body temperature and new approaches to constructing temperature-sensitive bacterial vaccines.

Science.gov (United States)

White, Matthew D; Bosio, Catharine M; Duplantis, Barry N; Nano, Francis E

2011-09-01

Many of the live human and animal vaccines that are currently in use are attenuated by virtue of their temperature-sensitive (TS) replication. These vaccines are able to function because they can take advantage of sites in mammalian bodies that are cooler than the core temperature, where TS vaccines fail to replicate. In this article, we discuss the distribution of temperature in the human body, and relate how the temperature differential can be exploited for designing and using TS vaccines. We also examine how one of the coolest organs of the body, the skin, contains antigen-processing cells that can be targeted to provoke the desired immune response from a TS vaccine. We describe traditional approaches to making TS vaccines, and highlight new information and technologies that are being used to create a new generation of engineered TS vaccines. We pay particular attention to the recently described technology of substituting essential genes from Arctic bacteria for their homologues in mammalian pathogens as a way of creating TS vaccines.

[Ecological demonstration activity and eco-civilization construction mode: review and prospects].

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, Hui-ping; He, Xuan; He, Jia; Niu, Dong-jie; Bao, Cun-kuan

2013-04-01

Ecological civilization is to normalize human development behaviors to harmonize the relationships between social and ecological development and eco-environment protection. In this paper, a comparative analysis was made on the ecological demonstration activities of ecological demonstration areas led by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, exemplar cities of national environmental protection, and ecological provinces, cities, and counties. It was considered that all the ecological demonstration activities had the problems of lacking pertinence of construction goals, disordered construction subjects, inefficient construction processes, and lacking continuous incentive mechanisms of assessment. In the meantime, through the analysis of the connotations of eco-civilization, the relationships between eco-civilization and eco-demonstration constructions were approached, and the eco-civilization construction mode was put forward in terms of construction goal, construction subject, and construction processes and assessment. The construction mode included the construction goal based on regional characteristics; the synergistic cooperation of construction subjects, the expanding ways of public participation, and the establishment of evaluation system for comprehensively measuring the 'actions and results'.

Tampa's Well-being: A Demonstration of ORD's Human Well-being Index (web content for the Tampa Bay Ecosystem services website)

Science.gov (United States)

Ecosystems provide services to humans that support our well-being. Well-being is not only our health but also our quality of life. We rely upon the services provided by nature to help maintain good health and a high quality of life, including clean water, clean air, food and recr...

Feasibility of human hair follicle-derived mesenchymal stem cells/CultiSpher(®)-G constructs in regenerative medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Pengdong; Liu, Feilin; Wu, Chunling; Jiang, Wenyue; Zhao, Guifang; Liu, Li; Bai, Tingting; Wang, Li; Jiang, Yixu; Guo, Lili; Qi, Xiaojuan; Kou, Junna; Fan, Ruirui; Hao, Deshun; Lan, Shaowei; Li, Yulin; Liu, Jin Yu

2015-10-01

The use of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) in cell therapies has increased the demand for strategies that allow efficient cell scale-up. Preliminary data on the three-dimensional (3D) spinner culture describing the potential use of microcarriers for hMSCs culture scale-up have been reported. We exploited a rich source of autologous stem cells (human hair follicle) and demonstrated the robust in vitro long-term expansion of human hair follicle-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hHF-MSCs) by using CultiSpher(®)-G microcarriers. We analyzed the feasibility of 3D culture by using hHF-MSCs/CultiSpher(®)-G microcarrier constructs for its potential applicability in regenerative medicine by comparatively analyzing the performance of hHF-MSCs adhered to the CultiSpher(®)-G microspheres in 3D spinner culture and those grown on the gelatin-coated plastic dishes (2D culture), using various assays. We showed that the hHF-MSCs seeded at various densities quickly adhered to and proliferated well on the microspheres, thus generating at least hundreds of millions of hHF-MSCs on 1 g of CultiSpher(®)-G within 12 days. This resulted in a cumulative cell expansion of greater than 26-fold. Notably, the maximum and average proliferation rates in 3D culture were significantly greater than that of the 2D culture. However, the hHF-MSCs from both the cultures retained surface marker and nestin expression, proliferation capacity and differentiation potentials toward adipocytes, osteoblasts and smooth muscle cells and showed no significant differences as evidenced by Edu incorporation, cell cycle, colony formation, apoptosis, biochemical quantification and qPCR assays.

Antibiotic resistance - the interplay between antibiotic use in animals and human beings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Singer, R.S.; Finch, R.; Wegener, Henrik Caspar

2003-01-01

meant the problem of antibiotic resistance is fast escalating into a global health crisis. There is no doubt that misuse of these drugs in human beings has contributed to the increasing rates of resistance, but recently the use of antibiotics in food animals and its consequent effect on resistance...... levels in people has also come under scrutiny. Antimicrobials are used therapeutically and prophylactically in animals. More controversially, antimicrobials are also used as growth promoters to improve the ability of the animal to convert feed into body mass. Some argue that the impact of use....... There is a growing concern over the transmission of resistant bacteria via the food chain. Many questions will be difficult to resolve, such as how do you distinguish the fraction of resistance in human beings that originated from animals? If we wait to see evidence that a significant amount of antibiotic resistance...

Knowledge based expert system to minimise environmental pollution in Malaysian construction sites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Al-Hadu, Ibrahiem Abdul Razak; Sidek, Lariyah Mohd; Desa, Mohamad Nor Mohamad [Civil Engineering, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Kajang, Selangor (Malaysia); Basri, Noor Ezlin Ahmad [Civil Engineering, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Kajang, Selangor (Malaysia)

2011-07-01

Construction activities generate enormous amount of erosion and sediments sediments that is the result of soil disturbance during construction activities, thus, will pollute the adjacent water bodies and make it unfeasible for different uses. This paper aimed to develop and create the main features of an expert system prototype (ESCES) for minimising erosion and sedimentation due to stormwater generated from the construction activities by recommending a feasible BMPs. Multi criteria Analysis (MCA) technique has been integrated so as to select the best control measure among many stormwater control alternatives. A questionnaire has been distributed to the relevant experts so as to rank the stormwater control measures to be used in the MCA technique. Using Visual Basic 6, Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) were developed. The knowledge and experience were acquired from various textural sources (i.e. guidelines, manuals, literature, and human expert). Results from this study showed that the Best Management Practices (BMPs) reommended have good suited the site characteristics. As a conclusion from this study, the ESCES can be considered as part of the 'Green Technology Tool' since it helps in protecting the environment and preserve good quality of water adjacent to the construction sites in Malaysia.

A Model of the Human Eye

Science.gov (United States)

Colicchia, G.; Wiesner, H.; Waltner, C.; Zollman, D.

2008-01-01

We describe a model of the human eye that incorporates a variable converging lens. The model can be easily constructed by students with low-cost materials. It shows in a comprehensible way the functionality of the eye's optical system. Images of near and far objects can be focused. Also, the defects of near and farsighted eyes can be demonstrated.

Review of Constructed Subsurface Flow vs. Surface Flow Wetlands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

HALVERSON, NANCY

2004-01-01

The purpose of this document is to use existing documentation to review the effectiveness of subsurface flow and surface flow constructed wetlands in treating wastewater and to demonstrate the viability of treating effluent from Savannah River Site outfalls H-02 and H-04 with a subsurface flow constructed wetland to lower copper, lead and zinc concentrations to within National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit limits. Constructed treatment wetlands are engineered systems that have been designed and constructed to use the natural functions of wetlands for wastewater treatment. Constructed wetlands have significantly lower total lifetime costs and often lower capital costs than conventional treatment systems. The two main types of constructed wetlands are surface flow and subsurface flow. In surface flow constructed wetlands, water flows above ground. Subsurface flow constructed wetlands are designed to keep the water level below the top of the rock or gravel media, thus minimizing human and ecological exposure. Subsurface flow wetlands demonstrate higher rates of contaminant removal per unit of land than surface flow (free water surface) wetlands, therefore subsurface flow wetlands can be smaller while achieving the same level of contaminant removal. Wetlands remove metals using a variety of processes including filtration of solids, sorption onto organic matter, oxidation and hydrolysis, formation of carbonates, formation of insoluble sulfides, binding to iron and manganese oxides, reduction to immobile forms by bacterial activity, and uptake by plants and bacteria. Metal removal rates in both subsurface flow and surface flow wetlands can be high, but can vary greatly depending upon the influent concentrations and the mass loading rate. Removal rates of greater than 90 per cent for copper, lead and zinc have been demonstrated in operating surface flow and subsurface flow wetlands. The constituents that exceed NPDES limits at outfalls H-02 a nd H

"To be a nurse": a professional choice and the construction of identity processes in the 1970s.

Science.gov (United States)

Teodosio, Sheila Saint-Clair; Padilha, Maria Itayra

2016-06-01

to analyze the factors that influenced the choice for nursing made by graduates from the first class of the Undergraduate Nursing and Obstetrics Course of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in the 1970s and to understand the senses and meanings of being a nurse when choosing this profession. a qualitative socio-historical study was performed, using oral history to collect data. the analysis generated the following categories: "To be a nurse: a professional choice" and "The ideal of being a nurse: senses and meanings". The senses of "being a nurse" are associated with graduates' perspective of this profession and the meanings included the traditional conceptions that have historically affected it. professional choice was influenced by family and work expectations and the nursing course had an effect on the construction of nurses' professional identity.

HITACHI construction CAE system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshida, M.

1994-01-01

Construction and maintenance of nuclear power plants have important problems such as shortening the construction period and reducing the construction cost. Recently, the problem of insufficient construction labor has arisen, and as drastic strategic development has become a necessary counter-measure. The following four principles are included in the measures to be taken for efficient execution of the construction work within the short construction period: (1) reduction of on-site work and expansion of module block making, (2)improvement of the accuracy of the on-site work process, adjustment and expansion of the work in parallel with the construction process, (3)improvement of efficiency of the on-site work and mechanization and automation of the work, (4)improvement of the accuracy of the management of the construction. A three dimensional simulation system plant construction plan CAE, comprising five modules has been developed. A project management system was also developed to improve the accuracy and efficiency of management work in the field

Beyond Design: The Importance of Construction and Post-Construction Phases in Green Developments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark Hostetler

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Green developments are becoming a popular land use planning concept that attempts to accommodate growth while minimizing impacts on natural resources. Various policies encourage conservation designs that usually translate into the clustering of homes and the conservation of some percentage of open space. However, the success of a design is determined by what happens during the construction and post-construction phases of a subdivision project. These two phases are often ignored in land use planning and given only minimal attention by built environment professionals. As a result, green developments may not be functioning as originally intended. This essay discusses the importance of construction and post-construction and a way forward to create functional, sustainable communities. Construction activities and decisions, such as impacts from earthwork machines, improper protection of conserved open spaces and trees, the choice of plants used for yards and common areas, and the storage of construction material all can lead to severe impacts on natural areas both within and surrounding a development site. During post-construction, a variety of improper management practices by homeowners can compromise the sustainability of a development. Developers and associated environmental consultant teams could implement approaches that would engage contractors and residents, such as environmental construction covenants and the installment of a neighborhood, environmental education program. To increase the adoption of relevant construction and post-construction practices, appropriate policies need to be created. However, the shift will only occur once the planning and built environment community acknowledges that design is only the first step towards sustainability. Academic design studios and continuing education courses can help with this culture shift by including construction and post-construction considerations within their curriculum.

Human well-being values of environmental flows enhancing social equity in integrated water resources management

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meijer, K.S.

2007-01-01

This dissertation discusses how the importance of river flow-sustained ecosystems for local communities can be quantified for the purpose of balancing water supply and demand in Integrated Water Resources Management. Due to the development of water resources, for example through the construction of

Membrane-bound human orphan cytochrome P450 2U1: Sequence singularities, construction of a full 3D model, and substrate docking.

Science.gov (United States)

Ducassou, Lionel; Dhers, Laura; Jonasson, Gabriella; Pietrancosta, Nicolas; Boucher, Jean-Luc; Mansuy, Daniel; André, François

2017-09-01

Human cytochrome P450 2U1 (CYP2U1) is an orphan CYP that exhibits several distinctive characteristics among the 57 human CYPs with a highly conserved sequence in almost all living organisms. We compared its protein sequence with those of the 57 human CYPs and constructed a 3D structure of a full-length CYP2U1 model bound to a POPC membrane. We also performed docking experiments of arachidonic acid (AA) and N-arachidonoylserotonin (AS) in this model. The protein sequence of CYP2U1 displayed two unique characteristics when compared to those of the human CYPs, the presence of a longer N-terminal region upstream of the putative trans-membrane helix (TMH) containing 8 proline residues, and of an insert of about 20 amino acids containing 5 arginine residues between helices A' and A. Its N-terminal part upstream of TMH involved an additional short terminal helix, in a manner similar to what was reported in the crystal structure of Saccharomyces cerevisiae CYP51. Our model also showed a specific interaction between the charged residues of insert AA' and phosphate groups of lipid polar heads, suggesting a possible role of this insert in substrate recruitment. Docking of AA and AS in this model showed these substrates in channel 2ac, with the terminal alkyl chain of AA or the indole ring of AS close to the heme, in agreement with the reported CYP2U1-catalyzed AA and AS hydroxylation regioselectivities. This model should be useful to find new endogenous or exogenous CYP2U1 substrates and to interpret the regioselectivity of their hydroxylation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. and Société Française de Biochimie et Biologie Moléculaire (SFBBM). All rights reserved.

Modelling the factors influencing the selection of the construction equipment for Indian construction organizations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S.V.S. Raja Prasad

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The contribution of Indian construction sector to the GDP is approximately 10%. Under new government policy, it is anticipated that $1000 Billion share for exclusively infrastructure segment would be completed within the next few years. Construction sector in developing country like India still depends on labor and the practice of mechanization, adopting to use of versatile construction equipment is not in force. The need for implementing new technologies and automation is essential to improve the quality, safety and efficiency. To meet the challenges ahead the construction, organizations should focus on utilization of machinery/equipment to achieve desirable results. Modern construction is characterized by the increase in utilization of equipment to accomplish numerous construction activities. The selection of construction equipment often affects the required amount of time and effort. It is therefore important for managements of construction organizations and planners to be familiar with the features of various types of equipment commonly used in construction activities. The selection of appropriate equipment is a crucial decision making process as it involves huge capital investment. The purpose of the present study is to develop a model pertaining to the factors influencing the selection of construction equipment by using interpretive structural modelling and the results indicate that productivity and safety are the important factors in selection of equipment in Indian construction organizations.

Economic assessment of the construction industry: A construction-economics nexus

Science.gov (United States)

Barber, Herbert Marion, Jr.

, infrastructure spending may, or may not, be an answer to the current world economic collapse, as much more research remains to be completed by researchers to address known ambiguities within various associated findings. Until a collective agreement can be reached among researchers as to the effect that construction spending has on economic output under known, specific parameters, policy-makers should exercise extreme caution when leveraging infrastructure spending as a solution for overcoming the world economic collapse.

Computer aided construction engineering system for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshinaga, Toshiaki; Nakajima, Akira; Miyahara, Ryohei; Miura, Jun

1990-01-01

The construction CAE system for nuclear power plants is the tool for the construction work simulator (procedure, processes and management simulation) connected to 3D-CAD (three-dimensional plant layout planning CAD). The data used for construction work simulation are registered in the data base as the installation smallest unit data from the 3D-CAD. This construction work simulator comprises the automatic installation procedure decision system, with which a construction planner decides installation procedure by using a high performance graphic work station, and based on a 3D-CAD model, utilizing empirical procedure logic, the dialogue system for making the installation procedure more optimal by utilizing effectively the graphic function, the evaluation system for synthetically evaluating workability, personnel plan and so on by adding the simulation of human behavior based on these procedures, the schedule system which carries out work process simulation based on the above, the data base system for letting to do these plans effectively and the project management system. By means of these, the plant construction of high quality is expected. (K.I.)

The ethics of human-robot relationships

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Graaf, M.M.A.

2015-01-01

Currently, human-robot interactions are constructed according to the rules of human-human interactions inviting users to interact socially with robots. Is there something morally wrong with deceiving humans into thinking they can foster meaningful interactions with a technological object? Or is this

Towards a substantive knowledge that promotes the dignity of the human being

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ginés Marco Perles

2017-05-01

Regarding this failure to take such life processes into account, and given its propensity for generalization, science stood out among these spheres as placing an excessive weight on positivist values that by their very nature disregarded anything that could not be classified as such. This approach was in stark contrast with the open tradition upheld by Miguel de Unamuno that would be eagerly taken up by Spanish philosophy in the twentieth century. From the perspective of that philosophy it is, therefore, worth asking whether all of those aspects and elements (not only those that form part of any given human life but also those belonging to the other two main spheres of culture – art and morality – displaced by scientism because they were not positive or verifiable through experiment, because they did not lend themselves to being understood using a rationalist or logical/scientific reasoning were not also human. Was their rejection justified?

[Correlation between PMI and DNA degradation of costicartilage and dental pulp cells in human being].

Science.gov (United States)

Long, Ren; Wang, Wei-ping; Xiong, Ping

2005-08-01

To probe the correlation between the postmortem interval (PMI) and the DNA degradation of costicartilage and dental pulp cells in human being after death, and to seek a new method for estimating PMI. The image cytometry was used to measure the DNA degradation under different ambient temperatures (30-35 degrees C, 15-20 degrees C) in 0-15 days after death. The average DNA content of two kinds of tissue was degradated with the prolongation of PMI. But there was a plateau period of 0-4 days for dental pulp cells of human being in 15-20 degrees C. There was a high negative correlativity PPMI. PMI could be estimated accurately according to the DNA degradation of costicartilage and dental pulp cells in human being after death.

Protective measures during construction against radon exposure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horn, W.

1990-01-01

Radon, thoron as well as their daughter products have an cancerogeneous effect on the human respiratory tracts. In this respect protective measures in the area of construction are of great importance. This article deals with constructional solutions which consist of different individual measures. Sources of radon are outside air, water, fuels, building materials as well as the building ground. Possible protective measures are divided into area-related (floor structure, intermediate floors, exterior walls of cellar, foundation slab, building ground), line-related (joints, cracks, wall ducts) as well as supplementary measures (tightly closing doors, arrangement of natural cross-ventilation and vertical ventilating shafts). (BWI) [de

Stigma construction as a boundary to transgender people’s social rights from an international approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduardo Arrubia

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Formal equality constitutes a paramount vindication in order to achieve the state acknowledgment of LGBTI people. However, it can be observed that there is a factual platform of inequality beyond juridical norms, whereby stigma is constructed so as to impede the effective enjoyment of social rights such as education and health, among others. In this sense, the Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity illustrate the expectations of compliance with this group’s rights. Therefore, it can be noticed that these principles have attained major fulfilment throughout cases and official papers, which have emerged in different countries over last year. Then, the material analysed in this essay reflects that the stigma against sexual diversity is constructed in the immediate scope of daily life. This demands that the respect towards LGBTI people’s rights shall begin from the closest levels of domestic laws based on public policies designed with a human rights approach.

The thermal environment of the human being on the global scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Jendritzky, Gerd; Tinz, Birger

2009-11-11

The close relationship between human health, performance, well-being and the thermal environment is obvious. Nevertheless, most studies of climate and climate change impacts show amazing shortcomings in the assessment of the environment. Populations living in different climates have different susceptibilities, due to socio-economic reasons, and different customary behavioural adaptations. The global distribution of risks of hazardous thermal exposure has not been analysed before. To produce maps of the baseline and future bioclimate that allows a direct comparison of the differences in the vulnerability of populations to thermal stress across the world. The required climatological data fields are obtained from climate simulations with the global General Circulation Model ECHAM4 in T106-resolution. For the thermo-physiologically relevant assessment of these climate data a complete heat budget model of the human being, the 'Perceived Temperature' procedure has been applied which already comprises adaptation by clothing to a certain degree. Short-term physiological acclimatisation is considered via Health Related Assessment of the Thermal Environment. The global maps 1971-1980 (control run, assumed as baseline climate) show a pattern of thermal stress intensities as frequencies of heat. The heat load for people living in warm-humid climates is the highest. Climate change will lead to clear differences in health-related thermal stress between baseline climate and the future bioclimate 2041-2050 based on the 'business-as-usual' greenhouse gas scenario IS92a. The majority of the world's population will be faced with more frequent and more intense heat strain in spite of an assumed level of acclimatisation. Further adaptation measures are crucial in order to reduce the vulnerability of the populations. This bioclimatology analysis provides a tool for various questions in climate and climate change impact research. Considerations of regional or local scale require climate

''Brain-science and education''. Towards human security and well-being

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koizumi, Hideaki

2005-01-01

This lecture discusses concepts of learning and education that have been expressed in terms of the viewpoint of natural science, and proposes a new way of studying learning and education based on functional brain imaging such as fMRI, MEG, and OT (Optical Topography). From a biological viewpoint, they are related to brain development because the brain is an adaptable information processor that is open to environmental stimuli. Stimuli cause new neuronal connections to form, which allow better adaptation to the environment. Thus, education should be designed to guide and inspire the construction of the basic architecture for information processing in the brain by preparing and controlling the input stimuli given to the learners. Education is the process in which learning is guided to provide an optimal environment. This new approach to study of learning and education is called brain science and education.'' (S. Ohno)

Reconstruction of living bilayer human skin equivalent utilizing human fibrin as a scaffold.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazlyzam, A L; Aminuddin, B S; Fuzina, N H; Norhayati, M M; Fauziah, O; Isa, M R; Saim, L; Ruszymah, B H I

2007-05-01

Our aim of this study was to develop a new methodology for constructing a bilayer human skin equivalent to create a more clinical compliance skin graft composite for the treatment of various skin defects. We utilized human plasma derived fibrin as the scaffold for the development of a living bilayer human skin equivalent: fibrin-fibroblast and fibrin-keratinocyte (B-FF/FK SE). Skin cells from six consented patients were culture-expanded to passage 1. For B-FF/FK SE formation, human fibroblasts were embedded in human fibrin matrix and subsequently another layer of human keratinocytes in human fibrin matrix was stacked on top. The B-FF/FK SE was then transplanted to athymic mice model for 4 weeks to evaluate its regeneration and clinical performance. The in vivo B-FF/FK SE has similar properties as native human skin by histological analysis and expression of basal Keratin 14 gene in the epidermal layer and Collagen type I gene in the dermal layer. Electron microscopy analysis of in vivo B-FF/FK SE showed well-formed and continuous epidermal-dermal junction. We have successfully developed a technique to engineer living bilayer human skin equivalent using human fibrin matrix. The utilization of culture-expanded human skin cells and fibrin matrix from human blood will allow a fully autologous human skin equivalent construction.

42 CFR 137.291 - May Self-Governance Tribes carry out construction projects without assuming these Federal...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false May Self-Governance Tribes carry out construction... OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES TRIBAL SELF-GOVERNANCE Construction Nepa Process § 137.291 May Self-Governance Tribes carry out construction projects without assuming these Federal environmental...

Effective nonvaccine interventions to be considered alongside human papilloma virus vaccine delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Hindin, Michelle J; Bloem, Paul; Ferguson, Jane

2015-01-01

World Health Organization recommends that girls, ages 9-13 years, get the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine. Global Alliance for Vaccines Initiative, which provides low-cost vaccine to eligible countries, requires that an additional intervention to be offered alongside the vaccine. We systematically searched and assessed the published literature in lower- and middle-income countries to identify effective interventions. We conducted systematic searches of four databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Global Index Medicus Regional Databases, and Cochrane Reviews for effective adolescent health interventions that could be delivered with the HPV vaccine in the following areas: (1) iron and folic acid supplementation (iron alone or with folic acid); (2) voucher delivery and cash transfer programs; (3) hand washing and soap provision; (4) vision screening; (5) promotion of physical activity/exercise; (6) menstrual hygiene education; (7) sexual and reproductive health education; (8) human immunodeficiency virus prevention activities; and (9) condom promotion, condom use skill building, and demonstration. We found limited evidence of consistent positive impact. Iron supplementation reduced iron-deficiency anemia and raised serum ferritin levels. Promotion of physical activity lowered blood pressure and reduced weight gain. Sexual and reproductive health and human immunodeficiency virus interventions improved adolescent communication with adults but did not influence behavioral outcomes. Countries should consider locally relevant and proven interventions to be offered alongside the HPV vaccine. Copyright © 2015 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

23 CFR 772.19 - Construction noise.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 23 Highways 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Construction noise. 772.19 Section 772.19 Highways... ABATEMENT OF HIGHWAY TRAFFIC NOISE AND CONSTRUCTION NOISE § 772.19 Construction noise. The following general... may be affected by noise from construction of the project. The identification is to be performed...

25 CFR 900.118 - Do these “construction contract” regulations apply to construction management services?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... construction management services? 900.118 Section 900.118 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE...” regulations apply to construction management services? No. Construction management services may be contracted separately under section 108 of the Act. Construction management services consultants and/or Indian tribe or...

Undergraduate research involving human subjects should not be granted ethical approval unless it is likely to be of publishable quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Gallagher, Cathal T; McDonald, Lisa J; McCormack, Niamh P

2014-06-01

Small-scale research projects involving human subjects have been identified as being effective in developing critical appraisal skills in undergraduate students. In deciding whether to grant ethical approval to such projects, university research ethics committees must weigh the benefits of the research against the risk of harm or discomfort to the participants. As the learning objectives associated with student research can be met without the need for human subjects, the benefit associated with training new healthcare professionals cannot, in itself, justify such risks. The outputs of research must be shared with the wider scientific community if it is to influence future practice. Our survey of 19 UK universities indicates that undergraduate dissertations associated with the disciplines of medicine, dentistry and pharmacy are not routinely retained in their library catalogues, thus closing a major avenue to the dissemination of their findings. If such research is unlikely to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, presented at a conference, or otherwise made available to other researchers, then the risks of harm, discomfort or inconvenience to participants are unlikely to be offset by societal benefits. Ethics committees should be satisfied that undergraduate research will be funnelled into further research that is likely to inform clinical practice before granting ethical approval.